I have two patent questions which I've been unable to answer.

1) Who in UK held the Martini action patent and when did it expire? I'm assuming it was taken out in 1866-67 when the trials for the successor to the Snider began. It should have expired in about 1880. However, one can find Martini-Henry's made be a number of makers in the early 1880's with the M-H patent stamp and often the Braendlin "B." Was the patent extended at some point? (I've asked this question on knowledgeable M-H sites - crickets).

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Here is background info from the Reilly history::

. . . . .In November 1874, the Henry shallow groove rifling patent from November 1860 was allowed to be extended for another 4 years to November 1878. It subsequently somehow (by a process not yet understood) may have been extended again to November 1888. There was some speculation that the extension was tied to the rifling being adopted by the army. In fact Henry received £5000 (equivalent today to $900,000) in 1872 from the British government for the patent use in the Martini-Henry and no more though he petitioned for a supplement.

. . . . . Here is a mystery: Who held the Martini-Henry patents? According to some sources the National Arms and Ammunition Co was formed by Wesley-Richards in 1872 to make Martini-Henrys and Henry granted a license to them. The company manifestly failed to produce what was needed. But in 1875 allegedly it claimed to own the rights to the patents and expected to receive royalties from other companies who had been making the Martini-Henry Rifle. It initially won a court case but the judgement was overturned the following year; it was finally settled in National's favor by the House of Lords. So were companies like Reilly, Lang, etc. paying National Arms and Ammunition Co., for the right to make a Martini-Henry? Was it just for the barrels and rifling? Who owned the Martini patent for the action for civilian makers?

2. Was the A&D Boxlock patent ever extended - when did it expire? The A&D box lock patent was taken out 11 May 1875. It should have expired in May 1889. However, I've found guns marked with A&D pat use numbers two-three years after 1889. Was the Boxlock patent ever extended like the Henry rifling patent and the Whitworth barrel patents were?

Last edited by Argo44; 03/22/23 10:09 AM.
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