The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-07-01

| OF the article or nev1ce protected Is
not to be undertaken In this country
we should DO doing no more than to
follow the lead of other enlightened
nations. Great Britain, after years
Of liberality similar to our own, was
compelled to adopt this course by
the obvious advantage obtained for
foreigners through the operation Of
the British patent laws. Parliament
finally enacted a statute providing
practically that no patent should be
valid unless the article 1t covered was
manufactured in England. This man.
ufacture, under the terms Of the act,
was required to be actual, and in
substantial quantity, not merely nom-
| Inal, or n legal fiction, to comply with
the terms of the law.
The result was that patentees who
had obtained monopolles in the Brit
ish Empire for their goods under
British patents but who manufac-
tured their products In foreign coun-
tries we're obliged to erect factories
in Great Britain and carry on their
business among and with the aid Of
the people to whom they sold. This
revision Of the British patent laws
affected the citizens and subjects of
| all foreign countries alike. 1t brought
to Great Britain n number of i'm
portant manufacturing establish
ments; more than that, 1t provided
In Great Britain n number of skilled
| workers Of all grades who were in a
position to carry on the manufacture
Of the articles when the period of the
patents expired.
The consequences of granting the
monopoly afforded by patent but
not compelling manufacture have
been illustrated in the United States
In many ways. To certain extent.
although not in the degree alleged
by some, this policy has permitted
the suppression of ingenious and i'm
portant devices by manufacturers who
have been able to buy them and then
have refrained from putting the arti-
cles on the market. This evil Is greatly
| exaggerated In the minds Of some, be-
cause in most cases American manu-
facturers are anxious to adopt any
| improvement that will better their
product, and the cost Of scrapping old
machinery and installing new does
not deter them from making an ex-
pensive alteration which will ulti-
mately enhance the worth of their
products and thus be profitable to
them. But the evil does exist, and
should be remedied.
No patent under which manufac-
ture is not proceeding should be per-
mitted to remain in life. The in
stances in which such n restriction
would work hardship would be far
outnumbered by those in which it
would be of public benefit.
No patent granted to a foreigner
should be valid against American citi-
zens unless the article patented be
manufactured here, in substantial
quantities, by American labor, with
adequate American representation In
the ownership Of the American plants
Such a rule would invite reciprocal
action by other nations; this we
should accept in good will. AS mat
| ter of fact certain other nations do
not afford to foreign citizens and sub
jects the full protection patent is
supposed to give. The goods pro-
duced by the foreigner under his
patent are copied by citizens of for
eign countries and sold in the mar
kets of the world in &mpetitIon with
the original. The losses caused by
retaliation would be less severe than
Is commonly believed; the gains to
American workmen and American
capital, and. more important than
either, to the United States as na-
ton. would far outweigh them.
We have had practical illustration
Of the effect produced by our patent
laws, in conjunction with our protec-
| tive tariff. in the situation with re-
gard to certain medicinal prepare
tons made in Germany and patented
as to processes and machinery in
this country. These preparations
were on sale in Canada before the
war at retail prices which in some
cases Appropriated the wholesale
prices demanded here. Had the paten-
tees been compelled to manufacture
them here they might not have re-
duced the price to the level fixed In
the Dominion, but they would have
expended here the money spent for
! production. We might on account OF
the protective tariff have continued
to pay high prices for these drugs,
but we should have had the c6nsola-
| ton of knowing that considerable
part of the money we passed over for
them was spent in wages and sala-
ries for American citizens, and that
the whole Of II was not withdrawn
from the United States for the en-
richment Of another land.
Patents are granted by the United
States under paragraph of the Con-
stitution which gives to Congress the
power:
ITO promote the progress OF science
and useful arts BY securing for limited
|