IN THE MATTER OF PATENTS OF HATFIELD AND THE REASON MANUFACTURING COMPANY LD.

Supplement. ] Dec. 8, 1920] THE ILLUSTRATED OFFICIAL JOURNAL (PATENTS). 273 REPORTS OF PATENT, DESIGN, AND TRADE -MARK CASES [Vol. XXXVII]. In the Matter of Patents of Hatfield and The Reason Manufacturing Company Ld. IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE.-CHANCERY DIVISION. Before MR. JUSTICE SARGANT ~ovember 10th, 5 1920. IN THE MATTER OF PATENTS OF HATFIELD AND THE REASON MANUFACTURING COMPANY LD. Patents.-Application by originating summons for extension of terms.-Patents already expired.-Four years' extension granted.-Patents and Designs Act, 1907, Section 18.-Patents and Designs Act, 1919, Section 7 (3). In 1905 two Patents were granted to H. and R. In 1908 H. assigned all his in10 ierest in the Patents to R. In 1919 the Patents expired. On the 10th of April 1920 R. applied by originating summons under Section 18 of the Patents and Designs Act, 1907, as amended by Section 7 (3) of the Patents and Designs Act, 1919, for an extension of the Patents. The Applicants alleged that they had made profits on the Patents during 1913 and again during 1919, but that during the war they had suffered 15 a loss of approximately 3,800l. by reason of the fact that owing to the war the demand for the patented articles had fallen off, that they had been unable to obtain necessary material, and that their plant and personnel had been diverted to the manufacture of war supplies. Held, that the case was within sub-section (6). Four years' extension of both Patents 20 in the form of fresh grants was granted, subject to the filing of an affidavit by H. verifying an arrangement made with him and his consent to the Application. On the lOth of October 1905 Letters Patent (No. 20,500 of 1905) for" Improve"ments in Mercury Electrolytes for Electrolytic Cells," and on the 13th of October 1905 Letters Patent (No, 20,770 of 1905) for "Improvements in 25 " Cathodes" were granted to Hen-ry Stafford Hatfield and The Reason Manufacturing Company Ld. On the 17th of March 1908 the said H. S. Hatfield assigned all his interest in the said Letters Patent to the said Reason Manufacturing Company Ld. On the lOth of April 1920 the Reason Manufacturing Company Ld. applied under Section 18 (6) of the Patents and Designs Act, 1907, for an extension 30 of the terms of the Patents. Affidavits were made in support of the application by William Jervis M oggridge, who stated (inter alia) that he was a managing director of Allen West & Co. Ld., that the Applicant Company was managed by 8vppk1Mnt. ) 274 . THE ILLUSTRATED OFFICIAL JOURNAL (PATENTS). [Dec. 8, 1920 ,; ., . . _. . I .'_ ."" "".' ~ ~ REPORTS OF PATENT, DESIGN, AND TRADEMARK CASES [Vol. XXXVII]. lnthe--Matter-of -Patents of Hatfield and The Reason 111anufacturing Company Ld. his said Company; that from 1901 until December 1905 the above-mentioned Henry Stafford Hatfield had been employed by the Applicants as a chemist, that in December 1905 the said H. S. Hatfield had been employed by the Applicants as experimental chemist, and that his duties included work in connection with meters made under the Patents, and that in November 1906 the said H. S. Hatfield had been 5 appointed manager of the Meter Department of the Applicants' business; that on the 17thof March 1908 the said H. S. Hatjie"td had assigned absolutely all his interest in the Patents.to the Applicants; and continued :.:.-.-" Prior to the war the Ap"plicants were engaged in the manufacture of electrolytic meters under the " said Patents and in other branches of electrical engineering, and I find that 10 " during the year 1913 their output can be divided into the following : " Meters constructed under the said Patents 38.000/0 "Other manufactures which are still being actively worked 35.300/0 3.300/0 " Manufactures now absolescent 23.40 0/0 15 " Completely obsolete manufactures 100.000/0 " Taking only the meters and the manufactures that are still being actively " produced, the meters were about 52% of the total output of the Applicants. 20 " Work on the meters which was rising before the war rapidly diminished until " the output reached the lowest point in the year 1918. Taking the output for " 1918 at 1, the ratio for these years and for the following year 1919 is as " follows : 25 " For 1912 2.74 3.54 " 1913 3.16 " 1914 1.95 " 1915 2.48 " 1916 30 1.86 " 1917 1.0 " 1918 4.54 " " 1919 " The reasons for the reduction in output were : " Firstly :-That the meters themselves, which are used for measuring the "supplies of electricity to house property, are mainly sold to electric supply 35 "authorities and companies, and shortly after the outbreak of war these cus"tomers found themselves by the action of the Government debarred from " obtaining fresh capital, and consequently could not extend their mains. The " result ofthis was that the demand for new meters fell to a negligible quantity. " Secondly :-Previous to the war and before Allen West & Co. Ld. had taken 40 "over the management, the Applicants had bought the whole of the special " glass required for the production of their meters in Germany. Although early "in 1914 the new management interested an English glass-maker in the pro"duction of this special glass, sufficient supplies were never available, and "though a second manufacturer started later in the war, supplies of glass did 45 "not become available in sufficient quantities until after the Armistice. " Thirdly :-Shortly after the war broke out the Applicants and Allen West & Co. " Ld. became controlled establishments, and all available plant and personnel, "including that of the Applicants, were diverted to the manufacture of war " supplies, and .consequently the staff that had handled the meter work had to 50 " be reduced to an almost negligible minimum and could not effect output sufficient Supplement.] Dec. 8, 1920] THE ILLUSTRATED OFFICIAL JOURNAL (PATENTS). REPORTS OF PATENT, DESIGN, AND TRADE MARK OASES 275 [Vol. XXXVII]. In the Jl;[atter of Patents of Hatfield and The Reason Manufacturing Oompany Ld. "" to meet even the limited number of orders which were received. In the spring " of 1919 the directors of Allen West & 00. Ld. consulted their patent agents with " reference to applying for an extension of the terms of the said patents. They c , were advised that there was no provision in the law under which losses due to .5 ,; the war could be pleaded as a ground for extension, and owing to the number " of meters that had been manufactured uader the patents it was improbable c, that the Court would grant an extension of the term of the patent, but there "was every probability that an Act would be passed extending the term of " patents which had not been worked or not fully worked during the war. The 10 "Patents and Designs Act of 1919 was not passed until the 23rd of December " 1919, more than two months after the said patents had expired. The Applicants " made substantial profits on the meters during 1913 and again in 1919 and in " 1920 the sale of meters i (...truncated)