Edward Douglass White

“ Indeed, it would be very unreasonable to assume that jurisdiction was conferred to review the action of the court of appeals in all cases in which its authority was exerted to direct the officials of the Patent Office, under the patent laws, to issue a patent, and yet no power was reserved to review the action of that court in determining, after the issue of a patent, whether it was or was not rightfully issued. ”

“ The applicant challenged the right of the Commissioner to act in the premises, and insisted that, as a result of the conclusions of the Board of Examiners in Chief, he was entitled to a patent, and that it was the plain ministerial duty of the Commissioner to direct it to issue. The Commissioner then filed an opinion insisting upon his authority, and pointing out the reasons which caused him to conclude that the invention was not patentable. The opinion concluded with the statement, 'I am clearly of the opinion that the application sets forth nothing upon which a patent can properly be based. ”

“ But even if the method of isolated considerations were not otherwise plainly a mistaken one, it follows that it cannot be adopted since it affords no possible solution of the controversy. Such solution must therefore be sought by following the elementary rules, that is, by turning primarily to the context of the section and secondarily to provisions in pari materia as affording an efficient means for discovering the legislative intent in enacting the statute, thereby vivifying and enforcing the remedial purposes which it was adopted to accomplish. ”