'156
FEDERAL REPORTER.
HRYER,
Jr., v.
MAURER.
((]ircuit Oourt, S. D. New York. March 19,1884.) PA.'rENTS-TILING-PREVIOUS STATE OF TIlE ART.
Reissue No. 6,174, for a sectional arch of hollow tiles having plane joints, to be used underneath the floors of fire-proof buildings, is void for lack of patentable novelty. All of the features except the plane VOU88oirs were incorporated in previous foreign patents, and the use of plane VOU880irs for analogous purposes was not new.
In Equity. Geo. lV. Van Bielen, for complainant. Gen. John A. Foster, for defendant. WALLACE, J. The invention described in the complainant's patent (reissue No. 5,174 granted December 3,1872, to Balthazar Kreischer, original granted March 21, 1871) relates to an improvement in tiling used in fire-proof buildings under the floors. .The specification describes it as consisting in a hollow sectional tile combined with the gIrders of the building in such a manner that the tiling spans the space between opposite girders, the end sections being supported upon or against the girders, and the middle section forming a key to bmd the sections together, the whole having a flat under-surface. Consideredwith the aid of the drawings, the invention may be more intelligently understood as being an arch composed of sections of hollow tiles, and supported by girders against which it abuts at either side, the intrados having no curve, and the sections being voussoirs radiating to a center, and the points of the section being plane; and, as an incidental arrangement for supporting the arch, the end sections are provided with a recess, where they rest upon the flanges of girders for receiving and interlocking with the· flanges. Thearch may be so formed on the upper sideRS to furnish air spaces for ventilation under the flooring; and it may also he provided with re. cesses in the sections at the joints, on the upper side of the arch, into which the sleepers may beinsertedj but neither of these features is essential, and neither enters into the claims as one of their constituents. The elaims are as (1) In combination with supporting beams or girdl'rB, a. sectional hollow tile, whose end sections abut against opposite beamll or gird£'rs, and whose middle section forms a key, and so constructed that the under side of the tile forms a flat surface, substantially as described. (2) A hollow tile made in sections, one of which forms a. key for the end sections, which are provided with recesses to catch over the flanges of the girders, SUbstantially as described.
The several publications relied on by the defendant as anticipating the patent are ineffectual for this purpose, because none of them describe an arch of hollow tiles in which the several sections have plane joints, or are supported merely by the wedging power of the plane voussoirs. These publications, however, contribute important in-
PRYER V. MA.URER.
757
758
ll'EDBBALBEPOBTEB.
CmoAGoMuSIO
Co. v. J. W.
BUTLER PAPER
PO·
. (Circuit Cqurt, N. D. Illinois.- February 24, 1884.) PLEADING-INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT-NECESSARY ALLEGATIONS.
In a suit to recoverfor the infringement of a copyright, the declaration must set out in detail a substantial compliance with the various requirements of the copyright laws.
Demurrer to Amended Declaratlon. BLODGETT, J. This is a demurrer to the amended declaration, in which there are five counts. It is a suit for the alleged infringement of a copyright. The allegation in each of these counts is that the plaintiff was proprietor of a certain musical composition entitled "I will meet her when the sun goes down," words and music by William Welch; that on October 19, 1882, plaintiff caused the same to be recorded in the office of the librarian of congress, and afterwards published divers copy of this musical composition, with the words "Copyrighted by the Chicago Music Company" printed on each copy; and that the defendant, since the recording of the said work in the office of the librarian of Congress, has infringed upon the plaintiff's exclusive right so secured to him by virtue of the copyright laws of the United States. The question made by the demurrer is whether the plaintiff has sufficiently set out his title as the holder and owner of this copyright by this averment. The law authorizes the owner, author, or proprietor of. a book, musical composition, etc, to copyright the same, and it is to be copyrighted· by delivering at the office of the librarian of congress, or by depositing in the mail addressed to said librarian, before publication, a printed copy of the title of such book or musical composition; and also, within 10 days from the publication of such bOQk or musical composition, the author or owner of the copyright must deliver at the office of the librarian of congress, or deposit in the mail addressed to such librarian, two copies of such book or composition. These are the steps which must be taken to seoure the copyright in a musical oomposition like this. This exclusive right to authors is a monopoly for. the term of the copyright, and in order to secure it there must be a substantial compliance with the terms of the statute. It is not like a patent in this: that an applicant for a patent applies to the co;m.missionerofpatents, setting out his claim, and a quasi judicial proceeding is instituted before the patent-office. An examination is made as to the novelty and usefulness of the invention, and if the allegations of novelty and usefulness are adjudged to be sustained, the patent-office issues a patent, which is prima facie evidence of both the novelty and usefulness of the device, and that the patentee
Frank J. Bennet, for plaintiff. McCoy, Pope &: McCoy, for defendant.