Class BooL ^iSia &piglitK^. CQFZRIGHT DEPOSm J2-("^ SUGGESTIONS UPON THE SALE OF PATENTS Copyright 1894 By W. E. MILLS <^ 1>^ %^ PART I. COMMERCIAL POINTS. A PATENT RARELY SELLS ITSELF. — OllCe in a great while some person hunts up the owner of a patent and buys it but such instances are very rare, so rare as not to be worth tak- ing into account as a reasonable basis of making a sale. It is an observation of un- doubted soundness that, as a rule, a patent for even a meritorious invention is without mon- ey value unless it be supplemented by energy, perseverance and business tact. It is like a gold mine unworked. A patent is, in one sense, merely a negation. It simply p^revents people in general from doing something. It simply prevents the mul- titude from making, using and selling the pat- ented improvement. It is a very rare thing for a patent owner to realize anything simply from that prevention ; it sometimes happens that a patent is infringed for a term of years unknown to both patent owner and infringer, while the patent remains unworked by the owner ; that the infringement is finally discovered ; and that thereupon the patent owner becomes entitled 4 SUGGESTIONS ON THE to a substantial recovery of money from the infringer ; this, too, is so rare as not to be worth taking into rational account as a mode of making a patent valuable. The chances are more than a hundred to one that no one, aside from the patentee, will ever desire to practice a patented improvement until he either first sees the patent owner making mon- ey out of it or until, in some other way, he is convinced that be can make money out of it himself. A large part of the patentee's battle remains to be fought after he has secured his grant of exclusive right from the Patent Ofifice. Only meritorious inventions sell. — The foregoing remarks have been made wiih reference to really meritorious inventions, those which well and economically fill a real want and which only need to become well known in order to become established in public favor. Not all patented inventions are of this kind ; some of them embody enough of originality to warrant the issue of patent therefor but they are not practical, they will not work easily and successfully for the purposes for which they are designed, they are not cheaper, handier or in some way more efficient than, or superior to, theretofore existing devices and tlrerefore they SALE OF PATENTS. 5 are devoid of money value. Successful inven- tions must appeal to a market of some con- siderable extent, not necessarily a large mar- ket in any one locality but the market, in the aggregate, must be of good size. The most ingenious of all possible devices for plucking the blossoms of century plants would not attract investors. And if a patentee discovers that his invention will not work successfully, in ordinary and unskilled hands, or that the market contains some other thing just as good, and cheaper to boot, the moment has come for him to abandon the project of selling his invention in its then shape. It may contain the germ which by further study and improve- ment will dominate the market ; it can not, In reason, be sold until it will. Patent brokers. — Before a patentee has long held his patent, he will be sure to re- ceive communications from parties professing to make a business of selling patents and some of the communications will read very much as if the senders were quite anxious to buy the particular patent of him to whom the com- munication was sent, and as if the senders only awaited the naming of a price for the inven- tion, to send on the money and close the trans- 6 SUGGESTIONS ON THE action. If the patent owner follows up these pleasing suggestions, he is sure to find that the payment of a fee, for some plausible purpose or other — such, for instance, as a search into the validity of the patent — is a necessary step in the negotiations ; and if the patentee takes that step then the proceedings come practi- cally to an end unless indeed, the patent owner loses a model or machine which he sends the " broker." In an acquaintance of more than a quarter of a century with the doings of thousands of inventors, the writer has never known a patent to be sold through a patent broker. Let them entirely alone unless they will undertake to sell your patent without any preliminary fee for any purpose whatever.. And send them no model or machine that it will hurt you to lose. Demonstrate and develope before sell- ing. — An invention drawn and described on paper and the same invention made and sold at a profit are two things which -have a very different money value to the average man of business — even if he be engaged in the trade or occupation to which the improvement ap- pertains. The invention on paper may some- times be sold to some man thirsting to find a SALE OF PATENTS. 7 short road to riches but rarely can it be sold in that shape to any man whose means have come to him in the hard school of experience. This is true even of the man whose occupa- tion makes him thoroughly conversant with the business to which the improvement be- longs ; he suspects some weakness in it ; he must see it work ; he must know to a cer- tainty just what it costs to make it by known and certain modes of manufacture ; above all he desires to know how it will strike the peo- ple who purchase and consume such things. The touchstone of value, for a new thing, is the purchasing opinion of that part of the pub- lic which has use for it. The purchasing opinion of the public is apparently — though probably not really — an uncertain and fickle thing. A new device may command the quick admiration of men by its novelty and ingenuity but, if after trying it, they go back to the old thing, good-bye to the invention, at least in its then form. On the other hand one may fail to awaken general interest in his invention, be it never so well described and illustrated on paper, but let its practical and profitable manufacture be established, even on a small scale, and the 8 SUGGESTIONS ON THE same persons whose interest could not be aroused at first will stand by ready and anxious to invest. Such is human nature and it cannot be blinked. It follows that, if the thing be practicable, the beginning of the practical manufacture and sale of a patented improvement is a long step toward sale of the patent at a respectable figure. It follows, further, that a patent owner should most seriously consider the question whether he can accomplish it. Has the patent owner the money and the time to do it ? Sometimes the nature of the invention is such as to practically forbid it ; if, for instance, the patent be for an improvement in railroad bridges, steam dredges or light- houses, no ordinary inventor is apt to be able to do more than build a good model. If the improvement be a new steam engine, the or- dinary inventor will hardly be able to do more than to build a small one or possibly a working model. In articles of the cost-grade of plows, hay cutters, looms of the simpler sorts and fen- ces, an inventor may be able to go far enough to produce a few machines or specimens and be prepared to take orders to be filled after the orders are received. In machines and processes SALE OF PATENTS. 