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Show SIXTY MILLIONS , MEM STAKE j Suit Against Butte and Su- j perior Mining Company Be- 11 J gun in High Court. j SAN FRANCISCO, Cal., March S. ! i Sixty million dollars were at stake to- I fH day when arguments were begun in j I II the United States circuit court of ap- : III peals on the appeal of the suit on the ! 1 1 Minerals Separation limited, against . I i tho Butte and Superior Mining com- i 111 pany, in which the separation corpora- ! tion charges the mining concern with IJJ infringment of a patented process for Ijlj extracting ore by flotation. . I jj Great interest is attached to the trial I IB because of the large sum involved and 1 11 the possible effect tho decision will Jlj havo on future mining cases. Lindley fi h M. Garrison, former secretary of war I jj under President Wilson, is chief coun- I'll sel for the Minerals Separation. Lim- j ited, and Thomas M. Sheridan appear- 1 H ed for the Eutte and Superior corpora- 1 11 Exhibits will be introduced in tho I fjl course of the trial aro valued at $60,- j j 000. They include a motion picture jjjj film which depicts scenes in smelters j JM in which ore was extracted; samples ; i H of ores, and machines used in extract- j I Ing the ore. Ml ' fl The appeal on which arguments C B were begun today was taken from tho j J decision of United States District II fl Judgo G. H. Bourquin, of Montana by 19 the Butte and Superior corporation. I I Judge Bourquin upheld the contentions I ; B ot tne separation concern mux ineir ; m patented process had been infringed I upon, granted an injunction ordering Q the mining concern to cease utilizing , Jj 1 the process, and gave the separation jj corporation royalty damages approxi- mating $10,000,000. i I In the appelate court affirms Judge I Bourquin's decision, the Minerals Sep- aratlon Corporation will institute sim- H ilar proceedings against other mining i I concerns which are alleged also to I have infringed upon its patented pro- D cess. Damages, if granted in these cases, will total more than $60,000,000, ; 1 officials of the company said today. H The question of infringement of pat- jg ented processes wras decided by the United States supreme court in the B Hyde case, in December, 1916, in Q which the owners of the process were H said to have gained a complete victory. jj In that case It was decided that a patent pat-ent was held In tho process which called for use of one-tenth of 1 per cent of oil. The Hyde decision played a great part in the trial before Judge Bourquin, as it was frequently cited as I authority. H Contentions of tho Butte and Su- H perior Mining company were that tho H jirocess they used was not covered in Jg tho Hylo decision because they wero j using 1 per cent or more of oil, and j that since substantially the same re- 1,1 suits could be obtained with a fraction I of 1 per cent, the supreme court had I been mistaken in its opinion and that I the patent was void for lack of inven- I tion. Counsel for tho minerals separa- t tion corporation contended that the i I supreme court has not imposed any j H limitation on the, amount of soli that 41 might be used, as has been assorted, by W I tho defendants. ffi |