sistent with the provisions of this Act) respecting the business of their office, and all matters and things which, under the provisions herein contained, are to be under their control and direction, as may appear to them necessary and expedient for the purposes of this Act; and all such rules shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament within fourteen days after the making thereof, if Parliament be sitting; and if Parliament be not sitting, then within fourteen days after the meeting of Parliament: and the Commissioners shall cause a report to be laid annually before Parliament of all the proceedings under and in pursuance of this Act. 4. The Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury may provide and appoint, from time to time, proper places or buildings for an office or offices for the purposes of this Act. (a) The Great Seal Patent Office has been appointed as the office for the purposes of this Act. The Commissioners of the Treasury are to allow the necessary sums for providing offices, and for the current expenses of the office. (b) 5. The Commissioners, with the consent of the Commissioners of the Treasury, may, from time to time, appoint, for the purposes of this Act, such clerks and officers as the Commissioners may think proper, and from time to time remove any of the clerks and officers so appointed. (c) The Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury are to allow such salaries and payments to the clerks and officers as they may think fit. (d) 6. The Lord Chancellor having appointed the Great Seal Patent Office to be the office of the Court of Chancery for the filing of specifications, the Great Seal Patent Office and the office of the Commissioners have been combined. The clerk of the Patents for the time being is appointed clerk of the Commissioners for the purpose of the Act. (e) The office is open to the public every day, Christmas-day and Good Friday excepted, from ten till four. 7. Office copies of documents in the Great Seal Patent Office are subject to a stamp of twopence for every ninety words.(f) Stat. 15 & 16 Vict. cap. 83, s. 4. (b) Stat. 15 & 16 Vict. cap. 83, s. 49. Stat. 16 Vict. CHAPTER X. Mode of Proceeding to obtain Letters Patent. SECTION I.-PETITION AND DECLARATION. 1. THE mode of applying for letters patent for an invention is by petition to the Crown, to be left at the office of the Commissioners of Patents.(a) 2. The petition is to be accompanied by a declaration made before a master in Chancery or justice of the peace, and by the provisional specification. See forms in Appendix. As to the title of the invention in the petition, see post, Chap. XI. As the title of the invention is to be the sole information to the public of its nature, it is very important that it should truly describe the invention and its extent. 3. The petition for the grant of letters patent, and all declarations and provisional specifications, shall be respectively written upon sheets of paper, twelve inches in length by eight inches and a half in breadth, leaving a margin of one inch and a half on each side of each page, in order that they may be bound in the books to be kept in the office. (b) The petition must be impressed with a stamp of £5.(c) 4. No caveat against a patent can be entered at the chambers of the law officers. Inventors desirous of watching applications for patents likely to interfere with them, must, therefore, keep a careful eye on the notices in the Gazette. (a) Stat. 15 & 16 Vict. cap. 83, s. 6. First set of Rules for the passing of Letters Patent for Inventions after the 1st of October, 1852, rule 1. (c) 16 Vict. SECTION II.-PROVISIONAL PROTECTION. 5. With the petition and declaration shall be left a statement in writing, called the Provisional Specification, signed by or on behalf of the applicant for letters patent, describing the nature of the invention. (d) 6. The provisional specification must state distinctly and intelligibly the whole nature of the invention, so that the law officer may be apprized of the improvement, and of the means by which it is to be carried into effect. (e) 7. The drawings accompanying provisional specifications are to be made upon a sheet or sheets of parchment, paper, or cloth, each of the size of twelve inches in length by eight and a half in breadth, or of the size of twelve inches in breadth by seventeen inches in length, leaving a margin of one inch on every side of each sheet.(ƒ) It having been found impossible in some instances to comply with this requisition, drawings of a large size, made to fold into the dimensions above mentioned, are now admitted at the office of the Commissioners. 8. In order that the petitions, declarations, and provisional specifications may be examined and recorded in the office of the Commissioners, it is necessary that they should be left at the office two clear days. Should the title of the invention not agree in each document, the papers will be returned to the parties for correction, and no record of them will be taken till they are left properly corrected. 