["Marconi Patent", The Register (Adelaide, SA), Thursday 13 July 1911, page 6]
MARCONI PATENT.
Parker Wireless Judgment.
How Australia is Affected.
MELBOURNE, July 12.
When the Parker judgment in connection with wireless telegraphic services was made known in Australia the Federal Ministry communicated with the Admiralty with a view to ascertain the olficial opinion regarding what effect the judgment would have on systems other than the Marconi. It is understood that a despatch has been received by the Government in reply to its queries. To-day, in answer to questions, the Acting Prime Minister (Mr. Hughes) made a statement on the subject. He said it appeared that the judgment went to the extent of declaring, with a certain amount of hesitancy, and subject to any appeal or further judicial decision which might have the effect of upsetting it, that no known commercial system was outside the scope of the Marconi, the master patent. He was not prepared to say precisely how that would affect the Federal installation. The Government had felt that the expert opinions which it had obtained from its own officers should be fortified by enquiry from the Imperial authorities. The authorities operated under the Oliver Lodge patent, which was prior to the Marconi, but the Marconi patent could hardly be said to depend in any way on the Lodge patent. He was not going to say for one moment that the position, as it appeared at present, should be accepted an final, for the possibilities of further litigation were imminent. It did not follow that because the Radio-telegraphic Company, a comparatively small concern, regarding whose operations it was difficult to obtain precise particulars, had failed, other concerns, perhaps exchanging messages through different media, would necessarily come within the scope of the judgment. It might be possible for some system now in force or to come into force to be outside the judgment, otherwise for the next four years the Marconi patent would hold the field. Dealing with the undertakings already begun for the Commonwealth at Sydney and Fremantle, Mr. Hughes said the position was clear. The Australasian Wireless, Limited, who were installing the plant and were working on the Telefunken patent, guaranteed the Commonwealth against any loss in any actions taken in consequence of infringement of patents. In addition to that the contractors had to give the Commonwealth an efficient working plant, so that so far as the existing contracts were concerned the Federal Government was safeguarded. The difficulty now was that the position, so far as it was known, made it hardly possible for the Commonwealth to proceed along the same lines as formerly. If the Government knew that the Marconi patent was being infringed deliberately, that meant that the Port Moresby and Thursday Island installations would have to be postponed. It was obvious that they could not be hung up in definitely, but the Government had felt that in view of the gravity of the position the opinion of the British authorities should be obtained, in addition to the interpretation of the Parker judgment by the Australian Patents Office and himself as Attorney-General. Consequently, the opinion had been obtained. It was a matter for consideration whether the Government, in default of any further testing of the position by others, should sit down under the domination of one company, and whether that company was to straddle the world like a Colossus.
