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 HOW TO PROCURE AND SELL. 
 
 
 ^AMERICAN PATENT AGENCY, '];.MM 
 
 CINCINNATI, OHIO. 
 
 &m. 
 
 Copy ighted in 1879 by Hughes & Zerbe. ij^v-^ 
 
Talanl Lilig.atioi^. 
 
 We G-tve Special Jittention to 
 F^osee-ULting Clojims fo-p Infr'tnge- 
 TThervt of Letter's F^atent, Tr^ctde 
 McLPpcs, OT^ Copyj'igKts. 
 
 Reports fzLTTxts/ied Tipon- tJie 
 V^alzcltty of Clcuims. 
 
 JEjccLTTtiTicLti-OTts CIS to the State 
 of tlxe j^T't irt any Class -wttft 
 V\^ritterh Opznzo/z. 
 
 jUtervttoTL Given to Practice iiz 
 tKe UrtitedL States Cousnts. 
 
 American Patent Agency, 
 
 HOME OFFICE: 
 188 and 190 West Fifth Stmt, CINCINNATI, 0. 
 
 J. S. ZEKBE, 
 
 Attorney and Counselor in Patent Cases. 
 
TH E 
 
 Jtiti^ttt0r's p:antial, 
 
 f-^y SHO WIN G^;;^~3 
 
 HOW TO- PROCURE 
 
 SIEJLL Pj^ T^JSTTS. 
 
 r 
 
 Containing Practical Suggestions for the Benefit of 
 Inventors and. Patentees. 
 
 
 
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 ,-; OF co/V(j^^ 
 ^oVyrighp<i^ 
 
 
 
 
 / 
 
 
 1879. -t^^ 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 
 '. 
 
 AMERICAN PATENT 
 
 AGENCY, 
 
 
 
 188 AND 190 WEST FIFTH 
 
 STREET, 
 
 
 
 CINCINNATI, O 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 -ir-CQ_ 
 
 
 
 
 ' 7^" 
 
 
 
REASONS WHY INVENTORS ^.j\l 
 
 Should Procure their Patents 
 
 V CINCINNATI, OHIO. 
 
 1. The location of the Home Office is central, and it 
 has, in addition, an Associate Office in Washington, by 
 means of which the business is personally attended to 
 before the Patent Office. 
 
 2. This Agency employs only experienced solicitors 
 and draughtsmen to prepare cases; the gentleman having 
 charge of the Soliciting Department is an attorney of 
 many years pi-actice before the Office. 
 
 3. It has a complete record of all patents issued, from 
 the inception of the Patent Office, showing the state ot 
 the art in any class, for aid in making preliminary exam- 
 inations and in preparing new cases. 
 
 4. It publishes in the columns of the Amkrican In- 
 ventor a full and complete description of all patents 
 obtained through this Agency free of charge. 
 
 5. It has a Special Department — the largest in this 
 country — for the introduction and sale of patents, and has 
 in its charge over forty branch offices located in the prin- 
 cipal cities of the Union. 
 
 6. It makes no additional charge for preliminary exam- 
 nation; and in no case will charges for extras be de- 
 manded, however ardous the labor, except in cases of 
 appeal. 
 
 7. It renders the best service for the most moderate fees, 
 and does not claim to have facilities at the Patent Office 
 other than is possessed by all reliable firms. 
 
 TMP96-024754 
 
OUR TERMS AND METHOD 
 
 CONDUCTING BUSINESS. 
 
 Our fees are not contingent. The Commissioner of 
 Patents has frequently referred to the pernicious evils- 
 which result from obtaining patents where the attorneys- 
 receive no fees until the patent is allowed. They use 
 every means to obtain a patent, regardless of the quality 
 of the claim, so they can claim their fees or allowance. 
 When an inventor pays us to procure a patent for him^. 
 we are in honor bound to render him faithful service, and 
 secure a valid claim at whatever sacrifice of time and 
 labor. 
 
 The work required to prepare a patent case is trivial 
 compared with the work often necessary to prosecute 
 cases after once sent to the Patent Office. It is frequently 
 the case that the drawings and papers can be prepared 
 within an hour or two, but the subsequent work, in 
 watching it through every stage in the Office, and in see- 
 ing justice done to your client, will make up for the ease 
 with which the case is prepared. To secure strong, 
 equitable claims is the duty of the honorable attorney, 
 and not to push it through in the shortest time. One-half 
 of the worthless patented claims to-da}'^ are the result of 
 eagerness on the part of attorney or patentee to secure 
 the patent. A claim can be worded so as to mean nothing 
 at all, or to embrace a combination which conveys no 
 security to the patentee. Such claims usually result 
 where no other object is sought for on the part of the 
 attorney but the patent — and his fees. It will pay to 
 procure competent counsel and remunerate him accord- 
 ingly. 
 
WHO MAY OBTAIN A PATEK^T. 
 
 Any person, whether citizen or aHen, being the original 
 and first inventor or discovei'er of any new and useful art, 
 machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any 
 new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent 
 for his invention or discovery, subject to the conditions 
 hereinafter named. 
 
 Joint Inventors. 
 
 Joint inventors are entitled to a joint patent; neither 
 can claim one separately; but the independent inventors 
 of separate and independent improvements in the same 
 machine cannot obtain a joint patent for their separate 
 inventions, nor does the fact that one man furnishes the 
 capital and the other makes the invention entitle them to 
 make application as joint inventors. 
 
 What Will Bar a Patent. 
 
 A patent will not be granted to an applicant if what 
 he claims as new has been, before his invention, patented 
 or desciibed in any printed publication in this or any 
 foreign country, or been invented or discovered in this 
 country, nor if he has once abandoned his invention, nor 
 if it has been in public use or on sale more than two years 
 revious to his application. 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 What Constitutes Invention. 
 
 Merely conceiving the idea of an improvement or 
 machine is not an "invention" or "discovery." The in- 
 vention must have been reduced to a practical form, either 
 by the construction of the machine itself, or by such dis- 
 closure of I'ts exact character that a mechanic, or one 
 skilled in the art to which it relates, can and does con- 
 struct the improvement, before it will prevent a subsequent 
 inventor from obtaining a patent. 
 
 MODE OF PR0CEEDI:N^G to obtain a PATE:5fT. 
 
 The question that naturally arises in the mind of every 
 inventor as soon as an invention is completed is: "Can I 
 obtain a patent.^'" To ascertain this, by at once making 
 an application and paying the required fees, will, in many 
 cases, subject the applicant to needless expense which 
 could have been obviated by an investigation prior to 
 taking the final steps. To ascertain whether the device 
 is patentable we must institute, at the request of the in- 
 ventor, a 
 
 Preliminary Examination 
 
 Of the records of the Patent Office. To do this it is 
 necessary for us to have either a model or a rough sketch 
 or drawing, and a description of the invention and $5 00, 
 the cost for making such search. If it is found that the 
 invention is not anticipated by a prior patent, the $5 00 
 thus paid will be regarded as part of our fee in preparing 
 the application for a patent. 
 
 If we find that a patent exists for a similar device, the 
 invencor will be so informed, and such suggestions given 
 as will enable the inventor to procure a patent for the 
 parts found to be new and valuable. 
 
 As a general thing this examination will enable us to 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 give a pretty correct idea of the patentability of the arti- 
 cle. But in some instances a caveat may have been filed, 
 which is a confidential communication to the Patent Office, 
 and hence not known by any one outside of the officials 
 connected with the Department. There are also cases 
 where a similar device has been rejected, or a similar 
 invention has been publicly advertised or described in 
 some printed publication. But this examination has 
 refei'ence only to the Patent Office records. 
 The Application— Cost. 
 If the invention is found to be patentable, the inventor 
 is so notified, and the preliminary papers are sent for sig- 
 nature. These are to be returned to us with $15 00, the 
 amount of the first Government fee, and a model, when 
 the case will be pi-epared and retui'ned for oath and final 
 signature. The papers are then sent to us executed, and 
 the amount of our fee, $25 00, is then due, and should be 
 remitted. In case a preliminary examination has been 
 made and $5 00 remitted therefor, the amount to be sent 
 is $20 00. The amount of our fee in complex cases will 
 be more than $25 00, but the inventor will be notified 
 when we take the case what the full charge will be. 
 
 Model Requirements. 
 
 A working model is always desirable, in order to enable 
 the Office fully and readily to understand the precise 
 operation of the machine, and it must be neatly and sub- 
 stantially made of durable material, metal being deemed 
 preferable, and should not in any case be more than one 
 foot in length, width or height. If made of pine or other 
 soft wood, it should be painted, stained or varnished. 
 Glue must not be used, but the parts should be so con- 
 nected as to resist the action of heat or moisture. To 
 prevent loss, the model or specimen should always have 
 the name of the inventor permanently fixed thereon. 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL 
 
 When the invention or discovery is a composition of 
 matter, the applicant, if required by the Commissioner, 
 shall furnish specimens of ingredients and of the compo- 
 sition sufficient in quantity for the purpose of experiment. 
 In all cases w^here the production is not perishable a 
 specimen put up in form, so as to be preserved by the 
 Office, should be filed. Ordinary, well-known ingredients 
 need not be furnished, unless the Office disputes their 
 operation in the manner as stated by applicant. 
 Drawing's. 
 
 The applicant for a patent is required by law to furnish 
 a drawing of his invention, where the nature of the case 
 admits of it. 
 
 Three several editions of patent drawings are printed 
 and published — one for Office use, certified copies, etc., of 
 the size and character of those attached to patents, the 
 work being about six by nine and a half inches; one re- 
 duced to half that scale, or one-fourth the surface, of which 
 four will be printed on a page to illustrate the volumes 
 distributed to the courts, etc.; and one reduction — to about 
 the same scale — of a selected portion of each drawing, to 
 illustrate the Official Gazette. 
 
 This work will all be done by the photo-lithographic or 
 other analogous process, and therefore the character of 
 each original drawing must be brought as nearly as possi- 
 ble to a uniform standard of excellence, suited to the re- 
 quirements of the process, and calculated to give the best 
 results in the interests of inventors, of the Office and of 
 the public generally. 
 
 The size of a sheet on which a drawing is made should 
 be exactly ten by fifteen inches. One inch from its edges 
 a single marginal line is to be drawn, leaving the "sight" 
 precisely eight by thirteen inches. 
 
 All drawings must be made with the pen only, using 
 the blackest Indian ink. Every line and letter (signatures 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 included) must be absolutely black. This direction ap- 
 plies to all lines, however fine, to shading, and to lines 
 representing cut surfaces in sectional vieAvs. 
 
 The greatest care is necessary in the preparation of 
 these drawings, and the Patent Office requires that they 
 shall be executed in the highest style of the art. We 
 emplo}- only experienced draughtsmen to perform this 
 w^ork. 
 
 The Specification. 
 
 By far the most important part of the application is the 
 specification, which is a written description of the inven- 
 tion or discovery, and of the manner and process of mak- 
 ing, constructing, compounding and using the same, and 
 is required to be in such full, clear, concise 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, con- 
 struct, compound and use the same. It must be fol- 
 lowed by a specific and well-defined claim of the 
 part, improvement, or combination which the appli- 
 cant regards as his invention or discovery. In all appli- 
 cations for patents upon mere improvements, the specifi- 
 cation must particularly point out the part or parts to 
 which the improvement relates, and must by explicit 
 language distinguish between what is old and what is 
 claimed as the improvement, so that the Office and the 
 public may understand exactly for what the patent is 
 granted; and in such cases the description and the draw- 
 ings, as well as the claims, should be confined to the spe- 
 cific improvement and such parts as necessarily co-operate 
 with it. The specification must be signed by the inventor, 
 or by his executor or administrator, and must be attested 
 by two witnesses. Full names inust be given, and all 
 names, whether of applicants or witnesses, must be legibly 
 ivritten. 
 
THE INVENTOR^S MANUAL. 
 
 In the piepaiation of these papers no one is qualified 
 unless he has made it a study for years. Not only should 
 an attorney be well versed in law, but it is indispensable 
 that he should have a thorough training in physics, and 
 be, in addition, fully posted in the advancement of art 
 and science. It is too often the case that inventors find to 
 their great loss that experience in the preparation of these 
 papers is essential. The description must be accurate, 
 but not elaborate, and here it is that so many fail to con- 
 vey the full gist of the invention, or omit entirely the most 
 important features. 
 
