16th October: Letter from Mr Bradley-Hole to Marie to say that he has received notice that a fee of £20 must be paid by the 25th of the month if the British Patent is to be kept in force for a further year. He states that he has no funds and the position was reported to the Committee in Bankruptcy at a meeting but the Committee is not prepared to advance the money to pay the renewal fees!
Marie raised the fee and kept the patent in force.
Note: what was the Official Receiver thinking of, since the assets were invested in him – why was he prepared to allow the patent to lapse? The patent and the damages due Marie were the only assets she had!
In a letter to Marie from Godwin & Taylor, her accounts stated “Re the value of the unexpired patent at 30th September 1959 as computed for British Tax purposes of Patent 603606 had you accepted the offer of £750,000 from Decca Ltd, was she to sell a ¼ share of the Patent at the present written down Tax value. The net worth of such a sale (¼) would enable Marie to put in her pocket an amount in the region of £30,000.”
So this is the Patent that is not worth £20 renewal fee and also not worth the Official Receiver seeking to sell or produce money from it!
A three years legal battle between the Official Receiver and Marie ensued. She sought to prevent him from settling with Pye. Unlike the Official Receiver, Marie continued in her efforts to find a buyer for her patent. Negotiation after negotiation fell through once the Official Receiver was brought into the picture. Pye had tightened the net around Marie making it impossible for her to free herself of the bankruptcy.