§ Mr. Patrick Jenkinasked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will give for each of the last five years: (a) the number of United Kingdom patent applications, complete specifications and sealed patents, respectively for items for pharmaceutical purposes and (b) these figures as percentages of all United Kingdom applications, complete specifications and sealed patents.
§ Mr. Clinton DavisI regret that the information requested is not available. The Comptroller-General of Patents is by statute empowered to disclose information of this nature only in relation to published complete specifications and1096W sealed patents. Even for these, the collection of this information would require a disproportionate amount of time and effort. Items for pharmaceutical purposes are scattered among many sections of the United Kingdom patent classification system.