Defend Our Patent System
T
HE present attack upon our patent system is not merely a question of amending the patent law to correct certain alie»ge»ei abuses, but focuses upon the very essence of the system. We are indebted to the A. C. S. Patent (Ommittee for the following analytical summaries of bills now before the Senate Committee on Patents.
S. 2303 Section 1 provides that whenever during war the President (through anyone he may direct) declares the manufacture, use, or sale of any material, article, product, or commodity or the expansion of facilities or capacity for such manufacture, use, or sale is in the interest of national defense* or of the prosecution of war, two results will follow: (a) He may grant license under any specific patents with respect to the sub ject of tin» declaration on such terms and for such period (not limited to the war period) as he may prescribe and fix a reasonable royalty therefor (all without notice and with no legislative rule for ele»termining royalty). The royalty is not guaranteed by the Government, but if it is not paid the patentee· may sue the licensee and recover not more than the proscribed royalty, without damages or injunction, and the licensee may plead lack of validity and lack of infringement. (b) Anyone may infringe any patents with respect to the subject matter of the declaration (without notice) and no royalty is guaranteed by the Government, but the patentee may sue for infringement and recover reasonable royalty, without damages or injunction, and the infringer may plead lack of validity and lack of infringement. A representative of the Department of Justice before the Senate Committee said (Printed Record, Part 1, page 24): These dual effects of the President's find ing and declaration may operate independ ently or together. The President may de clare, for example, that the manufacture of magnesium is in the interest of the prosecu tion of the war for the duration, but may choose to issue no specific licenses thereunder. The declaration will have the effect of a general license to whoever desires to use any patents relating to the manufacture of mag nesium, whether or.not he or anyone else holds a specific license from the President under those patents. The patent owner will be precluded for the duration of the war from obtaining an injuction against infringement of his patent by such manufacture, and from recovering treble damages on account of the infringement. The exclusive remedy of the patent owner will be the recovery of a reasonable royalty from the infringer, which may either be agreed upon by the parties or fixed by a court. Section 2 provides that whenever during war or a period of declared national emergency the President (through anyone he may direct) shall determine it to be in the interest of national defense, he may acquire patents, applications, inventions, or licenses by taking or otherwise and issue licenses thereunder. The taking is effected by notice given by the Com missioner of Patents to the record owner and publication in the Official Gazette and the owner must sue in the Court of Claims for fair compensation with all defenses reserved to the Government.
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S. 2491 The bill in general follows the recom mendations of TNKC and is not limited to war or defense. Sert ion 2 provides that patents already granted and to be granted shall be sub ject to compulsory license on such terms as the Commissioner of Patents shall fix if (1) the patentee» fails for three years without reasonable justification to manu facture under tin* patent, (2) patentee has refused for three years to grant licenses for just and reasonable compensation, and it is found that there has resulted or there is likely to result a violation of the anti trust laws or "is otherwise detrimental to public interest". iSoetion 3 provides for proceedings be fore the Commissioner of Patents to pro cure license with notice to the owner and hearing and review by a court. Section 4 prohibits license under any patent with any condition which restricts (a) extent, quantity, or value of operations under the license; (b) price· of sale: (e) purpose» or manner of operations; (el) geographicnl aiva of operations. Section 5 prohibits activities contrary to Se«*tion 4 under lie-ense-s heretofore inaele·. Section 6 pmvides for suit by Covernme'tit to cancel patents for violation of provisions of the· Act. Section 7 provides that assignments, license's, e»tc, must be in writing (including e*e>nditions) and publie*ly recorded with Federal Trade Commission, together with names and addresses of parties and identi fying patents. Section 8 provides manufacturer or supplier must be sued before suit is brought against seller or user and no suit against contributory infringer except after decree against primary infringer. Section 9 provides no license or convey ance shall substantially lessen competi tion or create monopoly unless necessary to promote the progress of science or the useful arts. Individuals and manufacturers gener ally, particularly those who may be classed as small manufacturers, are urged to ex press their opinions on this legislation to their own Senators, urging these represen tatives of theirs to present their constitu ents' views to the Senate Committee on Patents and on the floor of the Senate, if the bills reach that stage.
Degreasing Solvent F. CURRAN, Curran Corp., Maiden, • Mass., has received a paten t on a new use for Gunk, a self-emulsifying degreas ing solvent for automotive use. The new oil is said to be useful for treating gun bores or other metal surfaces which have been wet with salt water and as a lubri cant cleaner-preservative which will re move salt and dehydrate the bore of rifled mechanisms in a single operation.
Dyes That H o l d ΤΛκνκι.ορ.ΜΚΝΤ of the· American dye industry is an outstanding instance of the· new industrial preparedness which has b«i»n brought about in the Ctiited State's thremgh scientific rescareh during the» period between the· first anel second World Wars. Four times as mue'b cotton as wool is needed to equip the· Amerie-an fighting man for war. That fact is a challenge to the dye· maker. Tents and tarpaulins, haver sacks and cartridge belts, covers for can teens anel cannon, hoggings and summer uniforms are all made· of cotton fabrics that must be dyed with the· fastest of colors- colors that will 'iuild" de»spite storm and tropical sun, despite the most punishing kind of wear anel repented wash ings. Warned by the first World War, when faele»el e*eittem equipment weirried every AineTii'an fielel commander, as early as 1920 the· United States began seating up guards against any recurrence of "whiten ing" uniforms in future wars. That dyes needed are being produced here now, and in quantities demanded by an unprece dented war effort, represents a significant accomplishment in industrial prepared ness—a quarter century of long, hard struggle by the American chemical indus try to become sclf-sufficient in the dyev stuffs field. Today a top rating for a dye means that its coleir will remain true over many months of strenuous wear and in some eases will withstand years of service under all color-destroying conditions usually en countered. Dyes of this type today constitute the standard colors of the Na tion's armed forces on land and sea alike. The D u Pont company's share in this development has been no small one. The annual production of the largest single dyestuff used in the dyeing of uniform cloth reached in D u Pont plants, in 1941, a point 16.5 times greater than the total 1939 output. It is estimated that Du Pont is producing more than one half of all the essential anthraquinone vat colors re quired today for the dyeing of cotton uni form cloths and similar equipment for the United States Government.
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Phosphorescent Dyes for Blackouts IMPROVED phosphorescent dyes and pigments to make a pedestrian's clothes visible in a blackout, though not visible from an airplane 2,000 feet above, have been described by S. G . Hibben of the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Co., East Pittsburgh, Penna. After a 20minute exposure to light, the pigments give off a glow for 6 t o 10 hours bright enough to stand out in total darkness o n signs, markers, clothing, and streets t o guide traffic and pedestrian movements.
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NEWS
