INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. monopolies THE origin of monopolies in this country may be traced back Origin of to the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, when the merchants and traders in different towns in England were banding themselves together, and forming associations for the purposes of trading and commerce. These associations, becoming wealthy, rose to be of importance in the country, and various Sovereigns granted them certain charters and privileges in their trading, in return for advances of money made to them. As commerce increased, the individual members of these associations or guilds also became opulent, and able to advance money to their Sovereign. And as the kings of England were often in want of money, which Parliament was not always ready to supply, they, by exercising their prerogative, granted monopolies and exclusive grants to those individuals who would advance them the money they wanted. These grants were made by letters called litteræ patentes, or open letters, being addressed to all His Majesty's subjects; as opposed to litteræ clausa, or closed letters, which were only addressed to particular persons, and do not refer to such grants as these. By the time of Queen Elizabeth, who was always very reluctant to ask her Parliaments for money if she could obtain it elsewhere, these monopolies had grown to such an extent that they had become hurtful to commerce, and so oppressive to the people that she had, in consequence of the popular discontent, towards the end of her reign, to cancel some of the most oppressive of them. At length, in James I.'s reign, Parliament intervened, declaring that all monopolies were illegal, but reserved the right of the Sovereign to grant monopolies in the case of new inventions only. This statute of 21 Jac. I. c. 3, sets out in the preamble that many grants and monopolies have been obtained and unlawfully put in execution, to the great grievance and inconvenience of the king's subjects, and contrary to the Alterations in the king's intention. For avoiding whereof, and preventing of the like in time to come, it is declared by section I that all monopolies are altogether contrary to the laws of this realm. But by section 6 it is declared and enacted: "That any declaration before-mentioned shall not extend to any letters patents and grants of privilege for the term of fourteen years or under, hereafter to be made, of the sole working or making of any manner of new manufactures within this realm, to the true and first inventor and inventors of such manufactures, which others at the time of making such letters patents and grants shall not use, so as also they be not contrary to the law, nor mischievous to the State, by raising the prices of commodities at home, or hurt of trade, or generally inconvenient." And this section still governs the question of the validity of any patent granted, section 46 of the new Patents Act, 1883, enacting that the "invention" must come within the meaning of 21 Jac. I. c. 3, s. 6. No one can demand a patent as of right, the granting or withholding of a grant of letters patent being in the prerogative of the Crown, which is especially saved under the new Patents Act, 1883; and the form of every grant of a patent sets this out in the preamble, thus: "Know ye, therefore, that We, by our especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, do by these presents for us, our heirs and successors, give and grant unto the said patentee our especial licence, &c." Until the new Act the Crown was never bound by its grant as against itself, the patent only running as between the subject against other subjects. Now, by section 27 of the said Act, however, the Crown is also bound, but it can use the patented article by its officers administering its Departments, their agents, contractors and others, on compensating the patentee for such use. By the New Patents Act, 1883, all prior statutes relating to the law of letters patent are repealed, with the exception of the greater part of 21 Jac. I. c. 3, ss. 10, II and 12 only being repealed. This new Act comes into operation on the 1st of January, 1884, and makes the following alterations in the law of patents:-The fees which were payable under the repealed Acts, in order to obtain a patent, amounted to £25 for a three years' patent, with further payments of £50 before the expiration of the third year, and £100 before the expiration of the seventh year. Now, under the New Patents Act, 1883, a patent can be obtained for four years for £4, and, while the amount of the further payments remain unaltered, the payment of the £50 is postponed to the fourth year, and the payment of the £100 to the eighth year; or these further payments of £50 and £100 may be paid by certain annual instalments set out in the Second Schedule of the Act (see chap. vii.). Under the repealed Acts it was necessary for an intending patentee or his agent to apply personally at the Patent Office at least seven times, and make four separate payments, using four documents for the application. By the New Patents Act, 1883, an applicant or his agent will only have to call twice at the Patent Office, to use three documents, and make two payments; but applicants may, if they please, transact their business entirely by post (s. 97), and thus avoid either personal attendance at the office or the payment of agency fees. The following is a précis of the Procedure for obtaining a Patent under the New Patents Act, 1883, as compared with the procedure in use under the repealed Patent Acts:: The New Procedure, to come into operation on January I, 1884. When an applicant for a patent has obtained and filled in a form of declaration, which bears a £1 stamp, and a form for his provisional specification, according to the forms and directions given in them, set out in the First Schedule to this Act, he must leave, or send by post these forms, at or to, the Patent Office. The Comptroller will then refer such application to an Examiner, to report whether the nature of the invention has been fairly described, and the application and specification are in the proper form, and the title sufficiently indicates the subject matter of the invention. If the report is in the negative, the Comptroller can require the applicant to amend the forms, subject to an appeal from his decision to the Law Officer. The Old Procedure, to cease on December 31, 1883. The applicant for a patent must leave at the office of the Patent Commissioners a petition for a grant of such letters patent, in the form given in the Schedule of 15 & 16 Vict. c. 83, which must bear a £5 stamp; also a declaration declaring he believes he is the first and true inventor, and that the invention will be of public utility, according to the form given in the same Schedule; together with a provisional specification signed by him or on his behalf, in which he must set out the nature of the invention clearly in general terms. Every application is referred to one of the Law Officers, who, if satisfied it describes the nature of the invention, gives a certificate of allow |
