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TIIK CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[September, 



Kiilicitnr-penpra] to consider and report thereon, in order tliat tljc 

 cnmii in:iy ''<■ advised res[iortin>; the lefjality <>f tlie fjraiit soiiffht 

 I'or, and the expedienry "' firaiitiiif; it. Upon the petition heinf; left 

 at tlie rhainliers of the attorney or solieitor-treneral, tlie title of the 

 invention inserted in the petition is roiripared with tlie descriptions 

 whirh are ecnitained in all tin? snlisistinff caveats in the ollice. If 

 the invention he not ad'ected hy any of those caveats, the patent 

 is allowed to proceed; hut if the title appears to relate to an in- 

 vention whieli comes within the freneral description contained in 

 any of the caveats, notice of the petition is sent to each party who 

 has entered sncli a caveat. 



A caveat af;ainst a jiatent is, in substance, a request in writin/j; 

 that a patent for a specilied purpose he not (^ranted without notice 

 to the party who enters the caveat. Caveats may he entered at 

 the chamhers of the attorney or solicitor-peneral, at the Patent 

 Hill Oflii'e, iit the Si{,^net Office, at the I'rivy Seal Office, and at the 

 Patent Office of the Oreat Seal. 



'i'he followinfT are the |)roceedin(fs on a caveat before the attor- 

 nev or solicit(n'-j,a>neral at the report, or first stafje: — 



riie parties to whom noli(^e has been sent are allowed seven 

 days, within which they must enter their opposition, if they 

 intend to oppose the patent. If ini oppositi(ni take place within 

 that time, the patent proceeds, as ol course. If the jiatent be 

 iluly opjiosed, the proceedinffs are arrestcil, ami the applicant for 

 the patent nnist obtain an appointment for a hearing before the 

 attorm'y or solicitor-general, and a summons is served upon the 

 opposing ))arty. 



After liearing the parties separately, if the attorney or solicitor- 

 freneral he of opinion that the t^ueen (night to he advised to grant 

 tin? prayer ol' the pelitiini, he rejiorts in favcnir of the (letitioner, 

 and the report is left at the llome Office in <u-der to obtain the 

 t,|iiei'n's warrant. If the opposition be successful, no report is 

 made, and the application drops. 



'I'he Queen's warrant cinitaiiis her Majesty's authority to the at- 

 torney or solicitor-general to jirepare a bill fin- tlit- intended p.-itent. 

 \Vhen completed, it is taken to the Patent Hill Office, which is an 

 olhce of the attorney and solicitm'-general, where all bills for 

 patents to ]iass the (ireat Seal are prejiared. Upon the receipt 

 of a warrant for a hill, the engrossing clerk will prei).ire the hill 

 as a matter of course, according to the established form, if no 

 caveat have been entered against it in that office. 



Any person may oppose a patent at this stage, whether he have 

 opposed at the previous stage or not; but as a necessary pre- 

 liminary, he is required to de|)0sit the sum of .'{(•/. as a security for 

 the costs, which his m-glect to o)q)ose earlier causes the a|i]ilicant 

 for a patent to incur. The hearing at this stage is conducted in 

 precisely the same ni;niner as at the report. If the (([ijiosition be 

 successful, all further proceedings are stayed; if not, the bill is 

 jiassed and siihuiitted to the Queeti for signature. 



'i'he bill, thus completed, is the Queen's Hill, and is passed to 

 the Signet Ollice, where it is filed, as the warrant to the clerk of 

 the signet for issuing the Signet JJill to the Lord Privy Seal. 



The Signet ISill is in like manner filed at the Privy Seal Office, 

 as till! lord privy seal's w/irrant for bis proceedings. 'riiougli 

 laveats may be entered both at the Sigiu't and I'rivy Seal Offices, 

 oppiisitiini is now never nnide at either of these stages of a patent. 

 Friday is the only public sealing day at the Privy Seal Office; but 

 a hill may be sealed, at a private seal, or any other day on pay- 

 ment of an additional fee of 21. 



After the delivery of the Privy Seal Bill, the proceedings for 

 obtaining a jpatent take ]>lace on tlie comnuni law side of the ('ourt 

 of Chancery, where there are several officers whose duty it is to 

 prepare, seal, and enrol, letters ]iatent. 



'I'he grant of a jiatent may be again opposed before the lord 

 chancellor. In that case the applicant for the patent nnist prejiare 

 a petition stating all the facts and procee<lings, and ])raying that 

 letters patent may be niadi? and sealed in pursuance of tiie writ of 

 l'ri\y Seal. The material allegations of this jietition must be sup- 

 ported by affidavit, to be sworn before a master in chancery, and 

 I lie petitioner's o|i))onent nuist be served with a cojiy of the 

 lietition and of the lord chancellor's answer to it. Upon .•ipi)lication 

 lor that imrjiose, a day is fixed for a hearing befin-e the lord chan- 

 cellin-, who generally refers the matters of the petition and iqipo- 

 silion to the attorney or solicitor-general for a speiual report. 

 The jiarljes are then again heard by the attorney or solicitor- 

 general upon this reference, and if they are satisfied with liis 

 report, the li rd chancellor makes an order in accordam'e there- 

 with. But if either party be dissatisfied with the report, be nnist 

 prepare a petition to the lord chancellor stating his exceptimis to 

 the rejiort, and the lord chancellor will then, after again hearing 

 the jiartios, dispose of the jietitions as he may tiiink just. 



