§ Mr. Asshetonasked the President of the Board of Trade whether the limited extension of the search for novelty in connection with applications for patents which was undertaken in pursuance of the Patents and Designs Act, 1932, has given satisfactory results; and, if so, whether he will now consider the possibility of authorising a further extension of the area of search?
§ Mr. RuncimanThe additional material collected for search under the powers conferred by the Act of 1932 has included specifications issued since that date by the United States of America, British and foreign text-books and periodicals and other available publications. This extension of search has fully justified itself, and citations from the additional material986W are made in many cases and are increasing. The cost has hitherto been limited by the proceeds of the increase of £1 in the fee charged for each complete specification which the Act of 1932 authorised, but it has now been decided that an additional amount should be provided from the Patent Office receipts to improve still further the quality of the United Kingdom patent, and preparations are being put in hand to extend the search to British Dominions and French specifications.