Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-08
MEASURE REACHES HOUSE
Favorable Action by Committee, But
Fight Is in Prospect.
OPPOSITION OF ATTORNEYS
Manufacturers From All Over Coun-
try Also Said to Be Against
It's Enactment.

Broad changes in the patent laws OF
the United States. recommendations for
changes. in the equipment and organiza-
, ton of the patent office. and an attempt
at partial settlement of the trust prob
lens of modern industrial conditions are
outlined in the report on the Oldfield bill.
reported favorably today to the House of
Representatives from the committee on
patents. Representative Oldfield of Ar
kansas. author of the bill. is the chairman
of the patent committee. The bill has
been fought bitterly by Washington pat
ent attorneys. and by manufacturers all
over the country.
1t seeks to make great changes i'm exist
ing conditions; and is based On the as
sumption that many monOpolies in pat
ented articles have been secured to the
detriment of competition. One of the
features of the bill is the section prohibit
ing a manufacturer from bringing suit
for infringement Of patents against a
dealer who sells the manufacturers goods
at a less price than that fixed by the
manufacturer as a retail price.
Referring to the patent office the report
says:
Changes in Patent Office.
Changes should be made in the equip
ment and organization of the patent office
to increase it's efficiency and to secure
for the public and the inventors whom 1t
serves the best possible service. To this
end greater opportunities should be af-
fOrded the officers and employees of the
patent office to secure promotion. distinc-
ton and adequate compensation. 1t
should not be necessary for able. faithful
nd r1,hn IN
advance the interests of the public, to
feel obliged to quit the service in order to
! secure in private patent practice adequate
compensation and recognition of their
ability and service.
IT the changes respecting the patent
Office outlined above were made the pub
| lie and the inventor would secure further
| protection from those abuses incident to
thus described by an eminent inventor,
| who is the president of the American In
stitution Of Chemical Engineers:
AS to wealthy corporations. 1t has be-
| come obvious that the skillfLl handling Of
patent cases places them at an untold
advantage against their smaller competi-
tors. For them a well organized patent
department Is a reliable machine, where
money is the lubricant. This machine, in
its slow but sure grinding way, can re-
duce to pulp any Of the smaller competi-
tors. For large corporations. the amainte-
nance of such q machine, with a staff of
lawyers and experts, Is merely a small
side expense. BY it's aid they can bluff
their weaker competitors into quick Sub
mission. If this is not successful, they
can drag out a patent suit indefinitely
until the weak opponent. unable to bear
the ever-increasing expenses, cOllapses
and withdraws.
These tactics are we'll known and
have been played successfully, whether
it was to uphold a worthless patent or to
obtain immunity in case of infringement.
.lAI,,
sure Of the outcome Of the game, and
plays Heads I win. tails you lose"
Ito frame the details Of these changes
and methods Of procedure in the courts
and the patent Office, and the plan for
better equipment and organization of the
patent Office, further careful and detail
ed study is necessary, SO that your COM
mittee Is not yetfeady to submit bill
embodying the recommendations, but will
submit the same at later date" .
Dissatisfaction With Laws.
The report continues: There is wide
spread dissatisfaction with the operation
Of our patent laws. The statutes now in
force directly affecting patents have re-
| manned practically unchanged since the
revision of 1870. Meantime. changes fun
damental in character have occurred in
! our industrial conditions. Chief among
these Is the rapid growth Of the trusts
and combinations whose business rests
largely in patents and whose financial
| and industrial power exercises a domi-
| mating influence over many branches of
| trade"
| The report holds that manufacturers
abuse the present system OF patent rights
and that there are defects OF administer
| ing the patent laws, to be found both IN
the patent Office and in the courts mo
complete remedy" says the report. '.for
existing evils is possible without removing
by adequate legislation these two great
causes of dissatisfaction"
The "evils" spoken Of in the report
cover a broad field of activity-in fact,
the entire manufacturing industry of the
western world. embracing billions OF
dollars of capital, seems to be tinctured
of the committee. The habit of manu-
facturers fixing retail price for their
goods Is one, the custom of manufacturers
of patented articles stipulating in what
manner they shall be used is another;
and the third evil is a phase Of the trust
problem, whereby owners of patents sup
press them with view to killing COM
petition.
the Oldfield bill is one of the features or
the measure which is to be fought bitter
| ly by manufacturers Says the report:
Limit Rights Of Patent Owners.
"As a remedy for these evils It was
proposed to limit the absolute right now
vested in the owners OF patents under
which they determine to what extent and
| in what manner the use Of the patent, or
patented article, shall be permitted. With
this in view, 1t was proposed to take
away specifically the right recognized by
the lower federal courts to fix under the
patent law prices at which articles shall
be sold at retail. and also to take away
the right recently confirmed in the mimeo-
graph case to prohibit patented machines
from being used otherwise than in con-
nection with unpatented materials fur
nished by the vendor or licensor.
The existing provisions Of law under
which the patent monopoly in a new in
vention Is granted for a limited period
clearly operate beneficially to the people
so long as the patent is used for its legiti-
mate purpose. The evils complained of,
so far as they are connected with pat
ents, arise only from the perversion Of
the patent monopoly to an iilegttimate
use.
widespread evils Of which just COM
plant is made are due mainly to the
abuses of the patent, either by making II
! the means of securing a monopoly more
extensive than that covered by the patent
|