Monty Hyams (1918-2013): Patent Information Pioneer | home | intro | derwent | personal | downloads | links |
1961: Maxwell is forced to withdraw The
difficulty that arose was described by Monty in a letter of complaint
to Moscow in
mid-March.
Derwent had ready for distribution a translation of issue
number one for
1961 and was "prepared
to produce complete translations at regular
fortnightly intervals". But it needed Moscow to bring
Robert Maxwell to
heel. His company was refusing to recognise the 1961 contract
between the Soviets and Derwent, intended to continue its own version
and would
not discuss the matter sensibly. This at the same time as having "only produced
10 of the 24 issues due to be supplied for 1959 (issues 9 and 10 being
moreover
very incomplete) and none at all for 1960." Monty's
letter of 17.03.61 continued: "In view
of the present situation we are not
prepared to go ahead with the project without your intervention.... We
would like you to instruct Pergamon Press
Ltd to
furnish a written undertaking not to publish translations in English
from the
Biulleten Izobretenii for 1961 and to insist that they specifically
inform each
and every one of their present or past subscribers that issues for the
publication for 1961 are immediately available and obtainable from
Derwent
Information Service. Also they should give a written undertaking not to
accept
subscriptions for 1961." A
letter of admonition was the next week dictated from Moscow to the
London
Delegation and sent on to Maxwell, and appears to have done
the trick, as by
9th June 1961 an exit agreement was signed. In
the agreement, Pergamon
undertakes to cease publication and translation of the journal with the
issue
of December 1960 and not to be associated with any future similar
publication.
Pergamon will deliver a list of names and addresses of all
its subscribers, together with an agreed
letter
to each of them signed by Maxwell. It will forward to Derwent all
future orders
for and enquiries about the journal and refund to subscribers all
monies
received in advance for 1961 subscriptions. Derwent will pay Pergamon
£2632 and
10 shillings on completion of the agreement. That completes the formal documentation. Anecdotally, Monty often said that when Derwent contacted purported subscribers on the list, many of them denied being so. It was an early taste of what Maxwell was like, he'd say. A cryptic typewritten note among his memoir papers for the period says: "Bought Maxwell publicn. 200 not 400." |
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