GERMAN REPARATIONS

1. Cabinet on 7th February, 1946, (Agendum 1059 [1]) decided that
further information should be supplied on the following:-

(a) The position regarding the acquisition by the Australian
Government or Australian citizens of the rights to patents
registered in Germany.

(b) German patents the rights to which in Australia have already
been secured by Australians.

(c) The expropriation of enemy property in Australia.

2. With regard to paragraph 1(a) above, Attorney-General's
Department has advised 'that patents registered in Germany do not
thereby derive any force in Australia which would prevent any
person from applying the inventions in this country. No question
of "aquisition of the rights to patents registered in Germany"

therefore appears to arise unless paragraph 1(a) refers to the
right to apply for a patent in Australia based upon the acquired
Convention rights flowing from the application in Germany.' In
this case 'under the International Convention for the protection
of Industrial Property, a person who applies for a patent in one
of the countries of the Union has the right to apply in any or all
of the other countries of the Union within twelve months, and any
patent granted on any such application is dated as of the same
date as the original application. Consequently any publication
which may have occurred in any of those other countries after the
date of the application in the original country and prior to
lodgment of the application in any other such country would not
invalidate a patent granted in that other country.' 3. in relation
to paragraph 1(b) the following information has been obtained from
Attorney-General's Department-

'A number of patents have been granted in Australia which are
owned by German nationals or German companies ... It would be
possible to provide for the transfer to the Commonwealth
Government of all German-owned Australian patents. if that were
done it would be necessary for the Commonwealth to police the
inventions, the subject of the patents, for the purpose of seeing
that all those who made use of the inventions paid appropriate
compensation. The Commonwealth has not at present any machinery by
which this could be done. Indeed, it may be doubtful whether any
person not engaged in any particular trade or manufacture could
hope to police the use of a patented invention used in that
manufacture or trade. An alternative possibility would be to make
provision whereby all German-owned Australian patents were
revoked. It would then be possible for any person in Australia to
make use of the inventions, the subjects of those patents, without
incurring an obligation to pay compensation to the owners of the
patents. Such action would not, of itself, be a form of
reparations but would indirectly be of some value ... to the
Australian community as a whole.'

4. The leader of the Australian Scientific Mission to London, J.

R. S. Cochrane, who was Technical Adviser to the Australian
Delegate to the Reparations Conference [2], has reported on the
subject of German Patents and Technical and Scientific processes
that information obtained by the British and American Occupation
forces is being made freely available to the Australian Scientific
Mission. Cochrane has further reported that it is proposed to hold
an Anglo-American Conference on German Patents within the next few
months and at this Conference there will be full Dominion
Representation.

5. In addition discussions which were held in London between the
Australian Resident Minister, the Dominions Office, Dr. E. R.

Walker, Counsellor, Australian Legation, Paris, who was Australian
Delegate to the Inter-Allied Reparations Agency Conference, and J.

R. S. Cochrane confirm that the value of patents and industrial
processes will not be taken into account as part of Australia's
reparations share, nor is Australia's right to share in Patents
and processes limited in any way by signing the Reparations
Agreement (see Annex A. Cable 1190 from High Commissioner's
Office, London [3]).

6. On the question of the expropriation of enemy property in
Australia, Article 6 of the Reparations Agreement states, inter
alia-

'A. Each Signatory Government shall under such procedures as it
may choose, hold or dispose of German enemy assets within its
jurisdiction in manners designed to preclude their return to
German ownership or control and shall charge against its
reparation share such assets (net of accrued taxes, liens,
expenses of administration and other in rem charges against
specific items and legitimate contract claims against the German
former owners of such assets)'.

7. The Department of the Treasury advises that the value of German
assets held in Australia by the Controller of Enemy Property which
would be subject to Article 6 of the Agreement amounts to 650,000,
made up as follows:

Real Estate Holdings 10,000
Interests under Trusts, Wills, Settlements 300,000
Bank Balances 35,000
Interests in Australian Companies 45,000
Debts 250,000
Miscellaneous 10,000
The above figures do not include assets of German Companies under
the supervision of Controllers appointed by the High Court in
pursuance of Section 13 of the Trading with the Enemy Act. The sum
held under this Act amounts to 109,422 part of which only
represents German-owned assets.

8. It is clear from Article 1(e) of the Agreement that the value
of this property when expropriated will be charged against
category A Type Reparations. Category A includes all types of
reparations other than industrial and other capital equipment,
merchant ships and inland water transport.

9. In connection with industrial plant and equipment which will be
available for Reparations purposes the Allied Control Council for
Germany has so far furnished details of 80 plants and factories
for which claims were requested. The Department of Munitions and
Secondary Industries Commission have expressed keen interest in
many of these factories and a claim on behalf of Australia has
been submitted to the Allied Control Council.

10. It is estimated that the total value of plant and equipment
which Australia would receive if a party to the Reparations
Agreement would amount to 3-6 million sterling.

11. Article 1 of Part IV of the Reparations Agreement provides
that the Agreement will enter into force when 'it has been signed
on behalf of the Governments collectively entitled to not less
than 80 per cent of the aggregate of shares in Category A of
German reparations'. The Agreement has already been signed on
behalf of Governments entitled to such shares and therefore the
Agreement is already in operation. The InterAllied Reparations
Agency established by the Agreement came [sic] into being in
Brussels on 28th February, 1946. The Agency has the responsibility
of determining the recipient country of factories and plant which
have been declared available for reparations and will therefore
consider Australia's case for the plant on which a claim has been
lodged. In order to avoid the exclusion of Australia from the
initial meetings of the Agency and thus possibly lose the right to
some of the plant for which a claim has been lodged, authority was
given on 22nd February, 1946, for the signing of the Agreement on
the understanding that the matter is still under consideration by
the Government. [4]

12. The matter is submitted for cabinet consideration and
direction whether the signing of the Reparations Agreement is to
be confirmed. [5]

H. V. EVATT

Minister of State for External Affairs