GOVERNMENT CONNIVANCE AT THE DESPOILING OF A POOR INVENTOR
Incredible, yet it is true, that if a patent is infringed upon,
and for some reason the inventor, though cognizant of it, does not
commence suit, it is held that he acquiesced in the same, and the
parties who are stealing his invention, as well as others, can go on
robbing him with impunity.
The "INTERFERENCE" trick is usually resorted to, to transfer a
valuable invention from a poor but rightful owner to those who want
it, and have the money to make profitable use of it and pay for the
trick. The most surprising part of it is that it is done quite
legally and generally successfully and with no "comeback." It is also
very remarkable for its simplicity of procedure, which is usually as
follows:
[Illustration: THE SWIPEING MFG. CO. HAVE STOLEN MY INVENTION.]
[Illustration: WE MUST HAVE 1000 DOLLARS AS A RETAINING FEE.]
[Illustration: DEFENDED IN COURT * * * * ON TECHNICALITIES.]
[Illustration: THE EXPLOITERS OF HIS INVENTION CAN ENJOY THEIR
ILL-GOTTEN GAINS WITH IMPUNITY.]
A manufacturer of a certain line of goods makes it his business
promptly to obtain copies of all patents in his own line of goods
as soon as they are issued. When he finds something that he thinks
he wants or can use to advantage in his business, he promptly goes
ahead, starts to make it by copying the patent illustration in the
published records, and as promptly and innocently files a patent
application in the patent office, which is an exact duplicate and
copy of the other man's patent that has been issued and published.
In due course he gets the return of his patent application from the
patent office with the citation against it of the other man's patent
that he is copying. He then promptly notes the date of the patent
application of the other man's patent and files what is called in the
patent office as "INTERFERENCE," simply claiming that he invented
his invention or thought about it, or dreamed about it at a previous
time, allowing himself a sufficient margin of a year or two before
the date of application of the other man's patent, and thereby
claiming himself the rightful inventor of the same, boosting up his
own false affidavit by one or two lying witnesses, which experience
has demonstrated is a commercial commodity. Having done that, it is
necessary for the right inventor, who has received due notice from
the Patent Office, to come and defend his title to his patent, in
spite of the fact that the patent has been issued to him after the
customary and usual formalities in due legal form, and payment of all
legal fees. In order to defend the same now, he is obliged to engage
attorneys who require the usual and indispensable retainers, fees,
etc., without any certainty at all of being able to retain his just
claim to his patent, for the very simple reason that the time of the
filing of his patent was probably within a reasonable time of the
making of his invention, and he has to combat the sworn testimony
of his adversaries, who have given themselves ample latitude in
insuring their priority claim. While they are swearing falsely, they
reason, and rightly so, that it is no more criminal to lie by the
year than by the month, and consequently they make sure of it, and
give themselves plenty of rope, with the result that the rightful
inventor, after paying his original fees for the obtaining of the
patents and the second fees for defending it, usually loses the same
and his invention, simply because circumstances and his conscience
do not permit him to defend himself against his adversaries with the
same weapons he is attacked with, namely, perjury; thus he remains by
force of circumstances an honest man considerably poorer, and a whole
lot wiser by his experience.