The Edison phonograph monthly (Jan-Dec 1916)

EDISON PHONOGRAPH MONTHLY, FEBRUARY, 1916 15 Important Legal Decisions — Continued Company thereupon went before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and sought an injunction to prevent the Macy Company from selling or offering for sale or attempting to transfer the title to and right of possession of any of plaintiff's goods, on the ground that any sale whatever by the defendants would be an infringement of the Victor patents, since the Victor Company had not granted to any one the right to sell or transfer the title to the goods. The District Court refused to grant an injunction on the ground that the Victor Company could not control the acts of the Macy Company. The United States Circuit Court of Appeals, reversing the decision of the lower Court, now rules that the injunction should have been issued. Judge Lacombe, who delivered the opinion, with Judges Coxe and Rogers concurring, went exhaustively into he license agreement under which the Victor products are marketed. The effect of this decision is to uphold the Victor Company's license agreement system, under which fixed and uniform prices for the patented products of this Company are maintained. VICTOR TALKING MACHINE COMPANY LOSES ON APPEAL TO UNITED STATES CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS Our July, 1915, issue contained an announcement to the effect that on June 4, 1915, a decision in our favor was rendered by Judge Hand, in the patent infringement suit brought in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, by the Victor Talking Machine Company against this Company in April, 1914. We now take pleasure in notifying Edison Phonograph Jobbers and Dealers that on appeal from this decision by the Victor Talking Machine Company, the United States Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the finding of the lower Court. In view of the fact that the Circuit Court of Appeals handed down no written opinion, this Court apparently considered the reasons set forth in the opinion of Judge Hand to be correct and all sufficient for its own conclusions. A LITTLE OIL, PLEASE PERHAPS the commonest neglect of household mechanical devices is the failure to oil occasionally. This is just as true of the Amberola as of the sewing machine, the vacuum cleaner or carpet sweeper. In most cases the outside of the instrument will be taken care of religiously, carefully wiped and dusted. While this is most desirable, surely more important is the keeping of the accurate mechanism in perfect running order. As you know, this cannot be done without an occasional drop of oil. Just how to get the owners to see that their instruments are kept properly oiled has always been lore or less of a problem, for the average person, especially a woman, little realizes the vital importance of lubrication. We feel that if the dollars and cents side of the matter were properly impressed on their minds they would pay more attention to lubrication. It is cheaper to use up cents worth of oil than to wear out a dollars worth of mechanism. Perhaps the following suggestion will help you keep your customers reminded of the lubrication matter: When you sell an instrument you of course keep some record of the sale. When you make your record suppose you jot down a date, perhaps in red ink, when you figure the instrument should need oiling (this would work best if you keep a card record) and on that date call on the customer and clean up and oil the instrument, not forgetting to have with you several of the latest records to play, for in this way many record sales can be made and names of prospective customers picked up. Service is a much overworked word, but this is real service, to your customer and to yourself. While doing your customer a good turn you are taking advantage of an excellent opportunity to increase your sales. From your standpoint this is not merely mechanical service, it is selling service of the best kind. Another way to handle this question, though not as effective from your standpoint, would be to mail, on the date recorded, a post card neatly type or hand written, saying something like this: "Time to oil your Amberola if you have not already done so. If you have, did you remember to (mention all parts to oil) ? Remember, cents worth of oil means dollars worth of mechanism saved. But be sure you use the right kind of oil and just a few drops of that. Too much is almost as bad as not enough, for it is apt to gum and collect dust." WANTED: SOME REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION A valuable department in the Phonograph Monthly would be one that treated the mechanical troubles that worry dealers. The Edison products are about as near right as they can be, but things will happen. We want an opportunity to straighten them out when they do occur, and we would like to get from six to ten letters within the next two weeks, concerning mechanical troubles. If we get them we will make our mechanical experts work. It will serve them right if they have to. They should have made things right in the first place, and not cause the Sales and Advertising Departments to sell goods that may get out of order. Address all such letters to the Editor of the Phonograph Monthly. Otherwise the mechanical people might get them, and if we didn't know they were written we couldn't make them come through with the necessary information.