REVOCATION OF PATENT

Press, Volume C, Issue 29599, 23 August 1961, Page 11

REVOCATION OF PATENT

Judgment In Fire Alarm Dispute An application by Automatic Alarms, Ltd., for an order revoking the patent rights for an automatic fire detector acquired by the Vigilant Automatic Fire Alarm Company. Ltd., has been granted by Mr Justice Richmond in a reserved iudgment given in the Supreme Court yesterday. His Honour said, however, that the order to revoke the patent rights was not to be given to the Commissioner of Patents until after six weeks from the date of the order and. in the event of notice of appeal, not until after judgment on the appeal. His Honour awarded costs to the anplicant. Mr J. G. Leggat and Mr A Hearn appeared for Automatic Alarms. Ltd., in support of the application, and Mr R. E. Harding appeared for the respondent, when the original action was heard on June 30. The whole action arose from the original claim by the Vigilant Fire Alarm Company for an inquiry as to damages for the alleged breach of the Vigilant Company’s patent rights to an automatic fire detector by Automatic Alarms, Ltd. In this action Automatic Alarms defended the claim on the ground that the Vigilant patent was invalid because of prior usage. In a second reserved iudgment his Honour discussed the question of whether the order revoking the patent would have the effect of destroying Vigilant’s patent ab initio or only in future. His Honour said he thought the weight of authority was that the revocation of a

patent could be made ab initio, but he deliberately refrained from giving final judgment in order to enable counsel to make further submissions as to the interrelationship between the infringement action and the revocation proceedings.