9 for producing small, standard articles of trade such, for instance, as pins, hooks and eyes, matches and shoe-pegs, the making and work- ing of a single machine may fill all the needs of the situation. But in small inventions, themselves new, such for instance, as small hardware, jewelry, household utensils and stationery, the case will oftener arise when the ordinary patent owner can see his way to establish the practical manufacture and sale of his improvement on a small scale. If an inventor has not the means and the time to go so far as thus indicated, it is often possible to procure a partner who has, he being in- duced to take hold by having secured to him a share in the proceeds of ultimate sale. But no poor inventor should sacrifice his ordinary occupation or the support of his family for any such purpose for the outcome is too uncertain to warrant it. Be contented to go slowly if you must, but persevere. Getting to the point of actual manufacture and sale involves steps of great practical im- portance. The inventor is thereby forced to practically perfect his article in all its details and to accurately ascertain just what its cost is. Mere theories cannot be relied upon in lO SUGGESTIONS ON THE these respects. Let the inventor be not dis- couraged if he can not, to begin with, reduce the first cost so as to compete with other ar- ticles already in the market. He may be forced to make a number of minor inventions on the way to that end. But never mind ; ninety-nine times out of a hundred the thing can be done by the exercise of sufficient per- severance. Neither let the inventor be dis- couraged if the first half dozen of manufactu- rers to whom he applies to make certain parts give prices which can not possibly be afforded. It may even become necessary to procure quite a list of manufacturers before one is found who readily adapts himself to the sit- uation. Manufacturers do not take kindly to making new things and. their workmen gener- ally understand only the routine tliey have been taught. It is not rarely a part of an inventor's task to teach such workmen in their own bus- iness ; to that end he needs to study the business till he thoroughly understands it, and having compassed that, he often needs to change the form and shape of his invention in ceitain details until it lends itself to pro- duction by well known methods and at the cheapest possible cost. If after an inventor SALE OF PATENTS. II has taken his patent he then learns for the first time what the difference between the first cost and the retail selling price is, as to most articles of manufacture, he is likely to be sur- prised — a ten cent article sometimes costing no more than a cent — but he must accept the situation and conform to it. The inventor who produces a genuine im- provement and who is also able to sell it cheaper than the thing already in the mar- ket, with which it competes, has a "sure thing." He should make that the goal of his ambition in this regard and study every difificulty he meets on the way until he surmounts it. In the case of large or costly structures, where from the nature of the improvement, the inventor can not enter upon even the begin- ning of its practical manufacture, it is yet practicable and desirable to obtain the ut- most simplicity and cheapness, and to ascer- tain how and by whom it can be made and at what cost. And alongside of this it is de- sirable to ascertain the first cost and the selling price of the things already in the mar- ket with which the new invention must com- pete. If an inventor is going to put his device 12 SUGGESTIONS ON THE upon the market at all he should not sell the first specimen until he has made it as hand- some and tasty as in him lies. Let the im- provement be not offered for sale until it is perfected. If a new device fails to please its purchaser by reason of some minor defect he thereby acquires a predjudice against it which is afterwards overcome with difficulty when again presented to him with the defect cured. And nature has so implanted the love of beau- ty in all minds that pleasing form and finish, in an article of manufacture, are distinct at- tractions to purchasers aside from the question of utility. Combine beauty with cheapness if it can be done. Let an inventor be prepared to offer to a purchaser of liis patent an im- provement all ready for the market, in efficien- cy, form and finish, a reliable knowledge how to make it, a knowledge of wliat it costs, of the profit tiiere is in it, and, if asked, a pretty full knowledge of competing things and of the extent of the market. The census reports will sometimes aid in estimating the market ; the editor of a trade paper will sometimes be able to indicate where to look. Let the inventor be able to offer to the purchaser a business ready- made to his hand. SALE OF PATENTS. I3 Employer and employee. — There is one class of inventors for whom both justice and self interest point out tlie party to whom they should first apply to purchase their inventions. They are the men who, being employed in some shop or factory, devise some patentable improvement pertaining to the business car- ried on in such shop or factory. The party to whom such an inventor should first apply is his employer. As a measure of proper pre- caution it is well for such an inventor to procure his patent before he opens negotiations but to be wholly fair he should give his employer the first chance to buy it or an interest in it. No matter who owiis an invention no one but the inventor can lawfully make applica- tion for patent for it. If a man has been hired to invent and after making the invention he refuses to make application for patent and to assign it to the owner, the inventor can be compelled to do both by process of court. An employee's inventions do not belong to his employer simply by reason of the employment in the absence of some special agreement to that effect ; but if an employee makes an in- vention in the time and with the tools and materials of his employer, nothing being said 14 SUGGESTIONS ON THE as to the ownership of the invention, a patent taken therefor belongs to the inventor but the employer owns a license to use the invention in his business ; such a license is not transfer- able and if the employer happens to be a cor- poration the license terminates if the corpora- tion comes to an end. An employer ought to be the first of all men to be ready to buy an improvement pertaining to his business made by his employee. He instantly knows its practical value and can as instantly use it. If the improvement is a real one, the inventor needs to address no argu- ments to him and to be at no expense in de- monstrating its value by manufacture and sale or otherwise. The employerwill naturally wish to acquire the invention at the lowest possible figure and the employee should be ready to meet him in a liberal and moderate spirit. Possibly most inventors need a word of cau- tion about this matter of price. No inventor of something equal to the telegraph, the tele- phone, or Bessemer steel needs to be told that he should have a fortune in return for it but as to trifling improvements or those of even moderate value let the inventor not be a Col- onel Sellers and see " millions in it." Even SALE OF PATENTS. I5 as to invention of a great deal of practical value let the inventor remember that a few thousand dollars salted down safe and sure are a mighty good thing and that the field of invention yet unworked is limitless. In dealings between an employer and em- ployee, the purchase of the patent upon a royalty ought to be a mode of negotiation capable of being made profitable and satis- factory to both parties. In cases where the employer does not own the kind of a license just referred to, and the parties cannot agree upon sale of the whole patent, an agreement can sometimes be reached by the sale of a shop right to the employer, leaving the inventor to secure additional remuneration by sales to others. Speculative purchasers. — Quitting the topic of employer and employee it would rea- sonably seem that the most legitimate market for something to be sold is among those who directly and immediately have use for it by reason of their trade, business or occupation. That is the idea acted upon by sellers of goods in general. Apply it to selling patents and the inventor would naturally look to find a purchaser among those manufacturers who l6 SUGGESTIONS ON THE can either profitably use his invention in their process of manufacture or who make and sell things of the same general nature. Nev- ertheless patents are sometimes bought by other persons ; applications are sometimes made to patent solicitors, by other persons than such manufacturers, to be directed to pat- ents which they can buy and develope with profit to themselves ; such applications come sometimes from men who have once made money out of a patent and are willing to try it again, sometimes from men who have long been clerks, book-keepers or other sorts of employees and who seek to get into business for themselves and, again, sometimes from men of a purely speculative turn of mind. The number of men who make up this class is not large, though seemingly on the increase^ and it is not a foolish thing to attempt to reach them. Such men probably consult the adver- tisements under the head of '' Business Oppor- tunities " in the Sunday editions of such papers as the Neiu York Herald and possibly ad- vertisements in the Scientific American. It is to be noted that manufacturing firms of stand" ing and reputation sometimes advertise for in- ventions suitable for their