Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar

“ But a mere carrying forward or new or more extended application of the original thought, a change only in form, proportions, or degree, the substitution of equivalents, doing substantially the same thing in the same way, by substantially the same means with better results, is not such invention as will sustain a patent. ”

“ The changes made by Evory and Heston in the construction of a water-tight shoe were changes of degree only, and did not involve any new principle. Their shoe performed no new function. In the construction of it, the vamp, the quarters, and the expansible gore flap were cut somewhat differently, it is true, from like parts of the shoes constructed under the earlier patents referred to, but they subserved the same purposes.
It is well settled that not every improvement in an article is patentable. ”

“ Similar letters of reference in the several figures indicate like parts of our invention. A represents the front of the shoe, and has attached to its rear edge, a, as shown, a gore flap, (marked 'D.') B represents the back of the shoe, and has attached to its front edge, b, as shown, a corresponding gore flap, (marked 'C.') The front and back are sewed together at those parts of their contiguous edges marked 'a'' and 'b',' and the flap, C, is arranged upon the flap, D, bringing their corresponding edges, c and d, upon each other, which are then sewed together ”

“ But we do not think it can be safely averred that the specifications and drawings of the English patents require the gore or gusset to be folded so that it will lie inside of the vamp, next to the foot. ”