§ 71. Mr. Asshetonasked the President of the Board of Trade the average delay experienced at the present time by firms applying to the Trade Marks Registry for permission to use trade names for their goods.
§ Mr. BelcherThe average period between the filing of an application for the registration of a trade mark and the communication to the applicant of the official report is now about 10 months.
§ Mr. AsshetonWould the hon. Gentleman agree with me that that is a very long time and causes great inconvenience?
§ Mr. BelcherYes, I agree that it is a long time and that it is bound to cause inconvenience. We are trying to overtake arrears which were created over a period of years. The staff has been gradually increased and I hope that the rate of overtaking the arrears will improve as we go along.