H.—lo.

Sess. 11.—1897. NEW ZEALAND.

PATENTS, DESIGNS, AND TRADE-MARKS. (EIGHTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE REGISTRAR.)

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly pursuant to Section 128 of " The Patents, Designs, and Trade-marks Act, 1889."

I have the honour, in compliance with the provisions of " The Patents, Designs, and Trade-marks Act, 1889," to furnish the Eighth Annual Eeport on the Patent Office. The usual returns showing the business transacted by the office during the year ended the 31st December; 1896, will be found in the Appendix. These returns show the steady growth of the office year by year. Over thirteen hundred applications were received during the period covered by this report, being the largest number received during any one year since the foundation of the office. The large increase over the preceding year in applications for patents, may in part no doubt, be attributed to the expansion of the bicycle trade, no less than 130 applications in connection with bicycles having been filed. The table given below shows the revenue and expenditure for the past six years, and also the annual surplus. The progress of the office is very well illustrated by these figures, which exhibit a steady increase of revenue, from £1,759 3s. 6d. in 1891 to £2,583 os. 6d. in 1896. The apparent fall in 1895 is due to the fact that a large number of renewal-fees became payable in the preceding year, thus raising the receipts for that year above the average.

I am glad to be able to state that the new offices in the building now being erected for the Government Printing Office are nearing completion. The accommodation provided consists of a Eegistrar's Office, 16 ft. 6 in. by 16 ft. 6 in. ; a public office, 20 ft. by 22 ft.; and a library, 31 ft. 6 in. by 22 ft., together with a strong-room. The new offices, though situated at some distance from the business portion of the city, will relieve much of the inconvenience from which the public and the officials have suffered so long, and will also permit of the valuable library now buried in the Museum being made available for its proper purposes. P. Waldegbave, Patent Office, Wellington, 2nd October, 1897. Eegistrar.

A. —Balance-sheet of Income and Expenditube for the Year ending 31st December, 1896. Income. £ s. d. Expenditure. £ s. d. Patent fees ... ... ... 2,209 3 0 Salaries ... ... ... 318 12 4 Design fees ... ... ... 14 1 0 Clerical assistance ... ... 15 5 0 Trade-mark fees ... ... 357 11 6 Copying specifications, &c. ... 50 5 9 Sale of Acts, &c. ... ... 2 5 0 Pees to Patent Office Agents ... 55 12 6 Printing and stationery from Government Printing Office ... 75 0 0 Binding, freight, &c, of British specifications ... ... 19 17 0 Pees refunded ... ... 1700 Incidental expenses ... ... 12 14 3 Surplus for year ... ... 2,018 13 8 £2,583 0 6 £2,583 0 6

I—H. 10.

Beceipts. Expenditure. Surplus. Eeceipts. Expenditure. Surplus. .891 .892 .893 £ s. a. 1,759 3 6 1,825 6 0 2,150 2 0 £ s. d. 391 11 3 361 18 10 396 8 3 £ s. a. 1,367 12 3 1,463 7 2 1,753 13 9 1894 1895 1896 £ s. a. 2,477 7 0 2,170 9 6 2,583 0 6 s s. a. 536 6 11 464 15 8 564 6 10 £ s. d. 1,941 0 1 1,705 13 10 2,018 13 8