business in the SALE OF PATENTS. I7 " Business Opportunities " column. Therefore one may, if he sees fit, and not without reason, advertise his improvement for sale in such me- diums. In using these papers, to reach the speculative class, no good reason is seen for stating the nature of the improvement ; it can well be named only by the reasonable profit it promises. If however the inventor chooses to pay for having his improvement illustrated and described in the reading columns of the Scientific American he may choose to refer thereto in his advertisement ; the writer does not know enough about the results of such illustration and description to warrant him in expressing an opinion of its value in making. a sale. Extravagant pretensions in such advertise- ments are worse than useless. Sensible men may look among such advertisements for a '' good thing " but if they find millions on sale for the price of a Eong they take no stock in the proposition. A plain simple straight forward statement of what is offered for sale is likely to be more effectual than the elTusions intended to be bizarre or poetical now much in vogue among professional advertisement writers. If this mode of advertising be employed the space l8 SUGGESTIONS ON THE taken may be small but it should be persisted in moderately, not confined to a single an- nouncement. On the other hand it should not be continued to the point of incurring large expense. This kind of enterprise is not mentioned at this point as necessarily the first step to be taken. And before trying it it is well for the inventor to cast about him for such a speculative buyer among his acquain- tances and friends. If by this mode of advertising enquiries are evoked the inventor will need for answer a letter and illustration such as is described hereinafter under the head of '' Reaching the Trade by Correspondence." Personal application to the trade. — If a patentee has within his personal reach man- ufacturers who can take hold of his invention with profit to themselves it is the best of all methods, as well as the cheapest, to see them one by one, face to face, and endeavor to make a bargain. If it be undertaken let the inven- tor see and talk with the proprietor or chief manager of the business. It is generally of little use to talk to clerks, mere office men and book-keepers though the case is different as to master-mechanics and others upon whom rests SALE OF PATENTS. I9 real responsibility. If the inventor gets audi- ence with the manufacturer, master-mechanic or other person of real interest and responsi- bility in the concern, and he has a genuine im- provement to sell, perfected as herein before advised, he will find an interested listener : and he ought not in reason to run the gaunt- let of many such without effecting a sale. But let him not be discouraged at a dozen rebuffs ; he will learn something from each experience which will make him better pre- pared to deal with the next opportunity. He must expect criticisms and it may be that some of them will be of a nature to send him back to further work in moulding his device into marketable cost and shape. As to price, if it be mentioned, exhaust all reasonable endeav- ors to have the manufacturer name his own. Let the manufacturer have the option of out- right purchase, or of purchase of the whole interest on a specified royalty, or — unless there are sufficient reasons to the contrary — the purchase of a territorial right either out- right or upon a royalty. And sometimes the invention is of such a nature that a shop right pure and simple is a good thing both for the manufacturer to buy 20 SUGGESTIONS ON THE and for the patentee to sell as, for instance, in the case of a hardening or tempering com- pound or process. In all sales of rights under a patent, except a sale in some shape of the entire patent, there are certain precautions to be carefully put into the instrument of sale — treated of hereinafter under the head of *' Legal Points " — to make sure that the buyer shall not trespass outside of the limits that he buys. If the manufacturer will not name a price, and is yet willing to consider one, the inven- tor should be prepared to submit one, wholly eschewing the Colonel Sellers point of view, and with the proviso that he is still willing to consider a lower price named by the manu- facturer. Reaching the trade by correspond- ence. — Quitting the topic of personal applica- tion to the trade there yet remains a larger field to be worked among manufacturers who are out of the inventor's personal reach, man- ufacturers whose business is such that they would naturally like to possess the invention. Complete lists of manufacturers in the various trades throughout the United States, can gen- erally be procured from one source or another. SALE OF PATENTS. 3 1 There are published directories of nearly all the trades Sometimes a dealer in the trade can give information as to who publishes such a directory. Publishers of directories of any sort sometimes have a large knowledge of this kind. The editor or publisher of a trade newspaper can generally tell whether a direc- tory of his trade is to be had and who pub- lishes it ; in asking an editor or publisher that question by mail be sure to enclose stamps for an answer. To find such a trade paper go to the office of a daily newspaper and consult the newspaper directory issued by any of the large advertising agencies, and the trade paper will be found catalogued therein if it exists. Again, there are concerns in the large cities which, for a reasonable consideration furnish lists large or small of nearly all the trades in the United States, or in any particu- lar part thereof. A trade directory or list thus written up will furnish the names and ad- dresses of a great number of parties who nat- urally ought to desire to possess the invention useful to their trade. Now comes up the important question of how to approach them and what to say to them by way of correspondence. These manufac- 22 SUGGESTIONS ON THE turers are, as a rule, old and experienced men of business who have weathered storm and sun in the business world ; no wile or craft will avail with them ; an improvement in order to be sold to them must have real merit and they must be able to see that it is for their interest to buy it. It is to such an end as this that the inventor has been urged hereinbefore to per- fect his device in efficiency, cheapness, form and finish. On the other hand there is a never relenting and an ever increasing fierce- ness of competition among the manufacturers of to-day — this being the force that lies behind the creation of manufacturing syndicates, pools and trusts — and if an inventor can con- vince a manufacturer that he has that to sell which will give him a substantial advantage over his competitors, he will buy it if the price is not too high. The mode of presenting the improvement to manufacturers which is both easiest and cheapest is by means of a printed circular de- scribing and illustrating it. It is too easy and too cheap. It is too little personal. It runs great danger of being consigned to the waste- basket without serious consideration. But if a suitable letter be written, it will be read. SALE OF PATENTS. 