Evening star., 1911-08-20
MAY CONTROL AIR
Suits of Wrights Hit Nearly
Every AeropIane Maker.
NEW INJUNCTIONS SOUGHT
Latest Legal Step Also includes Ma
jority Of Aviators.
PROTECTING VARIOUS PATENTS
Situation in Aviation World Rather
Complicated From a Legal
Point of View.
PROTECTING VARIOUS PATENTS

Flying machine suits are again coming
to the fore. The Wright brothers. OF
whom little has been heard in the legal
line for some time, have Just begun a
wholesale injunction campaign that, be-
sides the original parties to the wright
suits, now includes the Moissant avia-
tors, Rene Simon, Rene Barrier and Aude-
mars; Tom Sopwith. the Englishman.
who is now flying a Farman in this
country; Joe Frisbie, two of the Mois-
SAINT managers and some aviators in De-
troit. There are reports that the suits
are to be extended to include Earl Owing
ton. Capt Tom Baldwin, Charles Will
lard and number of other f1iers.
Those who are interested In the flying
machine litigation will remember that
suits have been brought by the Wright
brothers against Glenn curtiss. Claude
Grahame-White. Louis PauIhan and 9TH
ers. These suits are set for trial in New
York state and city at the October term
Of the courts The Wrights have been
busy all summer collecting expert evil
dence, and are now ready to present
their side Of the case. Paulhan and Gra-
hame-White are now out of the country,
and 1t is not known whether Curtiss will
be ready to defend his suit when the
time comes. Or whether he will ask for
more time
The legal aspect Of the flying machine
situation seems to have been lost sight
of by the general public because SO many
people were flying apparently without let
or hindrance from the Wrights. But the
wide extension of the Wright suits will
basic claims of the Wrights have never
been adjudicated. If they are settled
in favor Of the Wrights 1t will mean prac-
ticaily the whole flying business Of the
world is in the hands of the Wright COM
pany unless somebody appears with q
type of flying machine about which MOTH
ing is even suspected now.
French Aeroplane Makers Sued.
Wilbur Wright has been abroad all
summer giving testimony for the prose-
cution in France. The suits in that coun-
try are not precisely Wright suits The
patents Of the Wright brothers were sold
to q syndicate in France, and In defense
of their claims to the control OF the air
this syndicate has sued all the French
aeroplane makers except the Voisins
The foreign machines such as the Bleriot
and the Antoinette boldly use the warping
wings Identical with those developed by
the Wright brothers. There are a score
of other French manufacturers who use
ailerons for lateral balancing or some
other substitute for actual warping. The
Voisins have never used either contriv-
ance balancing their machines by the
rear rudder SO they are out OF the field
of fire.
The French court. after hearing Wilbur
Wright, gave a rather remarkable deci-
sion that SO far rs could be understood
by the translation that reached this
country held that the Wright device was
patentable but appointed a commission
and gave them a year In which to find
any prior patents on wing warping. Such
patents exist. but the Wright brothers
were first in the field with a motor driven
be regarded as imperative by the French
court is not known.
The German courts on the other hand.
have already established a precedent by
deciding the first suit In favor of the
syndicate that bought the German
patents from the Wrights.
In this country the matter has been
very open. Curtiss, rahame-White and
Paulhan had been sued and there was
general disposition to await the result
of these trials as blazing the way Tor
action in the other cases the Wrights
might start were they successful. In
the meantime, however. the Wrights had
got one other manufacturing company IN
this country to accept license from
them and they have stated through their
manager that the new suits are being
brought to give their licensee the worth
of his money.
Another Patent Involved.
But the situation in this country is
further complicated than by the adverse
claims of '.aflerons' and wing warp