Abstract
CONFIDENCE which was placed in the Joint Chemical Patents Committee on its formation has been fully justified by the record of its activity. This committee of the Association of British Chemical Manufacturers, on which the Chemical Society, the Institute of Chemistry, and the Institution of Chemical Engineers are represented, gave evidence before the Board of Trade Departmental Committee on the Patents and Designs Acts and the practice of the Patent Office, during the inquiry which extended over eighteen months. The Patents and Designs Bill recently introduced into Parliament proposes to give effect to the recommendations of this Departmental Committee, generally known as the Sargant Committee; on publication, the Bill was examined by the Joint Chemical Patents Committee, and was considered still to contain a number of points of importance requiring amendment. As a result of the presentation of a memorandum to the Board of Trade, followed by a deputation, almost all the desired amendments have been secured at the committee stage of the Bill. For example, more effective provision for dealing with the abuse of user patents, whereby the manufacture of non-patented substances was being restricted or entirely prevented in Great Britain, has been obtained. The section dealing with the remedy in case of groundless threats of legal proceedings has been amended, and the appeal tribunal is to have power to obtain the technical assistance of an assessor in all cases. So far as the costs of appeal are concerned, the present atmosphere of appeals to the law officer is to be preserved, although in certain respects the tribunal will be regarded as a court of the High Court. It is a valid claim that these major amendments will both strengthen the new Act and afford great assistance to the poor inventor.
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The Patents and Designs Bill. Nature 130, 16 (1932). https://doi.org/10.1038/130016b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/130016b0