Evening star., 1939-12-11

utent "VSStI9utIOH
And Equity Suit Will
Be Weapons Used
The anti-monopoly campaign OF
the Department of Justice was
pushed into two new fields today as
plans were announced for an inves-
tigation of misuse of patent rights
by q New York grand jury, and
immediate Inauguration of an equity
suit in Federal Court in Toledo,
Ohio. against IL corporations and
l03 individuals engaged in the
business Of producing glassware
machinery and glass containers,
who are accused of restraints of
trade The suit, involving many of
the leaders in the glass industry, will
bring before the court some of the
practices hit at In the patent probe,
a statement said.
The grand jury inquiry. soon to
get under way, Will cover "the use of
patents, patent pooling arrange
ments and patent licensing agree
ments by which certain industries
in the United States are controlled
and dominated by one or several
large companies" the department
said, and as a result, lit Is expected
that series of proceedings against
companies and persons in different
industries will be commenced in
which there will be raised every
type of practice under the patent
law that the department considers
contrary to the policy of the anti
trust laws and in violation of such
laws"
Says Fields Are Divided.
"The facts now in the possession
of the department indicate that
patent rights have been used to
divide fields into -competi-
tive spheres. establish price-fixing
schemes, divide markets into exclu-
sive geographical areas, limit pro-
duction and quality, restrict the use
of products, require that outsiders
purchase non-patented materials
and service. enforce tying-in provi-
sions, prevent the investment of new
capital in industry and in general
to restrain trade and eliminate COM
petition" the department statement
continued.
I'm addition. it also appears that
certain owners of patents. by
threatening customers of alleged in
frngers and by concerted action in
patent suits, have destroyed the
markets of competitors. In some
instances, notwithstanding expira-
ton of basic patents, control and
domination of an industry has con-
tinued through alleged patent i'm
provements.
"By reason of these practices,
arbitrary and artifically high and
rigid prices have been and are cur
rently being maintained in certain
industries. Such non-competitive
prices frequently relate to articles
that are widely distributed to, and
in daily use by, the purchasing pub
lic,"
Other Inquiry Cited.
The statement said that the
present inquiry into the building in
dustry has shown that patent re-
strictions restrain the free how o.
commerce in building materials. and
that this has aided in focusing the
attention Of the department to the
necessity of obtaining an early
determination of the use Of patent
rights inconsistent with the policy
of the antitrust laws"
In connection with the glass in
dustry suit, it was explained that
civil rather than criminal action was
being taken because the facts in
the case were first made public at
hearings before the Temporary
National Economic Committee when
some of those now named as de-
PENDANTS testified. 1t is being filed
today. with the following named as
corporate defendants:
Hartford Empire Co.. q patent
holding company of Connecticut;
Corning Glass Works Of New York
one Of the largest manufacturers Of
various types of glassware; Empire
Machine Co., patent holding COM
pany affiliated with Corning Glass
Works; Houghton Associates, Inc.
of New York, holding company for
the Houghton family of Corning
N. Y, who are the principal stock
holders in Corning Glass Works
and Empire Machine Co., and
through the latter company, in
Hartford Empire Co.; Owens-Illi-
nois Glass Co., of Ohio, the largest
manufacturer in the United States
of various types of glass containers:
Hazel-Atlas Glass Co. of West Vir-
ginia, the second largest manufac-
turer of glass containers; Anchor
Hooking Glass Corp. Of Ohio, the
third largest manufacturer of glass
containers; Thatcher Manufacturing
CO. of New York, the largest manu-
facturer of glass milk bottles; Ball
Brothers of Indiana, the largest
manufacturer of glass fruit jars;
Lynch Corp of Indiana, the princi-
pal manufacturer of formers, a
certain type of machinery for the
production of glassware; Liberty
Glass Co. of Oklahoma. a substantial
producer of glass milk bottles; Glass
Container Association of America,
Inc, of New York, a trade associa-
ton for the glass container indus
try; and Stevenson Corp, which
manages the affairs of the Glass
Container Association Of America,
Inc.
U. S. Chamber Issues Protest.
Coincidentally, a protest against
Limitations upon the rights of
ratentees" came from the Chamber
of Commerce of the United States,
which contended that the patent
system should be maintained with
out impairment"