Radio Broadcast (May 1927-Apr 1928)

THE MARCH OK RADIO sees am) iNimwnAHON qeoieeesi BSBIS n/nsus Can The Serious Problem of Radio Patents Be Settled? THE recent adjudication of several important patents, such as those of Hazeltine and Alexanderson, has forced upon the radio industry the long deferred day of reckoning with inventive genius. Conscientious and established manufacturers have proceeded promptly to obtain licenses under Radio Corporation patents which make available to them the work of some of the world's greatest laboratories. By assuming an annual royalty guarantee of one hundred thousand dollars a year, charged at the rate of "j\ per cent, of the cost of radio receivers, they become licensed under R. C. A., A. T. & T., Western Electric, General Electric, Westinghouse and Wireless Specialty patents. Having assumed this substantial burden, the licensees considered their patent difficulties disposed of. But some quickly found that licenses under Hazeltine and Latour patents are also necessary to freedom from patent difficulty and, probably quite reluctantly, signed the Hazeltine licenses with the additional burden of a 2\ per cent, royalty and an annual guarantee of thirty thousand dollars a year. This duty performed, the manufacturer dismissed patent trouble and consecrated himself to the problem of selling newer and better radios. And then came the independent inventor to disturb his peace of mind. Old patents were dug up, demanding recognition. New patents, just issued, added to the swarm. Some of these inventions are as worthy of recognition as those covered by the Radio Corporation license. Others may be worth less and which will not withstand the test of adjudication. The weary manufacturer's answer to those demanding additional royalties is becoming less and less courteous. He is now paying all that the traffic will bear. Unless some remedy is offered, his answer to patent holders soon will be: "A plague upon your patents!" The Prospects of a Patent Pool SOME manufacturers have united in defensive groups to protect themselves against the swarm of inventions which now confronts them. They foresee the necessity for so great an increase in the price of radio receivers by reason of patent royalties that the public will no longer be able to afford them. Faced with the alternatives of excessive royalties or occasional injustice to the legitimate inventor, the manufacturers have, quite naturally, tended to the latter course. No doubt, some of the inventors, whose claims for royalties are being disregarded or opposed, will eventually win adjudications, and triple damages, if they are sufficiently patient and prosperous to afford the protracted legal battle which must precede such a result. It is quite possible that combined resistance to the inventor may, in some cases, prove costly, because it is not reasonable to assume that Radio Corporation, Latour and Hazeltine patents are the only ones which will be favorably adjudicated. Combined resistance, however, is the only course open to the manufacturer because there are too many unadjudicated patents demanding attention. It would be suicidal to agree to a license under all of them; the cost of radio sets to the consumer would double and sales resistance would fourfold. Most of the executives in the radio field wish to concentrate their attention on the design, manufacture and merchandising of radio equipment, but patent problems now require an alarming proportion of their time. Naturally, the leaders of the radio industry are nervous. At every trade convention and meeting, we hear talk of an all-inclusive patent pool. Unfortunately, no patent pool can be successfully organized unless it has the unanimous support of all radio manufacturers and patent holders. To relieve the patent situation economically and painlessly, there must be a single, powerful, radio trade organization. Nevertheless, the N. E. M. A. and the R. M. A. still— to all outward appearances — indulge in shortsighted rivalry. An unofficial canvass of ninety per cent, of the membership of one of these organizations reveals that all but two were in favor of consolidation. To make a consolidation possible, one or two leaders in the R. M. A. must for a moment forget that their organization has the largest number of members and the youngest blood, and one or two members of the N. E. M. A. must forget some remarks made several years ago over matters long since settled. And both groups must cease suspecting each other. © Henry Miller CHANGES IN THE FEDERAL RADIO COMMISSION Henry A. Bellows, Sam Pickard, and Carl H. Butman. Commissioner Bellows was appointed from the Minneapolis district where he had long ably managed wcco. His resignation, effective November ist, left a vacancy which was filled by the President in appointing Sam Pickard who has been Secretary to the Commission since its appointment. Carl Butman is the new Secretary succeeding Mr. Pickard and has many years of experience in Washington as news correspondent, specializing in radio, to aid him in his new post. Mr. Butman has for some time been Washington correspondent for Radio Broadcast 198