About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

B-211986 1 (1984-06-21)

handle is hein.gao/gaobacsqy0001 and id is 1 raw text is: I UNITED STATES GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE WASHINGTON, D.C. 20548 OPwns or e OMMes B-211986 June 21, 1984 0O NOT MAKE AVALALE TO PL1BLIC REA0!NG FOR 30 DAYS The Honorable kirk D. Siljander Member, United.,States House of Represenatives 815 Main Street - Suite 3A St. Joseph, Michigan 49085 Dear Mr. Siljander:t i3A9S3inKesponseoa ,et1983 from a mCmber our st.If he e t ourthfo Appeals for -a fe*1U r hzinh4oncerning a request tbu cnstituent, Mr.E dwardlP. RAerts, that the United State iGo ernment pay his Flf6rthe use of a postage cancellingstamp patented by hisancestor. For the reasdns stated below, it is,our opinion that Mr. Roberts does not hive a va'lid legal claim against the Government and that special legislation would not be appropriate. Acc.Lrding io the informatio provided by Kr Robet, his ancestor4rEF G. RansfoEd( l1 5-8-7 along with ot-era,.ur- chas r ts to atent dppotstage canceflling 7tamp from th'&invento@, M P. Noton, 'in1859 Three.patent letiers ere subsequently issue on theKdevice, dated August 9, 1859, D e1 aid April$JT4, 1863. Mr. Roberts'asserts that theevicehas been in continuous use by the Government since 1863, but that the Governmient neither purchased the patents nor made any other payment to the owners of the patents for the use of the device. My atf s ted consid able timei h{i4g tis mat- t' ri whiC eich'cStitS for the delay in responding to the. 1tter from yourtiffce. We foUnd that.:-over a 14- ear period (from 188 to 1892), the legal and 7equita le ridks' at the owners of the patents 'agaihst the Government-were constantly being liti- gated. (Copies of the relevant court decisions are -enclosed for your information.) Without discussing the details of each . judicial decision, I think it is fair to say that the merits of each contention by the complainants received a full and I~'

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most