 The Claims. 
 
 It is in the draughting of claims that the highest order 
 of legal and scientific analysis is required. The claims 
 may be termed the pivot upon which the whole title or 
 right to a patent hinges, if they are defective, the patent 
 is worthless. The mere possession of the patent papers 
 is valueless in case of infringement if the claims are 
 worthless. It must not be too broad, nor should it omit 
 that which the inventor is really entitled to. But not 
 alone in this respect must care be exercised. The exact 
 quantity may be stated in a claim, but in such obscure or 
 uncertain language as to defeat its own purpose; or it 
 may, by careless construction, fail to embody even all the 
 elements that are named. This care and ingenuity cannot 
 be attained except by experience, and we therefore deem 
 it important to allow no one but the most expeinenced to> 
 draw these claims. 
 
 CAVEATS. 
 
 Any citizen of the United States, or alien, who has 
 resided for one year last past in the United States, and has 
 made oath of his intention to become a citizen thereof, 
 can file a caveat in the secret archives of the Patent Office,, 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 and if, at any time within one year thereafter, another 
 person applies for a patent with which such caveat would 
 in any manner interfere, such application will be sus- 
 pended, and notice thereof will be sent to the person 
 filing the caveat, who, if he shall file a complete applica- 
 tion within the prescribed time, will be entitled to an 
 interference with the previous application, for the pur- 
 pose of proving priority of invention, and obtaining the 
 patent, if he be adjudged the prior inventor. A caveat 
 need not contain as particular a description of the inven- 
 tion as is requisite in a specification; but still it must set 
 forth the design of the invention and the distinguishing 
 characteristics thereof, and the description should be suf- 
 ficiently precise to enable the Office to judge whether 
 there is a probable interference when a subsequent appli- 
 cation is filed. 
 
 JVo model is required, and it is only necessary that the 
 inventor should forward to us a rough sketch with a 
 description in his own language of its operation, together 
 with $30 oo, the amount in full, 'of which $io oo is the 
 Government fee and $io oo our fee for preparing the 
 papers and drawings. The caveat is good for one year, 
 and can be renewed on payment of the Government fee. 
 
 PATEIfTS FOR DESIGNS. 
 
 A patent for a design may be granted to any person 
 who, by his own industry, genius, efforts, and expense, 
 has invented or produced any new and original design for 
 a manufacture, bust, statue, alto-relievo, or bas-relief; any 
 new and original design for the printing of woolen, silk, 
 cotton, or other fabrics; any new and original impression, 
 ornament, pattern, print or picture, to be printed, painted, 
 cast, or otherwise placed on or worked into any articles 
 of manufacture; or any new, useful, and original shape or 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 configuration of any article of manufacture, the same not 
 having been known or used by others before his invention 
 or production thereof, or patented or described in any 
 printed publication, upon payment of the duty required 
 by law, and other due proceedings had the same as in 
 cases of inventions or discovei'ies. These patents are 
 granted for the term of three and one-half years, or for 
 seven years, or for fourteen years, as the applicant may, 
 in his application, elect. 
 
 Proceeding-s for Design Patents 
 
 Are the same as for applications for patents. The speci- 
 fication must point out the characteristic features of the 
 design, and the claims must be distinct and specific. The 
 design can be sufficiently represented by drawings or 
 photographs, of which we must have twelve copies un- 
 mounted, which should not be more than seven and one 
 half by eleven inches in size. The Government fees for 
 design patents are as follows: For three and one-half 
 years, $io oo; seven years, $15 00; fourteen years, $30 00. 
 Our fee in either case would be $10 00. 
 
 TRADE MARKS. 
 
 Any person or firm domiciled in the United States, and 
 any person, firm, or corporation resident of or located in 
 any foreign country which, by treaty or convention, 
 affords similar privileges to citizens of the United States, 
 may obtain a trade mark under the law of July 8, 1870. 
 To obtain such trade mark patent we require the follow- 
 ing: 
 
 1. The names of the parties and their residences and 
 places of business. 
 
 2. The class of merchandise and the particular descrip- 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 tion of goods comprised in such class, by which the trade 
 mark has been or is intended to be appropriated. 
 
 3. A description of the trade mark itself, with fac 
 similes thereof, and the mode in which it has been or is 
 intended to be applied and used. 
 
 4. The length of time, if any, during which the trade 
 mark has been used. 
 
 5. The payment of $20 00, the first Government fee 
 being $10 00, and our fee, $10 00, the last Government 
 fee, $15 00, being payable only in case the trade mark 
 is allowed. 
 
 Term of Trade Marks. 
 
 The protection for such trade mark will remain in force 
 for thii-ty years, and may, upon the payment of a second 
 fee, be renewed for thirty years longer, except in cases 
 w^here such trade mark is claimed for, and applied to, ar- 
 ticles not manufactured in this country, and in which it 
 receives protection under the laws of any foreign country 
 for a shorter period, in which case it shall cease to have 
 force in this country, by virtue of the registration, at the 
 same time that it becomes of no effect elsewhere. 
 
 The right to the use of any trade mark is assignable by 
 any instrument of writing, and such assignment must be 
 recorded in the Patent Office within sixty days after its 
 execution, in default of which it shall be void as against 
 any subsequent purchaser or mortgagee for a valuable 
 consideration, without notice. The fees will be the same 
 as are prescribed for recording assignments of patents. 
 
 INTERFERENCES. 
 
 An "interference" is a proceeding instituted for the 
 purpose of determining the question of priority of inven- 
 tion between two or more parties claiming the same 
 patentable subject-matter. 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 An interference will be declared in the following cases: 
 
 1. When two or more parties have applications pend- 
 ing before the Office at the same time, and their respective 
 claims conflict in whole or in part. 
 
 2. When two or more applications are pending at the 
 same time, in each of which a like patentable invention is 
 shown or described, and claimed in one, though not 
 specifically claimed in all of them. 
 
 3. When an applicant, having been rejected upon any 
 unexpired patent, claims to have made the invention 
 before the patentee. 
 
 Where a preliminary interference is declared on matter 
 shown but not claimed in the application last filed, the 
 applicant must, in order to avoid the continuance of the 
 interference, disclaim the invention of the particular 
 matter so shown. 
 
 The fact that one of the parties has already obtained a 
 patent will not prevent an interference; for, although the 
 Commissioner has no power to cancel a patent already 
 issued, he may, if he finds that another person was the 
 prior inventor, give him a patent also, and thus place both 
 parties on an equal footing before the courts and the 
 public. 
 
 The steps required in interference cases are as follows: 
 
 1. A preliminary statement of the applicant under oath, 
 showing when he conceived the invention, the date it was 
 reduced to model or drawing, and extent of its use. 
 
 2. Taking of the deposition of the inventor and wit- 
 nesses, and cross examining witnesses of his opponent. 
 
 3. Presentation of the case and argument before the 
 Patent Office tribunal. 
 
 It should be understood that there is no appeal from 
 the decision of the Commissioner in interference cases, 
 and therefore care should be exercised in employing only 
 such counsel as can give the matter the most careful at- 
 
14 THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 tention. Our long experience with cases of this character 
 enables us to srive valuable advice to our clients. 
 
 REISSUES. 
 
 A reissue is granted to the original patentee, his legal 
 representatives, or the assignees of the entire interest, 
 when, by reason of a defective or insufficient specification, 
 or by reason of the patentee claiming as his invention or 
 discovery more than he had a right to claim as new, the 
 original patent is inoperative or invalid, provided the 
 error has arisen from inadvertence, accident, or mistake, 
 ard without any fraudulent or deceptive intention. 
 
 Importance of Reissues. 
 
 Several features relativte to the law of reissues makes 
 this an important branch of the patent business, and the 
 preparation of the necessary papers requires more than 
 the usual care and experience. In the reissue application 
 no change or improvement is allowed, and in case such 
 change is made, it must be by a new and separate appli- 
 cation. 
 
 In all cases of applications for reissues the original 
 claim, if reproduced in the amended specification, is sub- 
 ject to re-examination, and may be revised and restricted 
 in the same manner as in original applications. The ap- 
 plication for a reissue must be accompanied by a surren- 
 der of the original patent, or, if lost, then by an affidavit 
 to that effect and a certified copy of the patent; but if any 
 reissue be refused, the original patent will, upon request, 
 be returned to the applicant. 
 
 Preparatory to obtaining a reissue we make an examina- 
 tion as to the scope and validity of the Letters Patent, to 
 ascertain if any advantage would arise if it contained 
 matter subject to reissue. For this we make no charge 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 •5 
 
 Should a reissue be advised, we will at once prepare the 
 case upon receipt of $50 00, of which $30 00 is the 
 Government fee and $20 00 a portion of our fee. Our 
 fees in full, in such cases, range from $35 00 to $50 00. 
 
 DISCLAIMERS. 
 
 Whenever, by inadvertence, accident, or mistake, the 
 claim of invention in any patent is too broad, embracing 
 more than that of which the patentee was the original or 
 first inventor, some material or substantial part of the 
 thing patented being truly and justly his own, the paten- 
 tee, his heirs, or assigns, whether of a whole or of a sec- 
 tional interest, may, upon payment of the duty required 
 by law, make disclaimer of such parts of the thing 
 patented as the disclaimant shall not choose to claim or to 
 hold by virtue of the patent or assignment, stating therein 
 the extent of his interest in such patent; which disclaimer 
 shall be in writing, attested by one or more witnesses, 
 shall be recorded in the Patent Office, and shall thereafter 
 be considered as part of the original specification, to the 
 extent of the interest possessed by the claimant and by 
 those claiming under him after the record thereof. 
 
 The cost complete for filing disclaimer will not range 
 above $20 00, of which $10 00 is the Government fee 
 and $10 00 our fee. 
 
 APPEAIiS. 
 
 Every applicant for a patent or the reissue of a patent 
 any of the claims of which have twice been rejected upon 
 the merits of the invention, may appeal from the decision 
 of the primary examiner, in such case, to the Board of 
 Examiners-in-chief, having once paid a fee of $10 00. For 
 
i6 THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 this purpose a petition in writing must be filed, signed by 
 the party, or his authorized agent or attorney, praying an 
 appeal, and setting forth the reasons upon which the ap- 
 peal is taken. 
 
 In these cases it is always found advisable to have oral 
 argument before the Board. He then has the privilege of 
 appealing from the Examiners-in-chief to the Commis 
 sibner in person, and from the Commissioner to the 
 Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, sitting in 
 banc. 
 
 The Government fees are as follows: i. Appeal from 
 Examiner to Examiner-in-chief, $io oo. 2. Appeal to 
 Commissioner, $20 00. Our fee in either case would 
 depend altogether upon the labor involved. 
 
 REGISTRATION OF PRINTS AND LABELS. 
 
 By an act of Congress approved June 18, 1874, it is 
 provided that certain prints and labels may be registered 
 in the Patent Office, but in the construction of this act 
 the words "engraving," "cut," and "print" shall be ap- 
 plied only to pictorial illustrations ot works connected 
 with the fine ai'ts, and no prints or labels designed to 
 be used for any other articles of manufacture shall be 
 entered under the copyright law, but may be registered 
 in the Patent Office. 
 
 By the word "print"' as used in the said act, is meant 
 any device, picture, word or words, figure or figures (not 
 a trade mark) impressed or stamped directly upon the 
 articles of manufacture, to denote the name of the manu- 
 facturer, or place of manufacture, style of goods, or other 
 matter. 
 
 By the word "label," as therein used, is meant a slip or 
 piece of paper, or other material, to be attached in any 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 17 
 
 manner to manufactured articles, or bottles, boxes, and 
 packages containg them, and bearing an inscription (not 
 a trade mark) as, for example, the name of the manufac- 
 turer, or the place of manufacture, the quality of goods, 
 directions for use, etc. 
 
 By the words "articles of manufacture," to which such 
 print or label is applicable by said act, are meant all ven- 
 dible commodities produced by hand, machinery, or art. 
 
