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THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[July 1, 1913. 



The India Rubber Trade in Great Britain. 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 



AX important action in reference to the use of proofing 

 formulae came on for trial at the Manchester Chan- 

 cery Court on May 29. and lasted for three and a 

 half days. The plaintiff was F. A. Shiers, trading as Fer- 

 guson, Shiers & Co. at Failsworth, Manchester ; the defend- 

 ants being A. O. Ferguson and L. C. 

 ACTION BETWEEN j.-ijUer, both directors of a new proof- 



PROOFING FIRMS. ,, ,,• j At 



mg company at Holhnwood, Man- 

 chester. Mr. A. O. Ferguson is a son of the late Mr. Fergu- 

 son, who was senior partner of the plaintiff's firm. After 

 his father's death two years ago Mr. A. O. Ferguson became 

 manager of Ferguson, Shiers & Co., and a few months ago, 

 after a disagreement with Mr. Shiers, left the firm, with Mr. 

 Fuller, his assistant, to start a rival business. The present 

 action was brought to restrain the defendants, by injunction, 

 from using the formulae for the "mixings" in their new 

 business, or any colorable imitation thereof; and also to re- 

 strain them from circularizing the trade to the effect that 

 they were in a position to supply similar goods to those so 

 long supplied by Ferguson, Shiers & Co. The case was com- 

 plicated by the fact that the defendant, Ferguson, had been 

 apprenticed to the older firm to learn the business and all 

 the secrets thereof, with the idea of succeeding his father; 

 thus being in a different position from that of an ordinary 

 employe. The main point of the defence, however, was that 

 the "mixings" of the late Manager Robinson having become 

 obsolete, these had been replaced in recent years by new ones 

 of A. O. Ferguson's own, and that therefore they were his 

 property. The plaintiff and his witness contested the novelty 

 of the new formulae, saying they hardly differed from 

 Robinson's formulae, despite the inclusion of crepe rubber 

 and guayule, which, of course, testify to comparative 

 modernity. Since the proceedings were started, the de- 

 fendants for the first time had supplied the plaintiff with a 

 copy of their formulae books. Ferguson's containing 99 

 recipes and Fuller's 163; and after the commencement of the 

 trial, Fuller gave back his book. The issue was then reduced 

 to whether Ferguson was to be allowed by the court to use 

 his M. S. copy of the Ferguson-Shiers' "mixing" book. Chem- 

 ical evidence as to the composition of the "mixings" was 

 given by Mr. Hutchinson, F. I. C, for the plaintiff, and by 

 H. L. Terry, F. I. C, for the defendants. The latter said 

 that he had read through the book of formulae and had not 

 noticed anything that could be called a secret process. All 

 the constituents given in the formulae were well know-n in 

 the trade, and were sold to the trade generally and not to 

 individuals alone. The difference was in the proportions of 

 the constituents and this was largely controlled by price and 

 fashion. He could not say that "mixings" identical with 

 those were common to the trade, with the exception of a 

 certain government "mixing." Proofing managers who were 

 worth anything knew well the general lines on which mix- 

 ings at different prices were made, and though the same 

 constituents might probably be used by different men, he 

 would expect the quantities to vary, as every proofer was a 

 law unto himself. Asked as to the probable effect of an 

 injunction on the defendant, the witness said that he could 

 no doubt carry on business without using their actual 

 formulae, but it would be impossible to go on without using 

 what would no doubt be held to be a colorable imitation. 

 Further evidence for the defence was given by Mr. E. L. Cur- 

 bishley, who supported Mr. Terry's statements and spoke to 

 the common practice among proofers of having note books 



as aids to memory. After evidence had been given at length 

 by the two defendants, discussion took place between counsel 

 and judge, the result being that the colorable imitation clause 

 was abandoned in the claim for injunction. Addressing the 

 court for the defence at considerable length, counsel sub- 

 mitted that all a workman undertook to do when he entered 

 his employment was to use his information and skill to the 

 best of his ability on behalf of his employers. There was 

 nothing restricting him, on originating anything, from mak- 

 ing a record of it and from making sure of it for his own 

 benefit after leaving that employment. Counsel then cited 

 decisions to show that so far no court had granted injunctionb 

 respecting knowledge, unless it had been acquired surrepti- 

 tiously, or respecting documents, unless ihey had been copied 

 in breach of confidence. After counsel for the plaintiff had 

 spoken, the vice-chancellor said he would reserve judgment. 

 C)n June 16 the vice-chancellor in his judgment said that an 

 order must go against each of the defendants, restraining them 

 JUDGMENT IN PROOFING ^y injunction from making use of any 

 ACTION OF SHIERS V. private or secret recipes used by the 

 FERGUSON & FULLER, plaintiff or his firm, and obtained by the 

 defendants while in the employ of the firm ; and from communica- 

 ting or disclosing to any person, company or firm, any of such 

 secret recipes or any information relating to them, or making use 

 of any confidential information relating to the plaintiff's busi- 

 ness, obtained by the defendants while in the plaintiff's employ. 

 The defendants were also ordered to deliver up books or 

 memoranda containing recipes or information. The case, he 

 thought, fell under the general rule that an employe, to whom 

 confidential communications are entrusted to enable him to carry 

 out the business of his employer, might not utilize that infor- 

 mation for his own purpose after the employment was deter- 

 mined. 



The extremely cool weather of the summer of 1912 gave 

 a great impetus to new developments in the oilskin trade, 

 and this year the business shows a 

 large increase, though the weather has 

 not been so persistently bad. The 

 developments I refer to are the production of light articles, 

 overalls and coats of oilskin to be worn by the man and 

 woman in the street, the business in the past having been 

 mostly confined to mariners, whose requirements were for 

 something useful rather than ornamental. The oilskin busi- 

 ness in Great Britain has not been carried on as a branch 

 of a rubber manufacturer's business, except at the old estab- 

 lished works of Messrs. Abbott, Anderson and Abbott at 

 Dod street, Limehouse, London. This firm has long carried 

 on the manufacture jointly with that of ordinary rubber 

 waterproofs, and it is not surprising that they are in the van 

 of the new business. I don't know whether the new goods 

 are being made in America, but at any rate the subject is 

 of some interest, as the oilskin comes into direct competition 

 with the macintosh. In order to get some information on the 

 subject I obtained an interview with Mr. William Abbott, 

 who informed me that his firm had largely extended their 

 oilskin business; new works having been acquired at Har- 

 penden, some miles from London. The Dod street works are 

 now devoted entirely to the making up of rubber-proofed 

 cloth into garments. Mr. Abbott reports the new oilskin 

 trade as exceedingly brisk; they being booked up with orders 

 for months to come. Though the goods are made in differ- 

 ent qualities to retail at from 4s. 6d. to 30s. ($1.08 to $7.20) 

 each, the principal demand is for the 30s. oil-silk, known as 



OILSKIN 

 •WATEEPEOOFS. 



