Mr. Alexander to Mr. Olney.

No. 85.]

Sir: I have the honor to state that I should be very glad if I could inform you that there are reasonable grounds for hoping that I shall be able to carry out the instructions of your dispatch, No. 75, of the 9th ultimo, relative to a trade-mark convention.

I shall continue to use every effort to induce the Greek Government to agree to a regular and formal convention instead of the declaration for the reciprocal protection of trade-marks which was signed July 9/21, 1894) but I am convinced that the reasons which have hitherto [Page 764] influenced that Government in declining conventions with any nation on this subject will still have the same influence. Those reasons are, in brief, the conviction that declarations, several of which have been signed and have proved satisfactory in practice, are valid and sufficient; reasonable certainty that any ministry would fail in an attempt to secure the necessary ratification by the Chamber of Deputies; hesitation to act in what might seem an unfair manner toward other nations by thus questioning the validity of similar declarations.

These considerations have had so much weight with the Greek Government that, even when the treaty between Greece and Belgium was recently concluded, the former would not consent to include in the body of the treaty articles on the protection of trade-marks, but insisted on appending a declaration to that effect.

Nearly all of the other Governments, whose representatives here have signed declarations for the reciprocal protection of trade-marks, preferred formal conventions, thinking, as we thought, that these declarations did not necessarily follow as interpretations of their treaties with Greece; but, understanding that in no other way was it possible to secure protection in Greece for foreign inventions, and that, in accordance with the Greek law on trade-marks, such declarations have complete validity here, they have decided to make the best terms possible, and their trade-marks have for some time been registered and protected in this country.

I frequently receive from Americans inquiries concerning the registration of their inventions in Greece. I hardly know how to answer these inquiries, because, although the Greek Government holds that American trade-marks can now be registered i n Greece, we think that the declaration already signed does not guarantee protection to American inventions in Greece, nor to Greek inventions in the United States.

I therefore beg that you will inform me whether, in the event of failure to consummate a convention, it is your wish that we should avail ourselves of the advantages afforded by the existing declaration, or should notify the Greek Government of our desire to withdraw from that declaration.

In the meantime I shall do everything in my power to carry out your instructions.

I have, etc.,

E. Alexander.