832.542 Symington Co./3
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Belgium (Reed)
Sir: The Department transmits herewith copies of a letter dated February 15, 1928, and its enclosures from Mr. Ernest F. Mechlin, General Counsel for The Symington Company,12 manufacturers of railway equipment in regard to the alleged infringement by Societe Anonyme des Ateliers de Construction de Familleureux of Familleureux, Belgium, of the patents covering equipment designed, patented and manufactured by The Symington Company.
It will be observed from the enclosed letter that the Symington equipment
mentioned was adopted and made standard equipment by the Paulista
Railroad and the Central Railroad of Brazil and that negotiations are
now in progress looking to the adoption of the equipment by other
Brazilian railroads; that the Central Railroad of Brazil ordered from
the Societe Anonyme des Ateliers de Construction de Familleureux 150
freight cars specifying that they be equipped with the Symington
equipment designated:
that the Societe Anonyme des Ateliers de Construction de Familleureux represented to the Brazilian railroad officials that it would have the Symington equipment manufactured in Belgium under a license from The Symington Company; that this representation was false, no such license having been issued by The Symington Company or requested by the Societe Anonyme des Ateliers de Construction de Familleureux; that it is understood that the equipment is now in process of manufacture; that as a result of this piracy and false representation, The Symington Company’s interests will be seriously injured unless measures are taken to prevent the unauthorized [Page 1029] manufacture in Belgium of the equipment under discussion until recognition of the rights of The Symington Company and the payment to them of adequate compensation is assumed.
The Societe Anonyme des Ateliers de Construction de Familleureux is specifically representing that the cars being furnished for the Central Railroad of Brazil will be equipped with the Symington equipment called for in the specifications, whereas the equipment actually about to be furnished are unauthorized imitations of the genuine Symington equipment and the Belgian company is therefore not only pirating the patent right of The Symington Company and falsely representing that the equipment is being manufactured under a license issued by The Symington Company, but they are using the trade names of The Symington Company without the authority of that company and to its detriment.
The action of the Societe Anonyme des Ateliers de Construction de Familleureux seems clearly to contravene the provisions hereinafter quoted of the Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property signed at Washington on June 2, 1911, to which the United States and Belgium are parties.13 Article 8 of the Convention reads as follows:
“Trade names shall be protected in all the countries of the Union without the obligation of filing, whether it be a part or not of a trademark.”
Article 10½ contains the following provisions:
“All the contracting countries agree to assure to the members of the Union an effective protection against unfair competition.”
In view of the reprehensible actions of the Societe Anonyme des Ateliers de Construction de Familleureux and the treaty violations involved therein and the loss resulting therefrom to The Symington Company, you will please bring this matter to the attention of the Foreign Office and inquire whether it will not be possible for the Belgian authorities to take action with a view to preventing the violation by the Belgian company of the treaty rights of these citizens of the United States.
I am [etc.]
- Not printed.↩
- Foreign Relations, 1913, p. 1363.↩