832.542 Symington Co./10
The Ambassador in Belgium (Gibson) to the Secretary of
State
Brussels, April 23,
1928.
[Received May 5.]
No. 234
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the
Department’s instruction No. 92 of February 29, 1928 (File No.
832.542–Symington Co./1 [3])
[Page 1033]
and at the same time to acknowledge the
receipt of instruction No. 101 of April 5, 1928 (File No.
832.542–Symington/6 [7]),18 both relating to the attempted infringement by the
Société Anonyme des Ateliers de Construction de Familleureux of
Familleureux, Belgium, of the patents covering equipment designed,
manufactured and patented by the Symington Company.
By note of March 20, 1928, the Embassy brought this matter to the
attention of the Foreign Office, pursuant to the Department’s
instruction first mentioned above, and asked whether it might not be
possible for the Belgian authorities to take action with a view to
preventing the threatened violation by the Belgian Company of the treaty
rights of the Symington Company as citizens of the United States.
The Department’s second instruction was received April 17, 1928, and a
note was addressed to the Foreign Office the same day, in which
attention was invited to the satisfactory settlement of the matter
between the two companies concerned.
I have now received under date of April 20, 1928, a reply from the
Foreign Office to my first note on the subject. This reply was
apparently drafted before the receipt of my second note, but as it
contains information which may be of value in the event that similar
cases occur in the future, I am enclosing a copy and translation of it
for the records of the Department.
In acknowledging this note I have, of course, confined myself to an
expression of thanks for the information furnished the Embassy and of
appreciation of the Ministry’s interposition with the Familleureux
Company which appears to have borne satisfactory results.
I have [etc.]
[Enclosure—Translation]
The Belgian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs to the American
Embassy
Brussels, April 20,
1928.
Direction B
Section I. B. No. 441/1480
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has the honor to acknowledge the
receipt of note No. 116 of March 20, 1928, by which the Embassy of
the United States at Brussels requested its intervention in favor of
the Symington Company who makes complaint of unfair competition and
misuse of its trade name on the part of the Société Anonyme des
Ateliers de Construction de Familleureux.
In order to meet the stipulations of articles 8 and 10½ of the
International Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property
signed at Washington June 2, 1911 the Belgian Government has
[Page 1034]
made provision in its
legislation for an action against firms or persons misusing the
trade name of a foreign competitor or who have committed actions
involving unfair competition.
However, it should be noted that this action for which provision is
made in Belgian legislation has only a civil character and that as a
consequence thereof injured persons or firms should themselves take
the initiative in bringing such action. It is not the same insofar
as concerns trade marks, as a penal action is provided in such cases
in accordance with the law of April 1, 1879.
On the other hand, contrary to the opinion which the note of the
Embassy of the United States of America appears to indicate, the
facts invoked by the Symington Company against the Société Anonyme
des Ateliers de Construction de Familleureux do not constitute a
violation of the International Convention. The Symington Company may
invoke the provisions of this Convention in order to demand their
judicial application and it is for the company to take the
initiative in citing the Société Anonyme des Ateliers de
Construction de Familleureux before the Courts. The matter is thus
one of private law.
From the foregoing considerations it results that the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs has not, in this matter, any means of constraint and
that it can only interpose its good offices in order to obtain
eventually a friendly settlement.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been careful to invite the
serious attention of the Directorate of the Société Anonyme de
Construction de Familleureux to the claim of the Symington Company
and has moreover asked the company to inform it of the measures
which it intends to take with a view to putting an end as soon as
possible to the criticisms resulting from the attitude of the said
company.
