Constantine Joseph Smyth
Judge Smyth no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Smyth decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Smyth treated widespread practical adoption as corroboration that a claimed device achieved results absent from prior references.
“There are more than 3,000 of the devices in use, a fact which tends to corroborate the testimony of the engineers that the device achieves results not reached by those of the references.”
He considered commercial displacement of older designs when resolving patentability doubt in the applicant's favor.
“Persons needing an elevator, and familiar presumably with the Richards and Riggs structures, have adopted the Wilson device, which has practically driven the other structures from the commercial field.”
For trademark confusion, Smyth focused on whether a buyer seeking one producer's goods would likely accept another's.
“In each case of this kind the matter to be solved is whether the marks, if used, would be likely to induce a person seeking the goods of the one producer to accept those of the other.”
Procedural preferences
Smyth required a post-conviction bail applicant to identify a substantial appellate error before the court would consider release.
“the applicant should point out in the record what he considers is a substantial error”
He treated a Patent Office interference appeal as jurisdictionally limited to a final priority judgment.
“His action in dissolving the interference simply placed .the parties back where they were before he had declared the interference, and we have no power to disturb it. It is not a final order.”
Cautions
Smyth declined to consider a substitute patent claim that the agency tribunals had never reviewed.
“We sit as a Court of- Appeals, not as a tribunal of first instance.”
He treated a clerical alteration in extradition papers as harmless where the context made the intended pronoun obvious and no one was prejudiced.
“No one could be misled or prejudiced by it.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The Commissioner’s decision is affirmed as to all the claims involved in the appeal, excepting 4 and 10, and as to them it is reversed,, and those claims are allowed as patentable to Elihu C. Wilson.”
“As a result the motion to dismiss in this case for want of jurisdiction must be sustained.-”
“Consequently the decree is affirmed, at appellant’s cost.”
“We find no such error in this case, and therefore the decision of the Commissioner is affirmed.”
“the decision of the Commissioner must be, and it is, affirmed.”
“The order appealed from is reversed, at the cost of the appellees, and the case remanded for further proceedings in harmony with this opinion.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Not applicable to this circuit-court record.
A historical record
Judge Smyth no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.