23 Therefore the patentee must write a letter. After addressing it begin by inviting your cor- respondent's attention to your improvement as one which apparently can be made of use and profit in his business. Proceed immedi- ately with the description of the improvement and its advantages ; make that description as clear as crystal, omitting unimportant details and using no superfluous word, to the end that the letter may be as short as possible. Be forcible. Don't repeat. If the thing is not readily made by known processes and you have conquered that difficulty — as you should have done — say that if he does not see just how the thing can be cheaply made, you can give him the desired information. Say (if it be a fact) that you have informed yourself as to first cost and profit but that his acquaint- ance wMth the business renders it unnecessary for you to go into those matters. Close by saying that you hope to dispose of the inven- tion to him either outright or upon a royalty, or some interest therein, and ask an answer looking to that end. The preparation of the form for this letter which may need to be written to many differ- ent parties, first and last, is worth most care- 24 SUGGESTIONS ON THE ful Study. After the patentee has done his best, if he still feels that he has not done well, let him seek competent aid. As to most pat- ented articles an illustration to accompany such a letter is needed ; sometimes but not often some figure of the patent drawings may be reproduced for this purpose ; patent draw- ings are generally plan and elevation views not suited to this purpose. What is needed here is a picture, a perspective view ; this can be had in the form of an engraved "cut " printed on a slip of paper or a competent artist can make the drawing on tracing cloth and "blue prints" thereof can be used. The blue print paper and a small printing frame are both cheap things ; any draughtsman or amateur photographer can teach in a single lesson how to make the blue prints This letter can be sent to a number of dif- ferent manufacturers at the same time provid- ed no two of them are located near each other ; it is not desirable that they compare notes in the matter. The handwriting of this letter need not be fine but it should be clearly leg- ible ; if the inventor does not write a clear hand possibly some member of his family does; a type- written letter suits the custom of the present day best of all. SALE OF PATENTS. 25 The sending (jf this letter to one manufac- turer after another, till some favorable result comes about, should be persisted in until either the whole list is exhausted or the inventor be- comes satisfied that for some reason — and he will be apt to discover it — the improvement is not salable. Let the inventor be not dis- turbed if now and then an answer comes say- ing that the improvement is an old or aban- doned thing; if such a remark be hunted down it will prove in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred to be a mistake if not worse than that. It may happen that some manufacturer will raise the question whether the invention does not infringe some prior patent or a question as to the breadth of the claim of the patent which the inventor seeks to sell ; here the water is generally too deep for the inventor to go alone and if so, he must consult with some person versed in the law and mechanics of the matter. The infringement question can generally be bridged over in a royalty contract by provid- ing that the licensee shall have the option of terminating the license if a court of final and competent jurisdiction shall adjudge the im- provements to infringe some prior and valid patent. 26 suggestions on the Reaching the trade by advertising. — - Another mode of reaching manufacturers is by advertising it for sale in suitable trade pa- pers, using a small advertisement, in the reg- ular advertising columns, naming the improve- ment, and persisting therein moderately. In addition, it is usually feasible to have the im- provement illustrated and described in the reading columns of the paper for a considera- tion. The suitable trade papers can be ascer- tained from the newspaper directories' already mentioned issued by the large advertising agencies. Where a number of papers seem to be of the right class it is well for the inventor to procure a sample copy of each to choose therefrom which he will use. When an inventor receives an answer to such an advertisement he needs for first reply a letter (and illustration if proper) much the same as already described under the heading of " Reaching the Trade by Correspondence." Joint-stock corporations. — Many a pat- ent is sold by making it the basis of the organ- ization of a joint-stock corporation under the statute laws of some state. This proceeding has the advantage that it allows, if desired, a large number of persons to become interested SALE OF PATENTS. 27 in the enterprise, each venturing more or less as he sees fit — the par value of shares being generally $ioo each — and it has the further advantage that each party interested has no liability beyond the shares for which he sub- scribes. It is a common fault in these enter- prises that the capital stock is made too large and that not enough of actual cash is paid in. When a patentee's invention is of undoubt- ed merit and he can find a few persons, more or less, who will put in capital enough to es- tablish the manufacture, it is well enough that the capital stock be no larger than double the amount of cash paid in, the half which is not in cash being paid for by the patent. Then, if no salaries are paid to officers of the corpo- ration until the earnings of the business war- rant it, (and afterward only such as are war- ranted by the earnings and by the services actually rendered) and all hands pull together for success, the enterprise is likely to prove profitable to all concerned. Far too often the capital stock is put up into high figures, little or no cash is paid in, and thus handicapped, many a meritorious invention has been con- signed to inaction and practical oblivion. Royal roads to w^ealth are as scarce as royal 28 SUGGESTIONS ON THE roads to learning and when one is found there is almost always found with it a pack of fools to cast up the highway. One or more men of means can sometimes be found to promote such a joinc-stock enter- prise by the gift, as a bonus, of some part of the stock allotted to the patentee for his in- vention, the consideration being that they will subscribe for other stock and will secure sub- scribers for the remainder of the stock ; such an arrangement is usually kept confidential between the parties thereto but it will not answer for the patentee to tell an untruth about it to some person to induce him to sub- scribe for stock ; for if A, a patentee, gives such a bonus to B in order to get B into the enterprise and then, by actual deception practiced upon C with reference thereto, C is induced to subscribe, and then C suffers loss in the enterprise, a court would be apt to say that C was induced to subscribe by means that were fraudulent. The organization of such a joint-stock cor- poration, and compliance with statutory re- quirements thereafter should be under the ad- vice of competent legal counsel ; otherwise personal liability is sure to attach to all con- cerned in the enterprise. SALE OF PATENTS. 29 Price of pariial rights. — When a pat- entee has decided what price he will accept for his entire patent, he readily has a basis for determining the price of a lesser territorial right. He should ask three or four times as much for a single state, judged by the number of its people, than he would in selling all the states together. And a single county should sell alone for twice as much as when com- bined with all its fellow counties in the state. The same idea should govern in determining the price of a shop-right or of any other kind of a partial right. If, however, the patent is for device or process used in manufacturing, then the right for a non-manufacturing state, such as are some of the southern states, is worth just what it will sell for and no more, no matter how small that sum may be. Traveling salesmen of patents — The remarks under this head have more of curious than practical interest. The race is dying out but specimens are still to be met occasion- ally and a genuine specimen is an interesting fellow. As they always own the patents under which they operate no one is likely to be able to employ them. They seem to fairly *' hyp- notize " their purchasers. They will sell a 30 SUGGESTIONS ON THE county right, under a patent for a window fastener, to a butcher, and under a churn, to a tailor. The patent they sell always pertains to something of wide consumption by the common people ; it is a patent for a fence, a churn, a window fastener, a pie-plate or a boot-jack. They have no use for patents on fire-arms, railway ties or Bessemer converters. Sometimes, though not often, they operate in the smaller cities but the country village or a farming community is their favorite stamping ground. They come to towai and stop at the tavern. They tell the inn-keeper all about their inven- tion, their intention to sell rights and their success elsewhere. If there is a local person- age likely to be of use to them, they hunt him up and enlist his services — for a considera- tion. They find out about pretty much every- body in town, their business, their means and whether their temper is speculative or other- wise. These traveling salesmen of patents always have finely finished models or ma- chines, embodying the invention, handsome to look at ; such a thing they set up either in the tavern bar-room, or in front of the inn or in the village store ; they hang on it a bunch of SALE OF PATENTS. 