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Caption: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1930
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193°] UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 515 This report was received for record. CONTRACT WITH GENERAL TALKING PICTURES CORPORATION (31) The contract with the General Talking Pictures Corporation (successors to the Deforest Phonofilms, Inc.) concerning the K u n z photo-electric cell was terminated on December 30, 1929, because of the failure of said Corporation to report sales and to pay royalties as provided for in the contract. N o royalties have been paid nor any reports on sales have been made since June 30. The Comptroller, Mr. Lloyd Morey, w h o was in N e w York last month, made inquiry to determine if the Corporation has discontinued the use of the K u n z cell. H e reports that the Corporation discovered some months ago that practically the same cell was being made by the G - M Laboratories of Chicago (one of the men in this organization was a student under Professor Kunz), and that the G - M Laboratories considered our patent of no consequence. Under the contract, the General Talking Pictures Corporation had the right to have the cell manufactured for it by other parties and it contracted with the G - M Laboratories for this purpose. The latter, according to information secured by M r . Morey, sold the same cell to other parties and on such sales no royalties have been paid by any one. Consequently, the General Pictures Corporation, on advice of its Legal Counsel, suspended payment of royalties as of June 30, last. It seems desirable to determine promptly if the activities of the G - M Laboratories constitute an infringement of our patent and that if this is found to be the case legal steps be taken to protect the rights of the University. Professor K u n z reports that the cell being manufactured by the G - M Laboratories is a duplicate of his cell except as to size. Accordingly, I recommend that the Legal Counsel be authorized and directed, with the advice of the Patent Attorneys of the University, to institute such legal proceedings as the facts m a y indicate to be necessary in order to protect the University under this patent. On motion of Mr. Trees, this matter was referred to the Committee o n Patents, for investigation a n d report at the M a r c h meeting of the B o a r d . ASSESSMENT FOR SEWER SYSTEM IN CHICAGO (32) O n November 15 (Minutes, page 435) the Board directed the President to file an objection to the assessment against the University's property in Chicago on account of the proposed system of sewers on the West Side, and to notify the assessors that while the University is not bound to pay such an assessment it will not stand in the way of the improvement but will voluntarily accept its share of the assessment on condition that if other assessments for this project are reduced the University's share will be correspondingly reduced. The Superintendent of Assessments was notified accordingly, through our Legal Counsel. The Legal Counsel reports that on January 28 he had a conference with the special Assistant Corporation Counsel of Chicago in charge of the lawsuit concerning this special assessment situation at which they reached an understanding that the University will not only be given equal benefits of reductions received by others but possibly more. This report was received for record. OWNERSHIP OF PENNSYLVANIA OR MAPLE AVENUE (.33) A recommendation that, for the purposes of the record, the letters written by the Legal Counsel at the direction of the Board (Meeting of December 4, Minutes, page 449) to the Mayor and City Clerk of Urbana and to the owner of the Gallivan Addition to the City of Urbana concerning the ownership of Pennsylvania Avenue be printed in the minutes of the Board. December 16, 1929 Mr. Lyle Gallivan, 60S South Prospect, Champaign, Illinois to by M rm. meeting theDecember 4 the Board September 22, city of Urbana Illinois cloud caste M . takeby the plat Engineer, on Addition property belonging ofit of the directedits thereon Kinch, City of steps to clear certainto the the Universitytocertified At to N . on necessary Gallivan's of Trustees of 1928, and bearing your My dear Mr. Gallivan:
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