 To entitle the owner of any such print or label to 
 register the same in the Patent Office, it is necessary that 
 five copies of the same be sent to us with $16 00, the cost 
 in full, of which $6 00 is the Government fee and $10 00 
 our fee. The certificate of registration continues in force 
 for twenty-eight years. 
 
 Copy-Riglits. 
 
 The Patent Law of July 8, 1870, provides that any citi- 
 zen or resident of the United States who is the author, 
 inventor, or proprietor of any book, map, chart, dramatic 
 or musical composition, engraving, cut, print, photograph, 
 painting, drawing, chromo, statuary, etc., may secure a 
 copyright for a period of twenty-eight years. 
 
 The mode of proceedure is to record the printed title of 
 the book or printed desci"iption of the photograph, etc., in 
 the office of the Librarian of Congress. This must be done 
 before the book or composition is published. Two copies 
 or specimens of the book or composition to be copyrighted 
 must also be forwarded to the Librarian of Congress 
 within ten days after publication. If a work of art, a 
 photograph thereof should be transmitted in the same 
 manner. 
 
 We prepare such cases and pay all Government fees on 
 receipt of $4 00. 
 
 Canadian Patents. 
 
 It may, perhaps, be unnecessary to call attention to the 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 fact that Canadian patents are, as a rule, as valuable as 
 American patents. They are an energetic, appreciative 
 people, so near to our own borders that they may be 
 regarded as part of our people in customs and manners. 
 American inventors are daily beginning to realize the 
 necessity of procuring patents in Canada. It comprises 
 thp Provinces of Nova Scotia, Ontario, New Brunswick, 
 and British Columbia, and has a population of over 5,- 
 000,000 souls, nearly equal to the States of New York and 
 Pennsylvania combined. The application for the Cana- 
 dian patent must be made within one year from the 
 time the American patent is issued. 
 
 The Term of Canadian Patents. 
 
 Canadian patents will be granted for a term of either 
 five, ten, or fifteen years, and the applicant may elect, at 
 the outset, for the term desired. The holder of a five year 
 patent has the privilege of two extensions, each for a 
 period of five years, thus making fifteen years in all, and 
 the holder of a ten year patent has the privilege of one 
 extension. 
 
 ApiJlication for Canadian Patent. 
 
 Those desiring to apply for a patent should send us a 
 model with a description, the same as in cases of Ameri- 
 can patents, with the requisite fee for the term desired. 
 The case will then be prepared and returned to the appli- 
 cant for oath and signature. The full name of the 
 inventor will be required, and also his occupation. The 
 model must not exceed twelve inches in dimensions. 
 
 Manufacturing- Patents in Canada. 
 
 The Canadian patent requires that the manufacture 
 of a Canadian patent must be commenced within one 
 year after its issue, or the patent will become void. 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 Cost of Canadian Patent. 
 
 The charges for the same are very reasonable. These 
 charges incUide everything to insure the delivery of the 
 papers to you, including government fees and our own, 
 preparing the specifications, original and duplicate draw- 
 ings, etc., and may be stated as follows: For a five year 
 patent, $40 00; for a ten year patent, $60 00; for a fifteen 
 year patent, $80 00. 
 
 SHIPMENT OF MODELS. 
 
 It is frequently the case that parties forward to us boxes 
 containing models of little or no value, expecting us to 
 pay express charges. A strict and invariable rule compels 
 us to refuse them unless the charges for transportation 
 have been paid or remitted with the letter of instructions. 
 
 We also call particular attention to the marking of 
 models, so they can be identified on receipt. Be careful, 
 therefore, to give us not only the name of the inventor, 
 but also the name of the article and the address of the 
 party forwarding the same. A little care and thought 
 thus exercised will greatly aid us to facilitate your busi- 
 ness. 
 
 CORRESPOKBEKCE. 
 
 We take pleasure in answering any questions or in 
 giving advice relative to inventions, for which we make 
 no charge whatever, but we suggest that where such in- 
 formation has reference only to affairs not connected with 
 our office, or only for the benefit of the party making 
 such inquiries, that at least sufficient postage be enclosed 
 to pay for returning the answer. This is a rule which is 
 recognized among all business men, and when not adhered 
 to in the case of our correspondents, no offense should be 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 taken if such letters remain unans-wered. The large mail 
 that we receive daily makes it imperative that the office 
 should first answer parties who have some appreciation 
 of our efforts to render service, and act accordingly, and 
 it affords us pleasure to communicate with such parties. 
 We trust our friends will bear this in mind in writing to 
 us. 
 
 FOREIGIN^ PATEIfTS. 
 
 American inventors have found that patents in Euro- 
 pean countries are as a rule profitable. Foreigners are 
 beginning to appreciate American inventions, and the 
 result of the late Exposition at Paris has demonstrated 
 that American manufactuers are in still greater demand 
 than they were during the previous World's Fair, at 
 Vienna. The great Centennial Exposition was a won- 
 derful incentive to inventors, and demonstrated — what 
 was confirmed at Paris — that the i-eputation of American 
 inventions is greater than that of any other nation, and, 
 as a prominent European remarked, the "reputation of 
 Yankee inventions in Europe commands for them a 
 greater respect and more certainly insui-es success than 
 the inventions of our own mechanics.*' While all these 
 circumstances are inuring to the benefit of our inven- 
 tors, foreign powers are gradually lessening the cost 
 of procuring patents, so that the cost of obtaining patents 
 now can be done for less than half of what was required 
 ten years ago. 
 
 Foreign Fees— How Payable. 
 
 All foreign Government fees are payable in gold, but 
 in making our estimates of the amount we have con- 
 sulted the convenience of inventors and given the figures 
 in our currency. 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 Great Britain. 
 
 In this country patents are granted for foin-teen years, 
 and can be obtained by any person who applies, whether 
 he be the inventor or an importer of the invention. The 
 costs are as follows: Provisional protection, good for a 
 period of six months only, $60 00. To complete the 
 patent $165 00 additional is required, making the total 
 cost $225 00. This includes all Government fees, engross- 
 ing of provisional specification, expense of declaration, 
 notice to proceed, application for great seal, filing com- 
 plete specification, and attorney's fees. 
 
 France. 
 
 Patents are issued for fifteen years, and the annual tax 
 is $20 00. We procure these patents and pay the first 
 year's tax for $65 00. 
 
 Belgium. 
 
 The life of the patent is twenty years, and the patentee 
 is required to pay a yearly annuity. The yearly inci'ease 
 of the Government tax is $2 00. Our charge complete 
 which includes the first yeai-'s tax, is $45 00. 
 
 Austria. 
 
 In this country the patent can be extended to fifteen 
 years. The letters patent complete will cost $90 00. 
 
 Hungary, 
 
 Letters patent for this country are included in the 
 Austrian patent in accordance with the new law. 
 
 German Empire. 
 
 The new law in Germany, passed in 1877, grants letter^ 
 patent for the whole of the German Empire under one 
 seal, instead of for each principality. The States included 
 in this law are the following: Alsace-Lorraine, Alten- 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 berg, Anhalt, Baden, Bavaria, Brunswick, Coburg-Gotha, 
 Hanover, Hesse Darmstadt, Lippe Detmold, Lippe 
 Schaumberg, Meiningen, Oldenberg, Prussia, Reuss- 
 Greiz, Reuss-Sleiz, Schwartzberg Rudolstadt, Schwartz- 
 berg Sonderhausen, Saxony, Waldeck, Weimar, Wur- 
 temberg. 
 
 The total population included in the above is over 45,- 
 000,000. The period for which a patent is issued is fifteen 
 years, and the cost, including the first year's tax, is $95 00. 
 
 Russia. 
 
 The life of a patent here is three, five or ten years, at 
 the option of the applicant. The cost is $350 00, $450 00, 
 and $500 00 respectively. 
 
 Spain. 
 
 The Spanish Government now issues a. patent on one 
 application for all parts of its dominions. A mere 
 importer can obtain a patent for five years, and an inven- 
 tor twenty years, while in both cases a yearly annuity 
 must be paid to maintain the patent. The cost complete 
 is $240 00. 
 
 Italy. 
 
 The lifetime of the patent is fifteen years, with a small, 
 annual, increasing annuity. The cost is $95 00. 
 
 Norway. 
 
 Patents in this country are granted for periods ranging 
 from five to fifteen years, but have no annual tax. The 
 total cost is $95 00. 
 
 Sweden. 
 
 Full term of the patent fifteen years. No annual pay- 
 ments. Cost complete, $110 00. 
 
 Portugal. 
 
 Terms of patent, fifteen years. Cost complete, $175 00. 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 23 
 
 ISote on Foreig-n Applications. 
 
 We are prepared to attend to business, of whatever 
 nature, relating to foreign inventions. We are associated 
 with a firm in London, England, which is regarded as 
 one of the leading Agencies in Europe. We have at all 
 times blank forms for obtaining foreign patents, and any 
 advice desired in relation to obtaining patents abroad will 
 be promptly furnished by application to our Home Office. 
 
 SUMMARY OF UNITED STATES PATENT FEES 
 AND ATTORNEY'S FEES. 
 
 Gov. Fee. Atty Fee 
 
 Design patent for ^-^^ years $10.00 $15 
 
 Design patent for 7 years i5-CO i5-oo 
 
 Design patent for 14 years 30.00 i5-00 
 
 On filing every caveat 10.00 10.00 
 
 On filing application for a patent 15.00 25.00 
 
 On issuing each original patent 20.00 
 
 On filing a disclaimer 10.00 
 
 On filing every application for a reissue. . 30.00 
 Filing application for division of a reissue. 30.00 
 Filing every application for an extension . 50.00 
 
 On the grant of every extension 50.00 
 
 Appeal from a primary Examiner to Exam- 
 
 iners-in-Chief 10.00 
 
 Appeal to the Commissioner from Exam- 
 
 iners-in-Chief 20.00 
 
 On depositing trade-mark for registration. 25.00 10.00 
 
 On depositing a label for registration, .... 6.00 10.00 
 
 For certified copy of a patent, for every 
 
 100 words 10 
 
 For recording assignment of 300 words 
 
 or under i.oo 
 
SALE DEPARTMENT 
 
 HOME OFFICE: 
 188 and 19 O "West Fiftli Street, 
 
 J. A. HUGHES, 
 
 Superintendent. 
 
 J. S. ZERBE, 
 
 Attorney and Counselor in Patent Oasest 
 
 BRANCH OFFICES: 
 
 G. M. ATWOOD Boston, Mass., 209 Washing-ton St. 
 
 WM. HAMILTON Baltimore, Md., 32 St. Paul St. 
 
 F. J. BIELER Buffalo, N. Y., 37 E. Huron St. 
 
 J HARDIN Chicago, Ills. 
 
 B. BOOTH New Haven, Conn., 47 Church St. 
 
 J. \V. FORD Hartford, Conn., 4th State St., Ex. Place. 
 
 CHAs. RINEHART Akron, O. 
 
 G.BARNES Leavenworth, Kansas. 
 
 L. J ADOT : Baton Rouge, La. 
 
 CHAS. COX Camden, N. J., 209 Market St. 
 
 T. D . BEACH Springfield, Mass., 5 Elm St. 
 
 JOHNL. BALL Lockport, N. Y.,31 Pine St. 
 
 J. H. LITTLE Paducah,KY. 
 
 E.MILLER Louisville, Ky. 
 
 BEARD BROS. & SENN Columbia, S. C. 
 
 EDWARD LEA.VITT Bangor, Maine. 
 
 GEO. W. BURTON, Sr Dubuque, Iowa, 763 Main St. 
 
 H. R. FRISBIE Newport. R. I. 
 
 BENJ. FRANKLIN Clarksville, Tenn.. 
 
 L. M . P ATTERSON Natchez, Miss. 
 
 P. JACOBS Salt Lake Citv, Utah, 85 Main St. 
 
 J. E MARTIN Kansas City, Mo. 
 
 CAPT. N. STEARNS & SON Virginia City Nev. 
 
 LEIGH BROS & PHELPS Norfolk, Va., 45 Roanoke Ave. 
 
 H. T. STAPLEFORD Ft. Wayne, Ind. 
 
 SHERMAN & BELL Milwaukee, Wis., 116 Grand Avenue. 
 