31 descriptive and illustrated circulars, each bear- ing the invitation to *' Take One." They never weary in talking about the invention and in explaining it, even to women and boys. If it is a thing that admits of an exhibition they give one or more and see that the whole neighborhood is invited. If the locality boasts of a newspaper the editor is made to under- stand and appreciate the invention and his paper describes it fully and favorably. When a man bites at the bait they keep that matter wholly secret till a sale is made ; they do not care to have conservative neighbors advise with the man who is thinking of buy- ing, and when a sale is made the whole thing is over before the neighbors know anything about it. After the sale the patent-right man changes his whole tune about secrecy ; then he tells everybody and is sometimes able to make three or four other sales upon the strength of the first ; he knows that men fol- low one another in such a matter, as sheep fol- low their leader over a wall. In making a sale, these patent-right men in- sist upon some cash or good promissory notes but for the balance they will take a mountain pasture or a yearling bull. They sell all the 32 SUGGESTIONS ON THE things that they take in exchange at some price before they leave town but are not averse to driving away with a good horse and buggy. These gentlemen care as little about the strength of the claims of their patents as does a circus clown about the presence of nitter in his songs. They want something to sell which is a marvel to the eye and the common sense of plain people. They know that the ques- tions of claims and infringements are Greek to the people with whom they have to deal and if, by chance, they run against a patent solicitor they muzzle him with a "retainer." They have as keen a nose for that man in a crowd who might buy a right as a pointer has for a partridge. They have all the peculiar ability which goes to make up a good insur- ance or book agent and an added shrewdness which is a small fortune in itself. The man- ner of their creation is as little understandable as that of a comet. If a patentee sees fit to undertake this sort of thing he should always have on hand two or three certified copies of his patent (to be had by paying for them, from the Patent Ofifice) for delivery to purchasers and he should arrange with some banker or other SALE OF PATENTS. 33 person of known business standing, to vouch by letter or telegraph for the integrity and character of the patentee. When a purchaser of a right wants to make sure of his title, the purchase money can be deposited with a bank, there to remain for three months after the purchase, before delivery to the patentee, for the holder of any prior conveyance must re- cord it within three months to defeat a later conveyance. 34 SUGGESTIONS ON THE PART II. LEGAL POINTS. The U. S. Conveyancing Statute is : "Sec. Every patent or any interest therein shall be assignable in law by an instrument in writing ; and the patentee or his assigns or legal representatives may, in like manner, grant and convey an exclusive right under his pat- ent to the whole or any specified part of the United States. An assignment, grant, or con- veyance shall be void as against any subsequent purchaser or morgagee for a valuable consid- eration, without notice, unless it is recorded in the Patent Office within three months from the date thereof." This section mentions di- rectly two kinds of conveyance under a patent^ ** assignment " and " grant ; " and it indirectly mentions a "mortgage " by its use of the word '* mortgagee." There is a fourth kind of con- veyance, a " license," which is a creature of the common law. As a matter of course, pat- ents are also proper subject-matter for con- tracts of various sorts, the same as other kinds of property. SALE OF PATENTS. 35 An assignment has been defined by the Supreme Court, in defining an assignee, thus : " An assignee is one who holds, by a valid assignment in writing, the whole interest of a patent, or any undivided part of such whole interest, throughout the United States."^ An ^'instrument in writing" may be wholly in print as to the body thereof, but the signature must be in writing. A patentee might convey to another person the exclusive and irrevoc- able right to make and use and vend the pat- ented thing throughout the whole United States, until the expiration of the patent, and that conveyance might not be an assignment, for the patentee might still hold the right to sue for infringement, to reissue, and to dis- claim. An assignment must cover every right in a patent.^ It does not need to be sealed, even by a corporation f neither does it need to be witnessed or acknowledged. " Inven- tions may be assigned before they are patent- ed."* Such assignments vest the title in the assignee, though the patent may issue in the name of the assignor.^ An assignment of a patent carries with it all reissues of such pat- ent f but not an extended term thereof, unless it contains apt words to that effect. To assign 36 SUGGESTIONS ON THE a patent for the " term for which the said let- ters patent are or may be granted " has been held sufficient/ A contract to assign future inventions in a given field is one that courts will enforce.^ When patent owners assign cer- tain patents " together with the right to modi- fications, improvements, or reissues thereof, and all other and similar patents in the United States which may be issued to us or any of us, directly or indirectly, in aid of the improve- ments above specified," such assignment does not cover subsequently invented improve- ments not covered by the claims of any of the existing patents specified in such assignment.^ One of two administrators on an estate may make a valid assignment of the patent of the deceased.^*^ A conveyance by a person of '* all his property and estate, whatsoever and where- soever, of every kind and description," includes patents he mayown/^ "An assignment of an imperfect invention, with all the improve- ments upon it that the inventor may make, is equivalent in equity to an assignment of the perfected results."^^ It has been held by circuit courts that a trustee appointed by a court for that purpose cannot make a valid assignment of the patent-right of another ;^* SALE OF PATENTS. 37 it has been held by other courts that it can be done •/* and the Supreme Court, having one of these latter cases before it said : "The clause of the decree below appointing a trustee to execute an assignment if the patentee should not himself execute one as directed by the decree, has not been objected to in argu- ment, and was clearly within the chancery powers of the court as defined in the statutes, "^^ thus declining to pass on the question until squarely before it. On motion a court (in New York) may compel a judgment debtor to execute the order of his receiver and make an assignment of his patent.^*^ That a receiver can convey a mere equitable title in a patent is hardly open to question/^ An assignee under the national bankrupt act (Revised Statutes, Sec. 5046) acquired a title to the bankrupt's patents without any assignment by the bankrupt.^^ An assignment made upon the consideration of the payment of an an- nuity cannot be revoked by the assignor be- cause the annuity is not paid.-^^ As between an assignor and an assignee an oral assign- ment is good.^'' The execution of an assign- ment by a person who signs his name with the addition of " President " conveys his own pat- 38 SUGGESTIONS ON THE ent and not that of a company. ^^ An assign- ment of a patent not specially mentioned in the assignment conveys an equitable tide only.^^ The mere assignment of a patent does not carry past damages or profits for infringe- ment.^^ In a state where, as in the state of New York, married women have full control of their own property, a married woman may make an assignment without joining her hus- band.^* A conveyance which does not iden- tify a patent or an application for a patent or an invention conveys merely an equitable, in distinction from a legal title. ( Wright v. Randel^ 19 Blach., 495 ; Engine Co.