COLOURED FILMS

Southland Times, Issue 20204, 15 June 1927, Page 5

COLOURED FILMS

ACTION OVER INVENTION. CASE BEFORE SUPREME COURT. (Per United Press Association.) Wellington, June 14. An action arising out of an invention for coloured photography came before the Chief Justice in the Supreme Court to-day. Plaintiffs, Frank Broomfield, a civil engineer, and four others, claimed that defendants, Edward Nicol Sutherland, a merchant, and three others, were trustees for a process invented by William Reid for the purpose of reproducing natural colours of objects in cinematography and, as trustees, had received £15,820 for the purpose of exploiting the invention. It was alleged that while acting as trustees, defendants had failed to file a complete patent specification, had sold shares, had charged brokerage and remitted moneys to the inventor and another a few months after they knew the venture had failed and had otherwise failed to exercise proper diligence as trustees. Plaintiffs therefore claimed to have the trust administered by the Court. The defence filed stated that the patents protection for the process was allowed to lapse in New Zealand on the joint advice of the patent agents and solicitors for the reason that new protections were being taken out in England. They said that no interests had been sold or brokerage charged on the sale of shares for fully six months before the date of the alleged failure of the invention and that all other transactions had been carried out and recorded in a reasonably practical manner. Defendants further claimed that they wanted to wind up the affairs of the trust at the wish of most of the interest holders in order to facilitate the formation of a limited liability company of the beneficiaries who desired to proceed with the venture. Defendants further claimed that there were only a few minor matters remaining to be concluded in connection with the trust and that the taking of the accounts by the Court would entail considerable expense and delay which the majority of the interest holders were anxious to avoid. The Court was engaged to-day with the opening of plaintiff’s case.