Seymour v. Osborne

Name: Seymour v. Osborne
Cite: 78 U.S. 516
Year: 1870
Bluebook cite: Seymour v. Osborne, 78 U.S. 516 (1870).
Author
URL: 78 U.S. 516
Item Type: case
Summary: Suit for infringement of patents for improvements in reaping machinery. One of the defenses to infringement was that the claimed inventions were merely combinations of old parts, â€œthe combining of which involved no invention, but merely the skill of an intelligent mechanic or other person skilled in the manufacture and use of harvesting machines.â€ Id. at 547. The Supreme Court rejected this defense, first noting that new combinations of old parts may be patentable if new and useful, and then explaining the utility requirement (citing Lowell v. Lewis).