PATENT RIGHTS.

Northern Advocate, 8 June 1918, Page 2

PATENT RIGHTS.

GUM MACHINES COMPANY SUED

AUCKLAND, June 8. In the civil aation commenced at the Supreme Court yesterday, before Mr Justice Cooper, John E. Nicholson gum buyer, of Mangawai, sued the New Zealand Gum Machines, Ltd. for specific performance of an alleged agreement 'to sell to him . certain patent rights over gum-cleaning machines, together with the goodwill of certain royalties. In the alternative he asked for £500 damages. Mr Ostler stated that the company was formed to exploit an invention owned by a Mr Frank V. Raymond, of Invercargill. In 1913 it sold to other company, the New Zealand Gum Cleaning Company, the sole right to use the invention in New Zealand, and also the right to use it in certain countries abroad. The buyers undertook, inter alia, to pay a royalty of £2 10s (later reduced to £1 15s) per ton of gum cleaaed. -The Gum Cleaning Co. operated the plant at Auckland and Dargaville for a time, but since the war the plant had been practically idle, and the company had now gone into liquidation. In September last the plaintiff wrote to the Gum Machines Company offering to purchase .its patent rights, to-. gether with the right to receive the company's royalties, for £370. The company gave him an option, but later the secretary (Mr J. W. Jamieson) wrote to him stating that possibly the option was invalid, and following this Mr Jamieson returned his deposit.

The defence filed alleged that the plaintiff had been guilty of fraud, in that lie had. not acted on his own behalf alone, but for certain shareholders in the company and persons in fiduciary positions under it.

The plaintiff, giving evidence, said that he had acted for himself only in the transaction. He knew that the other company was liable for the payment of £1 15/ per ton of gum. Ho had seen the machines at work. The case is proceeding.