§ Mr. Weetchasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has made a detailed estimate of the 279W potential demand for registration of service marks; and whether fulfilling such demand would offer opportunities for additional staff to be employed and further net revenue generated.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherFrom the experience of other industrialised countries which have introduced registration of service marks, it has been estimated that demand could run as high as 5,000 service mark applications per annum on top of the existing trade mark work load of 20,000 applications be annum once a regular pattern had been established. This would entail an increase of about 40 in the staff of the trade mark registry. In accordance with present practice the fees for this service would be set at a level sufficient to cover the cost of providing it.