The Science was a United States Supreme Court case that involved the interpretation of an 1864 act of Congress. The act authorized the Secretary of War to issue certificates for vessels destroyed or damaged during the Civil War, and it provided compensation for those losses. The court had to decide whether this law applied only to vessels owned by citizens at the time they were lost, or if it also included vessels purchased after their destruction but before payment was made. In its decision, the court held that Congress intended for all owners who suffered loss due to war-related damages be compensated regardless of when they acquired title over their vessel; thus affirming that any owner could receive compensation under this statute even if he did not own his ship at the time it was destroyed. This ruling established an important precedent in maritime law and set forth a principle which has been followed ever since: no one should suffer financial loss due solely to circumstances beyond his control such as war damage.

In The Science, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a patent for an invention of a new and useful improvement in the construction of steam boilers should be granted. Justice Swayne wrote the dissenting opinion, arguing that while it is true that patents are intended to encourage inventors by granting them exclusive rights over their inventions, this particular invention did not meet all of the requirements necessary for such protection. He argued that there were already existing devices which performed similar functions as those claimed by this patent and thus it could not be considered novel or non-obvious enough to warrant protection under patent law. Furthermore, he argued that even if some elements of this device had been improved upon from prior art, they still would have been obvious improvements based on what was already known at the time and therefore should not qualify for a patent grant.