9. No amendment or alteration at the instance of the applicant will be allowed in a provisional specification after the same has been recorded, except for the correction of clerical errors or of omissions made per incuriam.(g) 10. The day of the delivery of every petition, declaration, and provisional specification, is to be recorded at the office, and indorsed on such petition, declaration, and provisional specification, and a certificate thereof given to the applicant or his agent.(h) (d) Stat. 15 & 16 Vict. cap. 86, s. 6. See form in Appendix. (e) Second set of Rules, 1852, rule 10. (f) First set of Rules, 1852, rule 2. Second set of Rules, 1852, rule 9. All such petitions, declarations, and provisional specifications, shall be preserved in such manner as the Commissioners may direct; and a registry thereof, and of all proceedings thereon, kept at the office of the Commissioners.(i) 11. Every application for letters patent under this Act must be referred by the Commissioners, according to such regulations as they may think fit to make, to one of the law officers.(k) The reference will be indorsed on the petition, and signed by the clerk to the Commissioners of Patents. 12. The provisional specification shall be referred to the law officer, who shall be at liberty to call to his aid such scientific or other person as he may think fit, and to cause to be paid to such person by the applicant such remuneration as the law officer shall appoint; and if such law officer be satisfied that the provisional specification describes the nature of the invention, he shall allow the same, and give a certificate of his allowance; and such certificate shall be filed in the office of the Commissioners. And, thereupon, the invention therein referred to may, during the term of six months from the date of the application for letters patent, be used and published without prejudice to any letters patent to be granted for the same. Such protection from the consequences of use and publication, is called provisional protection. In case the title of the invention, or the provisional specification, be too large or insufficient, it shall be lawful for the law officer to whom the same is referred, to allow or require the same to be amended.(1) 13. The papers will be sent from the office of the Commissioners to one of the law officers, with the reference indorsed upon them. If the law officer is satisfied that the provisional specification truly describes the nature of the invention, he will return the papers to the office of the Commissioners, with the certificate of his allowance. If he considers the provisional specification insufficient, his clerk will write to the applicant, fixing a time for his attendance, when, on the applicant consenting to amend the title or provisional (i) Stat. 15 & 16 Vict. cap. 83, s. 6. specification to his satisfaction, he will give a certificate of his allowance of the amendment, and return the same, with the papers, to the office. See forms in Appendix. 14. The provisional. specification will be a check on the patentee. If the complete specification is not strictly in accordance with it, people will be entitled to say, that something is specified which would have been opposed, but which could not be opposed, because the provisional specification gave no notice of what was intended to be specified. That information, if given to the Attorney-General, might have induced him to withhold the patent.(m) If an inventor desires to abandon anything contained in his provisional specification, in order to guard against the objection that he represented himself to have invented more than he has actually specified, he should enter a disclaimer with the specification.(n) According to the practice before the passing of this Act, a person could withdraw any portion of his deposit-paper up to the time of enrolling his specification. If, at the time of enrolling his specification, he found it advisable to abandon one of several things mentioned in the title of his patent, he obtained leave before the entry of the specification to disclaim so much of the title as related to that which he abandoned, and described the rest in his specification.(o) 15. If the first outline description would not be sufficient to embrace all the improvements in the invention, or in the mode of working it out, the proper course would seem to be to abandon the proceedings taken on the first provisional specification, and commence afresh with a new application, before the invention, comprised in the first provisional specification, is made public.(p) 16. It will be observed that actions cannot be maintained for infringements during the period of provisional protection. (See s. 24.) The grant of protection under such circumstances that the inventor will be able safely to test the practicability and value of his invention before proceeding to com (m) See Rep. 1851, 379, the Master of the Rolls. (n) See Report on Patents, 1851, 60. (0) Report on Patents, 1851, 79. (p) Report on Patents, 1851, 384. See Hancock v. Somervill, 39 Newt. Lond. Journ. C.S. 158. |