89. Sealed copies to be received in evidence. 90. Rectification of registers by Court. 149 150 151 91. Power for comptroller to correct clerical errors 92. Alteration of registered mark 93. Falsification of entries in registers. 94. Exercise of discretionary power by comptroller 152 95. Power of comptroller to take directions of law officers 96. Certificate of comptroller to be evidence 97. Applications and notices by post 98. Provision as to days for leaving documents at office 99. Declaration by infant, lunatic, &c. 100. Transmission of certified printed copies of 152 152 153 154 specifications, &c. 155 101. Power for Board of Trade to make general rules for classifying goods and regulating business of patent office 156 102. Annual reports of comptroller 158 International and Colonial Arrangements. 103. International arrangements for protection of inventions, designs, and trade marks 104. Provision for Colonies and India. 111. General saving for jurisdiction of Courts 112. Isle of Man. Repeal; Transitional Provisions; Savings. 113. Repeal and saving for past operations of repealed enactments, &c. . 114. Former registers to be deemed continued 115. Saving for existing rules 166 167 167 168 116. Saving for prerogative. General Definitions. 117. General definitions 168 The FIRST SCHEDULE.-Forms of applica- 170-176 The SECOND SCHEDULE.-Fees on instru- 178-180 NOTE. References to the rules are indicated by figures, and the explanatory notes and notes of decided cases by letters. PATENTS, DESIGNS, AND TRADE MARKS ACT, 1883. 46 & 47 VICT. CH. 57. CHAPTER 57. An Act to amend and consolidate the Law relating A.D. 1883. to Patents for Inventions, Registration of Designs, and of Trade Marks. [25th August, 1883.] Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: PART I. Preliminary. PART I PRELIMIN ARY. 1. This Act may be cited as the Patents, Designs, Short title. and Trade Marks Act, 1883. Division of Act into parts. Commence ment of Act. PART II. PATENTS. Persons entitled to apply for patent. Personal representatives. Public servants. 2. This Act is divided into parts, as follows: Part II.-PATENTS. Part III.-DESIGNS. Part IV.-TRADE MARKS. Part V.-GENERAL. 3. This Act, except where it is otherwise expressed (a), shall commence from and immediately after the thirty-first day of December one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three. (a) See provisions respecting existing patents, s. 45. PART II. PATENTS. Application for and Grant of Patent. 4. (1.) Any person (a), whether a British subject or not (b), may make an application for a patent. (2.) Two or more (c) persons may make a joint application for a patent, and a patent may be granted to them jointly. (a) A patent will be granted to the representatives of a deceased inventor. See s. 34. A recent circular of the Post Office forbids its employés to take out patents without the consent of the PostmasterGeneral. A member of an official commission or committee cannot take out a patent in connection with the subjectmatter of his official investigations if the invention has already been communicated to his colleagues, for from that time the invention was public property. Patterson v. The Gas Light and Coke Co., 2 Ch. D. 812. In the House of Lords, on appeal, the view was taken that the plaintiff, being a public servant (a gas referee), was bound to give the public the benefit of his information. L. R. 3 App. Cas. 239. Communi (b) Aliens, before the passing of this Act, have frequently Aliens. been the grantees of letters patent (Chappell v. Purday, 14 M. & W. 303), but it has been the usual practice for foreigners residing abroad to communicate their inventions cations. to an agent in this country, who holds the patent on trust (Beard v. Egerton, 3 C. B. Rep. 97), and subsequently assigns the invention to his principal or his nominee. Thus letters patent have been granted to an alien resident abroad for an invention communicated to him by another alien, also resident abroad. In re Wirth's patent, 12 Ch. D. 303. It was supposed by some that, after the 1st January, 1884, these communications must cease,* inasmuch as when an invention is patented as an original invention, when in reality it is only a communication from abroad, the patent is void (Milligan v. Marsh, 12 Jur. (N. S.) 1083); and by s. 5, sub. 2, every application must contain a declaration that the applicant is in possession of an invention, whereof he, or in the case of a joint application one or more of the applicants, claims or claim to be the true and first inventor or inventors; and if such declaration is made out of the United Kingdom it must be made before a British consular officer, or a public officer duly authorised on that behalf. See first schedule to Act, form A, and note. The abolition of the system of granting letters patent on communications from abroad has been advocated for the purpose of remedying an evil which has very frequently occurred-viz., the obtaining of the grant of letters patent by fraudulently acquiring a knowledge of another's invention, and transmitting the information to some person resident abroad, who in turn instructs his agent in this country to apply for letters patent on his communication from abroad. The remedy proposed, however, is open to this objection, that the specification would in most instances have to be prepared by persons having a defective knowledge of English patent law, * See Introduction, and note to "true and first inventor," note (e), page 15. |