(Name and seal.) " Taken and acknowledged by A. B. party hereto the day of , 1846, at , "Before me, " B— "A master (or master extra ordinary) in Chancery." The specification being completed, it only remains to enrol it before 12 o'clock on the day of the expiration of the time allowed in the letters patent. All speci fications are open to public inspection upon payment of a small fee, and books are kept at the Patent Office, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, is hich contain a list of all patents in force. These books may be inspected, by permission of the clerk, without any charge.
Extension of Term of Letters Patent.— If a patentee fit,ds that the time allowed him by the patent is not sufficient to re munerate him for the trouble and expense of his invention and patent, he may apply for an extension of the term. This used to require a petition to parliament, but by the 5 & 6 Wm. IV. c. 83, the patentee, after advertising his intention to apply for an extension of his patent in the manner required by the act, may petition the king in council. Any person wishing to oppose the extension must enter a caveat at the Privy Council Office, and the petitioner and enterer of the caveat or caveats are heard by their counsel before the Judicial Committee, which re ports to the king ; and the king is autho rised, if he shall think fit, to grant new letters patent for the same invention for a term not exceeding seven years after the expiration of the first term. The application must be made so as to allow time for the grant before the conclusion of the original term, according to 5 & 6 Wm. IV. c. 83 ; but this condition is somewhat modified by 2 & 3 Vict. C. 67. By the 7 & 8 Vict. c. 69, § 2, a patentee may obtain an extension of the term for any time not exceeding fourteen years, " subject to the same rules as the extension for a term not exceeding seven years is now granted under the powers of the said act of the sixth year of the reign of his late majesty" (5 & 6 Wm. IV. c. 83). This act contains also other enactments applicable to the extension of time where patentees have wholly or in part assigned their right.
Scotch and Irish patents are obtained by process similar to that described for England ; the applications however are made to the respective law officers of each country.
The complicated nature of the pro ceedings in obtaining a patent has led to the establishment of a class of persons who make it their business to obtain patents for inventors ; and in case of an intricate invention, it is far better for an inventor to employ one of these "patent agents" than to run the risk of the errors and loss of time which may be occasioned by his inexperience. The fee charged by the clerks of the Patent Office, who act also as agents, is ten guineas, ex clusive of the drawings and descriptions, which of course vary according to the difficulties of the subject; a small sum comparatively, when the loss of time and risk of a faulty title or specification are taken into consideration.
The time necessary for obtaining a patent is seldom less than two months, and frequently much longer. This is justly considered a great grievance, as the inventor is not secure until the great seal is attached, and no reason can be assigned for this delay, except that the patent passes unnecessarily through a great number of offices. The expense also is very heavy, and may be stated on in average at 120/. for England, with 51. additional for the colonies. 1001. for Scot Land, and 1251. for Ireland.
It is evident that there are many in ventions which will not bear this outlay if capital, and the consequence is that the lumber of patents is much smaller than t would be if the charges were lebb ; and the public lose by this. The inventor, if he procure a patent, will take care that although he may be the party inconve nienced at first by the outlay, the public shall pay for it eventually ; but if he do not take out a patent, he will do all in his power to keep his invention secret for a longer time than the patent would have allowed. This circumstance has given rise to much of that jealousy which is so apparent among manufacturers ; it has materially retarded the study of the arts, which are now fenced round with secrets and difficulties, and has been mainly instrumental in causing the great want which confessedly exists, of men con versant at once with the theory and the practice of mechanical operations.
The truth of these observations will be admitted by all who have been in any way connected with manufactures; but if any evidence be wanting to convince those who are not, the small number of patents taken out in England is quite conclusive. In 1837 the number of En glish patents was 254, and that of Scotch 132 ; the numbers in France and Prussia were much larger. Much has been said against the present law of patent, which in our opinion is unfounded in truth. There are difficulties connected with the title and specification which cannot per haps be smoothed by any legislative en actments ; but the obstacles which the law has placed in the way of' inventors can be easily removed. There is nothing to pre vent patents being granted in a quarter of the present time, and at a tenth part of the present expense. When this is done, the number of patents will rapidly in crease; talent, which is inert for want of motive, will be called into action, and the workshop will no longer be closed against the philosophic inquirer.