E. W. Bliss Co. v. United States
Headline: Military secrecy ruling upholds an injunction blocking a private torpedo maker from showing or selling certain government‑furnished torpedo designs, including the balanced turbine, and limits its foreign demonstrations and sales.
Holding: The Court affirmed a modified injunction stopping a private torpedo manufacturer from exhibiting or describing government‑furnished torpedo designs, including the balanced turbine, while excluding certain unused parts from the ban.
- Prevents the company from demonstrating government‑identified torpedo designs abroad.
- Protects specified military designs and limits private foreign sales or demonstrations.
- Allows the Government to seek injunctions later for excluded parts if used.
Summary
Background
The dispute was between the United States and the Bliss Company, a private maker of torpedoes. The parties had contracts dating from 1905, 1909, and 1912 that barred the company from using or showing any device “the design for which is furnished” by the Government to other persons or foreign governments. When the Bliss Company told the Navy it intended to demonstrate its torpedo for a foreign firm (Messrs. Whitehead & Company) in June 1913, the Government sued to stop that demonstration and to enjoin disclosure of certain torpedo features.
Reasoning
The central question was what the contract phrase “device the design for which is furnished” covers. The company argued the clause only barred devices invented by the Government and that the balanced turbine principle was public knowledge or covered by a patent assignment. The United States argued “furnished” is broader than “invented,” that the Bureau had identified covered designs in writing, and that secrecy was vital to national defense. The Court agreed that “furnished” could cover designs supplied by the Government, found the written notice requirement met, and upheld an injunction protecting the government‑identified designs, including the balanced turbine, while refining the decree.
Real world impact
The ruling prevents the Bliss Company from exhibiting or describing Government‑furnished torpedo designs (as approved by the Ordnance Bureau) to other governments or their representatives, restricting certain foreign sales and demonstrations. The Court modified the decree to exclude some parts not used in the current torpedo, leaving the Government free to seek separate injunctions later if needed.
Dissents or concurrances
The Court’s judgment was not unanimous: the Chief Justice dissented.
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