238 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LIV. No. 1394 



tions, to be eligible for the grant, must sub- 

 mit articles of association for the approval of 

 the department and the Board of Trade. If 

 these are approved, licenses are issued by the 

 Board of Trade recognizing the associations as 

 limited liability companies working without 

 profits. Subscriptions paid to an association 

 by contributing firms are recognized by the 

 Board of Inland Eevenue as business costs of 

 the firms, and are not subject to income or ex- 

 cess profits taxes. The income of the asso- 

 ciation is similarly free of income tax. Grants 

 are ordinarily made to these associations on 

 the basis of £1 for every £1 raised by the 

 association between limits depending upon the 

 particular industry concerned. In the case of 

 two research associations grants are made at 

 a higher rate than £ for £, as these industries 

 are regarded as having a special claim to state 

 assistance on account of their " pivotal " char- 

 acter. The results of research are the sole 

 property of the association making them, sub- 

 ject to certain rights of veto possessed by the 

 department for the purposes of ensuring that 

 they are not communicated to foreign coun- 

 tries, except with the consent of the depart- 

 ment, and that they may be made available to 

 other interested industries and to the govern- 

 ment itself on suitable terms. 



These arrangements have been found to be 

 generally satisfactory, and at the present time 

 twenty-four of such research associations have 

 been formed to whom licenses have been issued 

 by the Board of Trade. Others are in process 

 of formation, and may be expected to be at 

 work at an early date. These research associ- 

 ations are concerned with nearly all our lead- 

 ing industries. The official addresses of most 

 of them are in London ; others have their head- 

 quarters in Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Bir- 

 mingham, Northampton, Coventry, Glasgow, 

 and Belfast. 



The department has further established a 

 Eecords Bureau, which is responsible for re- 

 ceiving, abstracting, filing and collating com- 

 munications from research workers, boards, 

 institutions, or associations related to or super- 

 vised by the department. This information is 

 regarded as confidential, and will not be com- 



municated except in writing, and after con- 

 sultation with the research worker or organiza- 

 tion from which it has been received. Also 

 such non-confidential information as comes 

 into the possession of the department which is 

 of evident or probable value to those working 

 in touch with the department is collected and 

 filed in the bureau and made generally avail- 

 able. 



It is also a function of the bureau to effect 

 economy in preventing repetition and overlap- 

 ping of investigations and in ensuring that the 

 fullest possible use is made of the results of 

 research. Thus, the programmes of research 

 associations are compared in order to ensure 

 that researches are not unwittingly duplicated 

 by different research associations. Sometimes 

 two or more research associations may be in- 

 terested in one problem from different points 

 of view, and when this occurs it may be pos- 

 sible for the bureau to arrange a concerted at- 

 tack upon the common problem, each research 

 association undertaking that phase of the work 

 in which it is specially interested and sharing 

 in the general results. 



As researches carried out under the depart- 

 ment frequently produce results for which it is , 

 possible to take out patents, careful considera- 

 tion has been given to the problems of policy 

 arising on this subject, and other government 

 departments also interested have been freely 

 consulted. As the result, an interdepartmental 

 committee has been established with the fol- 

 lowing terms of reference:— 



1. To consider the methods of dealing with in- 

 ventions made by workers aided or maintained from 

 public funds, whether such workers be engaged (a) 

 as research workers, or (6) in some other technical 

 capacity, so as to give a fair reward to the in- 

 ventor and thus encourage further effort, to se- 

 cure the utilization in industry of suitable in- 

 ventions and to protect the national interest, and 



2. To outline a course of procedure in respect 

 of inventions arising out of state-aided or sup- 

 ported work which shall further these aims and 

 be suitable for adoption by all government de- 

 partments concerned. 



About forty patents have been taken out by 

 the department jointly with the inventors and 



