§ Sir W. BULLasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware of the hardship inflicted upon inventors by applications for patents received on the 3rd June being post-dated to the 7th June; whether this is the usual practice; and if he will say what steps are taken to prevent confusion arising in the event of an application for the same invention being actually received from another source on the 7th June?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERUnder the Patents Rules, 1920, the four days from the 3rd to the 6th June, inclusive, were excluded days for the purposes of the Patents Acts, and, therefore, applications for patents reaching the Patent Office during that period were dated the 7th June, in accordance with the usual596W practice. I am not aware that any hard-ship or confusion has arisen in con-sequense of this practice; but if my right hon. Friend will let me have particulars of any specific case he may have in mind, I shall be glad to consider them.