CORPORATIONS: A Very Tough Baby

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Last week, Philips' president Otten hastened to explain. Said he: N.A.P. would not manufacture light bulbs. It would stick to such inoffensive items as cathode-ray tubes, diamond dies, etc.

But businessmen wondered. Philips has always flexed its powerful muscles to the limit. And only three weeks ago, it began to flex them again. It terminated a license agreement under which certain American firms had the exclusive right in the U.S. to utilize Philips' patents in the radio and electronics field. Now Philips is free to make and sell anything it wants to U.S. buyers except light bulbs. The best guess is that this will eventually include radios, tubes and television equipment.