Seidensticker v. Bean

• Citation: 300 P. 366,89 Colo. 104
• Decision Date: 18 May 1931
• Docket Number: 12494.
• Parties: SEIDENSTICKER v. BEAN et al.
• Court: Supreme Court of Colorado

300 P. 366

89 Colo. 104

SEIDENSTICKER v. BEAN et al.

No. 12494.

Supreme Court of Colorado

May 18, 1931

Rehearing Denied June 15, 1931.

In Department.

Error to District Court, City and County of Denver; James C Starkweather, Judge.

Action by Edward G. Seidensticker against Louis A. Bean and another. Judgment was rendered granting only part of the relief demanded, and plaintiff brings error.

Affirmed in part and reversed in part, and remanded, with directions.

William Dillon, of Castle Rock, and J. M. Taylor of Denver, for plaintiff in error.

Edwin N. Burdick and Clarence O. Moore, both of Denver, for defendants in error.

MOORE J.

On June 22, 1927, E. G. Seidensticker brought suit against L. A. Bean and the Triple Light Company in the Denver district court seeking the determination of his rights under the following assignment:

'Know All Men By These Presents, That Whereas, Louis A. Bean is the owner of a certain patent signalling device for motor vehicles and has applied for an additional patent on a direction indicator for automobiles and has a certain device for which patent has not been applied, known as an automobile indicator, and is desirous of disposing of an interest in said patents and devices;

'Now Therefore, For and in consideration of the sum of Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00), the receipt of which is hereby confessed and acknowledged, the undersigned, Louis A Bean does hereby sell, assign, and set over to Edward G. Seidensticker of Douglas County, Colorado, an undivided one-fifth interest in and to the patent signalling device for motor vehicles, which patent was granted on the 19th day of April, 1919, patent No. 1301090, Serial No. 237248, and an undivided one-fifth interest in and to an applied for patent known as the direction indicator, for which patent was applied on the 25th day of August, 1919, being of the series 1915 and No. 319749, also an undivided one-fifth interest in a device to be known as an automobile signalling device, for which patent has not been applied, but which has been explained to the purchaser, meaning hereby to convey by this assignment an undivided one-fifth interest in and to the patents, applications and all furture patents for automobile signals in the United States when issued as hereinbefore indicated.

'In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 10th day of December, A. D. 1919.

'[Signed] Louis A. Bean

'[Signed] Geo. J. Humbert, Witness'

He now seeks to review an adverse decision of that court.

The plaintiff claims that by virtue of said assignment he is entitled to a one-fifth interest in the following patents:

Patent No. 1301090--Direction Indicator

Patent No. 1340363--Direction Indicator

Patent No. 1413823--Direction Indicator

Patent No. 1413824--Direction Indicator

Patent No. 1478542--Direction Indicator for Automobiles

Patent No. 1454228--Automatically Controlled Spotlight

Patent No. 1480364--Reflector

Patent No. 1544881--Auto Headlight Supporting Means

Patent No. 1559929--Double Focusing Reflector

Patent No. 1559930--Auto Headlight

The district court decreed, as contended by defendants, that only patents Nos. 1301090, 1340363, 1413823, 1413824, and 1478542 all being 'signalling devices' were so assigned and denied an accounting.

This suit appears to be an effort to obtain an interest in certain patented inventions, not covered by the assignment, based upon the claim that they are signaling devices and as such were intended to be included therein.

The court's determination of the intention of the parties expressed in said assignment is correct. At the time of its execution, Bean had invented an automobile appliance to be used solely as a direction indicator or signal to warn pedestrians, automobilists, and others. His original idea had been patented, patent for an improvement thereon had been applied for, and patent was to be applied for another improvement. Several years later Bean invented his automatically controlled spotlight, double focusing reflector, automobile headlight and supporting means.

Miniature replicas of the inventions were introduced as exhibits and demonstrations made of their intended use. The original direction indicator was a contrivance attached to an automobile convenient to the driver's seat and operated by him, a metal hand, operated by leaver, adjustable to three positions--downward, stop; outward, left turn; upward, right turn. The subsequent patents of this original idea covered mechancial improvements thereon, the metal hand was illuminated for night use and the method of its operation greatly improved.

Patent No. 1454228 applied for April 25, 1922 and issued May 8, 1923, under the designation, automatically controlled spotlight, covered an invention whereby a spotlight is automatically attached so that it will follow the movements of the front wheels of an automobile and keep the road ahead lighted regardless of turns.

Patent No. 1480364 applied for April 16, 1923, and issued January 8, 1924, under the designation reflector, provides for a reflector for an automobile headlight which projects an intense light in a fan shaped beam vertically narrow and horizontally wide preventing glare to an approaching driver. One of the chief objects of this reflector as recited in said patent is: 'To provide a reflector which will intensely illuminate at the sides of the lamp in order that the motorist can at all times view his surroundings and the side roads and turns before he has turned into them.'

Patent No. 1559929 applied for May 5, 1924, and issued November 3 1925, and...