UNUSUAL RADIO PROBLEMS

Taranaki Daily News, 13 September 1934, Page 4

UNUSUAL RADIO PROBLEMS

RESULT OF NEW DEVELOPMENTS. NEED FOR FRESH LEGISLATION. (By Wire—Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, Last Night. The need for fresh provisions in local law and international conventions to deal with unusual problems which arise from radio developments is pointed out in the annual report of the Commissioner of Patents, Mr. H. T. Atkinson. The report indicates that the main increase in applications for patents related to telegraphy and telephony (including phonographs), 313 applications being dealt with during the year, against 210 last year*.

“This class of invention has for many years shown great activity, and the sudden leap in the number of inventions last year calls for special comment,” states the report. “The broadcasting industry depends for' its existence upon patent monopolies, and the international aspect of these monopolies becomes yearly more intricate and important. This is particularly so on account of" the growing tendency for this kind of property to be controlled by -large organisations, whose fees and evidence of title are sometimes questioned by customers. “It is unnecessary to emphasise the extraordinarily powerful position that radio already occupies in regard to national and international welfare, and the rapidity of the growth of the industry makes it difficult to forecast the limits of future development. It has become evident, however, that fresh provisions in regard to local law and international conventions are necessary from time to time to meet the unusual problems to which radio gives rise.”