 J. F. HALL New Orleans, La., 204 Terpsichore St. 
 
 E. R. &F. DEVERALL Memphis, Tenn., 39 Union St. 
 
 W. C. BERINGER Pittsburg, Pa., 116 Smithfield Street. 
 
 JAS. A GIBBS Charleston, S. C, 74 Hasel Street. 
 
 H. KROUSE & CO Atlanta, Ga. 
 
 G. F. BOSHER Manchester, N. H. 
 
 JNO. H. HILL Hannibal, Mo. 
 
 J ACKSON & COWAN Montgomery, Ala. 
 
 H. ROUSE Rondout, N.Y. 
 
 THOS. GIBSON Omaha, Neb.. 271 Farnham St. 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 LEGITIMATE AGENCIES. 
 
 During the past two years a number of patent agencies 
 have sprung up in different parts of the United States, so 
 that, to-day, an inventor has no sooner had his patent 
 allow^ed than he is flooded with circulars from the difier- 
 ent agencies, showing immense facihties, and how much 
 it would be to the patentee's interest to place the patent 
 for sale in the hands of the aforesaid agencies — some 
 asking five dollars advance fee, others ten dollars, and 
 some fifteen dollars, but never over that amount, as they 
 think that, before the inventor would risk over that 
 amount, he would likely make inquiries as to their stand- 
 ing and responsibility, and investigate their wonderful 
 facilities. 
 
 The consequence has been that a great many have sent 
 the amount demanded, with their models, and have never 
 heard of their patents again, not even having the models 
 returned; and it is no wonder, therefore, that now agencies 
 are looked upon as humbugs and with suspicion, and 
 that patentees have no inclination to do business with any 
 of them, but keep their models and papers at home. 
 Since nine out of every ten inventors, from pecuniary 
 and other causes, are unable to put their patents on the 
 market and before the public in the right manner, the 
 patents get old, and they never realize from them. Thou- 
 sands of valuable patents have never yielded inventors 
 anything for this very reason. The question now arises, 
 "What ought the inventor to do?" The answer is plain: 
 Protect yourself at the start, and not "lock the stable door 
 after the horse is gone." In other words, make the 
 proper inquiries as to the standing and responsibility of 
 such agencies. Find out if they really have the offices 
 and facilities they claim. This can be done to a certain 
 extent through parties for whom they claim to have done 
 business, or through their references. 
 
26 THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 An honest and legitimate agency will not avoid an in- 
 vestigation, but rather court it, since such a course must 
 necessarily in the future greatly redound to its advantage, 
 if dishonest firms are prevented from gaining a foot-hold. 
 Investigation means security to inventors and justice to 
 reliable agencies. 
 
 The success of the American Patent Agency the past 
 two years has induced several agencies to copy part of 
 our printing and imitate our circular, and one agency in 
 the West had the impudence to copy our circular entire. 
 Even at the present time, a certain party in this city is 
 sending out circulars soliciting business, when the fact is 
 he has net even an ojffice to, conduct business in. These 
 parties cannot, of course, make a copy of the American 
 Inventor, since none of them have sufficient means to 
 issue more than one number, if they should be able to do 
 that even; but they get up a mass of references^ agents^ 
 branch offices^ etc., and it is not at all surprising that the 
 patentee should be bewildered and afraid to do business 
 with any of them. 
 
 Investigating- Patent Brokers. 
 
 No doubt it is to the interest of all inventors that there 
 should be some agency in the country that is responsible 
 and reliable, and one that will put patents on the market 
 in the proper manner, because an individual with a patent, 
 as hundreds of inventors can testify, after paying for 
 printing bills, traveling expenses, hotel bills, loss of pre- 
 sent business and time, cannot be expected to do this 
 work as cheaply or as quickly as an established agency 
 with experience and facilities at its command. 
 
 In view of the fact, therefore, that those irresponsible 
 houses, to which we have alluded, have not only fleeced 
 inventors, but created a want of confidence in those who 
 are attempting to build up a legitimate business upon 
 
THE INVENTOR^S MANUAL. 27 
 
 business principles, we ask you as sensible men to adopt 
 such a plan in placing your patents on the market as will 
 assure you that the agency in which you impose confi- 
 dence is just what it is represented to be. 
 
 We have a reputation at stake in this matter, being the 
 publishers of the American Inventor; and as an 
 earnest of our efforts in this direction, we have repeatedly 
 published these frauds, and there are others who will 
 shortly receive like attention. 
 
 It is true that all patents cannot be sold, and our judg- 
 ment of what is salable is as likely to be wrong as your 
 own, but wherever a patent is not sold, we lose money 
 by the operation, and it is therefore proper for us to be 
 prudent in the selection of patents for the market. This 
 we cannot do if high pi-ices prevail — the great stumbling 
 block in the way of so many patentees. 
 
 We especially call the attention of inventors to the fact 
 that, after a patent gets over five or six years old, it loses 
 its marketable value very rapidly, and is difficult to sell, 
 however practical the invention may be. This holds good 
 universally if the desire is to sell territory, and all careful 
 purchasers invariably grade the value by the time they 
 have yet to run, as well as count the chances of new pa- 
 tents having been obtained in the meantime for like 
 articles. There must be some inducement to show a 
 profitable margin as well as assurance that they will get 
 back their original investment. 
 
 Finally, we do not ask business from you to the exclu- 
 sion of others, unless merit dictates. We are ever ready 
 to explain our advantages, and prove all the facihties 
 which we claim in this pamphlet. There is no indu.ce- 
 ment in the least for us to mislead, and whatever business 
 is entrusted to our care shall be done opejtly, honorably 
 and promptly. 
 
28 THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 The Cause of Prejudice Against Patents. 
 
 That, at the present day it is difficult to sell patents, 
 and that there is a strong prejudice against not only patent 
 agents, but patents also, would be useless for anyone to 
 deny. No matter how important or valuable the inven- 
 tion may be, there is a disposition on the part of the 
 public to be very careful how they invest. It is true that 
 the "hard times," in a great measure, operate against sales; 
 still that is not the main cause and greatest obstacle in the 
 way of making sales. The difficulty lies with inventors 
 themselves, as well as with a class of men who perambu- 
 late through the country selling rights, who do not care 
 what representations they make so long as they are able to 
 make sales. 
 
 The First Step. 
 
 At first, when the would-be patentee has his idea per- 
 fected, and has demonstrated that it will work practically? 
 he considers about taking out a patent, and, although the 
 cost in this country is only comparatively a small sum, he 
 hesitates, and brings up the question, "will it pay?" and 
 can he afford to risk the money to get a patent? He 
 finally makes up his mind affirmatively and offers the ap- 
 plication. No sooner does he get his patent allowed than 
 his ideas change, and, with but few sensible exceptions, 
 asks fi-om $25,000 to $ioo,oco for an invention on which 
 a month before he hesitated to risk a few dollars to secure 
 a patent. 
 
 Inducing- Capitalists. 
 
 To induce capitalists to buy it is necessary to show 
 them margin enough to enable them not only to make a 
 good profit on manufacturing the article, whatever it may 
 be, but also profit sufficient to enable them to make the 
 money first paid for the patent, outside of the profits on 
 manufacturing. Without the capitalist can see this, of 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 29 
 
 course he cannot be expected to buy, as there would be 
 no inducement to invest in the patent which is regarded 
 as an experiment until the purchaser is reimbursed. 
 
 I 
 
 How Value is Produced. 
 
 Patents are still valuable and find buyers, when the 
 improvement is good and the inventor puts his prices at 
 reasonable figures, but at fancy prices a sale cannot be 
 made. Until the patent is sold it has only imaginary 
 value. It is only when the inventor disposes and realizes 
 that he knows what the invention is worth to him in 
 dollars and cents, and no invention is worth more than it 
 will produce. Of course, when we say produce, we take 
 it for granted that the patent is in the right hands, and 
 has been given proper publicity and the attention which 
 it deserves. 
 
 Manag-ement. 
 
 There are thousands of valuable inventions that have 
 only had a glimpse of light, owing to bad management in 
 putting them before the public. 
 
 The value of an invention depends almost wholly upon 
 whose hands it is in. To illustrate this, we mention a 
 case which came under our observation in this city. 
 Years ago a party bought a patent and commenced man- 
 ufacturing the article. After several years of labor and 
 endeavor to operate without the aid of advertising and 
 withholding the goods from public knowledge, he be- 
 came discouraged, gave up fiis business and never at- 
 tempted to do anything with it until some six months ago, 
 when he almost gave it away to get rid of it. 
 
 The parties who bought the right are men of energy 
 and business qualifications, and to-day are not only mak- 
 ing a large profit from manufacturing, but have sold ter- 
 ritory enough outside to doubly repay them for the invest- 
 ment. 
 
30 THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 Some inventors think there is so much merit in their 
 ideas that it will shed its own light over the world with- 
 out exertion on their part, or advertising the same in some 
 form, or giving it the energy or patience necessary to 
 make successful sales. They find, too late, that they have 
 lost the golden opportunity, and that the time has gone 
 by to realize from it. 
 
 The Values of Patents. 
 
 That an invention in a financial sense is worth no more 
 than ii will bring in dollars and cents, is a proposition 
 that no one will deny, and that the value of the patent is 
 what can be realized from it, and no more, no matter 
 what the intrinsic merit of the invention may be is plain; 
 then naturally follows the question what is the best means 
 of reaching the desired point of realizing what an inven- 
 tioii is worth? 
 
 How to Gain Publicity. 
 
 Publicity and. personal attention nine times out of ten 
 will bring the proper return, but to dp this the inventor 
 must have considerable means besides devoting his whole 
 time. As a general thing inventors, as a class, are not 
 moneyed men, and also have their time occupied. For an 
 individual to work up the sale of his patent it would re- 
 quire money for ti"aveling expenses, hotel bills, printins* 
 and newspaper notices in the diff'erent regions canvassed 
 by him, this would soon amount to two or three thousand 
 dollars without a certainty of a sale at last, so to the 
 "poor inventor" the gates are closed to that road to wealth; 
 the question is now what is the next best method of reach- 
 ing the end. 
 
 The Sui'est Way to Proceed. 
 
 We are satisfied that the best and surest way is to ad- 
 vertise the patent so that capitalists abroad can hear and 
 become interested In the invention, for inventors with a 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 few exceptions are like prophets "without honor in their 
 own country, and the chances "judging by sales gener- 
 ally," will be made easier outside of the particular locality 
 the inventor lives in. To bring the attention of those 
 that have means to buy, there is no medium like the 
 "newspaper," especially one devoted to mechanics, arts 
 and science generally, by making the description lucid 
 and clear, and ^t the same time interesting, the attention 
 of the reader is held, and he forms his ideas if it can be 
 made profitable or not. From the conclusion he draws, 
 he makes inquiries and opens negotiations, after the par- 
 ties are found who like the patent and wish to purchase 
 the battle is gained, the expense of personally seeing those 
 who wish to buy, and closing the sale is comparatively 
 small, and in case the patentee's time is occupied, all ne- 
 gotiations can be made and closed through some respon- 
 sible agency. 
 
 How to Sell Patents. 
 
 There is no branch of industry in the United States 
 which is more susceptible of abuse, or liable to miscon- 
 ceptions, than the business of selling patents. We design 
 to give our views on this subject, and frankly present to 
 your consideration a few reasons why we claim superiority 
 in the manner of handling patents. 
 
 A vast number of patents are issued weekly, and among 
 them many which are of the greatest value, not only to the 
 public at large, but to the inventors themselves. It can 
 not be gainsaid but that many fail to pay their originators 
 for the time, labor and means employed. 
 
 Energy Required. 
 
 A glance at the nature of successful patents is a still 
 more astonishing fact, and invariably confirms us in the 
 belief that not only the intrinsic and wide-spread value of 
 those inventions give them their remunerative feature, but 
 
32 THE INVENTORS MANUAL. 
 
 that there is something still more potent, which enables 
 inventors to realize from their products. Morse was not 
 the first to practically demonstrate the feasibility of trans- 
 mitting messages on wire, but he was the first to bring it 
 to the notice of the public, and the history of his enter- 
 prise shows what delays and vexations he had to undergo 
 before he was successful. 
 
