PATENTS AND DESIGNS BILL. [H.L.] (Hansard, 2 December 1941)

§ LORD TEMPLEMORE

My Lords, this Bill is a technical measure which amends the Patents and Designs Acts, 1907 to 1939, in respect of three distinct matters, all concerned with situations which have arisen or have taken on importance in consequence of the war. It amends the 1907 Act in three ways, by amending Section 18, Section 29, and Section 91. The first section that I mentioned is amended in Clause 1, the second section in Clause 2, and the third in Clause 3. Clause 4 is merely formal.

Clause 1 of the Bill extends Section 18 of the Patents and Designs Act. That section enables the Court, in certain cases, to extend the term of a patent beyond the sixteen years for which patents are granted. Clause 1 is concerned only with the case, dealt with by subsection (6) of Section 18, where a patentee as such has suffered loss or damage by reason of hostilities between His Majesty and a foreign State. It deals with certain defects or weaknesses in the existing law. It has been held that at present a patent can be extended only once, whether on account of war losses or other reasons. This has been considered unfair to 144 patentees who have obtained, or obtain, extensions running during the war period in which they are unable to make full use-of their patents, and paragraph (b) enables a patent to be further extended on account of war losses, notwithstanding previous extensions. At present a patent cannot be extended for more than five years, or, in exceptional cases, ten years, whether for war or other reasons. It is proposed, in paragraph (c) of the clause, to allow extension of the patent at the discretion of the Court up to ten years for war losses alone.

Clause 2 extends the rights of Government Departments to use inventions and designs. Section 29 of the existing Acts provides that a Government Department may, by themselves, or by persons authorized in writing by them, make, use or exercise an invention for the services of the Crown on terms to be agreed or, failing agreement, settled by the Court. The only powers to sell patented articles which this section at present gives to the Government are in cases where articles made under the section are no longer required for the services of the Crown. The new subsection (1A), which is added to Section 29 by this clause, extends the powers of the Government in this respect.

Clause 3 adds two new Clauses, 91B and 91C, to the Patents and Designs Acts, to deal with certain problems that have arisen in connexion with the exchange of information as to inventions with the United States of America and the supply of articles under lease-lend arrangements. Some of the inventions communicated or embodied in articles supplied had previously been kept secret in the United States and this country respectively. In view of the communication of the inventions between the two countries, it is now desirable that the inventions shall be protected by a patent or by designs registration (still under secrecy arrangements where necessary) in the country to which they have been communicated. The times within which applications for priority can be made in respect of these hitherto secret inventions have expired in many cases, and the new Clause 91B accordingly enables the Board of Trade to make rules to extend those times on terms of reciprocity with the other country concerned. The rules to be made under the proposed new Clauses 91B and 91C 145 are to be laid before both Houses of Parliament. That is provided in Section 91D (1) Action taken under the rules may be retrospective so as to cover, in proper cases, applications for protection made, or things left undone, before the rules came into operation. I think that is all I need say about this very technical measure. It is a measure which the Government consider necessary owing to the continuance of the war. I beg to move that it be read a second time.