(NO. 201.) SECOND READING. (Hansard, 9 August 1883)

THE LORD CHANCELLOR

, in moving that the Bill be now read a second time, said, his own view of the Law of Patents was well known from what he had stated when a Member of the House of Commons. But, unless that view were generally accepted, it ought not to prevent him from promoting, officially, such amendments and alterations of the law as might make it more in accordance with the principle on which its advocates desired to see it maintained. In 1864 a very powerfully - constituted Royal Commission, presided over by his noble Friend (the Earl of Derby), carefully examined the whole subject, and recommended certain changes, in the direction rather of limiting than of extending the operation of the Patent Laws; but nearly 20 years had since elapsed, and public opinion had not yet proved favourable to any change in that direction. He ventured in the House of Commons to express the views he entertained on the subject in 1869; but they did not receive much approval or support. He expressed them again in the evidence that he gave before the Select Committee of the House of Commons appointed in 1871; but that Committee made a Report more favourable to the Patent Laws than the Report of the Royal Commission of 1864, and recommended changes which corresponded, to a very great extent, with those proposed by the present Bill. The present Bill was introduced into the House of Commons after much consideration by the Board of Trade and much communication with those affected by it. The Bill was referred to a Grand Committee of the other House, which had discharged the duties assigned to it in a very excellent manner, and had justified the views of those who thought the practical Business of the House of Commons might be materially assisted by Com- 2035 mittees of that description. That Committee had carefully considered the measure, and it was now in the form in which it left the Committee. The Board of Trade had suggested certain Amendments chiefly of a verbal character. He would ask their Lordships to go into Committee on the Bill pro formâ to- morrow, in order to have those Amendments printed, and, with their Lordships' approval, he would fix Thursday next for the consideration of the measure on re - commitment. At present there were a number of persons holding offices, judicial and others, who were called Commissioners of Patents. All of them were, however, much occupied with other duties, and the practical effect of that system had been that only one of them—the Master of the Rolls—had usually exercised any practical superintendence over the administration of the Patents Office. The machinery with regard to patents had also been objected to. The preliminary documents which passed through the hands of the Law Officers of the Crown, subject to various forms of application to the Lord Chancellor, were more cumbrous than was thought convenient. The change which the Bill proposed as to administration was that the Patent Office, the Office of Copyrights in Designs, and the Office of Trade Marks were to be consolidated and brought under the superintendence of the Board of Trade, and there was to be a Controller and General Examiner of Patents, with such other officers as might be necessary for transacting the business of the Office. The whole of the preliminary process before patents were granted would be conducted without judicial interference. The Bill contained very ample and adequate provision for registration and for giving the public full information; and the Patents Museums, a valuable collection of models and other illustrations of inventions which had never yet been properly managed, were assigned to the Department of Science and Art at South Kensington. The fees were also to be very considerably reduced, and greater facilities would be offered to inventors for acquiring grants; and cases where claims were disputed would be tried by a Judge, assisted by scientific assessors, but without a jury. That change was recommended both by the 2036 Royal Commission and by the Committee of the House of Commons in 1869. After the grant the patent was still to be open to objection on all legal grounds on which it was open to objection before; but the proceeding to repeal a patent by scire facias would be abolished, and for the future there was to be a simple petition on competent legal grounds to the ordinary Courts for the revocation of the patent. A compulsory licence might also be granted, in certain cases, if the patentee did not take proper means for bringing the patent into use. Another important provision was introduced in the Committee of the House of Commons by a majority, with some reluctance on the part of the Government. At present the Crown had the right to make free use of any patented invention; but it was now proposed that it should only have that right on terms of payment. Provision was likewise made for International and Colonial patents. There were other provisions of a more or less technical and legal character which could be considered in Committee, and all he would do now would be to ask their Lordships to read the Bill a second time.