PATENTS. 



PENNSYLVANIA. 



683 



with certain conditions. Registration will also 

 be granted to trade- marks of citizens or resi- 

 dents of this country wishing the protection 

 of a trade-mark in any foreign country the 

 laws of which require registration in the United 

 States as a condition precedent. This gives the 

 necessary status of an applicant. The condi- 

 tions are briefly as follows : 1. Payment of 

 twenty-five dollars into the Treasury of the 

 United States. 2. Statement of applicant's 

 name, citizenship, residence, place of business ; 

 if a corporation, under what laws, State or 

 national, incorporated, time during which the 

 trade-mark has been used, for what class of 

 goods, how applied, with a full description of 

 its device. 3. Declaration under oath to the 

 effect that the party has a right to the use of 

 the trade-mark, that no other person has such 

 right, that such trade-mark is used in lawful 

 commerce with foreign nations or Indian tribes, 

 one or more of which should be named ; and 

 finally, that it is truly represented in the fac- 

 simile which must be presented for registry. 

 Interferences may be declared as in the case of 

 patents. The protection is in force for thirty 

 years, and upon payment of a second fee may 

 be renewed for thirty years more, provided it 

 is for an American manufacture, otherwise it 

 can only be extended so as to cover the period 

 of its franchise under the laws of any foreign 

 country protecting it. 



Labels. Labels and prints designed for use 

 for articles of manufacture may be registered 

 by citizens and residents of the United States 

 in the Patent-Office under the act of June 

 18, 1874, sections 3, 4, and 5 (18 Statutes at 

 Large, p. 78). Prints and labels are construed 

 in Patent-Office practice as synonymous, and as 

 indicating any descriptive device intended for 

 attachment or impress upon articles of manu- 

 facture or packages containing the same. They 

 must not be arbitrary or fanciful, but truly de- 

 scriptive, otherwise registration will be refused 

 them as being trade-marks. Five copies must 

 be filed, one of which will be returned certified 

 to by the Commissioner of Patents. For regis- 

 tration a fee of six dollars is required. It will 

 continue in force for twenty-eight years. It is 

 probable that the benefits of this act by recent 

 treaties have been extended to British subjects 

 and citizens of Germany. This registration of 

 labels is a copyrighting of them, under the law 

 of copyrights, and the Commissioner of Patents 

 is merely the substitute of the Librarian of Con- 

 gress in the office of registrar, when labels for 

 manufactured articles are in question. 



In the " Official Gazette of the United States 

 Patent-Office," lists of labels and trade-marks, 

 as registered each week, are published. 



The present practice of the Patent-Office is 

 to discriminate between labels and trade-marks. 

 When an applicant presents a device and asks 

 that it be registered as a label, it is examined, 

 and, if found arbitrary and fanciful in its pro- 

 posed use, such registration will be refused it 

 as being a trade-mark. This is in the face of 



several decisions of the Supreme Court of the 

 District of Columbia. The ground taken by 

 the Court was that the duties of the Commis- 

 sioner in the matter were purely ministerial, 

 and that he had no right to exercise this dis- 

 crimination. In a recent case (Moodie vs. But- 

 terworth Com.), decided Dec. 27, 1884, the 

 mandamus asked for by the applicant for regis- 

 tration of a label was refused by the Court. 

 This confirms the propriety of the office prac- 

 tice. Under these rulings, cases involving a 

 certain amount of hardship may arise. A per- 

 son may wish to register a trade-mark not 

 used in commerce with foreign nations or In- 

 dian tribes. On account of such failure he 

 could only select label registration. Then, on 

 sending his fee for such protection, he would 

 be refused it, while his fee would be retained, 

 and from the circumstances of use of his device 

 he could not register it as a trade-mark. 



Any person, firm, or corporation located in 

 any of the following countries can have the 

 benefit of this act : Russia, Belgium, France, 

 Austria, the German Empire, and Great Britain. 



The registry of labels is done in accordance 

 with the eighth clause of section 8 of the first 

 article of the Constitution. 



When registered, a trade-mark becomes the 

 subject of protection by United States courts, 

 even in a suit between citizens of the same 

 State, without regard to the amount in con- 

 troversy. Without such registration a suit be- 

 tween citizens of the same State must be de- 

 cided in the courts of the State. A label, when 

 registered, becomes the subject of copyright, 

 and is protectable as such. 



On application, and without any charge, the 

 Commissioner of Patents will mail to the ap- 

 plicant a pamphlet containing the trade-mark 

 and label statutes, and the rules and practice of 

 the Patent-Office relating thereto. 



PENNSYLVANIA. State Government The fol- 

 lowing were the State officers during the year : 

 Governor, Robert E. Pattison, Democrat; 

 Lieutenant-Governor, Chauncey F. Black ; Sec- 

 retary of State, William S. Stenger ; Treasurer, 

 William Linsey; Auditor-General, Jerome B. 

 Niles ; Secretary of Internal Affairs, J. Simp- 

 son Africa ; Attorney- General, Louis 0. Cas- 

 sidy ; Adjutant-General, Pressly N. Guthrie ; 

 Superintendent of Public Instruction, E. E. 

 Higbee ; Insurance Commissioner, J. M. Fors- 

 ter. Judiciary, Supreme Court: Chief-Jus- 

 tice, Ulysses Mercur ; Justices, Isaac G. Gor- 

 don, Edward M. Paxson, John Trunkey, James 

 P. Sterrett, Henry Green, and Silas M. Clark. 



Legislative Session. The Legislature met on 

 Jan. 6, and adjourned on June 12. The fol- 

 lowing are among the acts of the session: 



Providing for the appointment of a commission to 

 revise the mining and ventilation laws in the bitumi- 

 nous coal regions. 



Relating to the study of physiology and hygiene in 

 the public schools and aided educational institutions. 



To provide for the burial, etc., of honorably dis- 

 charged soldiers, sailors, and marines. 



To authorize the admission of destitute children of 



