Raytheon Manufacturing Co. v. Radio Corp. of America

190 N.E. 1, 286 Mass. 84, 1934 Mass. LEXIS 1009
CourtMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
DecidedMarch 28, 1934
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 190 N.E. 1 (Raytheon Manufacturing Co. v. Radio Corp. of America) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Raytheon Manufacturing Co. v. Radio Corp. of America, 190 N.E. 1, 286 Mass. 84, 1934 Mass. LEXIS 1009 (Mass. 1934).

Opinion

Rugg, C.J.

This suit was brought to adjust differences between the parties (all corporations organized under the laws of Delaware with places of business in this Commonwealth) arising out of a license agreement and an accompanying agreement, both dated March 19, 1929, as to the manufacture of radio tubes. In general the purpose of the suit is to enforce the terms of art. Three, § 7, of the license agreement made by the defendant, and to determine the amount of royalties due to the defendant under the license agreement. A cross bill was filed by the defendant. The case was referred to a master to hear the parties and their evidence and to find the facts. No evidence is reported. The findings of fact, therefore, must be accepted as true. The facts thus displayed in substance are these: On March 19, 1929, the defendant gave a license under patents to the plaintiff Raytheon Manufacturing Company. On April 20, 1929, the Raytheon Manufacturing Company assigned the license to the Raytheon Production Corporation and the defendant assented to the assignment. The word plaintiff wherever used hereafter will refer to the Raytheon Production Corporation. The license was to manufacture and sell radio tubes at a royalty of ten per cent under the patents. By § 7 of art. Three of the license agreement it was provided as follows: if the licensors "shall in the future grant another license for the same purposes and for the same territory as provided herein, at a rate of royalty less than ten per cent. (10%) for future manufacture and sale, then the Licensee shall thereafter have "the benefit of such lower rate of royalty, provided that the Licensee at the same time accepts all the other conditions and obligations imposed on the Licensee by such other license, and by any agreement referred to therein with any of the Licensors, and makes equal contributions to the Licensors. The Radio Corporation shall notify the Licensee upon the granting of such other license.” The license agreement also contained a general release running from the licensee to the defendant and its colicensors. The contemporaneous [88]*88accompanying agreement provided in paragraph (3) that “notwithstanding the general releases to the Licensors contained herein and in Section 2 of Article Six of the said agreement, if, hereafter any claimant for damages alleged to have arisen in the operation of a certain clause designated '9’ in certain license agreements and ‘g’ in certain other license agreements heretofore made by the Licensors with manufacturers of radio receiving apparatus . . . becoming licensed under all or a substantial part of the patents under which a license is granted by said agreement, shall obtain a pecuniary recognition of its claim in consequence of judgment, or agreement of settlement, or otherwise, then the Licensee shall become entitled to assert its claim for such damages and none of the Licensors shall be entitled to plead said releases in bar thereof . . . . ” Subsequently to the execution of this license agreement with the plaintiffs, the defendant in August, 1929, issued similar licenses to other corporations at a royalty rate of seven and one half per cent, but no accompanying agreement was made with the licensees similar to that made with the plaintiffs. Those companies had had no licenses from the defendant prior to August, 1929. When the plaintiffs learned of these facts, a reduction was sought in the rate to seven and one half per cent, and an effort was made to have that rate apply retroactively to the original date of the license agreement. The defendant declined to accede to this and demanded as a condition of the reduction of the rate to this figure that the plaintiffs execute a general release similar to that executed by the other companies upon receiving the seven and one half per cent rate. The plaintiffs made payment on the basis of their own contention but continued to refuse to sign the general release because of the agreement which they had made of even date with the original license agreement. The defendant accepted the “payment of royalty on the basis of 7}4,% from the date of the license . . . with the understanding that the licensors reserve the right to apply the difference between royalty at 10% and royalty at 7H% upon sales made by the Raytheon Company toward the possible settlement of any claims which the Raytheon [89]*89Company may hereafter make against the licensors . . . . ” On November 1, 1929, the defendant and its colicensors issued licenses to a so called lamp license group of companies at a royalty of seven and one half per cent, but with no accompanying agreement similar to that made with the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs did not know of this till some time in the spring of 1930, at which time they claimed a rebate under the license agreement of all royalties prior to November 1, 1929, because the five companies comprising the lamp license group had received licenses with royalties starting from November 1, 1929. In the fall of 1930 the rebate claimed as to royalties paid prior to November 1, 1929, was finally granted to the plaintiffs and other licensees. The following year a conference was held between the various tube licensees and the defendant. As a result of this, on September 1, 1931, the defendant sent to all existing radio tube licensees identical proposals for the modification of their existing license agreements. This incorporated a reduction in royalty rate from seven and one half per cent to five per cent, and credits in excess of the latter rate back to November 1, 1929, and was conditioned upon the execution of a general release. The plaintiffs refused to accept this condition though it was accepted by certain other companies. At the same time the defendant made a settlement with sixteen other companies that had brought suit against it charging violation of the antitrust laws. The settlement involved releases by the defendant of all claims for past infringements of patents, releases by the sixteen companies of all claims against the defendant, the payment of $1,635,000 to counsel for these companies, and the granting of licenses to such of them as were actively engaged in the manufacture of radio tubes at a five per cent rate of royalty. Meanwhile the Raytheon Production Corporation (as claimed by the defendant) had failed to send the required statement of tube sales, as provided in the original license agreement, for July 15, 1931, and October 15, 1931. Accordingly, on November 27, 1931, the defendant sent the Raytheon Manufacturing Company notice of this default. The license agreement provided in art. Eight, § 2, that if [90]*90the licensee was in default the defendant might terminate the license upon thirty days’ written notice. On December 14, 1931, the Raytheon Manufacturing Company, a precedent Massachusetts corporation which had changed its name to Raytheon Inc., brought suit in the United States District Court for Massachusetts for the benefit of Raytheon Manufacturing Company, to recover from the Radio Corporation of America (defendant in the present suit) damages for acts in violation of the antitrust laws of the United States. On the same day the present bill of complaint was filed.

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Bluebook (online)
190 N.E. 1, 286 Mass. 84, 1934 Mass. LEXIS 1009, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/raytheon-manufacturing-co-v-radio-corp-of-america-mass-1934.