Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

RCA POLICY ON PATENTS Stateme7it by Brig. General David Sanioff before the Federal Com- munications Commisaion, Wash- ingtou. D. C, on May 3. RCA has been licensinK its own inventions in the radio and television industry for a great many \ ears. It has also for many years been iicensinjr the inventions of others in those instances where it has sub-licensin>r rights. The basic structure of this patent licens- ing was approved by the Depart- ment of Ju.stice and the United States District Court for the Di.s- trict of Delaware in 19."?2. At the time the 1932 consent de- cree was entered, the agreements with the American Telephone & Telegraph Co.. the General Electric Co.. and the Westinghouse Klectric Corp., pursuant to which KCA re- ceived the non-exclusive right to grant licenses under the patents of these companies were described by the Department of Justice as being manifestly in the public interest. From time to time since 1932 RCA has acquired licenses for itself under the patents of others and in some instances sub-licensing rights for the benefit of the rest of the in- dustry as well. Industry Aided by RCA Patents In 1942 the Department of Jus- tice through the Assistant Attor- ney General, Mr. Thurman Arnold, sought to set the consent decree aside. After full argument, the de- cree was reaffirmed by the Courts. The Attorney General withdrew his appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States on this issue. I believe that the beneficial na- ture of RCA's licensing policies are apparent from the assistance which the industry has received as a result of these policies. As I have said, we have been in the patent licensing business for many years. No one can conceiv- ably claim that the radio industry has been anything but helped by RCA's patent position or RCA's patent policies. The history of the whole radio industry has been one of rapid expansion and keen com- petition. Coming to the television indus- try, I belive it will be conceded by all concerned that we would not have the highly competitive, highly successful television industry that we have today were it not for the affirmative assistance which the RCA has made available through its patent licenses and otherwise. Other Manufacturers Benefit As a result of this, we now have a television industry of a l)iIlion dollars a year. RCA not only gave this industry the benefits of its tele- vision patents at no extra charge, but its licensees got blueprints and manufacturing assistance. Comy)et- ing television manufacturers were invited to our plants and greatly helped to get into competition with RCA. Our patent licenses contain no re- strictive provisions whatever. There is no effort to fix prices, to limit pro- duction or to do anything but to further the industi-y to the fullest possible extent. We maintain an Industry Service Laboratory as a part of our licensing policy to help licensees. Our licenses are uni- formly non-discriminatory and our royalty rate is low. Now, I do not wish to be drawn into detail in this hearing. It is no secret that we are engaged in patent litigation of the greatest im- portance in AM, in ¥'S\ and in tele- vision. We are either the defendant or the plaintiff in several litigations of far reaching importance to us and we believe to the entire indus- try. In these litigations we have been called ail the names which the in- genuity of opposing counsel can im- agine. We have been accused of every nefarious practice which the fertile imaginations of these gentle- men could breed. We categorically deny all these characterizations and charges and we fully expect to prove them false in open court. I believe it is sufficient for these proceedings that we stand on our record and I believe you will respect the situation in which we find our- selves with regard to these litiga- tions. So far as our agreements with others for obtaining licensing or sub-licensing rights are concerned, most of these agreements are on file with this Commission. They speak for themselves. The consider- ation paid for the value received was arrived at by the combined best judgment of many experts in our organization. As we have stated on other occasions, however, we can not indulge in the public evalu- ation of the significance of particu- lar patents which belong to others. We have also submitted to the Commission all patents which we own or under which we can grant licenses which we believe to read on the transmission standards al- ready existing or which are pro- posed in these proceedings. Further than this, however, I do not think we should be asked to go. Exhibition Hall Visitors Exceed 3 I/2 Million IN its three years of operation since the official opening on May 14, 1947, the RCA Exhibition Hail in Radio City has attracted more than three and one-half mil- lion visitors, an accomplishment that places it among the leading tourist attractions in New York City. The average daily attendance of the exhibit is approximately 3.000. The highest mark was set on Janu- ary 8 of this year when 11,380 people thronged the Hall to inspect the new line of RCA Victor radio and television receivers. In the past three years, 580 school groups have been given special tours through the exhibit with added film and lecture programs in the Johnny Victor Theatre. Television In Mexico Mexico's first television station, equipped with a 5-kilowatt trans- mitter and associated studio and mobile pickup units supplied by RCA, is scheduled to go on the air in Mexico City this summer. The station is owned and operated by Television de Mexico, S. A. [RADI O AGE 7]