BROADCASTING.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19162, 19 November 1927, Page 15

BROADCASTING.

NEW ARRANGEMENT FOR AUSTRALIA.

(BI CABLE—rHESS ASSOCIATION— COPYRIGHT.) [AUSTRALIA!* AND N.Z. CABLE ASSOCIATION.)

CANBERRA, November 18. In the House of Representatives, Mr Bruce introduced a Bill to amend the agreement between the Commonwealth Government and Amalgamated Wireless. Australia, Ltd.

It provides lor free patent rights v> licensed broadcast stations, radio dealers and listeners-in from Amalgamated Wireless, with the payment to Amalgamated "Wireless by the Commonwealth Government of 3d a month on behalf of each licensed listener and the revision by Amalgamated Wireless of the stations which it at present owns. The new agreement is to remain operative for • five years/ and the Commonwealth and the company must agree on the form of license to be signed by the users of patents. The company agrees to grant a license, free of royalty, to every newspaper and every broadcasting station in the Commonwealth for the purpose of receiving official news bulletins from Britain.

It also agrees to prosecute as expeditiously as possible actions wrich already have been instituted for infringement pf patent rights.. It- is agreed that the actions are for rights important to broadcasting, and unless these actions are finished within twelve months in favour of the company the agreement provides that the company will commence corresponding actions in New Zealand. The provision dealing with the retention of stations by. Amalgamated Wireless includes a clause that all equipment shall be modernised and stations reorganised. Payments to the Postmaster-General's Department • m respect to messages handled by the Post Office are eliminated, while the Commonwealth promises to provide the company with the necessary land for line connexions and; internal communications at the usual rates required by the Commonwealth in cases of interruption to line circuits. The company will be entitled to establish and operate commercial wireless services between Australia and ships at sea, with aircraft, and between Australian territories and other It is understood that Amalgamated Wireless claim that' they hold certain patent rights for the sale _of valves and all forms of regeneration employed in radio sets, and in licensing these sets in the Dominion the Australians allege that the New Zealand Government has committed a breach of the patent law.