Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. THURSDAY, JULY 28, 1870.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 16, Issue 808, 28 July 1870, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. THURSDAY, JULY 28, 1870.

By a singular oversight in the Patent Laws, it has hitherto been almost impossible to lodge any objection to any application for a patent right. A person applying for letters patent has had to lodge his specification with the proper officer, and, after a time—if no objection had been raised—a patent was of course granted ; but no opportunity was afforded the public for the inspection of those plans, so that it often occurred that a monopoly of a process of manufacture has been granted to an individual when, in fact, sach process was public property, being, not the invention of the patentee,

but a mere application of facts and. principles already N made public. A Bill for the remedy of this stale of things is now in course of passage through the Legislature, which pro's ides that the public shall have access to all plans and specifications deposited, to ascertain if there be ground, of objection; while the interests of the applicant is protected by dating his patent right, if sue cessful in his application, from the day such application is made. An alteration is also made in the method ' of paying-the fee*, which, while they t are increased in amount, are spread : over a number of years, so that if: the process should be unsuccessful ' the patent right can be dropped by >imply neglecting to pay the annual , fee; while if it prove successful, such fee can the more easily be paid. We can but regard the new law ' as a vast improvement over the late ' defective one ; but we cannot see , why, in a new community such as ; ours, the fallacies of a by-gone day ! should ba perpetrated. Far better j it would have been to have repealed ; the old law, and opened the field of -, science and art to public enterprise. As Mr Waterhouse put it during - the debate on the second reading of' the Bill in the. Legislative Council, ( " a man may go straight from the ■ lecture room to the patent office, take out a patent, and receive the ' benefit from an idea not his own, although he was the first, perhaps, from his mere activity, or the length of his legs, to turn that information to account.." The whole tendency of modern legislation and information is against the Patent Lavs, which, instead of being aids in the; development, are mere obstructions to the progress of art and skill. We fear, however, that while a revenue ' can be derived from the system it will be in vain to hope to see it abolished.