§ MR. FIELD (Dublin, St. Patrick)To ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether, seeing that there is no branch of the Patent Office in Ireland for Irish business, he is prepared to favourably consider a proposal for the setting up of such a branch for the convenience of Irishmen.
(Answered by Mr. Gerald Balfour.) I am not prepared to consider this proposal. There are serious administrative difficulties), and as only 1.6 percent, of the total number of applicants for British patents during the last nine years were resident in Ireland, it is clear that the amount of fees that would be received from Irish patentees would not be sufficient to justify the expense of establishing a separate branch of the Patent Office in Ireland.