PHILBRICK'S PATENT APPARATUS FOR DRYING COTTON.

At the present time, when exertions are making to extend the cotton plantations of the British Colonies, whatever presents facilities to the after processes, must be acceptable to the planter. Since the opening of the East India trade, it has been shown that the British cottonmanufacturer might be supplied from that quarter alone, and with an article of a superior description to that which is at present imported from Georgia or the Carolinas. We hope, therefore, that the following description of a new method of drying cotton, patented in America, and which we extract from the Franklin Journal for September last, will be useful and interesting to our Colonial readers.

"I have invented (says the patentee in his specification,) an apparatus for drying of cotton after it has been picked from the plant, and of a great variety of vegetable and other substances which require exposure to the sun and air; and by which apparatus they may be immediately protected from the effects of rain and storms.

I

"The following is a description thereof:erect a staging, consisting of parallel rails, which are to support platforms, troughs, or cars, upon which the cotton or other articles dried are to be spread. These cars or platforms may be of any convenient dimensions, but for the sake of description, we will suppose them to be made 5 feet wide and 8 feet long, and the wheels or rollers upon which they run to be 6 inches high. In the accompanying drawing, one of these rails is marked with the letter C, and rises 6 inches, or the height of the platform above the rail upon which it reclines at its left end. P, B, K, L, are platforms, troughs, or cars, which rest and run upon the rails, having wheels or rollers upon their undersides for that purpose. The rails upon which the platforms rest, rise one above the other in the form of steps, as seen in the drawing; the platform marked K is represented as having passed from the right hand on to the next platform, having been pushed forward by the man H, and now stands upon a platform on the next rail, against which it catches, and both pass together under the shed in the centre, the pair, marked P, being shown as already there. Those at the left hand of the shed are to be slid in, in the same way, when necessary, and pass above the others. I is a latch, or catch, by which the two platforms are held together, or released, at pleasure. B are moveable steps, for conveniently reaching, charging, and discharging the platforms.

"Although two only of such platforms are represented as extending on each side of the shed, the number to be used is limited only by the convenience with which they may be managed; and this is the case also with their dimensions. The mode of managing them also, will admit of being varied, whilst the principle upon which they operate will remain unchanged. Thus, for example, the shed may be made to cover the highest platform, and be itself pushed on, so as to gather all the cars, or platforms, under it, in its progress; the platforms may be in a single row, or there may be two or more rows in width, two being shown in the drawing. The platform may be run under the shed by hand, or by means of a winch with a windlass and ropes, or otherwise.

"Having thus fully exemplified the general construction and use of my said apparatus, I wish it to be distinctly understood that I do not intend, by the examples given, to limit myself thereto, but to vary the same in any way I may think proper, whilst the proposed end is attained by analagous means. What I claim as my invention, is the construction of a railway, in successive steps, and having upon them cars, or platforms, upon which articles to be dried may be exposed to the sun and air, and which may, in a few seconds, be deposited upon each other under a shed, to protect them from the weather when necessary, in the manner, or upon the principle, herein set forth."

NEW AMERICAN PATENT LAW.

This

[In our 674th Number we inserted the Bill proposed to Congress for the Amendment of the American Patent Law. Bill, with some alterations, has since passed into an Act; we, therefore, now give the clauses in which any alteration has been made the parts inserted by the Congress being in italics, and those omitted, between brackets. ]

An Act to Promote the Progress, of Useful Arts, and to Repeal all Acts and Parts of Acts heretofore made for that Purpose.

Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that there shall be established and attached to the Department of State, an office to be nominated the Patent Office; the chief officer of which shall be called the Commissioner of Patents, to be appointed by the president, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, whose duty it shall be, under the direction of the Secretary of State, to superintend, execute, and perform, all, such acts and things touching and respecting the granting and

issuing of patents for new and useful discoveries, inventions, and improvements, as are herein provided for, or shall hereafter be, by -law, directed to be done and performed, and shall have the charge and custody of all the books, records, papers, models, machines, and all other things belonging to said office. And said Commissioner shall receive the same compensation as is allowed by law to the Commissioner of the Indian Department, and shall be entitled to send and receive letters and packages by mail, relating to the business of the office, free of postage.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That there shall be, in said office, an inferior officer, to be appointed by the said principal officer, with the approval of the Secretary of State, to receive an annual salary of seventeen hundred dollars, and to be called the Chief Clerk of the Patent-office; who, in all cases during the necessary absence of the Commissioner, or when said principal office shall become vacant, shall have the charge and ustody of the seal, and of the records, books, papers, machines, models, and all other things belonging to the said office, and shall perform the duties of Commissioner during such vacancy. And the said Commissioner may also, with like app, roval, appoint an examining clerk, at an annual salary of fifteen hundred dollars; two other lerks at twelve hundred dollars each, one of whom shall be a competent draughtsman; one o ther clerk at one thousand [250] dollars; a machinist at twelve hundred and fifty dollars; and a messenger at seven hundred [500] do lars. And said Commissioner, clerks, and every other person appointed and -employed in said office, shall be disqualified and interdicted from acquiring or taking, -except by inherit nce, during the period for which they shall held their appointments, respectively, any right or interest, directly or indirectly, in any po tent for an invention or discovery, which has been, or may hereafter be, granted.

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the said principal officer, and every other person to be appointed in the said office, shall, before he enters upon the duties of his office or appointment, make oath or affirmation, truly and faithfully to execute the trust committed to him. And the said Commisioner and the chief clerk shall also, before entering upon their duties, severally give bonds with sureties to the Treasurer of the United States, the former in the sum of ten ti rousand dollars, and the latter, in the sum of fire thousand dollars, with condition to render a true and faithful account to him or his successor in office, quarterly, of all monies : which shall be by them respectively received for duties ou patents, and for copies of records and drawings, and all other monies received by virtue - of said office.

[Sections 4 and 5 not altered].

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That any person or persons having discovered or invented any new and useful art, machine manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement on any art, machine, manufacture, cr composition of matter, not known or used by others before his or their discovery or invention thereof, and not, at the time of his application for a patent, in public use or on sale, with his consent or allowance, as the inventor or discoverer, and shall desire to obtain an exclusive property therein, may make application in writing to the Commissioner of Patents, expressing such desire, and the Commissioner, on due proceedings had, may grant a patent therefor. But before any inventor shall receive a patent for any such new invention or discovery, he shall deliver a written description of his invention or discovery, and of the manner and process of making, constructing, using, and compounding the same, in such full, clear, and exact terms, avoiding unnecessary prolixity, as to enable any person skilled in the art or science to which it appertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make, construct, compound, and use the same; and in case of any machine, -he shall fully explain the principle and the several modes in which he has contemplated the application of that principle or character by which it may be distinguished from other inventions; and shall particularly specify and point out the part, improvement, or combination, which he claims as his own invention or discovery. He shall, furthermore, accompany the whole with a drawing or drawings, and written references, where the nature of the case admits of drawings, or with specimens of ingredients, and of the composition of matter, sufficient in quantity for the purpose of experiment, where the invention or discovery is of a composition of matter; which descriptions and drawings, signed by the inventor and attested by two witnesses, shall be filed in the Patent-office; and he shall, moreover, furnish a model of his invention [machine], in all cases which admit of a representa.ion by medel, of a convenient size to exhibit advantageously its several parts. The applicant shall also make oath or affirmation that he does verily believe that he is the original and first inventor or discoverer of the art, machine, composition, or improvement, for which he solicits a patent,

and that he does not know or believe that the same was ever before known or used; and also of what country he is a citizen; which oath or affirmation may be made before any person authorised by law to administer oaths.

