PATENTS AND DESIGNS

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 17, 14 October 1921, Page 5

PATENTS AND DESIGNS

AMENDING & CONSOLIDATING BILL SOME PROTECTION FOR THE PUBLIC • The Patents, Designs, and Trademarks Bill, introduced in the House of Reipresentatives on Wednesday by Vice-Regal Message, is in a large measure n consolidation of the legislation previously existing. It contains, however, certain now matter, some clauses being designed to improve the machinery provided for the registration of patents, etc., but others containing new principles. Among the provisions laying down the circumstances in which a patentee ’may petition the Court for an extension of the term of his protection, is a clause laying it down that where by reason of hostilities with any foreign State the patentee has suffered loss or damage (including loss of opportunity of dealing in or developing his invention owing to his having been engaged in work of -national importance connected with such hostilities) an application may be made by originating summons instead of by petition, and the Court, in considering its decision, may have regard solely to the loss or damage suffered by the patentee. This provision is -not to apply if the patentee is the subject "of the foreign State with which the hostilities have been carried on or is a company the business of which, is managed or controlled by such foreign subjects or carried on- wholly or mainly for , their benefit even though the company may b<? registered within the Empire. Tho Crown is to be given certain limited rights to use patented inventions. It is proposed that any Government Department or its agents, contractor, or others, if authorised by the Minister in charge, may use the invention for the services of the Crown on terms to be settled between the Department and the patentee with the approval of the Minister of Finance. Tn the event of a disagreement as to tho terms, or any other dispute a.s to the use of an invention in the service of the Crown, appeal is to be made to the Court for a decision, and if the Court is- not itself able to decide the points at issue, it may appoint a referee or an arbitrator.

Tn the case of inventions relating to substances prepared or produced bv chemical processes or intended for food or medicine, the specification shall not include, claims for the substance itself except when produced or prepared by tho special methods or processes of manufacture described and claimed or by their obvious chemical equivalents. Tn tho event of a claim for the infringement of a patent where the invention relates to the production of a new substance, and substance of the same chemical composition and constitution shall in the absence of proof to the contrary be deemed to have been produced by the patented process. In tho case of nn application for the protection of any such invention for a food or .medicine, the Registrar of Patents is to issue a license limiting Hie protection to the invention as a food substance or a medicine. In settling the terms of tho license, and fixing the amount of royalty payable, the Registrar is. Io hare regard io the. desirability of having the food or medicine supplied to the public at the lowest possible price, and at the same time endeavour to secure to the inventor due reward for l he research leading to the invention. An appeal from his decision on such a point may be made to the Court. These considerations are to apply only to patents applied for after tho coming into force of the new measure. The registration of designs is to be made offectivo against the Crown in the same way ns patents with exactly the same provision for the use of a design by a Government Department as for tho uso of a patent. Various amendments of a technical character arc to be made in tho methods of registering trade marks. It is provided that where, in the case of an article or substance manufactured under any patent in force at or granted after the commencement of the new measure, a, word trade mark 's the only practicable name of the article or substance, nil rights to the exclusive use of the name shall cease on the expiry of the patent. No word which is tho only practicable name or description of any single chemical element or compound, as distinguished from a mixture, shall be registered as a trade mark. Where any mark nt present registered and in use contravenes these- provisions no application for its removal from tho register is to be entertained until after four years from the commencement of the now law. New rules are laid down for the registration of patent agents. It .is laid down that no person shall describe himself as a patent agent unless: (a) in the ca«e of an individual he is registered as such; (b) in tho case of -a firm every partner of the firm is so registered ; (c) in tho caso of a company commencing to carry on business after the coming into force of tho present measure, every director and the manager are so registered; (d) in the case of a company carrying on business at the present time a.s a patent agency a manager or a director of the company is so° registered. After this measure comes into force no person shall bo registered as a patent agent unless lie is a British subject.