 Howe was not the first inventor of the sewing machine, 
 but 'he simplified the method of machine stitches, and, 
 after years of sufi'ering and privations, saw his invention 
 successful. So with others of our greatest inventors. 
 They are ^Dre-eminently the history of energy and tact. 
 All the avenues of industry and science are so zealously 
 guarded that no one need flatter himself that he will 
 stumble into a fortune on account of his ingenuity, or reap 
 a rich harvest on account of the blundering judgment of 
 others. It is best to be honest and open in these matters. 
 People are becoming careful on the subject of patents. A 
 highly practicable and novel invention is no index to its 
 financial value unless shrewdness and energy accom- 
 pany it. 
 
 Inventors ]N^ot Salesmen. 
 
 Not every one is competent to sell patents. It is a 
 business requiring peculiar talent and knowledge, and it 
 is no argument to say that, because a man is a good in- 
 ventor, he is therefore a good salesman. Indeed, the 
 testimony of patentees, with few exceptions, is that pa- 
 tents are hard to dispose of at remunerative rates. There- 
 fore, in looking over this vast branch of industry, and 
 recognizing its great defect, we are led to the conclusion 
 that the want of a suitable agency, through which inven- 
 tors can transact their business, is needed, by which they 
 may be enabled to bring their inventions to the notice of flj 
 capitalists more favorably than by mere private agencies. 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 33 
 
 As soon as an inventoi- obtains a patent, the first question 
 in his mind is: How shall I sell it. 
 
 Professional Advisers. 
 
 Patentees, as a class, have been in the habit of receiv- 
 ing moie prolific and gratuitous advice than any other set 
 of men in the country. As a result of this advice, the 
 simple question, "How.?" is farther than ever from them, 
 as a practical reality. 
 
 A set of professional advisers are ever ready to dish up 
 stereotyped answers, while they, upon investigation, are 
 generally found to be as inexperienced as those to whom 
 they seek to impart wisdom. 
 
 There are men always ready to say how a thing should 
 be done, but are unable to do it themselves. Mills caii 
 write a logical and elaborate essay on the economy of 
 wealth, but is unnble to audit his own butcher's and 
 baker's bills. The noblest sentiments of purity may be 
 conceived and fashioned by Edgar A. Poe, but the 
 memory of them is the only monument over the grave of 
 the inebriate poet. 
 
 Unprofitable Advice. 
 
 We can conceive how such things may be possible, 
 but, after all is said, it becomes necessary that the man to 
 whom this advice is given should be capable of perform- 
 ing the task. The veriest spendthrift may be able to tell 
 you that economy is the road to wealth, but unless you 
 have the mental capacity to economize, you may be as 
 unfortunate as your spendthrift adviser. It may be good 
 advice to say that the only way to sell a patent is to put it 
 on the market, get customers for it, and — sell. (If any 
 other method has ever been proposed by these professional 
 advisers, we have yet to see it.) But patentees want to 
 
34 
 
 THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 know how to put it on the market, and how to get cus- 
 tomers. 
 
 Inexperienced Inventors. 
 
 Inventors, through lack of experience, are not ac- 
 quainted with the channels of the patent trade, and are 
 often mislead by designing persons to enti'ust their inven- 
 tions into the hands of incompetent men. The result is. 
 months and years pass away and nothing feasible is done 
 in the way of bringing the invention to public notice. 
 
 Our firsc proposition is, that to make a good salesman, a 
 knowledge of the business is necessary. This fact ap- 
 plies to every branch of trade, and is so apparent that to 
 argue it would be useless; and, in the second place, prac- 
 tical experience and tact. The two elements of theory 
 and practice are indispensable. 
 
 Characteristics of Salesmen. 
 
 Suppose we compare the characteristics of two good 
 salesmen in any line of business. In the case of one, his 
 method may be plausible and confiding, minute in detail 
 and careful in representation. He seeks to win rather by 
 force of reason than by taking advantage of circumstances. 
 He is an apt judge of human nature, pliable enough to fit 
 the exact mold of his customer, and politely persuasive. 
 The other is bold and independent, reckless in assertion, 
 and averse to the confidence of others, apparently. The 
 small matters of detail are too insignificant for his atten- 
 tion. Bravado is more effective, because used more 
 naturally. Cunning is one of his characteristics, and 
 frankness the best cloak for it. It would be an utter 
 impossibility for either of these men to assume and play 
 the role of the other. Both are good salesmen; but we 
 desire to impress the idea that each man has his peculiar- 
 ity of temperament. This constitutes his tact, and, when 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 35 
 
 properly combined with experience, will succeed in inak 
 ing a good salesman of any man who has patience and 
 perseverance — two elements necessary in a patent sales" 
 man. 
 
 Inventing^ and Sellimg^. 
 
 Now. we ask, how many patentees have those qualifi- 
 cations? The business of selling patents is an entirely 
 different thing from producing inventions. It is folly to 
 say that because a man is a good inventor he is therefote 
 a good salesman. The experience of so many patentees 
 has, we think, fully demonstrated this fallacy. We are 
 candid in the opinion when we say that the only way 
 inventors can secure the reward for their ingenuity is to 
 entrust the sale of their patents to some good, responsible 
 party to secure negotiations. It will generally be found 
 to be less expensive to them in the end, and avoid endless 
 trouble and annoyance. 
 
 Poor Inventors. 
 
 We are aware that the great body of inventors are 
 poor; therefore not in a position to visit the leading manu- 
 facturers, and come in contact with moneyed men, who 
 would invest in some staple patent. Advertising alone 
 will accomplish nothing, unless backed up by persistent 
 and consistent representation. We, therefore, take ad- 
 vantage of both of these agencies, believing them to be 
 the only safe and reliable means to introduce inventions. 
 
 New Patents Most Valwabie, 
 
 We here urge what we have often repeated to inven- 
 tors, that during the first year from the issue of the patent 
 is the most valuable time to place it on the market, and we 
 are firmly of the opinion that nine-tenths of the patents 
 profitably disposed of are those which were energetically 
 
36 THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 handled during that period. Tlie reason for this is ap- 
 parent. New inventions are constantly being brought to 
 public notice, and so abundant is the opportunity and so 
 large the field for improvement, that no inventor can feel 
 himself safe in the fancied monopoly of any particular 
 sphere of ingenuity. 
 
 Age Impairs Value 
 
 From the fact that capitalists are prone to look with dis- 
 trust upon patents of two and three years standing, and 
 it is natural that they should, when we consider that in the 
 business world men are generally captivated by those 
 articles which command the readiest sale, time always 
 being regarded an important consideration in selections 
 for business operations. 
 
 JLocation Iiiii>ortaiit. 
 
 The patentee, in the majority of cases, is not in a favor- 
 able location to transact the business pertaining to his 
 invention. Our large manufacturing marts are generally 
 conceded to be the most desirable, in a business point of 
 view, and this applies with equal force in the selection of 
 a market for a patent. In many cases, however, patents 
 are more easily disposed of in locations suited to the de- 
 velojpment of the particular branch of industry to which 
 the invention applies. 
 
 County Rigrhts Not Sold. 
 
 We do not refer to that particular class of patents that 
 are sold in country neighborhoods, among farmers and 
 others, for farm, township, shop, or county rights. We 
 have no time or means to "huckster" rights in that way. 
 We sell nothing less than State rights, and we will con- 
 sider no proposition from parties who desire us to sell in 
 that manner. There are parties who make it a specialty 
 to "farm out" patents, to whom we sell rights in a body, 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 37 
 
 and who are generally designated among patent men as 
 "small brokers." 
 
 Personal Solicitatiou Most Eftective. 
 
 No system of selling patents is effective that does not 
 use, as its chief means, the agency oi Personal Solicitation. 
 As before intimated, this, in connection with a judicious 
 system of advertising, is the only reliable method by 
 which a patent can be speedily disposed of. Recognizing 
 these two means as the index to a successful agency, we 
 employ them to the exclusion of all others; and to fully 
 carry out the plan indicated, we have fitted up our office 
 for the representation of all patents entrusted to our care, 
 where they are placed on exhibition for the inspection of 
 customers, and have engaged competent and 
 
 Reliable Salesmen 
 
 For the purpose of fully presenting the merits of the 
 different inventions on exhibit, and to whom are entrusted 
 the details of all patents in their various departments. 
 We also employ trustworthy agents, whose business it is 
 to personally solicit sales in various parts of the country, 
 and who distribute circulars among that class of people 
 most liable to invest in patents. To do this judiciously 
 and with advantage to the patentee, as well as to our- 
 selves, requires pi-udence and a thorough knowledge of 
 the business in hand. We, therefore, select only such 
 men as have proven themselves, by association and ex- 
 perience, to be fully competent. 
 
 Sug-gestions as to Prices. 
 
 We here desire to allude to one gi'eat error into which 
 many inventors are liable to fall, and which fi'equently 
 precludes all chances of sales. There are those who 
 insist upon placing too gi'eat a price upon their patents- 
 
38 THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 Tliey fail to see that other people do not always look 
 upon patents in the same light that they themselves do. 
 They conceive fabulous prices, and, having hung their 
 hopes thereon, fail to be guided by the experience of 
 others. Misfortunes overtake their eager longing for sud- 
 den wealth, and they are at last doomed to bitter disap- 
 pointment. We warn our friends against this course. 
 You can afford to be reasonable with the products of your 
 ingenuity. Frankly speaking, that era in our mechani- 
 cal history, which yields its hundi-eds of thousands and 
 its -millions for a single patent, has passed away. We 
 have just entered the threshold of a new period, in which 
 inventors will be more generally rewarded, and the world 
 at large receive more substantial benefits therefrom. In 
 view of the fact that a patent is often restricted in price, 
 we have resolved not to undertake the sale of a patent 
 unle.ss at such prices as we may deem it morally certain 
 that a sale can be effected within the specified time. 
 
 It is true that there are numbers of parties all over the 
 country who profess to be able to sell everything that is 
 brought to them. If they are practical men, and have a 
 knowledge of the business, common honesty will tell 
 them that it is an impossibility. Any man who will un- 
 dertake the sale, careless as to price and regardless of the 
 nature of the patent, is either a novice in the business or 
 is unworthy of your confidence. Deal only with well 
 known and reliable parties. Such firms have a reputa- 
 tion at stake, and are intei-ested as well as yourselves in 
 doing justice. 
 
 Time Required. 
 
 The usual time for which we make contracts is sixty or 
 ninety days. In some instances sales can be effected in 
 thirty daj's, but we take no contract for less than sixty 
 days, unless for special I'easons, because we do not believe 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 39 
 
 any one can thoroughly work up sales within thirty days 
 to an advantage. We aim to obtain the highest possible 
 prices, and to do that requires time. 
 
 Power of Attorney. 
 
 In many instances inventors do not desire to furnish us 
 power of attorney to make sales. In that event we send 
 the deed to the inventor for signature, who returns it to us 
 per express, C. O. D., that is, collecting on delivery the 
 specified amount in the deed, after deducting the amount 
 of our commission therefrom. A power of attorney^ 
 however, is more desirable, but we shall not, in any case, 
 demand it. If parties see fit to entrust us with such 
 authority, we will not refuse. 
 
 TERMS FOR UNDERTAKI:N^G THE SALE OF A 
 
 PATENT. 
 
 We charge no advance fee for imaginary services, and 
 have always aimed to introduce patents at the least possi- 
 ble expense to patentees. It is pretty well recognized 
 that patentees are not the ones who usually make the most 
 money from their inventions; therefore to charge advance 
 fees, unless there is the most positive evidence of its 
 proper use, and at the same time exact a large commission, 
 greatly lessens the remuneration which should be obtained 
 by parties who have good, practical inventions. 
 
