Abstract
THE British patent system is a matter which concerns all workers in applied science, for it represents an attempt-faulty and incomplete, but still an attempt-to secure for such workers the credit for their achievements, together with a share of the material advantages arising from these. Hence any event which seriously affects the future of the patent system is one to which the scientific world should give careful consideration, and such an event is just beginning to appear on the horizon. Lest it should take shape before its implications have been seriously canvassed, it may be well to direct attention to some of its aspects. There is a rule which requires Government servants to submit to superannuation at an age when many men are still capable of their best work, and since the rule appears to be inexorably applied, the retirement of the present Comptroller of the Patent Office and the appointment of his successor must be regarded as inevitable in the not very distant future. It is perhaps a little early to discuss this question, but not too early; for when the first official intimation of such a change is given, the selection of the successor may be actually, if not formally, a fait accompli.
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The Future of the British Patent Office. Nature 115, 181–182 (1925). https://doi.org/10.1038/115181a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/115181a0