\. Engine Co., 58 O G., 1695.) A GRANT has been defined by a judge, in defining a grantee, thus : '' A grantee is one who has had transferred to him, in writing, the exclusive right under the patent, to make and use, and to grant to others to make and use, the thing patented, within and throughout some specified part or portion of the United States. Such right must be an exclusive sec- tional right, excluding the patentee there- from."^^ A grant must convey every right under a patent for some specified territory less .than the whole. Excluding definitions, every- SALE OF PATENTS. 39 thing which has just been said with reference to assignments is equally true of grants. A MORTGAGE OF A PATENT is recognized by- section 4898 of the Revised Statutes. As it conveys no larger interest than an assignment, it cannot, on principle, and so far as federal laws and federal courts are concerned, require either sealing, witnessing, or acknowledge- ment, for an assignment or grant requires neither, but as a suit to foreclose such a mort- gage is an action on contract and not a " case * * arising under the patent right * * laws of the United States," it may be brought in a state court, and must be brought there unless the diverse citizenship of the parties gives a federal court jurisdiction. For this reason, the formalities that state laws require as to mortgages should be observed. It will be prudent to provide in the mortgage for legal service on the mortgagor (in case of fore- closure) not requiring personal service. A LICENSE is a right to make or vend or use (one, two, or all three) a patented thing, not amounting to an assignment or grant. A license may be irrevocable, it may be exclu- sive, it may cover the whole United States, it may extend till the expiration of the patent. 40 SUGGESTIONS ON THE and still be only a license, for it may do all these things and yet leave the right to sue for infringement, the right to reissue the patent, and the right to disclaim under it in the pat- ent owner. It need not be in writing,^^ and it need not be recorded.^^ A license is not trans- ferable by the licensee, unless the license ex- pressly, or by sufficient implication, makes it so.^'^ "The instrument of license is not one which will carry the right conferred to any one but the licensee personally, unless there are express words to show an intent to extend the right to an executor, administrator, or as- signee, voluntary or involuntary."^^ When a license contains no time limit and no expressed right of revocation it is irrevocable unless by some fault of the parties. ^^ Where a license acknowledges the validity of the patent, the licensee is estopped from denying that valid- ity f^ but in the absence of such an acknowl- edgement the licensee is not thus estopped.^^ A licensee can be sued as an infringer if his acts are not within the license and are such as would make a stranger to the license an in- fringer.^^ A licenser cannot abrogate a license which the licensee stands to, and sue the li- censee as an infringer. If a license expressly SALE OF PATENTS. 41 States that a breach of condition shall work a forfeiture of the license that result will follow such breach, but otherwise the forfeiture must be decreed by a court,^^ and a bill in equity will lie to declare such forfeiture ^* It has been held that one of joint owners under a patent may grant a license thereunder,*^ but that proposition cannot betaken as fully es- tablished. '' A recovery (against an infringer) does not vest the infringer with the right to continue the use, as the consequence of it may be an injunction restraining the defendant from the further use of it."^^ He who acquires the right to the use of a certain machine takes the right to repair it and to replace parts there- of, but not to wholly replace such machines- Assignees and grantees under patents take their interests subject to all existing licenses.^* In the case of a revocable license an assign- ment of the patent works the revocation. ^^ Recording. — The last clause of Sec. 4898 of the Revised Statutes is : " An assignment, grant, or conveyance shall be void as against any subsequent purchaser or mortgagee for a valuable consideration, without notice, unless it is recorded in the Patent Office within three months from the date thereof." The only con- 42 SUGGESTIO^S ON THE veyances under a patent that the hiw requires to be recorded at all are assignments, grants, and (by indirect mention) mortgages. The law does not require a license to be recorded, and a record thereof is not, therefore, con- structive woXio.^ to any one of its existence ;*^ but as a record thereof is quite likely to bring home actual wolxdQ to an intending purchaser of the patent, such recording may servea very useful purpose. - Unrecorded assignments, grants, and mortgages, are perfectly good be- tween the parties thereto, and also against all who have actual notice thereof, but, unless recorded " within three months from the date thereof," (and this means the actual date of execution,) they are not good " against any sub- sequent purchaser or mortgagee for a valuable consideration without notice.*^ The convey- ance of a right to sue for damages after a pat- ent has expired need not be recorded.*^ The title of a bankrupt's assignee under Sec. 5046 of the Revised Statutes did not need to be re- corded.*^ Warranty. — If the maker of any kind of conveyance under a patent expressly warrants his title, such maker is, of course, bound to make the warranty good. Equally as a mat- SALE OF PATENTS. 43 ter of course, if such maker expressly states in the conveyance that he only conveys such title as he has, he does not warrant his title. But if a conveyance recites and specifies a certain interest in a patent as being conveyed, then, on principle, the maker ought to be held to convey that interest although the conveyance contains no specific warranty of title. " Who- ever assumes to sell a patent assumes to sell that property, and assumes that he had it to sell."** Undivided interests in patents. — The relative rights of owners of undivided interests in the same patent are those of tenants in com- mon. Either can sell his interest without con- sulting tlie other. Either can use the patent without consulting the other or making to the other any contribution of his profits. Of course, neither can grant an exclusive license under the patent ;*^ but it has been held that either can alone grant a license that is not exclusive.*^ In commenting on this question a learned judge said : '^ None of the parties interested has any right to control the action of the other parties, or to exercise any supervision over them. It is difficult to see how an equitable right of contribution can exist among any of 44 SUGGESTIONS ON THE them, unless it includes all the parties inter- ested, and extends through the whole term of the patent right. And if there be a claim for contribution of profits, there should also be a correlative claim for losses, and an obh"gation upon each party to use due diliigence in mak- ing his interest profitable. It is not and can- not be contended that these parties are co- partners ; but the idea of mutual contribution for profits and losses would require even more than copartnership.'"*^ Nevertheless the majority of owners of un- divided interests in patents desire that the entire patent shall be managed as one inter- est ; and forms of assignment to tliat effect are given in Part 111. Territorial interests in patents. — Where different parties own different territo- rial interests under the same patent their rela- tive rights and liabilities are a matter of im- portance. The grantee of an exclusive right to make and use and vend a patented machifie has the right to vend the products of such ma- chine in or out of the territory covered by the grant.^^ In one case, where the patent in question was for a coffin lid, A owned the ter- ritory which included Boston, and B owned SALE OF PATENTS. 