101

A.—7

APPENDIX X.

MUTUAL PEOTECTION OF PATENTS. Memorandum by Board of Trade. In the matter of patents, the United Kingdom and its colonies have each of them independent laws and administration, one result of which is that in every case the protection granted to the patentee by the patent is limited either to the United Kingdom or to the particular colony in which the patent is granted, as the case may be. In most of the colonies the patent laws have been modelled more or less on the general lines of the Acts which have been in force in the United Kingdom at the dates when the colonial laws have been passed. The changes which have taken place from time to time in the patent laws in force in the United Kingdom have thus been accidentally a contributory cause of many divergencies, some trivial, some important, in the patent laws of various colonies. Other divergencies have their origin in the local circumstances of particular colonies, or the deliberate policy of the colonial Governments. Thus, in Canada, several of the details of the patent laws are assimilated to those of the United States, from which the great bulk of the inventions patented in Canada come; and the propinquity of the States, and the fear that obstructive patents may be taken out in Canada by inventors in the States for the purpose of preventing the manufacture of patented articles in Canada, have led to the passing of stringent enactments for the forfeiture of patents in the event of the importation into Canada of the patented goods, or if the patented inventions are not worked in Canada within a limited period. Where there are good and sufficient reasons for the existing divergencies it would manifestly be a mistaken policy to endeavour to remove them merely for the purpose of bringing about any cast-iron uniformity. But where any divergency is the result of accident rather than design, and. no good object is gained by retaining it, it would be well to bear in mind, in any future revision of the law, that unnecessary discrepancies between the patent laws of the colonies and the United Kingdom cannot but add to the trouble and expense which confront inventors in the United Kingdom who are desirous of patenting their inventions abroad, and colonial inventors who desire to patent their inventions in the United Kingdom or in colonies in which they do not themselves reside. It will be generally admitted that some approach to uniformity is desirable, so far as it is not purchased too dearly by disregard of local circumstances and requirements. It will, therefore, probably be useful to furnish the colonial Premiers with a somewhat detailed summary, such as is included in the present memorandum, of some of the points in which the legislation relating to patents in force in the self-governing colonies differs from or resembles that in force in the United Kingdom at the present time. It should be borne in mind in connection with this memorandum that important changes in the British patent law are proposed by the Patents Bill now before Parliament, and that, if that Bill becomes law during the next few months, its provisions in such form as they may ultimately pass may have an important bearing on any future colonial legislation on " examination for novelty," "forfeiture of patents," and " compulsory licenses." The memorandum is confined to the self-governing colonies, and is prefaced by a statement of the number of patents granted in the United Kingdom and in the colonies to which it relates, and ends with some account of the International Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, and the provisions which have been inserted in some of the colonial patent laws, giving privileges to foreign patentees or providing for the contingency of the colonies in which they are in force joining the Union. Number of Colonial Patents granted. The following table, compiled chiefly from information contained in "La Propri6te Industrielle," will give some indication of the extent of the patent business transacted in the Patent Offices of the colonies to which this memorandum relates: —

Irom Othc Countries. Voollens ... ... ... ... lilks Jottons lax, hemp, and jute Jarpets Jurtains ... lilcloth ... Imbroideries 1,882,646 1,618,991 2,048,083 165,776 73,748 131,327 79,118 36,077 2,211 1,548,889 592,290 1,358,247 104,899 73,782 95,514 28,834 97,696 2,593 1,300,299 524,980 1,088,224 87,669 43,574 96,945 41,527 69,587 4,212 !rape Increase, 1897 to 1901, 55 per cent. 6,037,977 I 3,902,744 I 3,257,017 Increase, 1893 to 1897, 20 per cent.