PATENTS The governments of the civilised countries grant inventors the sole right to their inventions for a term of years, in consideration of a full disclosure of the invention, the payment of certain fees, and conformity to certain regula tions. Application for a British patent may be made in two ways. (I) By lodging what is known as a provisional specification, to be followed within six months by a complete specification. (2) By lodging a complete speci fication in the first instance. In most cases it is best to adopt the first course, as the period ensuing between a provisional and complete application affords the inventor an opportunity of developing his ideas and ascertaining by practical tests the best ways and means of carrying his invention into effect. The pro visional specification, however, must clearly foreshadow the object of the invention and indicate to some considerable extent the methods to be adopted in carrying the invention to a practical issue ; hence, as the provisional forms the basis for the complete patent, it should be prepared with the utmost care, especially as nothing which has not been intimated in the provisional may be included in the complete specification. If the inventor discovers im provements after filing his provisional, he can not include them in his complete specification, but he may (in virtue of the Patent Act of 1907) apply for a patent of addition, in respect of any modifications or improvements upon the in vention as originally patented, and no renewal fees beyond those in respect of the original patent will be involved. Official patent forms are supplied free of charge. For a provisional application, one copy of Patent Form No. and two copies of Patent Form No. 2 are required. Before it is lodged at the Patent Office, No. i will require the Government stamp (cost to be impressed thereon. No stamp is required on the two copies of Form No. 2 ; and No. I may be obtained already stamped before filling in the form, if desired.
The provisional specification is commenced on Form No. 1, and continued on wide-ruled foolscap paper, leaving a margin of i in. on the left - hand side. It may be delivered by hand or sent by post, on receipt of which it will be officially dated and numbered.
A provisional specification is not published, but remains secret during the period of pro visional protection, and until the acceptance of the complete specification. As soon as a provisional application has been filed the inventor may safely show his invention to any interested party, but he should be quite certain that he has properly described his invention and satisfactorily covered his idea. Provisional protection lasts for six months, or seven months by payment of a fine, and at any time before the expiry of the period of provisional protec tion the inventor must file his complete speci fication, otherwise the application is considered to be abandoned.
Complete specifications, with their all-im portant claims, should not be filed without expert assistance. It is a good plan for the inventor himself to make a preliminary search for novelty, before involving himself in the necessary expenses of completing the patent through a qualified agent. The Patent Office in Chancery Lane, London, offers every facility to visitors to make their own searches, but it is a long task to anyone unacquainted with the system, and in any case involves time and Patience. For this reason the services of special search agents are useful. Persons who cannot go to the Patent Office in person, and yet have time at their disposal for the search, may obtain copies of all specifications filed, in either the original or an abridged form. For example, suppose an inventor of some photo graphic appliance wishes to ascertain how much novelty exists in his invention ; he may purchase ten volumes at is. each, post free, in which he will find tabulated and conveniently indexed all patents in photography from the year 1617 almost to date. The abridgments re lating to photography come under Class No. 98. From the index he may find all inventions which have any serious bearing on his particular apparatus. After selecting any which may be thought to encroach upon his ideas, he may further obtain the full specifications for 8d. each. Having satisfied himself with respect to these he may bring his search up to date by engaging an agent, to furnish information of any other specifications a view of which can only be got by visiting the Patent Office itself. Such a procedure often saves an inventor the expense of lodging a complete specification and then in the end discovering that he has been com pletely anticipated. The Comptroller of Patents causes a search to be made through British specifications for fifty years back from the date of every application for patent. Only com plete specifications, either after provisional, or complete in the first instance, are subject to the search, and the Comptroller has the power to insist on the amendment of the specification or on the insertion of a reference to existing patents, and so to place it in interference there with. A preliminary and independent search by the inventor before filing a complete specifi cation often reveals prior applications with which he may be able to avoid clashing by means of judicious wording in his complete specification, thus obviating the addition of troublesome references to prior patents—references which are likely to discount the value of his patent.