 As every patentee knows, there are certain thing ne- 
 cessary to intioduce any patent, however good it may 
 be, and one of the most valuable, is the printing and 
 proper distribution of descriptions relating to the inven- 
 tion. Capitalists and speculators must be hunted up and 
 appealed to, and they can be found onl}'^ through a wide 
 cast distribution of circulars or other printing matter, in 
 connection with a thoroughly organized system of per- 
 
40 THE INVENTORS MANUAL. 
 
 sonal solicitation^ by practical salesmen permanently 
 located in the principal cities. This will make the intro- 
 duction and sale of patents an accomplished fact, if it 
 can be done at all. To employ these men (of whom this 
 agency has over forty, whose names and locations are 
 given in this book,) requires a constant cash outlay, which 
 is met by our commissions on sales, and which expenses 
 we in -no instance require patentees to pay. When we 
 add to this the cost of model transportation and expenses 
 for stamps, clerk hire, rent, and other incidentals too 
 numerous to mention, it .is plain that the introduction of a 
 new thing, in such a manner as to attract the attention of 
 capitalists in all parts of the country, must necessarily be 
 attended with a large cash outlay before a single sale is 
 effected, and with all the risk of failure or success upon 
 our shoulders. 
 
 For a single individual to command such facilities, 
 operating with only a single article, would, at the start, 
 require a larger sum of money than could be obtained for 
 the whole patent. In view of the fact, therefore, that, 
 even'with the facilities at our command, we cannot bring 
 the attention of capitalists and speculators to our patents 
 without circulars or other means, we expect inventors to 
 pay for the printing of the circulars, and also for such neces- 
 sary descriptions as will enable us to properly place the 
 patent into the market, here and elsewhere. The cost for 
 printing such circulars and descriptions will be given on 
 application, and in no case will extras be charged for 
 services except as 
 
 Commissions on Sales. 
 
 In cases of sales our commissions will not be more than 
 ic; per cent., which, although low, taking into considera- 
 tion the attendant expense, will enable the inventor to 
 put his patent on the market, in a cheaper, more expedi- 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 41 
 
 tious and safer manner than ever heretofore; but experi- 
 ence has taught us that no reliable agency can negotiate 
 sales for less than 15 per cent., and we shall not consider 
 propositions from parties at less rates. 
 
 If parties are not willing to put their patents on the 
 market in such a manner as to assure success, we do not 
 wish to deal with them. We are ever willing to make 
 our compensation contingent upon our success, but we 
 are nbt willing to pay for the cost of printing in addition 
 to the still greater expense of agents' salaries and ex- 
 penses, since the circulars will be at the command of the 
 patentees themselves, and the advantages of these circu- 
 lars finally accrue to their benefit, whether only one State 
 is sold, or one-half of the States. 
 
 Mode of Procedure. 
 
 If you desire to put your patent in our hands for sale, 
 send us the drawings and specifications of your inven- 
 tion, with a model, if you have one, stating the amount 
 you ask for the invention, by States and as a whole. 
 Upon receipt we will examine the same, and if we think 
 it an undesirable invention to place in the market, we 
 will return the papers and model. If we consider the 
 invention feasible, and think the figures are too high, we 
 shall take the liberty to suggest such prices as experience 
 has taught us to be most reasonable. If satisfactory to 
 you, we will then send you duplicate copies of contract 
 for signature, upon receipt of which you will sign both 
 of ihem, retaining one and sending the other to us, and 
 we will at once take the necessary steps to put the patent 
 into the market. 
 
 Models. 
 
 In all cases where you have a model, or more than one,, 
 send them to us We can always make quicker and 
 more satisfactory sales by having an article on hand 
 
42 THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 Many inventions absolutely require a model for represen- 
 tation before a sale can be effected. All models must be 
 sent to us exfressage prepaid; otherwise we will not 
 receive them. We do not belong to that class of agents 
 who can make sales without models, and where parties 
 will furnish us a dozen or more, we can use them to good 
 advantage. These models are held by us or our agents, 
 subject jto the order of the patentee, and we will, at any 
 time after the expiration of the contract, return them. It 
 is the aim of the office to use the models with care and 
 discretion, and agents are so instructed in handling them, 
 but we cannot be i^esponsible for the damage or breakage 
 of models that have been consigned to our care, if such 
 damage was caused by the representation of said models 
 to customers, or by shipping from place to place. 
 
 Sug-g-estions in Transacting Business. 
 
 We suggest the following as rules in transacting your 
 business: 
 
 I. If you have a patent, first detei-mine how you will 
 operate it, whether by selling territory, or by manufac- 
 facturing it yourself, or on royalty. 
 
 3. In the event you decide to sell the territory and 
 intend to secure agents, write to parties who are engaged 
 in the business and ascertain their standing and reliability. 
 This course can injure none but irresponsible agencies, 
 and is no more than justice to yourself. 
 
 3. Always give the number of your patent, with date of 
 issue. 
 
 4. Indicate what your price is for State rights, or for 
 the territory as a whole. Have some price, whatever it 
 may be. Your opinion is worth something. 
 
 5. State, as near as you can, what the cost of your arti- 
 cle will be to manufacture; also selling price. 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 43 
 
 6. Give the advantages arising from its use, or the 
 extent of its sale, if it has been introduced, and such other 
 information as may be of value in determining its proba- 
 ble salable value by territory 
 
 7. And particularly make your letters short and to the 
 point. We have not the time nor the inclination to pore 
 over long letters, nor is it necessary that w^e should do so 
 to form an idea of the salability of a patent. 
 
 We want those with whom we transact business to 
 thoroughly understand our melhod and requirements, and 
 to do this we ask you to carefully read over the foregoing 
 pages relating to the sale of patents 
 
 PROGRESS OF IJfVENTION. 
 
 During the years from 1790 to 1812 inventors confined 
 themselves almost wholly to agricultural and commercial 
 objects. Implements for tilling the soil and converting 
 its products, and machinery for navigation attracted most 
 attention. Manufactures, except of a purely domestic 
 character for domestic purposes, were hardly known. 
 The arts were poorly understood and little cultivated. 
 The necessities of the new world drove its enterprise into 
 other channels, and its people looked to Europe for 
 manufactured products not directly connected with the 
 necessities of life or demanded by the development of its 
 commerce and agriculture. The war of 1812, however, 
 forced our people to attempt production in many branches 
 of manufacture and industry heretofore almost wholly 
 uncultivated, and the result was the most remarkable de 
 velopment of human ingenuity ever known to any age or 
 country. It is a source of gi^eat regret that no well- 
 preserved history of American inventions, dating from 
 this time, is in existence, and that no classified list of 
 
44 THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 models which were in the office at the time of the fire in 
 
 1836 can be obtained. The earliest date that can be 
 reached is January 21, 1823, and that is only partially 
 complete, but it gives the number in the most important 
 classes as follows: 
 
 List of Models in the Patent Office January 21, 1823. 
 
 Propelling boats 38 
 
 Carding machines 8 
 
 Making carriage wheels 4 
 
 Plows 65 
 
 Threshing machines 20 
 
 Winnowing machines 25 
 
 Bridges 13 
 
 Saw mills 26 
 
 Water mills 17 
 
 Wind mills 7 
 
 Water wheels 26 
 
 Pumps 66 
 
 Presses 56 
 
 Looms 45 
 
 Stocking looms 3 
 
 Spinning machines 28 
 
 Fire engines 10 
 
 Steam mills 14 
 
 Nail-cutting machines 95 
 
 Machines for making barrels, etc i 
 
 Mud machines 7 
 
 Flax-dressing machines 6 
 
 File-cutting machines 6 
 
 Machines for cutting dye-woods 6 
 
 Cloth-shearing machines 16 
 
 Straw-cutting machines 10 
 
 Boring machines 3 
 
 Locks 12 
 
 635 
 For various other purposes i»i84 
 
 Total 1,819 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 45 
 
 These models were classified as follows: 
 
 1. Agriculture — Plows, Harrows, Cultivators, Planting, 
 Seeding, Mowing and Threshing Machines, Rakes, 
 Wheat-Fans, Straw-Cutters, etc. 
 
 2. Factory Machinery — For Cotton, Wool, Flax, Hemp, 
 Paper-Rolling and Slitting Mills, Nail-Cutters, etc. 
 
 3. Navigation — Ships, Boats, Marine Railways, Canal- 
 Locks, Mud Machines, Dry-Docks, etc. 
 
 4. Land Works — Railways, Roads, Bridges, Excavat- 
 ing and Boring Machines, Pile-Engines, etc. 
 
 5. Common Trades — Brick-m.aking and Planing Ma- 
 chines, Trip Hammers, Bellows, Turning Lathes, Chains, 
 Washing Machines, Household Furniture and Utensils; 
 also, Boots, Shoes, Saddles, Harness, etc. 
 
 6. Wheel Carriages — Coaches, ChaiVs, Wagons, Carts, 
 Waywisers, Mail-Bags, Boats, etc. 
 
 7. Hydraulics — Pumps, Fire Engines, Hose Valves, etc. 
 
 8. Calorific and Steam Apparatus — Furnaces, Fire 
 places. Stoves, Boilers, Stills, Steam Engines, etc. 
 
 9. Mills — Water and other W^heels, Grist Mills, Saw 
 Mills, and the various parts of their macliinery. 
 
 10. Lever and Screw Power — Applied to Printing, 
 Coining, and other Presses. 
 
 11. Arms — Cannons, Mortars, Muskets, Rifles, Pistols, 
 Percussion, and other Locks, Swords, etc. 
 
 13. Mathematical Instruments — For Surveying, Min- 
 ing and Nautical purposes. 
 
 13. Chemical Compositions — Patent Medicines, Ce- 
 ments, Dyes, etc. 
 
 14. Fine Arts — Musical Instruments, Paints, Varnishes, 
 Gildings, Sculpture, Architecture and Gardening. 
 
 Abuses of the First Liaws. 
 
 From 1790 to the re-organization of the Patent Office 
 in 1836, there were granted 11,348 patents, a large nam- 
 
46 THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 ber of which, on account of lack of novelty or usefulness, 
 were valueless, but among them were some of the most 
 important inventions of the age. The abuses which grew 
 out of the promiscuous granting of patents without fur- 
 ther inquiry than as to the payment of the fee and the 
 form of the application, attracted public attention in the 
 early part of the present century, but it w'as not until 
 1836 that opposition to this system was strong enough to 
 invoke Congressional action. Early in that year Senator 
 Ruggles, of Maine, who was the early champion of a 
 reform of the abuses which the act of 1793 made possible, 
 moved in the Senate for "A select committee of five to 
 take into consideration the state and condifion of the 
 ■Patent Office and the laws relating to the issuing of pa- 
 tents for new and useful inventions and discoveries." 
 The committee was appointed, and on the 28th day of 
 April, of the same year, made an extended report, setting 
 forth the abuses which had grown up as a necessary 
 consequence of the act of 1793, and presented a bill for a 
 re-organization of the Patent Office, which became a 
 law on July 4, 1836. 
 
 GUIDES FOR ESTIMATIJfG- THE VALUE OF 
 PATEISTTS. 
 
 Probably nothjng in the patent business is so hard to 
 arrive at as a basis for the valuation of territorial rights. 
 We have always contended that population is no true 
 basis of a valuation, for while in manj- cases, such as 
 domestic articles, this might apply, yet there are other 
 elements which far more than outweigh the supposed 
 condition of a similarity in all communities. Thus, for 
 instance, we may take Mississippi, with a population of 
 850,000, and New Jersey, with a population of 900,000 
 and according to the idea that a domestic article is worth 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 47 
 
 the same in all places, New Jersey would be worth but 
 little, if any, more than Mississippi. But the fact is that, 
 of the enumerated population in the latter State, nearly 
 two-thirds are blacks, and hence the value must neces- 
 sarily be placed on some other basis. But this is not only 
 true as a comparison between Northern and Southern 
 States. Texas, with a population of 800,060, and a small 
 proportion of negroes, must be considered as a more 
 favorable State than Mississippi, notwithstanding it has 
 a less population, according to the census of 1870. 
 
 The negro element being much larger in the South 
 than in the North, due allowance must be made for a dif- 
 ference in price. On this alone we should make a reduc- 
 tion of at least 33^ per cent. That is taking a Northern 
 and Southern State of equal population, in comparison, 
 we should consider the latter worth one-third less as an 
 investment. 
 
 Sectional Inventions. 
 
