Columbia Graphophone Company Ltd.

Record / electronics company founded on the 13th Feb 1917. Legal entity behind the Columbia imprint from 1917 to 1965 (in the majority of countries outside the US).

Note that the change from Columbia-Rena Record to Columbia Record in October 1915 preceded the formation of the Columbia Graphophone Company Ltd., and the first British Columbia records credit the Columbia Graphophone Company, London-New York. This lasted until February 1917 when the new British company was formed and from Feb. 1917 the label credit became Columbia Graphophone Co. Ltd, London.

Also appears as:
- Columbia Graphophone Co Ltd
- Columbia Graphophone Co. Ltd.
- Columbia Graphophone Co. Limited
- Columbia Graphophone Company, Ltd.
- Columbia Graphophone Company Limited
- The Columbia Graphophone Co. Ltd.

Principal activities included the manufacture and sale of records, tapes and electronic products, sound recording, licensing, exploitation of copyrights, electronic research and development.

The roots of the company date back to May 1887 when Columbia Graphophone Company (CGC)

On 13 February 1917 "CGC" established Columbia Graphophone Company Ltd., to which it entrusted the management of its business in the UK & Europe. In the same year "CGC" transferred to this newly formed subsidiary the trademark rights (ownership) to the "Columbia" imprint for the UK and Europe.

In Dec 1917 American Graphophone Company holding in Columbia Graphophone Company & Columbia Graphophone Company Ltd.

In 1922 C.G.C.L. is divested and acquired by Constructive Finance Company Ltd. for $500.000 (a company established by Louis Sterling for a management buyout). As part of this acquisition it was agreed that C.G.C. L. should be at liberty to operate in specified territories, including the UK, Ireland, the continents of Europe and Africa, and certain Asian, Australasian and Pacific countries, with "CGC" at liberty to operate in the rest of the world. Due to this demerger, the ownership of American & European "Columbia" trademarks were now completely separated.

At a certain point between 1922 - 1925 the rights to the American "Columbia" trademarks became the property of a newly established company The Parlophone Co. Ltd.

On 3rd Oct 1925 Louis Sterling forms the umbrella holding company "Columbia International Ltd. Under this umbrella its 3 principal subsidiaries controlled operations:
- Columbia Graphophone Co. Ltd. - Homophon Company G.M.B.H., N.V. Transoceanic Talking Machine Co., Amsterdam., I. Polak Apparatebau-AG (IPAG AG)

On the 20th Apr 1931 Columbia International Ltd. (Columbia Graphophone Co. Ltd.) was merged with Columbia Records, Inc. in 1954.

Following the 1931 merger, Australian subsidiary E.M.I. (Australia) Pty. Limited was formed to take over the operations of these 3 independent branches.

In 1936 French subsidiary Compagnie Générale des Machines Palantes Pathé Fréres (which was acquired in 1928) was merged with Les Industries Musicales Et Electriques Pathé Marconi.

Since 1922 there had been agreements in place between C.G.C.L. and the various US companies which took over the rights to the US Columbia mark. This included interchange of matrices and agreements not to sell in each other's territory to eliminate competition. In 1952 these agreements were terminated. Since C.G.C.L. could not use the Columbia mark to represent its products in the US, the parent company subsequently, in 1953, established Angel Records (The rights to this trademark, however, remained the intellectual property of The Gramophone Co. Ltd.).

From 1931 onwards C.G.C.L. operated in parallel with sister company T.G.C.L. at Hayes, closely collaborating on research and development projects relating to recorded music and electronics. Alan Blumlein, an electronics engineer who had ed the company in 1929 from Western Electric, would subsequently go on to invent binaural sound (stereophonic sound) as part of the combined research division Central Research Laboratories.

In 1956 the recorded music operations of Columbia Graphophone Co. Ltd. and subsidiary The Parlophone Co. Ltd. are brought under the E.M.I. Records Limited umbrella, which was established by Electric & Musical Industries Ltd. to head its record division (outside the US).

In June 1965 Columbia Graphophone Company Ltd., The Parlophone Co. Ltd. ,and E.M.I. Records Limited were merged into The Gramophone Co. Ltd. (with the rights to the various imprints and back catalogues ing to this company, which included Sony Music Entertainment Inc..