Re Ryall's Patent

This matter concerned an originating summons brought by Leonard Ernest Ryall and General Electric Co. Ltd. before Williams J. of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The applicants sought an extension of the term of Australian Letters Patent Nos. 16576/34 and 21817/35, which had expired on 1 March 1949. The basis for the application was that the patentees had suffered loss or damage by reason of recent hostilities, as provided for under section 84(6) of the *Patents Act 1903-1946*.

The court was required to determine whether the patentees had indeed suffered loss or damage due to the recent hostilities and, if so, to what extent the terms of the letters patent should be extended. The inventions, relating to improvements in alternating current transmission systems such as telephone systems incorporating echo-suppressors and voice-controlled switching arrangements, were of a highly technical nature and required extensive development over several years to achieve a commercially satisfactory form.

Williams J. reasoned that the evidence established that the patentees had suffered loss and damage as a result of the recent hostilities. The court noted that the inventions were on the cusp of commercial exploitation at the outbreak of war, but the war effort diverted staff and factories to war work, making exploitation impossible. While the General Electric Co. provided less evidence regarding its development and exploitation activities, the court was satisfied that the Telephone Manufacturing Co. was actively developing its portion of the inventions before the war and was prevented from exploiting them during the war. Considering the period of hostilities and the time required for the Telephone Manufacturing Co. to transition from war to peace production, the court determined that a substantial extension was warranted.

Consequently, the court ordered a re-grant of both Letters Patent for a further period of seven years from 1 March 1949. This re-grant was subject to specific conditions, including that no action could be commenced for infringements occurring after the original expiry date and before the date of the order, nor for the sale, use, or employment of articles made in accordance with the invention during that period. The applicants were ordered to pay the costs of the Commissioner of Patents, with liberty to apply reserved.