§ Mr. Gregoryasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many applications the Patent Office processed in each year since 1979; how many currently have not been fully processed; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FletcherThe Patent Office deals with applications for patents, registered trade marks and registered designs and the information requested is given separately for each of these.
Patents 1. Applications processed under the Patents Act 1977: Searched Examined 1979 27,890 1,251 1980 30,735 17,70l 1981 27,212 22,605 1982 24,421 25,795 1983 23,228 24,666 In the period 1979 to 1981, 24,138 applications were also processed under the Patents Act 1949.
2. Backlogs of applications at the end of March 1984:
- Unsearched—3,862
- Unexamined—17,896
Trade Marks 1. Applications processed: Number 1979 16,679 1980 19,741 1981 18,407 1982 18,702 1983 18,818 2. There were 18,202 applications outstanding at the end of March 1984.
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Registered Designs 1. Applications processed: Number 1979 5,471 1980 4,928 1981 5,416 1982 6,486 1983 6,555 2. There were 778 applications outstanding at the end of March 1984.
The Patent Office is coping well with its work load. Substantial inroads are being made into the patents backlog, and the designs branch is dealing promptly with an input which has increased substantially since 1979. Following substantial reorganisation, the trade marks registry is improving its performance in all areas.