1, 1919.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



269 



spread adoption. I say "was expected" because the business 

 did not materialize to any extent. In the first year there was 

 a shortage of glass bottles, and in the second season, owing 

 to the large government calls on an attenuated fruit crop, there 

 was practically nothing left for the public to bottle, and what 

 fruit there was on the market was at almost prohibitive prices. 

 As the fortunate recipient of some bottled fruit from the coun- 

 try, I have had an opportunity of examining the rubber rings 

 which I found broke quite easily. Of course I do not say that 

 there are no really good rings on the market, but it certainly 

 seems desirable that only rings of a certain standard quality 

 should be allowed to be put on the market. 



THE WORDS "INDIA RUBBER" AS A TRADE-MARK 

 IN THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC. 



By Herbert Uiignrr. 

 'T'HE recent action of the India Rubber, Gutta Percha ami 

 A Telegraph Works Co., Limited (La Compania de Tallerc- 

 de Caucho, Gutta Percha y Telegrafos, Limitada), Buenos Aire^, 

 a branch of the company of the same name in Silvertown, Eng- 

 land, in filing an application for the registration of the words 

 "India Rubber" as its trade-mark in Argentina to cover india rub 

 ber and gutta percha, either in a raw state or as a manufacture. I 

 product, will undoubtedly be of considerable interest to all man 

 ufacturers and exporters of rubber goods in the United States ot 

 America, not only for the reason that if this trade-mark is 

 granted it will create a monopoly in its use by the India Rubber, 

 Gutta Percha and Telegraph Works Co., Limited, and preclude 

 anyone else from using it in the Argentine Republic ; also, any- 

 one using it, whether accidentally or otherwise, would be liable 

 a year's imprisonment, a fine of $500, and confiscation of all goods 

 bearing the mark. 



The effects of such a registration upon shipments of india rub- 

 ber products from this country to Argentina are apparent. Every 

 domestic manitfacturer would have to avoid marking his goods 

 with the words "India Rubber' and abstain from these words in 

 describing his goods, so as not to infringe this trade-mark. 



It is therefore easily seen that should the Argentine Trade- 

 mark Office countenance this application, as seems to be the case, 

 it may work a great hardship to American concerns doing busi- 

 ness in Argentina and who may have described their products as 

 made of india rubber. 



The question naturally arises : Is anyone entitled to register 

 as a trade-mark in Argentina an expression in common use 

 in the English language? Can words like "Gum arabic," 

 "Portland Cement," "Russia Leather," "Virginia Tobacco," 

 "French Chalk," "Holland Gin," etc., all of which are 

 common descriptive words, be considered registerable trade- 

 marks in that country? This is apparently answered by a 

 decision of the Argentine Federal Courts in an action 

 Ijrought by Borden's Condensed Milk Co. against Horlick's 

 Food Co. on the question of the validity of the registration of 

 the trade-mark "Malted Milk" in Argentina. The evidence 

 showed that this product was made in large quantities in the 

 United States of America, and that since "Malted Milk" was the 

 descriptive name of a well-known product and indicated an ar- 

 ticle of a certain class, it did not constitute a good trade-mark, 

 notwithstanding the fact that "Malted Milk" was an expression 

 foreign to the Spanish language. If "Malted Milk" cannot prop- 

 erly be registered, then it would seem that "India Rubber" should 

 not be registered, for the same reason. 



The Argentine trade-mark law under which the present at- 

 tempt to appropriate the mark "India Rubber" is being made, 

 would, to the American mind, appear to be at fault, although 

 a reference to the law defining what is registerable as a trade- 

 mark in Argentina can leave no doubt that the words in ques- 

 tion are not registerable. Article 3 of this law distinctly states 



that terms or expressions which are in general use, and designa- 

 tions usually employed to indicate the nature of the article, or 

 the class to which they belong, cannot be considered trade-marks. 

 It would therefore seem that the interpretation of the law by the 

 Argentine officials, rather than the law itself, is at fault, and that 

 the present application to register "India Rubber" should not 

 have been entertained by the Trade-mark Office. The application 

 w^as advertised in the .Argentine Official Journal, according to the 

 Argentine law. for the purpose of bringing the mark to the notice 

 of parties likely to be injured by its registration, and' an opposi- 

 tion hn'! been cntcrcil hv a well-kn.nvn American manufacturer 



The "Silvertown" F.\ctorv in Buenos Aires. 



of rubber products, who contests the right of the British concern 

 to secure a monopoly on these words. Its action in so doing, if 

 siiccess-ful, may be of benefit to the entire American industry and 

 particularly to concerns exporting to Argentina. 



SAMPLE FAIRS AT LYONS AND BORDEAUX. 

 The sample fairs to be held in Lyons and Bordeaux, in March 

 and May, respectively, offer to American manufacturers an 

 opportunity to become better acquainted with the products of 

 France and its colonies as well as for the sale of American-made 

 goods in those quarters. 



It is suggested that it would be particularly advantageous for 

 the American exhibitor to arrange to have his display transferred 

 from Lyons to Bordeaux. The New York agent of the Lyons 

 fair is Emil Garden, 21 Park Row, New York City. All exhibits 

 for the Lyons fair must leave New York before February 5. 



At the Lyons fair in 1918 there were more than SCO American 

 exhibitors out of a total number of more than 3.000, and it was 

 planned to erect a $70,000,000 palace to house it in future. 



As a result of the effort being made to increase the importance 

 of Bordeaux as a transshipping port for the colonies of western 

 and northern Africa, the predominating exhibits at the Bordeaux 

 fair will be of colonial products, including rubber, oils and oil 

 seeds, graphite from Madagascar, forestry products, etc. There 

 will also be exhibits of chemicals and other products of the soil. 

 The Third Sample Fair held at Lyons in 1918, was a great 

 success, but as none was held at Bordeaux last year, the coming 

 exhibition there will be the Third Bordeaux Sample Fair. Pro- 

 si)ective American exhibitors should communicate at once with 

 the Comite d'Organization et Administration de la Poire de 

 Bordeaux, Hotel de "Ville, Bordeaux, France, relative to secur- 

 ing space, and with the slcamship companies concerning trans- 

 portation accummodations, as the Bordeaux fair has no official 

 reiirescntativc in this country as far as known. 



