spection will not be entitled to copy the design or any part thereof (s. 52). as to existence Under s. 53, on the request of any person Information producing a particular design, together with of copyright. its mark of registration, or furnishing such information as will enable the comptroller to identify the design, on payment of the prescribed fee, will be informed whether the registration still exists in respect of such design, and of the class or classes of goods, the date of registration, and the name and address of the registered proprietor. Register of of designs. proprietors A register of designs will be kept at the Patent Office, and will contain the names and addresses of proprietors of registered designs, notifications of assignments of registered designs, and such other matters as may from time to time be prescribed. (See s. 55.) These registers will be open for the inspection of the public (s. 88), but no entry of any trust will be made in any register kept under the Act (s. 85). The exhibition at an Industrial or Inter- When exhibinational Exhibition, certified as such by the will not Board of Trade, or the exhibition elsewhere, registration. during the holding of the Exhibition, without the privity or consent of the proprietor of a design, or of any article to which a design. is applied, or the publication during the holding of any such exhibition of a description of a design, will not prevent or invalidate tion of design invalidate Penalty on piracy of registered design. Trade Marks. Alterations in practice. Application for registration.. the registration of the design, provided that, before exhibiting the design or article, or publishing a description of the design, the exhibitor gives the comptroller the prescribed notice of his intention to do so, and the application for registration is made within six months from the date of the opening of the Exhibition (s. 57). When a piracy or fraudulent imitation of a design has been committed, the proprietor of the design can recover, as a simple contract debt, a sum not exceeding £50 from the party offending, or he may bring an action for damages should he choose to do so (ss. 58 and 59). The practice relating to trade marks having been placed upon a very fair footing by the previous trade mark Acts now repealed, the alterations made by the present Act are very few, but still are somewhat important, owing to the increased facilities which they give to applicants for registration. Should the comptroller refuse an application to register a mark, the party applying can now appeal against such decision to the Board of Trade, who may, should it seem expedient, refer the appeal to the High Court of Justice (s. 62, sub-secs. 4 and 5), and (s. 64) after giving a list of the particulars of which a mark must consist, by sub-sec. (c), states that a distinctive may be device, mark, brand, heading, label, ticket or fancy word or words not in common use, may Fancy word be registered as a trade mark. This is of wider registered. scope than previous Acts, and will probably invite a large increase in applications, although it will probably lend considerable aid to litigation in this respect, owing to the elasticity of the clause. The foregoing remarks apply to new marks, viz., those not in existence prior to August 13th, 1875; old marks, viz., marks used before August 13th, 1875, can be registered in almost whatever form they may be. New proprietors of old marks should be careful to state in their application how the mark came into their possession, such as by "successors in business, &c.," or by "purchasing the good-will, &c." The Act does not require an application to register an old mark to be supported by a statutory declaration. of mark to within twelve Another new feature is, that when the Registration registration of a mark is not completed within be completed twelve months from the date of application, months. through default on the part of the applicant, it will then be considered to be abandoned, and any further proceedings should be commenced by a fresh application (s. 63). A registered proprietor under the new Act can use his mark in any colour, notwithstanding it may be registered in a particular colour (s. 67). Application must be signed. Separate The application to register a trade mark should be in the form set forth in the first schedule to the Act, and must be signed by the proprietor or some person on his behalf. The application should then be left at or sent by post to the Patent Office, accompanied with two copies of the mark on foolscap paper, if registration is required in one class of goods only; but should it be desired to register the mark in more than one class, then one additional copy of the mark must be sent for each extra class in which registration is required. Before applying to register a new mark, it is always advisable to search the register in order to see if there is a similar mark already registered. This will frequently save expense, for when once a fee is accepted by the comptroller, it cannot be returned or used for any other purpose. If a person wishes to register more than one mark in the same or different classes of goods, it will be necessary to make separate applications for each mark; but under s. 66, a person claiming to be the proprietor of several trade marks which, while resembling each other in the material particulars thereof, yet differ in respect of the goods for which they are respectively used or proposed to be used, or numbers, or prices, or quality, or names of places, can register such trade marks as a series in one registration, and such series can only be assigned or transmitted as a whole; but for all other purposes, each of the marks composing a series will be deemed and treated as registered separately; and under s. 70 a trade mark, when registered, can only be assigned in connection with the good-will of the business concerned in the particular goods or classes of goods for which it has been registered, and such trade marks will be determinable with such good-will. When more Reduction than one mark is registered in the same class, or the same mark is registered in various classes, a considerable reduction is made in the fees. of fees. the mark registration. When a mark is accepted by the comp- Advertising troller, it will be necessary for the applicant before to forward a wood-block, or an electrotype of the mark, for the purpose of advertising the same in the journal provided for that purpose; and when the prescribed time has elapsed, supposing there has been no notice of opposition lodged, and after paying the registration fee, a notification of the registration will then be issued; this document, however, will be of no avail as evidence, a certificate signed by the comptroller being required for that purpose (s. 96). may refuse When more than one person separately Comptroller claims to register the same mark at the same registration. time, and for the same class of goods, the comp |