Smith v. Magic City Kennel Club, Inc., 282 U.S. 784 (1931)

Please note: this case begins in mid-page. It therefore shares a citation with the last page of the previous case. If you are attempting to follow a link to the last page of 282 U.S. 765, click here.

Smith v. Magic City Kennel Club, Inc.

No. 77

Argued January 28, 1931
Decided February 25, 1931
282 U.S. 784

CERTIORARI TO THE CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT

Syllabus

1. Patent No. 1,379,224 (Claims 1 and 2), granted to Owen P. Smith, for improvements in devices for dog races, which calls for a lure-carrying arm, attached or hinged to a conveyor car, and equipped with a wheel at its outer end for ground support, is narrowly limited, and does not cover a rigid horizontal lure-carrying arm without ground support. P. 787.

2. Where an applicant for a patent to cover a new combination is compelled by the rejection of his application by the Patent Office to narrow his claim by the introduction of a new element, he cannot, after the issue of the patent, broaden his claim by dropping that element. P. 789.

3. Where a patentee has narrowed his claim in order to escape rejection, he may not, by resort to the doctrine of equivalents, give to the claim the larger scope which it might have had without the amendments which amount to disclaimer. P. 790.

4. Patent No. 1,507,440, to Owen P. Smith, which relates to the form and supports of a casing used to house the tracks upon which runs the car conveying the lure-carrying arm in dog races, is held void for want of novelty and invention. P. 791.

38 F.2d 170 affirmed.

Certiorari, 281 U.S. 714, to review a decision which reversed a decree of the district court upholding the petitioner’s patent in an infringement suit.