 Then again there are patents which are sectional. Thus 
 mechanical contrivances of the higher order, such as 
 mathematical instruments, surveyors apparatus, steam 
 engines, etc., etc., the East is more valuable; for agricul- 
 tural implements, the West. Then there are such inven- 
 tions as appertain solely to the South, among which we 
 may name the cotton gin, seeders and presses. Besides 
 this, it must be taken into consideration that very many 
 inventions are not of such a nature as to make sales of 
 territorial rights a possibility. They usually belong to the 
 larger and more expensive inventions, and require large 
 means to operate. 
 
 It cannot be disputed that in these times very few 
 patents are sold as a whole. The most rapid sales are 
 made of inventions that are small and easily handled; 
 articles that can be manufactured anywhere. If the entir 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 territory is sold in one transaction, it is for a low price, 
 much less, in many instances, than might be obtained for 
 a fourth of the entire territory, if sold by States. This is 
 owing to the scarcity of money and an aversion to too 
 deep speculation, even on the part of those who usually 
 make a business of patent speculation. Our experience 
 leads us to believe that the number of patent buyers is 
 greater than ever, and that individually they are in com- 
 mand of less money and less inclined to hazardous invest- 
 ment than formerly. 
 
 To enable inventors to judge somewhat of relative val- 
 ues as between States, we give below the order of them, 
 in which i is regarded as the best, 2 the second best, etc.: 
 
 1. Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois, Ohio. 
 
 2. Massachusetts, Indiana, Missouri. 
 
 3. Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin. 
 
 4. Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, 
 Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, California. 
 
 j;. Alabama, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, S. Carolina. 
 
 6. Arkansas, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Hampshire, 
 Vermont, West Virginia, Kansas. 
 
 7. Rhode Island, Delaware, Florida, Nebraska. 
 
 8. Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, District Columbia, New 
 Mexico, Utah. 9 Territories. 
 
 It must be remembered that this scale is subject to the 
 modifications to which we have referred; but the average 
 is a good one, and we ha\e followed but, not altogether, 
 the population of the States, but such other elements as 
 our experience has shown us to be valuable in making 
 estimates. 
 
 Population of the United States 
 
 We herewith give a table of States, with population, 
 nuoiber of counties and the average number of inhabit- 
 ants in each county. This table will serve a useful pur- 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 49 
 
 pose in estimating values in 
 going remarks: 
 
 accordance with the fore- 
 
 Alabama 
 
 Arkansas 
 
 California 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 Florida 
 
 Georgia 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Indiana 
 
 Iowa . 
 
 Kansas 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 Maine 
 
 Maryland 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 Michigan 
 
 Minnesota 
 
 Mississippi 
 
 Missouri 
 
 Nebraska 
 
 Nevada 
 
 New Hampshire .... 
 
 New Jersey 
 
 New York 
 
 North Carolina 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Oregon 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 South Carolina 
 
 Rhode Island 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 Texas 
 
 Vermont 
 
 Virginia 
 
 West Virginia 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 District of Columbia. 
 Colorado 
 
 POPUL.\- 
 
 TION. 
 
 No. 
 
 COUNTIKS 
 
 Population 
 Per Co. 
 
 996,988 
 
 67 
 
 14,890 
 
 483,179 
 
 61 
 
 7,921 
 
 560,385 
 
 50 
 
 11,206 
 
 135,015 
 
 8 
 
 15,629 
 
 187,750 
 
 41 
 
 4,653 
 
 1,194,089 
 
 133 
 
 
 2,539,638 
 
 1 03 
 
 34,898 
 
 1,893,563 
 
 92 
 
 30,571 
 
 1,191,803 
 
 99 
 
 13,038 
 
 363,873 
 
 79 
 
 4,586 
 
 1,331,001 
 
 115 
 
 11,487 
 
 732,731 
 
 54 
 
 13,568 
 
 636,463 
 
 16 
 
 39,154 
 
 780,806 
 
 33 
 
 35,492 
 
 1,457,351 
 
 14 
 
 104,075 
 
 1,184,396 
 
 79 
 
 14,991 
 
 435,511 
 
 78 
 
 5,584 
 
 637,117 
 
 65 
 
 9,492 
 
 1,711,796 
 
 114 
 
 15,014 
 
 150,372 
 
 59 
 
 2,549 
 
 42,491 
 
 17 
 
 2,499 
 
 318.300 
 
 10 
 
 31,830 
 
 905^79^ 
 
 31 
 
 43,134 
 
 4,364,411 
 
 60 
 
 73,740 
 
 1,065,505 
 
 91 
 
 11,708 
 
 3,663,314 
 
 88 
 
 30,253 
 
 90,933 
 
 ?? 
 
 3,953 
 
 3,499,248 
 
 66 
 
 53,018 
 
 640.337 
 
 32 
 
 30,017 
 
 217,356 
 
 5 
 
 43,462 
 
 1.257,983 
 
 85 
 
 14,799 
 
 650,338 
 
 161 
 
 4,089 
 
 280,563 
 
 14 
 
 20-043 
 
 .1,334,830 
 
 149 
 
 8,331 
 
 445,616 
 
 53 
 
 8,407 
 
 .1,055,167 
 
 61 
 
 17,397 
 
 131,706 
 
 
 
 39,706 
 
 21 
 
 1,891 
 
50 THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 FORMS. 
 
 Assig-nment of an Entire Interest in an Invention 
 Before the Issue of Letters Patent. 
 
 Whereas I, A. B., of , county of , State 
 
 of , have invented a certain new and useful inven- 
 tion, or improvement in , (giving the title of the 
 
 same,) for which I am about to make application for let- 
 ters patent of the United States; and, whereas, G. D., 
 
 of- , county of , State of , is desirous 
 
 of acquiring an interest in said invention, and in the 
 letters patent to be obtained therefor: 
 
 Now, therefore, to all whom it may concern, be it 
 
 known that for and in consideration of the sum of 
 
 dollars, to me in hand paid, the receipt of which is hereby 
 acknowledged, I, the said A. B., have sold, assigned, 
 transferred, and set over, and by these presents do sell, 
 assign, transfer, and set over unto the said G. D., the full 
 and exclusive right to the said invention, as fully described 
 in the specification prepared and executed by me pre- 
 paratory to obtaining letters patent of the United States 
 therefor, and I do hereby authorize and request the Com- 
 missioner of Patents to issue the said letters patent to the 
 said G. D., as the assignee of my entire right, title and 
 interest in and to the same, for the sole use and behoof of 
 the said G. D. and his legal representatives. 
 
 In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and 
 affixed my seal, this day of , A. D. 187-. 
 
 In presence of — A. B. [seal.] 
 
 O. P. 
 S. T. 
 
 Assignment of the Entire Interest in Letters Patent. 
 
 Whereas I, C. D., of , county of , State 
 
 of , did obtain letters patent of the United States 
 
 for (mentioning the title of the invention,) which letters 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 51 
 
 patent are numbered , and bear date the day 
 
 of , in the year one thousand eight hundred and — , 
 
 and whereas I am now the sole owner of said patent and 
 
 of all rights under the same; and whereas E. F., of , 
 
 county of , State of , is desirous of acquiring 
 
 the entire interest in the same: 
 
 Now, therefore, to all whom it may concern, be it 
 
 known that for and in consideration of the sum of 
 
 dollars, to me in hand paid, the receipt of which is hereby 
 acknowledged, I, the said C. D., have sold, assigned, 
 transferred, and set over, and by these presents do sell, 
 assign, transfer, and set over unto the said E. F., all the 
 right, title, and interest whatsoever which I have in and 
 to the said improvement in (title,) and in and to the let- 
 ters patent therefor aforesaid; the same to be held and 
 enjoyed by the said E. F., for his own use and behoof, and 
 for the use and behoof of his legal representatives, to the 
 full end of the term for which said letters patent are, or 
 may be granted, (thus including extension,) as fully and 
 entirely as the same would have been held and enjoyed 
 by me had this assignment and sale not been made. 
 
 In testimony whereof — have hereunto set — hand and 
 affixed — seal, this day of , A. D. 187-. 
 
 In presence of — C. D. [seal.] 
 
 N. P. 
 O. T. 
 
 Asslg^nment of an Undivided Interest in the Letters 
 Patent. 
 
 Whereas I, L. M., of , county of , State 
 
 of , did obtain letters patent of the United States 
 
 for (giving title,) which letters patent are'numbered , 
 
 and bear date the day of — , in the year one 
 
 thousand eight hundred and — ; and whereas D. E., 
 
53 THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 of , county of , State of , is desirous of 
 
 acquiring an interest in the same: 
 
 Now, therefore, to all whom it may concern, be it 
 
 known that for and in consideration of the sum of 
 
 dollars, to me in hand paid, the receipt of which is hereby 
 acknowledged, I, the said L. M., have sold, assigned, 
 transferred, and set over, and b}' these presents do sell, 
 assign, transfer and set over unto the said D. E., the undi- 
 vided one- half part of all the right, title and interest 
 whatsoever which I have in and to the said invention, 
 and in and to the letters patent therefor aforesaid; the said 
 undivided 'one-half part to be held and enjoyed by the 
 said D. E., for. his own use and behoof, and for the use 
 and behoof of his legal representatives, to the full end of 
 the term for which said letters patent are, or may be 
 granted, (thus including extension,) as fully and entirely 
 as the same would have been held and enjoyed by me had 
 this assignment and sale not been made. 
 
 In testimony whereof — have hereunto set — hand and 
 affixed — seal, this day of , A. D., 187-. 
 
 In presence of — , [seal.] 
 
 Assig-nment of Territorial Interest After Grant of 
 Patent. 
 
 Whereas I, Q^. X., of .county of , State 
 
 of , did obtain letters patent of the United States 
 
 for (giving title,) which letters patent are numbered , 
 
 and bear date the day of , in the year one 
 
 thousand eight hundred and — ; and whereas I am now 
 the sole owner of the said patent and of all rights under 
 the same in the below recited territory; and whereas W. 
 O., of , county of — , State of , is de- 
 sirous of acquiring an interest in the same: 
 
 Now, therefore, to all whom it may concern, be it 
 
THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 53 
 
 known that for and in consideration of the sum of 
 
 dollars, to me in hand paid, the receipt of which is hereby 
 acknowledged, I, the said Q_. X., have sold, assigned, 
 transferred, and set over, and by these presents do sell, 
 assign, transfer and set over nnto the said W. O., all the 
 right, title and interest whatsoever which I have in and 
 to the saicl invention, (or improvement,) as secured to me 
 
 by said letters patent, for, to and in the State of , 
 
 and for, to, or in no other place or places; the same to be 
 held and enjoyed by the said W._ O. within and through- 
 out the above specified territory, but not elsewhere, for 
 his own use and behoof, and for the use and behoof of 
 his legal representatives, to the full end of the term for 
 which said letters patent are, or may be granted, (thus 
 including extension,) as fully and entirely as the same 
 would have been held and enjoyed by me therein had this 
 assignment and sale not been made. 
 
 In testimony whereof — have hei-eunto set — hand and 
 affixed — seal this day of , A. D. 187-. 
 
 In the presence of — Q. X. [seal.] 
 
 S. T. 
 R. D. 
 
 liicense— Sliop-Kight. 
 
 In consideration of fifty dollars, to be paid by the firm 
 of S. J. & Co., of ; I do hereby license and em- 
 power the said S. J. & Co. to manufacture in said , 
 
 or some other place or places as he or his firm may elect, 
 the improvement in cotton-seed planters, for which let- 
 ters patent of the United States, No. 71,846 were granted 
 to me November 13, i868, and to sell the machines so 
 manufactured throughout the United States, to the full 
 end of the term for which said letters patent are granted. 
 
 Witness my hand this zzd day of April, 1869. 
 
 A. B. 
 
54 THE INVENTOR'S MANUAL. 
 
 liicense— N^ot Exclusive— With Royalty. 
 
 This agi-eement, made this 12th day of September, 
 1868, between A. B., party of the first part, and C. D. & 
 Co., party of the second pail, witnesseth that, whereas 
 letters patent of the United States for an improvement in 
 horse-rakes were granted to the party of the first part, 
 dated October 4, 1867; and whereas the party of the 
 second part is desirous of manufactuinng horse-rakes 
 containing said patented improvement; now, therefor, the 
 parties have agreed as follows: 
 
 [Conditions.] 
 
