August 20, 1930
INDUSTRIAL
AND ENGINEERING
The Barrett Co. Wins Suit from the Selden Co. ABSTRACTED BY RAY BELMONT WHITMAN
Patent Attorney, 230 Parle Ave., New York, N. V. The United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the third dis trict has recently handed down a decision in favor of The Barrett Co. for validity of patent No. 1,604,739 owned by The Barrett Co. for infringement by The Selden Co., thus affirming the de cision in the district court for the Western District of Pennsyl vania. The patent covers "an apparatus for promoting catalytic reac tions," and was issued to Charles R. Downs on October 26,1ί>26. Its main object is to keep under control the temperatures of cata lytic reactions, such as the creation of phthalic anhydride by the partial oxidation of naphthalene in the presence of a catalyst. The converter is similar in shape to the ordinary steam boiler. Prom the bottom of an entrance chamber for the materials of the reaction, at the top of the vessel, to the top of the cone-shaped bottom, a large number of 0.75 inch square tubes are placed, the tubes being open at top and bottom. At die lower end a wire screen is placed, its function being to hold a catalyst which is placed in, but only partially fills, the tubes. Each of these tubes is separated from its immediate neighbors by a very sioall space. Surrounding them, to a height just a little greater ttian that of the catalyst, is a bath of mercury, or similar liquid. Con nected with the boiler-shaped part of the device is an air-pressure system by which the normal atmospheric pressure upon trae mer cury may be either raised or lowered, thus enabling the normal boiling point of the surrounding liquid to be raised or lowered. A reflux condenser also is attached to the boiler part of the device. An external heater has been provided to heat the liquid to the reactive temperature at the start of the operation. The thirty-one claims of the patent may be divided into four groups: First, those broad claims which set out a two-phase liquid vapor system for regulating the temperature in a catalytic chamber, and which do not specify the liquid to be used or any means for varying its boiling point by pressure or vacutmi; second, those claims which include, in addition to the features just mentioned, a change in the normal boiling point of the liquid by means of pressure upon the liquid; third, those which specify mercury as the liquid to be used; and fourth, that one daim which sets forth a specific proportion between the cubic bulls of the catalyst and the surface of the surrounding liquid. It will be noted also that some of the claims set forth means for condensing the vapor from the boiling liquid and returning it so condensed to the body of the boiling liquid, while other claims do not assert the use of such means. The converters built by the defendant, The Selden Co., were in accordance with plans by an ex-employee of The Barrett Co., who had obtained the information from his former employer "but under the mistaken understanding that no patent application was to be filed on that company's converter. The defendant submitted as an anticipation of this patent the Conover Patent No. 1,324,443, an article in a book by Franz Wilhelm Henle, and the French Patent No. 520,464. But the court held that none of these were in fact true anticipations and that the claims were valid and infringed. The defendant then petitioned for a rehearing, but this the court denied. The decision was then appealed to the Circuit Court of Appeals, which confirmed the lower court in holding the patent valid and infringed. The great practical importance of this invention is shown by the fact that the converter used by the defendant before i t began the infringement produced 70-75 pounds of phthalic acid per day per converter, whereas with the infringing converter it pro duced 750-800 pounds of greatly improved quality.
Interesting Chemical Patent Dedicated to Public Involved in Suit ABSTRACTED BY RAY BELMONT WHITMAN
Patent Attorney, 230 Park Ave., New York, Ν . Υ . A patent~infringement suit recently tried in the district court, western district of New York by The Selden Co. against The National Aniline & Chemical Co., Inc., was decided against the former, the court holding that The Selden Co. did not obtain legal or equitable title to the patent in suit, because of its prior dedication by the inventors to the public. The suit was brought for infringement of patent No. 1,285,117 issued November 19, 1918, jointly to Harry D. Gibhs and Courtney Conover and reissue patent No. 15,520 issued solely to Conover, dated January 9, 1923.
CHEMISTRY
13
The first patent covers a process for making phthalic anhydride, phthalic acid, benzoic acid, and naphthaquinones now used in a variety of industries—notably for the manufacture of dyes, medicinal products, plasticizers for nitrocellulose lacquers and artificial resins—and the second patent covering apparatus for carrying out the process and controlling the generating heat and bringing about reactions of gases. Both patents were granted without payment of statutory fees by the inventors under the act of March 3, 1883, which provides that any employee of the Government, other than the Patent Office, may obtain a patent for an invention without payment of the fee required by law, providing the inventor agrees that the patent when issued can be used by the Government or by anyone in the United States without payment of royalty. When both inventions were conceived and perfected the patentees were employed as chemists in the United States De partment of Agriculture and the evidence at the trial was clear that they considered they had dedicated their rights entirely to the public. However, before the patents had issued, they at tempted to make an assignment to The Selden Co., who set up various defenses including some apparently conflicting decisions to justify their belief that they had a proper right under the patents and could prevent their infringement by others. The court held, however, that the intention of the parties to dedicate their rights to the public was clear and that "the public" meant not only employees of the Government but the general public, and therefore the assignment to The Selden Co. conveyed no rights, and everyone had an equal right to use the invention without payment to the inventors or any of their alleged assignees.
New Research Laboratories for Hercules Powder Co. The Hercules Powder Co. on July 30 laid the cornerstone for the main building of new experimental and research laboratories located at Hercules, Del., which is 3 miles west of Wilmington near the Lancaster Pike. Heretofore the laboratories have been lo cated at Kenvil, N. J., but now they will be much nearer the main office and will be provided with new facilities. It is estimated that the cost of the new construction will exceed $500,000. The site selected comprises more than 300 acres and the new station thus created will be larger and more modern than the present equipment. R. H. Dunham, president of the company, in his address stressed the importance of well-directed chemical and scientific research in business, emphasizing that the very products on which the business of the company is based originally came out of the laboratory. Mr. Dunham further said: In its broader significance t h i s new laboratory is a pledge of our desire as an organization t o search continually for the truest and best. It is a sign of our readiness at all times to replace a product or process or a business policy with one which careful study has shown t o be more in line with the needs of the changing industrial world. The pioneering spirit which animates this investment i n scientific research is ?lr-*e in our whole company. T h a t this is true, and that this spirit does exist is, I believe, evidenced by a glance backwards. In the seventeen years of our existence as a company we have more than tripled in size as shown by our profits, volume of business and organization. Starting as a purely explosive company, doing a business almost entirely in the domestic field, we have built up a much more diversi fied business, and our newer products are carrying Hercules prestige into the markets of the world. T h i s growth has not been based upon any par ticular turn of fortune's wheel, but is the outcome of the application of what I might term the research attitude of mind throughout our organization, coupled with the desire and determination to a c t upon facts once they are clearly established. In the opportunities for growth and sound development that lie ahead I am confident that this new Hercules Research Station will play an important part. So I lay this cornerstone with the thought that in the pleasant sur roundings of these woods a n d streams Hercules men and women in the years to come may find a common rallying place where useful things can be done for the benefit of our company and the world at large.
Organic Sulfur Compounds under Gas-Making Conditions The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md., announces the publication August 1, 1930, of the dissertation by J. C. Holtz, entitled "The Origin and Decomposition of Organic Sulfur Compounds under Gas-Making Conditions with Particular Reference to the Role of the Carbon Sulfur Complex." This is an original investigation of importance to the gas industry, and because of its value has been made available at a nonprofit price of one dollar, which covers merely the cost of printing and distribution. This dissertation consists of ten chapters, the first five being historical, and the last experimental, with bibliography, thermodynamical calculations, and a summary of findings as a result of this research.
