Witnesses

Introduction

This has come to us via American patents, and is a data element we have only sporadically tracked. The "witnesses", and there all almost always two on the final diagram page of each patent, and two, with sporadic overlapping, on the final text page of each patent, do not seem to have had the legal significance of patent agents. Incidentally, phenomena of "registered patent agent", as opposed to lawyers acting in a related capacity, seems to vary in the administrative culture, from nation to nation.

In the case of Europeans filing in America, there may have been a tendency to have one of the witnesses be an American. The name Hanson C. Coxe comes up repeatedly. The other was often a European patent agent who'd worked with the inventor before. We have noted French agents in particular.

From time to time, a patent agent may also serve as a witness, on the same patent, giving us more complete name data on the agent. We have only begun takin note of witnesses. When present, their names are signed on the final diagram page of the patent document. They are neatly typed on the final document page. We have begun red-linking the names. We may drill down into this to any degree, and at any time, making whatever judgement calls are needed and highlighted whatever antique data glitches we may uncover. Some already have pages, in the nature of the complex existing between witnesses and patent agents.

An odd instance of the witness phenomenon in the case of a multi-inventor collaboration

Patent US-1912-1127167 has witnesses on the final text page being split between those serving on behalf of two inventors engaged in a collaboration with another pair of witnesses serving on behalf of a third inventor.

Cases of witnesses also as individuals to whom patent rights are assigned

Patent US-1911-1011799‎ and Patent US-1915-1178318‎ are cases in which one-half patent rights are assigned to individuals also serving as witnesses. This was apparently not seen as a conflict of interest, at least officially speaking.

Cases of witnesses also serving as patent agent on the same patent

Patent US-1910-1041876 and Patent US-1910-1045708 are instances of this, which is rare. In both cases, patent agent G. L. Cragg is one witness shown on the final text page and R. E. Atherton is the other witness. Surname Atherton turns up elsewhere in our data.

French interest

Patent US-1912-1133660, of inventors Alphonse Papin and Didier Rouilly, gives witnesses Louis Moses and H. C. Coxe ; this "Moses" is likely that of Lavoix et Mosès, which firm acted as Papin's patent agent in France. Antoine Lavoix serves as a "witness" on Patent US-1906-1055487, of inventor Alphonse Papin, along with Hanson C. Coxe.

These patterns are not absolute. Patent FR-1909-402649, on which Camille Enderlin and Jules Raclot employ Lavoix et Mosès. Neither of these French agents are mentioned as witness on Patent US-1910-1037050 or Patent US-1911-1023096, both within the family of Patent FR-1909-402649, though H. C. Coxe (fairly definitely Hanson C. Coxe) is among witnesses on Patent US-1911-1023096.

Patent US-1913-1105049, of inventor Corneille-Gustave-Ernest Trumelet-Faber, gives the witnesses Henri Boettcher(Bœttcher of H. Bœttcher fils?), and, again, Hanson C. Coxe. Yes, Henri Bœttcher is almost definitely the father relative to H. Bœttcher fils, who served as Trumelet-Faber's patent agent when filing in France. Brown, Hanson, and Boettcher are listed in our data as together comprising the patent agent in Patent US-1918-1501248.

Hanson C. Coxe is by far the name which comes up the most, and almost always in conjunction with a French fellow witness.

Patent US-1908-971030 is one case in which we have H. C. Coxe paired with John Baker, which indicates no particular relation to the French patent agents used by the inventor, when filing on France

Patent US-1879-213603 gives witnesses as clerks at Mennons & Co., Patent solicitors in Paris.

Louis Marmonier uses French patent agent J. Germain on Patent FR-1908-397297 and Patent FR-1910-433152, for instance. This is very likely the Jean Germain acting as a witness on Marmonier's Patent US-1911-1050153.

Patent US-1910-1015837 has Armengaud jeune‎ acting among witness to Paul-Louis-Antoine Regnard, for whom he served as patent agent on Patent FR-1909-406466 and Patent FR-1910-406466.13181.

Patent US-1911-1025941, of René Arnoux, has witnesses H. C. Coxe (fairly definitely Hanson C. Coxe) and Paul Blum, Paul Blum being the patent agent on Arnoux' Patent FR-1915-491253

The name Victor Dupont, in conjunction with Chas. P. Pressly, this Victor Dupont being quite likely the French patent agent associated with Dupont et Elluin, appears among witnesses on American patents which have Gustave Delage assigning rights to and filing in conjunction with Société Anonyme des Établissements Nieuport.

Patent US-1911-1115946 is oddly suggestive in that it has [Gaston Petion]] and H. C. Coxe as appearing among witnesses shown on the final text page of a patent filed by Louis-Marie Le Dantec. This spelling "Petion" is odd, in that we have Gaston Petiau acting as Le Dantec's patent agent on more than one patent.

Patent US-1911-1177431 Hanson C. Coxe and Paul Blum, this later quite possibly the French patent agent Paul Blum.

Patent US-1917-1350982 has final text page witnesses Jules Fayollet and Chas. P. Pressly ; the former is very likely French patent agent J. Fayollet, who acted on behalf of the same inventors, on the same invention, when they filed it in France. Chas. P. Pressly factors in prominently among witnesses

Peculiar cases having to do with witnesses relative to patent agents and firms

Patent US-1910-993126 is one of many cases in which we see surname cross-over, whether familial or direct, between witnesses and patent agents. A key rub here has to do with legibility, in that the patent attorneys are almost invariably and exclusively handwritten on the diagram pages of the original documents.

Patent US-1911-1009780 has C. E. Potts appearing among witnesses and Joshua R. H. Potts as the patent attorney.

Patent US-1911-1040089 and Patent US-1911-1118375 and Patent US-1911-1047759 show patent agent C. C. Hines serving among witnesses on patents for which we have others acting as patent agents.

Patent US-1912-1189749 has James R. Hodder among the witnesses, and Hodder is the patent attorney, or patent agent, on Patent US-1918-1413553.

Patent US-1913-1160419 has Chamberlin & Freudenreich as the patent agent, with William F. Freudenreich and Ruth E. Zetterwall as witnesses on the final text page and H. S. Gaither and Ruth E. Zetterwall as witnesses on the final diagram page.

Patent US-1916-1326946 has patent agent Charles W. Hills, Jr. appearing among witnesses, with another individual, an attorney, apparently serving as the patent agent on the patent on question.

Pertinence or connection to Canada

Patent US-1904-796893 and Patent CA-1905-92599 have the pair, Albert E. Parker and Francis J. Bignell, serving as witnesses to the filings of Louis Brennan.