The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-03-13

seventeen years of protection. The
Hunning patent on the transmitter is
an English patent, also controlled by
| the Bell company, and covers the use
| of granular carbon in a loose state.
| This patent was applied for September
| 3d. 1881, and would hold until 1893 but
| for the fact that the English patent
expired September 16.. 1892. There is
also a re-issued Berliner patent on the
! induction coil of the transmitter which
| holds until December IA, 1897. The
Bell company claims that the Berliner
and Edison patents embrace all forms
! of microphone transmitterS and car
| bon telephones" In this they may
not be correct. at least as regards fu-
ture inventions, and it is believed by
many who are in a position to de-
eide intelligently that the govern
ment suit to annuI the Ber-
| liner patent will result in the
the manufacture and sale of instru-
ments are concerned. But if it does re-
suit. as is hoped, in annulling the Ber-
/ liner patent, the Edison transmitter
patents remain and cover much the
same ground. Their fate now hinges
on suit between the General Electric
company and the Westinghouse EIec-
|
on incandescent electric lamps.
NOW IN COURT.
This case is in the United States cir
cult court in New York 1t is here
claimed that section 1887 of the re-
/ ised statutes of the United States,
which says that no person shall be de-
barred from a patent in this country
) because of a similar patent being first
taken in foreign countries, but that
every patent granted for an invention
which has been previously patented in
foreign country. shall be so limited
as to expire at the same time with the
foreign patent refers to The application
Tor instead of the issuing of a patent.
The contention of the Edison people is
that the words previously patented in
a foreign country" should be taken to
mean previously applied for in a
| foreign country" If this position is
sustained the Berliner suit will not
avail. even though won by the severn
ment. for the application for the
Edison tranSmitter patents were not
| first applied for in d foreign country,
although the patents were first issued
there, ran fourteen years and expired
before the United States patents were
issued. They were first applied for in
this country. and brought into Interior
ence with the Berliner applications,
I and the Bell company. obtaining con-
troll of both sides of the interference.
lheld both in allegiance until it suited
| their convenience, in 1891 to allow the
Berliner patent to issue. If. however,
| the higher courts uphold the decision
of the lower that the date Of applica-
ton has naught to do with the case,
and the government wins in the Ber-
liner suit. then, and not until then, will
the Bell monopoly be completely
Irouted.
! NOT MATERIALLY ALTERED.
1t would appear therefore from the
| foregoing that the actual telephone
situation is not materially altered, as
! far as the monopoly is concerned. al
| though the receiving hand telephone is
free. The fact that the Bell company
controls all of the exchanges in The
country. has thousands of miles of inc
and an immense system in operation,
yielding it enormous returns, and that
is purposes increasing its capital stock
/ from $40, 600, 900 to $50 GOO .000 indicates
that its vertebrate still remain strong
and unbrokan. And even should its
present patents be declared void it
would be in a position to continue its
thriving exchange business. 1t has
fought and won scores of contests. and
is still able to do battle against all
ordinary foes.
IEDISON'S CONTEMPT FOR PAT
ENTS
In view of the foregoing is it any
wonder that Edison claims that a
United States certificate of patent is
merely a certificate to the pOOrhouse,
as Justice is administered in the courts
today? The Bell Telephone company,
by its might and the laws delay, has
secured and held against all inventors,
all improvements and all corners. a
colossal monopoly of the fruits of an
invention which all the evidence goes
to show was the result of the genius of
Elisha Gray Its policy has always
been. and still is, to crush or secure at
q merely nominal sum every inven-
tion tending to improve the telephone
service of the country, and TO make
every user of a telephone a contribu
tor to its limitless profits. 1t has
proved upon the public for eighteen
years. and it hopes TO do so for as
many more through its ability to man
ipulate the patent office, to prolong in.
reference cases, after obtaining con-
troll of both sides, to continue litiga-
ton almost endlessly and to starve- off
decisions until it's opponents either die
or surrender in despair. For many
years has this been. and still is, the
| telephone situation. and vainly do the
people cry, How. long, Oh Lord, how
long?"
WHAT NIGHT HAVE BEEN
Under proper patent laws and right
eous administration thereof, many
worthy inventors would now be reaping
the benefits which this gigantic monster
has seized upon and compelled them
to relinquish, and the telephone would
have become of far greater public bene-
| fit than it ever has been. because it
would not have also been an instrument
of torture. W. A. HARRINGTON.
Model for ST. Gaudens Statue "a Male.