38
The Green Bag
tion as may have been afforded by the made a very excellent shot from the Mimeograph and other cases is likely tee and I granted it before I took my to be taken away, so that the patentee put." The only novelty, some one has will occupy no more favored position pointed out, is the locus in quo. than the holder of a copyright or ordi nary trade-mark. It may be that these limitations in the interest of public THE ENGLISH DIVORCE REPORT policy are sound, at all events they are IT TOOK the English Royal Divorce likely to come by legislative action if Commission a long time to make not anticipated by judicial construction. its report, and on account of the com The time, however, has arrived to dis posite character of the commission, tinguish between the law of trade in which was large and made up from many general and the law of patents. In the different professions, we did not expect Mimeograph case the legal fiction of an the close approach to unanimity on infringement of patent by violation of a leading principles revealed in what seems license restriction served only to con to be regarded an excellent document. fuse, and in the Bath Tub case it is From the American standpoint the puzzling to learn that conduct serving recommendations present no radical to promote enjoyment of the fruits of a features. The commission would put patent "transcended what was neces the two sexes on an equal footing in the sary to protect the use of the patent or divorce court, as in our own country, the monopoly which the law conferred and the proposed increase in the grounds upon it." The rights of the patentee of divorce does not admit any new causes may be limited by new law of trade, but not found in our own proposed Uniform they are not limited by anything inher Divorce Act or in typical statutes of ent in the privilege of a patentee, whose states not classed in this respect as ultraprofits are not restricted by anything conservative, such as New York and in the terms of his letters-patent. South Carolina. The proposed grounds of divorce are adultery, desertion, cruelty, LAW ON THE LINKS incurable insanity, habitual drunkenness IN England Justice Scrutton is said found incurable after a certain period, to enjoy the distinction of being the and imprisonment under commuted death first judge to perform a judicial act on sentence. The recommendations, how the golf links. Justice Scrutton has ever, go further than our own Uniform been called the vacation judge, since he Act in enlarging two of the grounds of sits . in court on Wednesdays to hear divorce, as it is proposed that the incur urgent applications that cannot wait able insanity of either party, after five until the law courts sit in the ordinary years' confinement, rather than the "hopeless" insanity of the husband alone, course. One day not long ago he was met on shall justify a severing of the knot, and the links by a lawyer who asked him to as cruelty is loosely defined, and is dan order notice to be given to a party that gerously vague in comparison with the an injunction would be applied for extreme cruelty of our own proposed act, endangering the life or health of the against him. In court the Judge de opposite party or rendering cohabitation scribed the incident. unsafe. It is to be hoped, therefore, "I remember it," he said. "The appli cation was made to me just before I that cruelty will be carefully defined in
