3

H.—lo

The fees*m connection with patents totalled £5,543 10s. lid., being an increase of £266 4s. 2d. on the amount received in 1911. This increase, as will be seen from Table C, is chiefly accounted for by increase in the fee payable for filing. The applications received from women inventors numbered 54, as compared with 46 in 1911. |$|;!!|The number of applications for patents of addition was 5, and the number of cases in which complete specifications were filed in respect of cognate provisional specifications 6. Examination of Specifications. Though no special provision has yet been made for the examination provided for by the recent Act, a fair amount of useful work is done by the staff in this direction, with the results shown in the following statement: — Number of applications received from Ist June, 1911, to 31st May, 1912 (inclusive) .. .. .. .. .. .. 1,763 Applications in respect of which amendment under section 5, or compliance with other formalities, required before acceptance .. . . .. 178 Applications in respect of which amendment on account of want of novelty required before acceptance .. .. .. .. . . 86 Not accepted .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 173 Countries from which Applications are received. Residents of New Zealand lodged rather fewer applications in 1912 — i.e., 1,135, as compared with 1,180 in 1911. An increase is shown in the number of applications from the United Kingdom, 168 (140) ; United States of America, 118 (94) ; Germany, 25 (21) ; and France, 10 (6) ; while there is a decrease in the number from Australia, 240 (260). The number from each country for each of the last three years is set out in Table H. Subject-matter of Inventions. Reference to Table I will show that applications in respect of dairying (including milking-machines) continue to figure largely in the total number received, though there is a slight falling-off in the number recorded on this subject during the year as compared with the total for the previous twelve months. A very marked decrease is shown in connection with inventions for fibre-dressing, 34 (63). As a result of the adoption of the automatic telephone a number of inventions on this subject have recently been patented, here, increasing the total under "telegraphy and telephony " to 64 last year as compared with 31 in 1911. Increases are also shown in bottles and bottling, 27 (23); coin-freed mechanism, 7 (2); harness, 23 (15); indicating, 41 (27) ; and harvesting, 13 (6) ; while there were fewer applications received for medicines, 10 (34) ; railways and tramways, 40 (58) ; stationery, 37 (57) ; boots and shoes, 29 (59) ; advertising, 13 (29) ; buildings, 79 (101) ; engines, 93 (103) ; and furnaces, 27 (42). It is to be noted that while 20 applications were received under the heading " aeronautics " in 1910, the number fell to 10 in 1911 and to 8 in 1912. International Convention. The applications made in pursuance of the international and colonial arrangements still continue to increase, 152 being received last year, as compared with 134 in 1911 and 114 in 1910. Particulars of the countries from which the applications were received will be found in Table J. Restoration of Letters Patent. H Three applications for the restoration of lapsed patents were lodged and one patent restored during the year. Designs. Applications for designs numbered 44 in 1912, as compared with r 2lfin r 1911.1 The total, however, is less than that received in 1908 (79), 1909 (51), or 1910 (46);. but, as under the new Act the fees have been lowered and the term lengthened, this form of protection may possibly be gradually utilized to a greater extent as it becomes better known. It is to be noted that while only 15 were received for the first six months of the year, 29 were received after the new Act came into force. . Table C shows the fees paid and N the classes in which registration was effected during the year. Trade-marks. A decrease is shown in the number of applications received — i.e., 779 in 1912, as compared with 861 in 1911. The revenue under this head, particulars of which are given in Table C, amounts to £1,141 4s. 5d., or £66 17s. 4d. less than that for the previous year. Countries from which Applications received. Applications from residents of New Zealand numbered 303, as compared with 378 in 1911. From the United Kingdom 297 (268) applications were received, from Australia 64 (69), from the United States of America 66 (68), from Germany 19 (57), and from France 10 (6). A table (O) giving the number from various countries appears in the Appendix.