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That, on the filing of any such application, de

scription, and specification, and the payment of the duty hereinafter provided, the Commissioner shall make or cause to be made, an examination of the alleged new invention or discovery; and if, on any such examination, it shall not appear to the Commissioner that the same had been invented or discovered by any other person in this country, [known and used] prior to the alleged invention or discovery thereof by the applicant, or that it had been patented or described in any printed publication in this or any foreign country, or had been in public use or on sale with the applicant's consent or allowance prior to the application; if the Commissioner shall deem it to be sufficiently useful and important, it shall be his duty to issue a patent therefor. But whenever, on such examination, it shall appear to the Commissioner that the applicant was not the original and first inventor or discoverer thereof, or that any part of that which is claimed as new had before been invented or discovered, or patented, or described in any printed publication in this or any foreign country [known and used], as aforesaid, or that the description is defective and insufficient, he shall notify the applicant thereof, giving him, briefly, such information and references as may be useful in judging of the propriety of renewing his application, or of altering his specification to embrace only that part of the invention or discovery which is new. In every such case, if the applicant shall elect to withdraw his application, relinquishing his claim to the model, he shall be entitled to receive back twenty dollars, part of the duty required by this Act, on filing a notice in writing of such election in the Patent-office, a copy of which, certified by the Commissioner, shall be a sufficient warrant to the treasurer for paying back to the said applicant the said sum of twenty dollars. But if the applicant in such case shall persist in his claim for a patent, with or without any alteration of his specification, he shall be required to make oath or affirmation anew, in manner as aforesaid. And if the specification and claim shall not have been so modified as, in the opinion of the Commissioner, shall entitle the applicant to a patent, he may, on appeal, and upon request in writing, have the decision of a Board of Examiners, to be composed of three disinterested persons, who shall be appointed for that purpose by the Secretary of State, one of whom, at least, to be selected, if prac ticable and convenient, for his [and to be selected for their] knowledge and skill in the particular art, manufacture, or branch of science to which the alleged invention appertains; who shall be under oath or affirmation for the faithful and impartial performance of the duty imposed upon them by said appointment. Said board shall be furnished with a

certificate in writing, of the opinion and decision of the Commissioner, stating the particular grounds of his objection, and the part or parts of the invention which he considers as not entitled to be patented. And the said board shall give reasonable notice to the applicant, as well as to the Commissioner, of the time and place of their meeting, that they may have an opportunity of furnishing them with such facts and evidence as they may deem necessary to a just decision; and it shall be the duty of the Commissioner to furnish to the board of examiners such information as he may possess relative to the matter under their consideration. And on an examination and consideration of the matter by such board, it shall be in their power, or of a majority of them, to reverse the decision of the Commissioner, either in whole or in part, and their opinion being certified to the Commissioner, he shall be governed thereby, in the further proceedings to be had on such application: Provided, however, That before a board shall be ir,stituted in any such case, the applicant shall pay to the credit of the Treasury, as pror ided in the ninth section of this Act, the sum of twenty-five dollars; and each of said persons so appointed shall be entitled to recev se for his services in each case, a sum not exceeding ten dollars, to be determined and pa id by the Commissioner out of any monies ir, his hands, which shall be in full compensation to the persons who may be so appointed, for their examination and certificate as foresaid.

Sec. 8. And be it further, enacted, That whenever an application shall be made for a patent, which, in the opinion of the Commissioner, would interfere with any other patent for which an application may be pending, or with any unexpired patent, which shall have been granted, it shall be the duty of the Commissioner to give notice thereof to such applicants, or pater tees, as the case may be; and if either shall be dissatisfied with the decision of the Commissioner on the question of priority of right o rinvention, on a hearing thereof, he may ap peal from such decision, on the like terms and conditions as are pro-· vided in the preceding section of this Act; and the lie proce edings shall be had, to determine which or whether either of the appli cants is entitled to receive a patent as prayed for. Fut nothing in this Act contained shall be construed to deprive an original and true inventor of theright to a patent for his invention, by reason of his having previously taken o'it letters pate at therefor in a foreign country; and the same raving been published, at any time within six months next preceding the filing of the specification and drawing. And whenever the applicant shall request it, the patent shall take date from the time of the filing of the specifications and drawings, not

however exceeding six months prior to the actual issuing of the patent; and on like request, and the payment of the duty herein required, by any applicant, his specification and drawings shall be filed in the secret archives of the office, until he shall furnish the model and the patent be issued, not exceeding the term of one year, the applic int being entitled to notice of interfering applications.

Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That before any application for a patent shall be eonsidered by the Commissioner as aforesaid, the applicant shall pay into the Treasury of the United States, or into the Patent-office, or into any of the deposit-banks to the credit of the Treasury, if he be a citizen of the United States, or an alien, and shall have been a resident in the United States for one year next preceding, and shall have made oath of his intention to become a citizen thereof, the sum of thirty [40] dollars; if a subject of the King of Great Britain, the sum of five hundred dollars; and all other persons the sum of three hundred dollars; for which payment duplicate receipts shall be taken, one of which to be filed in the office of the Treasurer. And the monies received into the Treasury under this Act, shall constitute a fund for the payment of the salaries of the officers and clerks herein provided for, and all other expenses of the Patent-office, and to be called the patent-fund.

[Section 10 unaltered.]

Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That every patent shall be assignable in law, either as to the whole interest, or any undivided part thereof, by any instrument in writing; which assignment, and also every grant and conveyance of the exclusive right under any patent, to make and use, and to grant to others to make and use, the thing patented within_and throughout any specified part or portion of the United States, shall be recorded in the Patent-office within three months from the execution thereof, for which the assignee or grantee shall pay to the Commissioner the sum of three dollars.

Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That any citizen of the United States, or alien, who shall have been a resident in the United States one year next preceding, and shall have made oath of his intention to become a citizen thereof, who shall have invented any new art, machine, or improvement thereof, and shall desire further time to mature the same, may on paying to the credit of the Treasury, in manner as provided in the ninth section of this Act, the sum of twenty dollars, file in the Patent-office a caveat, setting forth the design and purpose thereof, and its principal and distinguishing characteristics, and praying protection of his right, till he shall have matured his invention; which sum of twenty dollars, in case the person filing such

caveat shall afterwards take out a patent for the invention therein mentioned, shall be considered a part of the sum hercin required for the same. And such caveat shall be filed in the confidential archives of the office, and preserved in secrecy. And if application shall be made by any other person within one year from the time of filing such caveat, for a patent of any invention with which it may in any respect interfere, it shall be the duty of the Commissioner to deposit the description, specifications, drawings, and model, in the confidential archives of the office, and to give notice, by mail, to the person filing the caveat, of such application, who shall, within three months after receiving the notice, if he would avail himself of the benefit of his caveat, file his description, specifications, drawings, and model; and if, in the opinion of the Commissioner, the specifications of claim interfere with each other, like proceedings may be had in all respects as are in this Act provided in the case of interfering applications: Provided, however, That no opinion or decision of any board of examiners, under the provisions of this Act, shall preclude any person interested in favour of or against the validity of any patent which has been or may hereafter be granted, from the right to contest the same in any judicial court in any action in which its validity may come in question.

[No material alteration in Section 13.]

Sec. 14. And be it further enacted, That whenever, in any action for damages for making, using, or selling the thing whereof the exclusive right is secured by any patent heretofore granted, or by any patent which may hereafter be granted, a verdict shall be rendered for the plaintiff in such action, it shall be in the power of the court to render judgment for any sum above the amount found by such verdict as the actual damages sustained by the plaintiff, not exceeding three times the amount thereof, according to the circumstances of the case, with costs; and such damages may be recovered by action on the case, in any court of competent jurisdiction, to be brought in the name or names of the person or persons interested, whether as patentee, assign. cs, or us grantees of the exclusive right within and throughout a specified part of the United States.

Sec. 15. And be it further enacted, That the defendant in any such action shall be permitted to plead the general issue, and to give this Act and any special matter in evidence, of which notice in writing may have been given to the plaintiff or his attorney, thirty days before trial, tending to prove that the description and specification filed by plaintiff does not contain the whole truth relative to his invention or discovery, or that it contains more than is necessary to produce