Opinion
No. 2098.
Submitted January 14, 1929.
Decided February 4, 1929.
Appeal from the Board of Appeals of the United States Patent Office.
In the matter of the application of Rosa K. Trattner for letters patent. From a decision of the Board of Appeals, affirming a decision of the Examiner rejecting applicant's claim, she appeals. Affirmed.
W.H. Finckel, Jr., of Washington, D.C., for appellant.
T.A. Hostetler, of Washington, D.C., for Board of Appeals.
Before MARTIN, Chief Justice, and ROBB and VAN ORSDEL, Associate Justices.
The appellant applied for letters patent for an alleged invention relating to remedial agencies, more especially for the treatment of diseases of the lungs, as for instance tuberculosis and like ailments.
The remedy consists of grated horse-radish boiled in honey to the consistency of a jelly, which is to be taken cold by the patient with "Balm of Gilead" as a tea. The patient should take two or three tablespoonfuls about midway between meals. The applicant states that the composition "aids to thicken the blood; relieves the anaemic condition; builds up the system; throws off disease, and heals the lungs rapidly, accomplishing this in two or three months if taken regularly."
The applicant's claim was rejected by the examiner, whose decision was affirmed by the Board of Appeals, whereupon the present appeal was taken.
It appears that the American Dispensatory, in discussing horse-radish on page 271, says: "The grated root with sugar to form a syrup with water, is excellent for hoarseness; a spoonful or two may be swallowed as occasion requires."
The same authority, on page 520, treats of the medicinal value of honey as follows: "A very excellent preparation for coughs, especially during febrile or inflammatory attacks, is composed of honey, olive oil, lemon juice, and sweet spirits of niter, each one fluid ounce, to be taken several times a day in half-fluidrachm or fluidrachm doses."
The same publication discourses upon the medicinal value of Balm of Gilead, and on page 664 says: "The Buds of the Populus Candicans, or Balm of Gilead, possess similar virtues to the above. * * * Populus buds are reputed stimulant, tonic, diuretic, and antiscorbutic. A tincture of them has been beneficially employed in affections of the chest, stomach, and kidneys, and in rheumatism and scurvy. * * * Dose of a tincture of the buds, from one to four fluidrachms, which is excellent for colds and pain in the chest."
In Foster's Medical Dictionary, p. 338, it is said concerning the medical value of horse-radish: "It is used as a condiment and medicinally as a remedy in scurvy, as a stomachic tonic, and, both externally and internally, in paretic conditions and chronic rheumatism. * * * A mixture of 1 part of the juice of wild horse-radish root and 4 parts of honey."
The record does not show that the combinations set out by appellant result in any new chemical composition, and it is fair to assume that they are mere aggregations. The references disclose that the medicinal value of the various ingredients composing the applicant's preparation has long been known by the public, and serve as an anticipation of appellant's claim.
The decision appealed from is accordingly affirmed.