Show FEARS ANOTHER STRANGLE HOLDON HOLD HOLDON HOLDON ON RADIO TUBES Professor Predicts Mon Mon- Monopoly Mon Monopoly By Radio Cor Cor- Cor- Cor Corporation of America I Ithe Fear of another r stranglehold on I the radio tube tubo business like that Corporation controlled by the Radio Corpora Corpora- Corporation Corporation tion of America before the DeFor- DeFor DeForest DeForest est DeFor-est est three electrode patent x cx- ex expired Is expressed by Professor J JH H former president of the Institute of ot Radio Engineers and head of o the department of electrical engineering at dt Columbia university Writing In Radio Broadcast Magazine for January points to the action or of orthe the court of appeals of ot tho the Die Die- Dl of Columbia in granting Pro Pro- Professor Pro Professor fessor feasor Irving Langmuir of ot Gen Gen- General Gen Gen- General General eral Electric the tho high vacuum patent on radio tubes This means he adds full con con- cont control con control t ol of ot the tube lube situation once more b by the Radio Corporation of America since the corporation I Is the selling agency for tor General Electric In radio receiving mS ma tt-rial tt mt-I mt i Yet the high vacuum patent sas sa's Is nothing but an improvement on the original aud- aud audIon audIon lon aud-lon Ion patent held heid by DeForest NOT AN i INVENTION i If It a vote were taken today I In one of our national society ot of scientists S I a to whether the lot lot- Im Improvement provement pro In vacuum of DeForest tubes could be considered an In-I In In- In Invention In Invention the result of ot the tho voe vote undoubtedly be negative The General Electric company nev- nev nevertheless nev nevertheless had Langmuir apply for fora fora a 0 patent on a new kind of This application was waa made In 1913 1013 and since then there has hasI I been a court struggle on the pat pat- pat of o the Idea with the re- re result re result sult suIt In favor of Langmuir This means evidently that ev- ev ry ev-c-ry HY Cry highly evacuated tube Is sub sub to Langmuir's patent com com- comments com com- comments comments ments Nowadays we use nothing but highly evacuated tej tubes so o that we must that l every tube we have havo today is sl subject ent to this new Langmuir pat pat- patent patent pat patent CONTROL REGAINED This constitutes a most danger danger- dangerous dangerous dangerous ous situation one which the Radio Corporation of America can ap- ap apparently apparently ap apparently freely use to their advantage advantage advantage tage It if we read the patent aright It appears that now and for tor the next 1 17 years ears all of our tubes are arc legally produced only by ROso RCA RO so soI I that the price I is again at the mercy of this radio trust I the RCA will not now push their advantage as aa they might have done had bad the patent been granted three years ago The present federal trade commission Inquiry will probably effectually prevent them from tram u crude monopoly We believe that the court was unfortunately advised In deciding that any man Is entitled to a pat pat- patent patent ent on the improvement In vacuum of of a well-known well device delce concludes Unfortunately our opinion does not affect the legal legal- legalIty legality Ity Ity of the situation |