United States Patent Case Law - Early Cases (before 1900)

Early Cases (before 1900)

  • Hotchkiss v. Greenwood - Supreme Court, 1850. Introduced the concept of non-obviousness as patentability requirement in U.S. patent law.
  • O'Reilly v. Morse - Supreme Court, 1853. Influential decision in the development of the law of patent-eligibility (Invalidating method claims for "abstract idea", where steps of method not tied to particular machine).
  • City of Elizabeth v. American Nicholson Pavement Co. - Supreme Court, 1878. "Prior use" does not include experimental use.
  • Egbert v. Lippmann - Supreme Court, 1881. Held that public use of an invention bars the patenting of it.
  • Schillinger v. United States - Supreme Court, 1894. Patent infringement against the United States.

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