UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT DECISIONS ON-LINE
UNION EDGE SETTER CO. V. KEITH, 139 U. S. 530 (1891)
139 U. S. 530U.S. Supreme Court
Union Edge Setter Co. v. Keith, 139 U.S. 530 (1891)
Union Edge Setter Company v. Keith
No. 283
Argued March 20, 23, 1891
Decided April 6, 1891
139 U.S. 530
APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED
STATES FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
Syllabus
The first claim under letters patent No. 173,284, dated February 8, 1876, granted to Charles H. Helms for an improvement in sole-edge burnishing machines, namely, "in combination with the burnishing tool, and the rest for the face of the sole, the finger rest D, substantially as described" falls within the many rulings of this Court holding that a mere aggregation of old elements in a new relation is not the subject of a patent. clubjuris
This was a bill in equity for the infringement of letters patent No. 173,284, issued February 8, 1876, to Charles H. Helms for an improvement in sole edge burnishing machines. In the introduction to his specifications, the patentee stated that his machine consisted