PATENTS (Hansard, 27 November 1952)

§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Supply (Mr. A. R. W. Low)

I beg to move, That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty under subsection (3) of section forty-nine of the Patents Act, 1949, praying that the Patents (Extension of Period of Emergency) Order, 1952, be made in the form of the draft laid before this House on 4th November. I think I ought to give the House a short explanation of this Motion. The object is to extend the powers of Government Departments in relation to patents under the Patents Act, 1949, for one further year. These powers have been extended each year since 1949 and were extended before 1949 annually under Emergency Laws procedure. Our object in seeking their extension now is to expedite exports, particularly of aircraft. For some months we have been engaged in seeking to find a method of meeting the problem, which is a very real problem, that would not involve annual extension of the Emergency Order. We have not yet found a satisfactory method. Therefore, we ask the House to approve this Motion.