WARRING TALKIE FIRMS BREAK OFF ALL NEGOTIATIONS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18874, 26 September 1929, Page 8

WARRING TALKIE FIRMS BREAK OFF ALL NEGOTIATIONS.

GERMAN AND AMERICAN COMPANIES DISAGREE. (Special to the “Star.”) BERLIN, September 16. The negotiations between the Western Electric Company (U.SA.) and the German talking film combine, represented by the Klangtobis Company, have been broken off. The Klangtobis Company has issued a statement saying: “As Western Electric claimed exclusive rights in all Eng-lish-speaking countries, without considering o« r existing rights in England, we considered that a continuation of negotiations would be useless.” In nearly all European countries the strength of the patents held by the Klangtobis Company is such that the American apparatus cannot be used there. American apparatus was legally seized at the Forum picture house, in Budapest (Hungary), and similar action will follow in other countries. The Klangtobis Company recently made a singing and talking film in German and English. Klangtobis is the German firm which manufactures a high-class talkie projecting apparatus. Negotiations are now in progress for its introduction into Australia for the presentation of Ufa and other German films. The name of the company is a compound word, the first syllable of which means sound, the second syllable being probably a trademark or the name cf an individual.