Pierce Butler

“ With the destruction of the defense of laches the public loses the benefit of the principle that 'An inventor cannot without cause hold his application pending during a long period of years, leaving the public uncertain whether he intends ever to prosecute it, and keeping the field of his invention closed against other inventors.' [8]
The Court of Appeals following this settled principle-now abandoned-said: [9] 'We think they (claims in the patent) are invalid for laches in filing the application for them. ”

“ Thus, sweeping, indefinite and unclaimed disclosures, and adroit use of 'divisionals'-which laches and unreasonable delay are no longer sufficient to bar-are permitted to extend a patent's statutory life and to increase a patentee's reward beyond that granted by Congress.
"The patent laws are founded in a large public policy to promote the progress of science and the useful arts. The public, therefore, is a most material party to, and should be duly considered in, every application for a patent. ”

“ This is permitted despite the fact that unclaimed disclosure of the alleged invention had been made in the 1927 process application and in the 1930 product application.
Congress-given the power by the Constitution-has fixed the statutory limit of a patent monopoly at seventeen years. [13] By the procedural device of a 'divisional' application, designed to protect rights granted an inventor by statute, petitioner has carved for itself priority monopoly rights, beginning in 1927 and lasting until 1951-twenty-four years, or seven years more than Congress has authorized. ”

“ If proof of abandonment is to be a prerequisite, laches as a separate defense is destroyed, although it has been recognized for more than fifty years. Unreasonable delay which serves to postpone the beginning of the seventeen-year monopoly limitation, not only is possible without abandonment of the invention, but is highly probable. ”

“ As a result of the destruction of the defense of laches in applying for 'divisional' applications, those familiar with a given field of industry may now insert speculative conjectures as disclosures in various applications and permit them to lie dormant until a competitor reduces speculation to practicality. Then, by the device of a 'divisional,' or if need be, as here, by 'divisional' on 'divisional,' such a competitor can be pursued with infringement suits and harassed into surrendering his business to an ingeniously dilatory applicant. ”

“ It is now held that neither laches nor equitable estoppel may alone invalidate a patent without proof of 'intervening adverse rights.' The authorities relied on in the Splitdorf Case emphasized the right of the public-apart from provable adverse use by individuals to require an applicant to pursue his right to a patent diligently and without enlargement of claims after filing an original application. ”

“ Our consideration of the case will be limited to these questions. Washington Virginia & Maryland Coach Co. v. Nat. Labor Relations Board, 301 U.S. 142, 146, 57 S.Ct. 648, 649, 81 L.Ed. 965; Morehead v. People of N.Y. ex rel. ”