45 the territory which included Natick; one Burke bought one of the coffin lids in Boston and used it in Natick ; B sued Burke as an infring- er. The Supreme Court said that the precise point in issue had never been decided before by that court, and that the vast pecuniary results involved admonished that court to proceed with care, " and to decide in each case no more than what is directly in issue." The court held that as regards the kind of patented improvement in question, "an instrument or product of patented manufacture which per- ishes in the first use of it, or which, by that first use, becomes incapable of further use, and of no further value," one who, like Burke, had purchased it of the grantee and used it out- side of the grant, was not an infringer/* La- ter a circuit court decided that when A owns certain territory under a patent and B owns other territory the same patent, then if A sells the patented thing, contracting to deliver it in the territory of B, A is an infiinger of the right of B, but if A sells the patented thing in the ordinary course of trade to C, knowing that C will take it into the territory of B, then neither A nor C is an infringer of the rights of B.^*^ In Part III there are given forms for the 46 SUGGESTIONS ON THE conveyance of territorial rights intended to guard the interests of the different territorial owners. Royalty conuract. — He who purchases an interest in a patent, upon royalty, without directly agreeing to prosecute the business to which the patent refers, enters into an implied contract to do so.^^ Where one party uses the patent of another, under promise to pay for the same, but the specific sum is not agreed upon '' the law will imply a reasonable price. "^^ State restrictive laws. — All state laws which place any unusual restrictions upon patents or prescribe any extraordinary form- alities connected with the sale thereof are void and that clearly so,^^but rights exercised under patents are subject to the ordinary police laws of the state. ^ A state cannot exempt coun- ties or other municipal corporations for liabil- ities for infringement of patents.^^ Equity procedure in suing on patents is not to be re- stricted by state laws " the equity jurisdiction of the courts of the United States is subject to neither limitation nor restraint by the state authorities."^^ {\) Moored. Marshy 7 Wall., 515, (2) GaylevN. Wilder^ 10 How., 477. (3) Gottfried N. Miller, 104 U. S., 521. (4) Cam- SALE OF PATENTS. 47 meyer v. N'eivton, 94U. S., 225. (5) Gayler v. ?f^//^^r, 10 How., 477. {(i) Little field y. Fer- ry ^ 21 Wall., 205. (7) Thayer v. Wales, 5 Fish. P. C, 448. (8) Nesmith y. Calvert, i W. & M., 34. (9) Stebbins Co., v. Stebbins, 4 Fed. Rep., 445. (10) Wintermute v. Redmg- ton, I Fish. P. C, 239. (11) i?. i?. C^. v. Trimble. 10 Wall., 367. (12) Lit tie field v. Ferry, 21 Wall., 205. (13) Ashcrofit v. J^i^<^/- ■worth, I Holmes, 152 ; Gordon v. Anthony, 16 Blatch., 234. (14) Murray v, Ager, 1 Mac- key, 87 ; Wilson v. T^/r^ Alarm Co., 52 O. G. 901. (15) ^^^r V. Murray, 105 U. S., 126. {16) CA??z i?^;/^/^ V. Wyckoff, 41 N. Y. Sup., 527. (17) Adams \. LLoivard, 23 Blatch., 27. (18) PrinuN. Brandon Co , 16 Blatch., 453 ; Kittle \. LLall, 29 Fed. Rep., 508. (19) Llarts- /lornY. Day, 19 How., 211. (20) Burke v. Partridge, 58 N. H., 349. (21) Campbell v. James, 17 Blatch., 42. (22) WrightN. Randel, 19 Blatch., 495. (23) Merria?n v. Smith, 11 Fed. Rep., 588. (24) Fetter v. Newhall, 21 Blatch. ,445. (25) Fotter v. LLolland, 4 Blatch., 206. (26) Chambers v. Smith, 5 Fish. P. C, 12. (27) Z/'^jK Factory v. Corning, 14 How,, 193. (28) Oliver v. Chemical Works, 109 U. ^•j 75- (29) X^/Zy V. Forter, 8 Saw., 482. 48 SUGGESTIONS ON THE (30) Washburn &: Moen Co. n Fence Co.., 22 Fed. Rep., 712. (31) Burr Y.Duryee, 2 Fish. P. C, 275. (32) Goodyear v. Rubber Co.^ 2 Cliff., 351 ; Ruffle Co. v. Elm CUy Co.^ 13 Blatch., 151. {2>?>) kartell v. Tilghmann, 99 U. S., 547. (34) Adams v. Meyrose, 10 Fed. Rep., 671. (35) Dunham v. R. R. Co., 7 Biss., 223. {z^i) Suffolk Co. V. Hay den, 3 Wall, 315. (37) Wilson V. Simpson, 9 How,, 109. (38) McClurg V. Kingsland, i How., 202. (39) Faulks V. Kamp, 3 Fed. Rep., 898 ; Shaw v. Colwell Lead Co., 11 Fed. Rep., 711. (40) IVright Y.Ra?jdel, 19 Blatch., 495. {j\i) Brooks V. By am, 2 Story, 525 ; Ferry v. Corning, 7 Blatch., 195. (42) Gear v. Fitch^ 3. B. & A., 573- (43) Frime v. Brandon Co., 16 Blatch., 453. (44) Faulks w. Kamp, 3 Fed. Rep., 898. (45) Pitts V. ZT^//, 3 Blatch., 201. (46) Clum V. Brewer, 2 Curtiss C. C, 506. (47) Vese v. Singer, 4 Allen, 226. (48) Simpson v. ^/Z- son, 4 How., 709. (49) Adams v. Burke, 17 Wall., 453. (50) Hobble v. Smith, 27 Fed Rep., 656. (51) Wilson V. Martow, 66 111., 385. (52) Milligan v. J/^. O.. 21 Fed Rep , 570. (53) Readv. Miller, 2 Bliss., 12. {54) Fatter- son V. ^., 97 U. S., 501. (55) May v. O?/;?- tyo/Ralls,si Fed Rep., 473. (56) Tel. Co. V. N. v., 31 Fed. Rep., 312. SALE OF PATENTS. PART III. 49 FORMS. In all these forms the words in italics denote the words that are variable for different patents, places, parties, etc. And further. Each form runs from " John J. Doe of Ha7tford\ Connecticut" to ''' Richard J. Roe of New Haven, Connecticut.'''' To make desired variations in any form observe this note : Note. — If either party consists of a plurality of per- sons it may be written like this: ^^ Allen B. Smith of Hartford, Connecticut and 7 horn as B. Jones of New Haven, Connecticut :" in such case change the termi- nation of the proper verbs to the plural. If either party be a joint stock corporation it may be written like this : " The Smith Manufacturing Company, a joint stock corporation f 01 med under the laws of the State of Con- necticut and located at Hartford in that state." ASSIGNMENT OF LETTERS-PATENT. (Entire Interest, before Issue by Inventor.) BE IT KNOWN that John J. Doe of Hartford, Connecticut^ for the consideration of One Hundred dol- lars, receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, hereby assigns to Richard J. Roe of New Haven, Connecticut^ the invention in Plows set forth in the application by assignor for letters-patent of the United States of Amer- ica, wherein the oath is dated the 4th day oi fuly, 1892, 50 SUGGESTIONS ON THE with all rights secured by said patent when issued : and the Commissioner of Patents is authorized and request- ed to issue said patent to said assignee . Said assignor , also acting for the heirs, executors, and administrator of said assignor , covenants, promises, and agrees to and with said assignee , and the heirs successors and as- signs of said assignee, that whenever the legal coun- sel of said assignee , or of said heirs, successors, or as- signs, advises that any reissue of said patent is lawful and desirable, then said assignor will sign all papers take all lawful oaths, and do all acts necessary or con- venient for the procurement of such reissue, the same to be free of all expense to said assignor . Said assignor » acting also for the heirs, executors, and administrators of said assignor , covenants with said assignee , and with the heirs, successors and assigns of said assignee , that the interest and property hereby conveyed are free from all prior assignment, grant, mortgage, license, and every other incumbrance. Dated February ist, i8gj. John J. Doe. Witness : William W. Smith, Charles S. Jones, ASSIGNMENT OF LETTERS-PATENT. (Undivided Interest, before Issue by Inventor.) BE IT KNOWN that John J. Doe of Hartford, Connecticut, for the consideration of One Hundred dol- lars, receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, hereby assigns — upon the condition hereinafter expressed — to SALE OF PATENTS. 5 1 Richard J. Roe of New Haven Connecticut^ one undi- vided half oi the invention in Plows set forth in the ap- plication by assignor for letters-patent of the United States of America, wherein the oath is dated the 4th day of Jul}\ 1892, with the same part of all rights secured by said patent when issued ; and the Commissioner of Patents is authorized and requested to issue said patent to said assignor and said assignee jointly. Said con- dition is made binding upon said assignor, and upon the heirs, successors, executors, administrators, and assigns of said assignor ,by the signing of this instrum.ent ; it is made binding upon said assignee , and upon the heirs, successors, executors, administrators, and assigns of said assignee , by the acceptance of this instrument ; and it is as follows : — no license shall or can be made under said patent other than by all the owners thereof joined in a writing ; and no use shall or can be made of the improvement covered by said patent by any own- er of an interest in said patent without the written con- sent of all the other owners of interests in said patent. Said sssignor . acting also for the heirs, executors, and administrators of said assignor , covenants with said assignee, and with the heirs, successors, and assigns of said assignee , that the interest and property hereby conveyed are free from all prior assignment, grants mortgage, license, and overy other incumbrance. Dated Febi uaty ist, i8g3. fohn J. Doe, Witness : William TT: Smith, Charles S. fanes. 