The Edison phonograph monthly (Jan-Dec 1916)

EDISON PHONOGRAPH MONTHLY, DECEMBER, 1916 sounded unusually husky, and at the end of the third round it was stone-cold and unconscious. It was seriously injured and its reputation, in Atlanta and vicinity, is sadly and permanently impaired. Diamond Amberola Unanimously Acclaimed la othei words, the now famous blind curtain test between a 350. Diamond Amberola and a 3200 "Talking-Machine" was given. Three comparisons were made and those present voted unanimously in favor of the Diamond Amberola. With odds of 4 to 1 the Amberola came out supreme! The Diamond Amberola-"Talking Machine" comparison was only one detail of the convention. The gathering marked the opening of the new Shop of Phonographs, Inc. This is one of the finest Edison stores in the country and it contains one of the finest Amberola departments we have ever seen. We wanted to get a picture of it but our staff photographer was out trying to get the picture of "Amberola Andy" that we show elsewhere and we could not trust anybody else to secure a view of their Amberola Department. We will present it in a future number of the Phonograph Monthly, showing it in actual operation. Sales Manager K. R. Moses of the Amberola Department told the dealers at the convention some of the good features of the Amberola and also conducted the famous Curtain Test. Directly after the curtain test three Disc-only dealers made application for the Diamond Amberola. That tells you something, does it not? Amberola Booming in Richmond While enroute, Mr. Moses stopped off to call on C. B. Haynes & Co., Edison jobbers and dealers in Richmond, Va. They were enthusiastic over the possibilities of the New Amberola Models and reported a decided increase of business in these new models and Blue Amberol Records. The last three record supplements came in for a strong endorsement from Mr. Haynes, who stated that the September, October and November supplements were the best sellers that ever had been issued by the Edison Company. PRICE AGREEMENT ON PATENTED GOODS SUSTAINED WE are pleased to inform our dealers that a patent license system similar to that under which Edison Phonographs and Records are marketed has just been considered by the United States Circuit Court of Appeals at Baltimore and has been held to be legal, the fixing of prices of patented goods being within the rights covered by the grant of Letters Patent. The decision referred to is entitled L. E. Waterman vs. Kline, 234 Fed. Rep. 891 (advance sheets). From this decision it appears that the L. E. Waterman Company, which is engaged in the manufacture and sale of the well known Waterman "Ideal" Fountain Pens, which are covered by Letters Patent, entered into a license agreement with one of its dealers, Leo P. Kletzly, to furnish him at wholesale prices with fountain pens to be sold by him to the public only at full regular retail list prices established by the company. The agreement provided also that upon request the Waterman company would take any of the goods at the prices at which they had been sold to the dealer and credit same on any account due and owing by him to the company or pay for the same in cash should there be no account due. Under this license agreement the Waterman Company furnished the dealer with pens from time to time. The dealer finally went into bankruptcy and the trustees requested the Waterman company to take the pens back at cost, making payment therefor in cash, but the Waterman company would take them only on condition that the price be credited on its open account against the bankrupt up to the amount of said account, the balance to be paid in cash. The trustee was unwilling to do this and the Referee in Bankruptcy thereupon ordered the trustee to sell the patented goods in accordance with law, whereupon the Waterman company brought an action for an injunction to restrain the bankruptcy trustee from selling the fountain pens at less than list prices. The court held that while the license agreement was valid, certain previous court proceedings in the case had resulted in the Waterman company having allowed the goods to pass to the trustee without restriction as to his right to use or sell them, and that the injunction therefore would not be granted, the Waterman company having already been given an opportunity which they had not availed themselves of to repurchase the goods for cash. That portion of the decision relative to the validity of the dealer's license agreement reads as follows: "The appellant submitted an elaborate brief as to the monopoly rights of an owner of patents. We are in accord with all the authorities cited, but they are not applicable to this case. In our view this case is embraced in a very narrow compass. The owner of a patent may sell or authorize others to sell the patented article without limitation as to price, time or place, or he may limit his licensees as to price, time or locality. Any sale beyond the terms of the license is an infringement. The assignee of a license obtains no higher rights than the assignor had. We have stated in a few words every principle involved in the cases cited. They are elementary and self-evident." Among the Amberola dealers who had special Edison window displays during Edison Week were W. A. Bowen & Son, Kewanee, 111.; Wilbur Templin Music Co., Elkhart, Ind., and the Charles E. Roat Music Co., Battle Creek, Mich. William W. Wyper, representative of Thomas A. Edison, Inc., in Australia and New Zealand, recently arrived at Orange, N. J., where he will spend a month on business. A number of sound-proof booths have been installed in the store of William L. Nutting, Amberola dealer of Nashua, N. H. George C. Jewell, Amberola dealer at Rhineland, Wis., gave a series of concerts at his store in celebration of Edison Week.