Music Trade Review

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE mXJ&lG TRRD£
ing tendency on the part of the legally con-
stituted authorities to furnish the fullest pro-
tection possible to owners of names of great
institutions which constitute trade-marks,
and to rule out all attempts at infringements.
EDWARD LYMAN BILL,
EBITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
J.
B. S P I L L A N E , MANAQINQ EDITOR.
Executive Staff:
THOS. CAMPBELL-COPELAND
EMILIE FRANCIS BAUER
WALDO E. LADD
GEO. W. QUERIPEL
A. J. NICKLIN
Pnoiisueii hvcrj sainnuy at 3 East I4tn street, new tori
SUBSCRIPTION (Including postage^, United States,
Mexico ar-1 Canada, $2.00 per year; all other countries,
$4.00.
ADVERTISEriENTS, $2.00 per inch, single column, per
insertion. On quarterly or yearly contracts a special dis-
count is allowed. Advertising Pages $50.00; opposite
reading matter, $75.00.
REniTFANCES, in other than currency form, should be
made payable to Edward Lyman Bill.
Entered at the New York Post Office as Second Class Matter.
~
MEW YORK, JUNE 28, J902.
TELEPHONE NUMBER, 1745-EKJHTEENTH STREET.
On the first Saturday of each month
The Review contains in its "Artists' De-
partment" all the current musical news.
DEPARTMENT This is effected without in any way tres-
passing on the size or service of the trade
section of the paper. It has a special circulation, and
therefore augments materially the value of The Review
to advertisers.
DIRECTORY OF
The directory of piano nianufac
PIANO
turlng firms and corporations found
MANUFACTURERS on page 25 will be of great value as
a reference or dealers and others.
THE
ARTISTS
EDITORIAL
TOPICS OF THE HOUR.
A GREAT moral as well as legal victory
was achieved in Chicago last week
which is of vast interest to the entire trade.
Chickering & Sons won in their injunc-
tion case against Chickering Bros. And
their emphatic victory was not in the nature
of a surprise to those who have followed
closely recent court decisions in matters of
this kind.
Judge Kohlsaat, in the United States Cir-
cuit Court, Chicago, in rendering his decision
against Chickering Bros, said:
Complainant is entitled to and is granted
a preliminary injunction restraining defend-
ants and each of them from the use of the
said name of Chickering Bros, in connection
with the piano trade, either on their instru-
ments or in their advertising matter, from
the use in such connection of any name or
designation equivalent thereto, from the use
of the word "Chickering" alone in such con-
nection ; from the use of the Cross of the Le-
gion of Honor in such connection; from in
any manner pretending that their pianos are
"Chickering" pianos; from the use of the
word "Chickering" in any corporate name in
connection with the piano trade; and from
stenciling or in any manner placing such
name on their pianos, without in each in-
stance of the use of said name "Chickering"
displaying in connection therewith, plainly
and in a prominent manner, a statement that
the defendants' pianos are in no way con-
nected with the Chickering & Sons pianos,
and the defendants' pianos are not the "ori-
ginal Chickering" pianos, or some declara-
tion to that effect readily discoverable by all
persons dealing with defendants or with de-
fendants' pianos.
This clearly establishes all that for which
Chickering & Sons asked.
A perusal of the court's decision in this
matter is interesting and supports the grow-
In his opinion Judge Kohlsaat is supported
by many other recent court decisions which
regard trade-marks as property, even to the
extent of prohibiting a man engaging in
business under his own name, when that
name has been associated with a distinguished
product, unless, provisions are clearly stated.
The United States Court of Appeals com-
pelled W. H. Baker & Co. to state in prom-
inent type upon their packages: "W. H.
Baker is distinct from the chocolate manu-
facturer of Walter H. Baker & Co." Judge
Kohlsaat carrying out the same idea, compels
Chickering Bros, to display in a prominent
manner a statement that their pianos are in
no way connected with Chickering & Sons
pianos.
A N interesting point is that the court
states that the present management of
the Boston house is in the same position as
it would be were Jonas Chickering and his
sons living and directing its affairs.
The court also emphasizes the point that
Chickering Bros., of Chicago, are neither
descendants nor successors to Jonas Chick-
ering, merely remote relatives. The court
also did not hesitate to condemn the use by
the Chickering concern of the statement in
their advertising matter that theirs was "the
only piano made by a Chickering." Also the
brochure issued by the Chicago house enti-
tled "A Sketch of the Chickering Family
and their Famous Piano" came in for a full
share of court disapproval. This same bro-
chure has contributed more to the public
condemnation of Chickering Bros.' actions
than any other single act which they have
committed.
of the piano-making Chickerings and their
business acts in circulating misleading liter-
ature do not harmonize, and the decision of
the courts will receive the warm endorse-
ment of every fair-minded man in this in-
dustry.
•:
There was an attempt to create sympathy
for the defendants on the ground of a great
corporation crushing young men to earth.
However, such an argument had no force,
because no matter how great, or how wealthv
a corporation may be, it is just as much en-
titled to protection by law as the smallest
institutions in the land.
'. '
Chickering & Sons are entitled to the heart-
iest congratulations upon their great victory.
It surely will have the immediate effect to
put to an end reputation-pilfering in this
industry.
Their dignified attitude throughout this
matter has been typical of the house and its
traditions. They desired no publicity, gave
out no points, but simply asked for protec-
tion for their property from the United States
Courts. They paid no attention to the abus-
ive utterances of a number of the inconse-
quential papers which, week after week,
poured a volley of abuse upon them. When
men are in the right they are doubly strong.
Chickering & Sons were right, and there can
be hereafter no trading upon the reputation
so honorably won by this great music trade
institution.
| \ | OW that the retail season shows signs
of waning, piano merchants all over the
country are beginning to figure up and see
what kind of a spring season thev have round-
ed out.
There is a wide divergence in the amount
of business done bv the various houses in
the same localities. With some concerns a
very good business has been accomplished,
while with others, located in the same city
and with just as many advantages at the
start of the season, business has been medi-
ocre and far from satisfying.
In this connection it will be interesting to
refer to special trade reports, covering dif-
ferent sections of the country which appear
in another section of The Review. These
reports are presented with the idea of ren-
dering information to men who are studying
trade prospects.
The sales and collection departments are
compared with last year, other estimates
which show the conditions of crops and the
comparison of the piano business with the
general trade, as well as the business pros-
pects for the summer months.
One cannot read the decision without be-
ing impressed with the belief that the learned
Judge weighed every point and every argu-
ment made by the defendants, of whom he
said: "They have conducted themselves
shrewdly and with an attempt to keep within
the limit of the law, but the courts will strip
off such covering when evidently used as a
veil for the concealment of fraudulent acts
towards the public or towards an individual.
The defendants Chickering are engaged in
a dishonest use of their own name."
HP H E court's decision in this case consti-
tutes not only a magnificent victory for
the Boston concern, but it is a victory for the
entire industry, because the court's action must
have a far reaching effect upon those who T HE failure of the present Congress to
are seeking to wrongfully trade upon the
carry through the kind of legislation
reputations fairly won and established by required for Cuba's benefit shows how far
others.
a small clique of men may wield their inrlu-
Chickering Bros.' open disavowal of a de- enre. Only a few men are benefited bv main-
sire to trade upon the established reputation taining the present tariff on sugar and to-