52 SUGGESTIONS ON THE ASSIGNMENT OF LETTERS-PATENT. (Entire Interest, after Issue, by Inventor.) BE IT KNOWN that John J. Doe of Hartford, Connecticut, for the consideration of One Hundred dol- lai's, receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, hei-eby assigns to Richard J. Roe of New Haven^ Connecticut, the invention in Plows patented to said assignor in and by letters-patent of the United States of America, No. 100,000 dated the 4th day oi July, 189^, with all the rights secured by said patent. Said assignor , acting also for the heirs, executors, and administrators of said assignor , promises and agrees to and with said as- signee , and with the heirs, successors, and assigns of said assignee , that whenever the legal counsel of said assignee ,or of said last mentioned successors or assigns advises that any reissue of said patent is lawful and desirable, then said assignor will sign all papers, take all lawful oaths, and do all acts necessary or convenient for the procurement of such reissue, the same to be free of expense to said assignor . Said assignor acting also for the heirs, executors, and administrators of said as- signor , covenants with said assignee , and with the heirs, successors, and assigns of said assignee , that the interest and property hereby conveyed are free from all prior assignment, grant, mortgage, license, and every other incumbrance. Dated February ist, 18^3. John J. Doe. Witness : William W. Smith, Charles S. Jones. SALE OF PATENTS. 53 ASSIGNMENT OF LETTERS-PATENT. (Undivided Interest, after Issue.) BE IT KNOWN that John J. Doe of Hartford, Connecticut, for the consideration of One Uundred dol- lars, receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, hereby assigns — upon the condition hereinafter expressed — to Richard J. Roe of New Haven, Connecticut^ one undi- vided half oi the invention in Plows patented io Henry H. Robinson, in and by letters-patent of the United States of America, No. 200,000, dated the 4th day of y«/j/, i8g2, with the same parts of all rights secured by said patent. Said condition is made binding upon said assignor , and upon the heirs, successors, executors, ad- ministrators, and assigns of said assignor, by the signing of this instrument ; it is made binding upon said as- signee , and upon the heirs, successors, executors, ad- ministrators, and assigns of said assignee , by the ac- ceptance of this instrument ; and it is as follows :^no license shall or can be made under said patent other than by all the owners thereof joined in a writing ; and no use shall or can be made of the improvement cov- ered by said patent by any owner of an interest in said patent without the written consent of all the other own- ers of interests in said patent. Said assignor , acting also for the heirs, executors, and administrators of said assignor , covenants with said assignee , and with the heirs, successors, and assigns of said assignee , that the interest and property hereby conveyed are free from all prior assignment, grant, mortgage, license, and every other incumbrance. Dated February ist, i8gj. John J. Doe. Witness: William IV. Smith, Charles S. Jones. 54 SUGGESTIONS ON THE ASSIGNMENT OF LETTERS-PATENT. (After Issue, in General.) BE IT KNOWN that John J. Doe of Hartford, Connecticut, for the consideration of One Hundred dol- lars, receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, hereby assigns to Richard J. Roe of New Haven, Connecticut, interest as follows in the invention in /'/cwj patented to Henry H. Robinson^ in and by letters-patent of the United States of America, No. 200,000, dated the 4tk day oi July, j8g2,w\\.\i the same interest in said patent and in all rights secured by said patent, said interest in said invention, and in said patent, and in all rights secured by said patent being three undivided fourths of the same. Said assignor, acting also for the heirs, ex- ecutors, and administrators of said assignor , covenants with said assignee , and with the heirs, successors, and assigns of said assignee , that the interest and property hereby conveyed are free from aU prior assignment, grant, mortgage, license, and every other incumbrance. Dated February Jst^ iSgj. John J. Doe. Witness: William IV. Smith, Charles S. Jones. (When such an assignment as this is given the differ- ent owners have ordinary undivided interests and may operate independently of each other.) GRANT UNDER LETTERS-PATENT. BE IT KNOWN that John J. Doe of Hartford, Connecticut, for the consideration of One Hundred do\- lars, receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, hereby SALE OF PATENTS. 55 assigns and giants — subject to the condition hereinafter expressed — to Richard J. Roe of Ntw Haven, Connecti- cut^ the entire interest and ownership in the invention in Flows patented to Henry H. Robinson, in and by letters-patent of the United Slates of America, No. 200,000, dated the 4tk day oijuly, 189^, with the entire interest and ownership in and to all the rights secured by said patent, within and throughout the territory de- scribed as follows — and in no other place — to wit : The State of Connecticut. Said condition is that no person or party deriving right through or under this grant has any right or power to practice any art, process, or meth- od patented by said patent outside of said described territory, or to knowingly part with anything patented in and by said patent to be carried outside said de- scribed territory ; and any person or party deriving right through or under this grant, who does either of the acts thus above forbidden, or who after due information, parts with such patented thing to a person or party who has once carried such patented thing outside said de^ scribed, territory, thereby forfeits to said grantor and to the heirs, successors, and assigns of said grantor , his, its, or their entiie right, interest, and license in, to, and under said patent. Said grantor, acting also for the heirs, successors, executors, administrators of said gran- tor , covenants with the said grantee , and with the heirs, successors, and assigns of said grantee , that the interest and property hereby conveyed are free from all prior assignment, grant, mortgage, license, and every other incumbrance. Dated February ist, iSgj. John J. Doe. Witness : Willi im W. Smith, Charles S. Jones. 56 SUGGESTIONS ON THE EXCLUSIVE TERRITORIAL LICENSE UNDER LETTERS-PATENT. BE IT KNOWN that John J. Doe of Hartford, Connecticut, for the consideration of One Hundred dol- lars, receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, hereby conveys the exclusive right and license — subject to the conditions hereinafter expressed — to Richard J. Roe of New Haven, Connecticut, to practice, make, use and vend the improvement in Plows patented to Heniy H. Robinson, in and by letters-patent of the United States of America, No. 200,000, dated the 4th day of July, i8g2, until the expiration of said patent, within and throughout the territory described as follows — and in no other place — to wit : The State cf Connecticut. Said condition is that said licensee shall not part with any article made under this license without having afHxed thereto the word " Patented " with the date of said patent and the words '• Licensed for use only in " with a specific mention of the territory covered by this license, (except that if it be impracticable to make such affixes directly to the article they may be upon a box, package, or wrapper containing the article :) and if said licensee fails to comply in full with the above pro- vision, or if said licensee , after due information, parts with such a patented article to a person or party who has once carried or permitted to be carried, such a pat- ented article outside the territory covered by this li- cense, said licensee shall thereby forfeit this license, and all right under it to said licenser and to the heirs, successors, and assigns of said licenser . Said licenser , acting also for the heirs, successors, executors, and administrators of said licenser , covenants with said SALE OF PATENTS. 57 licensee that the interest and property hereby con- veyed are free from all prior assignment, grant, mort- gage, license, and every other incumbrance. Dated February ist, iS