 In witness whereof the parties above named have 
 hereunto set their hands the day and year first above 
 written. A. B. 
 
 C. D. &Co. 
 Transfer of a Trade Mark. 
 
 We, A. B. and C. D., of , partners under the 
 
 firm name of B. & D., in considei^ation of five hundred 
 dollars to us paid by E. F., of the same place, do hereby 
 sell, assign, and transfer to the said E. F. and his assigns, 
 the exclusive right to use in the manufacture and sale of 
 stoves a certain trade mark for stoves deposited by us in 
 the United States Patent Office, and recorded therein 
 July 15, 1870; the same to be held, enjoyed and used by 
 the said E. F. as fully and entirely as the same would 
 have been held and enjoyed by us if this grant had not 
 been made. 
 
 Witness our hands this 20th day of July, 1870. 
 
 A. B. 
 C. D. 
 
 BLAIS^KS. 
 
 We furnish blank forms of every description and prepare assignments or 
 papers relating to sales, royalty or manufacturing rights. 
 
 For attending to recording of assignments, power of attorney, etc., a small 
 fee is charged . Any information relating to sales, royalty rights and the like, 
 will be cheerfully given on application. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Reasons Why Inventors Should 
 Procure Their Patents Through 
 American Patent Agency 2 
 
 Our Terms and Method of Conduct- 
 
 ing- 
 
 Who May Obtain a Patent i 
 
 Joint Inventors 4 
 
 What Will Bar a Patent 4 
 
 What Constitutes Invention 5 
 
 Mode of Proceeding to Obtain a 
 
 Patent 5 
 
 Preliminary Examination 5 
 
 The Application— Cost 6 
 
 Model Requirements 6 
 
 Drawings 7 
 
 The Specification 8 
 
 The Claims . . 9 
 
 Caveats 9 
 
 Patents for Designs .10 
 
 Proceedings for Design Patents .11 
 
 Trade Marks 11 
 
 Term of Trade Marks 12 
 
 Interferences 12 
 
 Reissues 14 
 
 Importance of Reissues 14 
 
 Disclaimers 15 
 
 Appeals . 15 
 
 Registration of Prints and Labels.. 16 
 
 Copyrights .17 
 
 Canadian Patents 17 
 
 The Term of Canadian Patents 18 
 
 Application for Canadian Patent. 18 
 Manufacturing Patents in Canada. .18 
 
 Cost of Canadian Patent 19 
 
 Shipment of Models 19 
 
 Correspondence 19 
 
 Foreign Patents . .20 
 
 Foreign Fees— How Payable 20 
 
 Great Britain 21 
 
 France 2' 
 
 Belgium ...21 
 
 Austria 2i 
 
 Hungary .. . ..... 21 
 
 German Empire 21 
 
 Russia 22 
 
 Spain 22 
 
 Italy 22 
 
 Norway 22 
 
 Sweden 22 
 
 Portugal 22 
 
 Note on Foreign Applications 23 
 
 Summary ofU. S. Patent and At- 
 torneys' Fees 23 
 
 Sale Department — Offices .24 
 
 Legitimate Agencies 25 
 
 Investigating Patent Brokers. . . 2S 
 The Cause of Prejudice Against Pat- 
 ents 28 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 The First Step 28 
 
 Inducing Capitalists 28 
 
 How Value is Produced 29 
 
 Management 29 
 
 The Values of Patents 30 
 
 How to Gain Publicity 30 
 
 The Surest Way to Proceed 30 
 
 How to Sell Patents 31 
 
 Energy Required 31 
 
 Inventors Not Salesmen 32 
 
 Professional Advisers 33 
 
 Uuprofitable Advice 3S 
 
 Inexperienced Inventors H4 
 
 Characteristics of Salesmen 34 
 
 Inventing and Selling 35 
 
 Poor Inventors .".SS 
 
 New Patents Most Valuable 35 
 
 Age Impairs Value ..36 
 
 Location Important 36 
 
 County Rights 36 
 
 Personal Solicitation Most Effective. 37 
 
 Reliable Salesmen 37 
 
 Suggestions as to Prices 37 
 
 Time Required 38 
 
 Power of Attorney 39 
 
 Terms for Undertaking the Sale of 
 
 a Patent 89 
 
 Commissions on Sales 4 
 
 Mode of Procedure 41 
 
 Models 41 
 
 Suggestions in Transacting Busi- 
 ness 42 
 
 Progress ef Invention 48 
 
 List of Models in Patent Office, Jan- 
 uary 21, 1823 44 
 
 Classification of Models in 1823 ... .45 
 
 Abuses of the First Law 45 
 
 Guides for Estimating the Value of 
 
 Patents 46 
 
 Sectional Inventions 47 
 
 Population of the United States with 
 Number and Average Popula- 
 tion of Counties 48 
 
 Assignment of an Entire Interest in 
 an Invention Before the Issue of 
 
 Letters Patent 50 
 
 Assignment of the Entire Inter- 
 
 e St in Letters Patent 50 
 
 Assignment of the Undivided Inter- 
 est in the Letters Patent 51 
 
 Assignment of Territorial Interest 
 
 After Grant of Patent 52 
 
 License — Shop Right 58 
 
 License— Not Exclusive— With Roy- 
 alty 54 
 
 Transfer of Trade Marks 54 
 
 Blanks 54 
 
ZWSER & HERMAN, 
 
 EiFaiers rt Die Mers, 
 
 —AND GENERAL MANUFACTURERS OF— 
 
 STAMPED AND PRESSED GOODS. 
 
 NOTICE TO INVESTOKS. 
 
 Having several years experience in our line of business, we are enabled to 
 manufacture, cheaper and better than any other house, articles pertaining- to 
 patent men, such as Steel, Brass and Rubber Stamps, Burning Brands, Stencils, 
 Metal Cards, Pattern Letters, Stencil Ink and Brushes, Stamping Inks for Brass 
 and Rubber Stamps; also manufacturers of Light Patent Avtrdes, wholly or 
 partly made of Brass or other Metals, embossed, stamped, pressed, swedged or 
 punched where Dies are required. Wood Cuts and Electrotypes for ilkistrating 
 patent articles. 
 
 Persons requiring anything in our line, and at the latest reduced prices, 
 should address for further information. 
 
 ZAISER & HERMAN, 
 
 S. E. Oor. Elm and Pifth Sts., CINCINNATI. 
 
 A. CAMPBELL. W. F. COLBURN. 
 
 CAMPBELL & CO. 
 
 No. 174 ELM STREET, 
 
 PRINTERS' FURNISHING WAREHOUSE, 
 
 DESIGNING AND -WOOD ENGRAVING, 
 
OUR REFERENCES- 
 
 We take pleasure in referring to parties for whom we 
 have done business. The following is a partial list of men for 
 whom we h;u'e lately procured patents: 
 
 Bushnell & Calhoun. Cimarron. New Mexico, Fruit Picker, No. zi2,sSJS; February 
 
 •S. "879- ■ 
 
 Eugene Beminghaus, Cincinnati, O., Barber Chairs, No. 207,01^; Augiist 20, 1878. 
 
 Isabella Hillen, Newport, Ky , Stirrups. 
 
 Fred, and Val. Becker, Cincinnati, O., Baling Press, No. 210,901; December 17, 1878. 
 I^ver Press, 206,527; July 30, 1S7S. 
 
 G. A. Neal, Smithfield, Ky., Car Brake, No. 204,679; June 11, 1878. 
 
 Peter Ehinbar, Cincinnati, O., Ironing Table, No. 200,648; February 26, 1S78. Clothes 
 Dryer, No. 204,658; June 11, 1878. 
 
 Frank Mayrhofer, Delphos, O., Saw and Horse. 
 
 G. W. Khynearson, Avondale, O., Cignr Bundler and Binder, No. 205^300; June 
 iS, 1S7S. 
 
 Thomas Lee, Cincinnati, O., Peanut Roaster, No. 212,146; February 11, 1S79. 
 Cooker and Steamer, No. 213,763; April 1, 1879. 
 
 H. E. Van Benschoten, Hillsdale, N. Y., Boots and^Shoes, No. 310,^4; December 
 
 10, 1S7S. 
 
 James Skardon, Cincinnati, O., Darning Attachment for Sewing Machine. 
 
 P. S. Smout, Decorah, Iowa, Chimney Tops. 
 
 C. H Schalle, Cincinnati, O., Lamp Lighter, No. 207,369, August 27, 1S78. 
 
 David Stallard, Jr., New Liberty, Owen County, Ky., Hoop Stretcher, Ncu 
 
 110,815; December 10, 1878. 
 
 J. C. Taber, Cincinnati, O., Stove Funnel. 
 
 Jas. E. Morgan, Paducah, Ky., Bee Hive, No. 204,678; June 11, 187J'. 
 
 Coffman & Havens, Carroll, O., Sash Fastener, No. 206,664; August 6, 1S78. 
 
 John H. Brooke, Cincinnati, O , Combination and Transformation Patterns. 
 
 E. R. Deverall, Cincinnati, O., Oil Cans. 
 
 James H. Gulick, Cincinnati, O., Machines for Cutting Green Corn frcni the Cob 
 
 Simon Hawker, Cincinnati, O., Bed Bottom * 
 
 W. C C. Rouse, Florence Cross Roads, Ky., Automatic Railroad Gate. 
 
 The following well-known gentlemen in this city can give 
 you information as to our standing and reliability: 
 
 Hon. Joseph Kinsey, Pres't Post & Co., Cor. I Col. Thos. Mason, 140 W. Front. 
 
 Elm and Pearl Streets. | Geo. I. Yeager, Ed Ins. Herald, J5 
 
 Becker Bros., 51 Race Street. i West Third Street. 
 John L. Boyer, Vice-President Globe Rollinsr I Eugene Berningfhaus, No. Sj "Western 
 
 Mill Co. ^ ^Avenue. 
 
 Bradstreet Co. Mercantile Agency. ' Geo. C. Smith. 138 Race Street. 
 
 A.J. -White. I W. W Murphy, M. D. 
 
 We ask our correspondents to write to an}' business men 
 in this city, if they prefer doing so, and ascertain throiigli ■ 
 them whether we are responsible and have the reputation of 
 dealing fairly and honorably. 
 
 AMERICAN PATENT AGENCY. 
 
 HOME OFFICE: 188 and 190 W. FiftL St., Cincinnati, O. 
 
 Agency for Procuring and Selling of Patents. 
 
FINE BOOK PAPER. 
 
 It contains in the course of the year reading matter equal to 
 800 Pages and 300 Illustrations 
 of new and useful inventions, machinery and Everything new, 
 novel and interesting in the world of mechanical thought. It 
 
 REPRESENTS PRO&RESS IN ALL ITS^DETAILS, 
 
 ind each number will give practical information in respect to 
 new ideas and useful hints pertaining to industrial art. 
 
 ITS LEGAL COLUMN IS COMPREHENSIVE, 
 
 and compiled for the benefit of mechanics, inventors and paten- 
 tees. This in itself is worth the year's subscription. The In- 
 ventor has from the first persistently fought against the enact- 
 ment of the 
 
 PATENT LAW AMENDMENTS. 
 
 It has been thoroughly in accord with the wants and demands 
 ol inventors. We have been led to adopt this course by an honest 
 conviction of the rectitude of our cause, and by a knowledge of 
 the fact that inventors as a class do not receive that public support 
 from journals which their merits demand or their interests require. 
 
 Vou can aid us in this work, and we need your assistance to 
 enable us to place the Inventor in the hands of every mechanic 
 and inventor in the land. Its low subscription price. 
 
 $1.00 PER YEAR, 
 
 s a trifling sum, but we do not request it of you 
 satisfied that the 
 
 iless you feel 
 
 INVENTOR MERITS SUPPORT. 
 
 If you are in accord with the views it expresses and desire ; 
 addition to secure a vast amount of invaluable information, send 1 
 ONE DOLLAR for a year's subscription. Address, 
 
 AMERICAN INVENTOR, 
 
 No. 188 \Vest Fifth Street, 
 
 CINCINNATI, O.