If a Jiatent be not o]iposed at the Patent Office of the Great 

 Seal, it is sealed in jiursuance of the writ of Privy Seal. If the 

 patent be o])posed and the lord chancellor decides on granting it, 

 it will be sealed as soon as bis bndship's order for the ))ur]iose has 

 been drawn np. A recepi is first written in the margin of the 

 I'ri\y Seal Bill, stating the day when the lord cbancelhn- received 

 the bill. The clerk of the i)atents then engrosses the patent, 

 cojiying it verbatim from the i'rivy Seal Bill. He also |irej)ares a 

 docket for the lord chancellor's signature, containing the name of 

 the party to whom the jiatent is granted, tlie title of the invention, 

 the extent and duration of the grant, the time allowed for specifi- 

 cation, and the date of the grant. The recepi and docket are 

 signed by the lord chancellor; the latter instrument being the 

 warrant to the sigillator or sealer, who affixes the (ireat Seal to 

 the ]iatent after satisfying himself that it corrcsjionds with the 

 docket. The jiatent having been sealed, all the documents are 

 taken back to the Patent Oliice, where the patent is put into a 

 box and delivered to the patentee. 



Kvery patent for a new invention contains a proviso that the 

 patentee sh.ill describe his iinention by an instrinnent in writing, 

 under his hand and seal, termed a specification, and this specifica- 

 timi nnist be enrolled in cham:ery within a given time after the 

 date of the jjatent. In default of which the patent heciunes void. 



Up to the 1st of January last there were three offices in which 

 specifi<:ations might be enndled, viz.: — The Enrolment OtBce, the 

 Petty Bag Office, and the Rolls ( hapel Office. 



The patents themselves, together with the Privy Seal Bills and 

 dockets, are enrolled at the Kiindment Office, where the rolls are 

 kejit for two years and then sent to the Petty Bag Office, whence, 

 after the lapse of a certain number of years, the Patent Rolls and 

 Privy Seal IJills are finally sent to the Rolls Chapel. 



By an act passed in tlie last session of parlianu'nt, 11 and 12 

 Vic. c. 9t, it is enacted, that from and after the 1st of January, 

 IHtO, all sjiecifications shall be enrolled in the Enrolment Office. 

 Since that period, therefore, the necessity for enrolling specifica- 

 tions in the other two offices no longer exists. 



Iimi)itmciiilatio)is rcx/icctiiig I'dloits nf Invention. — After consider- 

 ing the evidence, we have come to the conclusion that the number 

 of successive stages through which (as will be seen from the fore- 

 going detail), a patent for a new invention must jiass before its 

 final completion, is prodiicti\e of great trouble, delay, and expense 

 to the party seeking the grant, without any corresjionding benefit 

 to the iiuhlic. The fullest dpportunity should, no doubt, be af- 

 forded to all persons w hose interests may be aft'ecte<l by the grant 

 of an exclusive privilege to nniiiufacture some particular article, 

 to show that good grounds exist why the privilege should not be 

 granted U> the party applying for a ])atent. 



The object of granting a patent for an invention is, not merely 

 to secure to an invent<u- the fair reward of his labour and inge- 

 nuity, but also to benefit the jiublic by encouraging such inven- 

 tions, and it is essential that the crown should have some tribunal 

 to refer to for advice before making such grants. With these 

 objects in view, it has not ajipeared to us that any better course 

 can be devised than a reference to the attorney or solicitor-general, 

 to inquire into the merits of the circumstances set forth in the 

 l>etiti(Mi, and rejiort thereon to the crown. 



The iiHiuiry would ajipear for the most part, to involve con- 

 siderations rather of a legal than of a scientific nature. But 

 should (juestions arise, on an ojqiosed jietition, where a more than 

 ordinary familiarity with scientific subjects might seem requisite 

 An' the due cinn]neliensi(ni of the matter under investigatimi, the 

 attorney or soliiutor-general would always have the power, which 

 they now jiossess and exercise, of calling in sonic man of pr.ictical 

 science, nm'oiinected with the parties before him, and unprejudiced 

 in the matter in dispute, to aid him in coming to a just decision. 

 W'c think, however, that amjile oiiportunity having been given for 

 making o|ipositi<ni at this stage of the proceedings, no adequate 

 advantage is derived from a second opposition at the Patent Bill 

 Office. It seems, nuireover, that oppositions at that stage are of 

 unfrequent occurrence. If this <qiiiiion should he adopted, .and 

 the jiroceedings of the Patent Bill Office be dispensed with, we 

 would then reconiniend that some public notice, by advertisement 

 in the (liizrttc or otherwise, should he given that a ]iatent for a 

 particular object has been applied for, not naming the ajijilicant, or 

 giving nmre than a very general description of the (diject of the in- 

 \'entioii; and that a suiricieut nuniher of days should be allowed from 

 the date of the ad\ertisenieiit before ]iroceeding with the petition, 

 in order that a fair opportunity for oppositiiin may be aft'orded to 

 j)arties desirous of o])p(isiiig the grant simgbt for. 



We would also recommend that an outline description, such as 

 ia now required to be deposited with the attorney or solicitor- 



