Abstract
A PAPER entitled “Efficient Invention,” with special reference to patents affected by the war, was read before the Institution of Automobile Engineers by Mr. Douglas Leechman on February 5. The author recommends the Government to secure the confidence of the inventor by understanding, appreciating, and encouraging him. It is further suggested that (1) the present surplus of 100,000l. a year between the receipts and expenditure of the Patent Office should be surrendered to the inventor by way of reductions in the renewal fees payable on patents, and (2) the period of protection lost owing to the war should be added to the term of the patents affected. A proposal is also made that all patents which have expired since August 4, 1914, should be restored for a period equal to the duration of the war. Mr. Leech man states that the efficiency of inventions from the point of view of the patentee depends upon (1) the nature of the invention, (2) the capabilities of the inventor and his opportunities for working or placing the invention, (3) the way in which the invention is received, and (4) the law relating to inventions. He comments upon each of these matters, and expresses the opinion that the average inventor is lacking in the commercial instinct. A recommendation is made that some business experience should be included in the instruction given to inventors. Sound advice is also offered with regard to the steps which should be taken when inventions are being placed on the market and in connection with dealings with licensees. It may be doubted whether Mr. Leechman's proposal to restore indiscriminately all patents which expired during the war would either achieve the end desired or even prove tolerably satisfactory; its adoption would certainly prejudicially affect many persons who have legitimately embarked upon the manufacture of the articles the expired patents of which it is proposed to revive. A more equitable method of dealing with the patentees who have suffered exceptional hardship owing to the decision of the Government to concentrate the energies of the country on the production of munitions would be to ascertain the probable extent of the loss in each particular case, and to provide compensation accordingly out of a fund voted by Parliament for this purpose.
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The Efficiency of Inventions . Nature 103, 213 (1919). https://doi.org/10.1038/103213b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/103213b0