being desirous of establishing a permanent law, which may secure advantages to private individuals, encourage inventors, and be of general utility. Having heard the opinion of the Imperial Council, we have thought fit to make the following regulations :—

SECTION I.

Of the Nature of Privileges for Inventions and Discoveries.

ART. 1. The privilege granted for inventions and discoveries in the arts and manufactures, is a certificate which states that the invention therein mentioned was at the time presented to the Government, as the property of the person named in the said grant.

ART. 2. In granting this privilege, the Government does not guarantee that the invention or discovery is really the property of the person presenting it; but only bears witness as to the state of the invention or discovery when presented.

ART. 3. Provided nevertheless, that the privilege granted by Government shall not take away from any other person the right of proving according to law, that the invention or discovery does not belong to the person presenting it.

ART. 4. Provided also, that until this right has been legally contested, the person obtaining the privilege enjoys the following rights.1st. He may, during the time specified in the privilege, make use of the invention or discovery as exclusive and indisputable property. 2nd. He may introduce the said discovery or invention, and make use of it himself or sell it to others, and also grant licenses to use it.-3rd. He may bring an action against any person or persons counterfeiting the same, and claim damages for the loss which he may have sustained by such counterfeit or infringement.-4th. That will be considered a counterfeit which resembles the invention or discovery in all its parts, even if some trifling alterations be made therein, which do not materially alter it.

ART. 5. At the same time a person desirous of obtaining a privilege is obliged,-1st. To present to the Government an exact description of his invention, or discovery, with all essential details; the manner of putting it into operation, with the plans and drawings thereto belonging, without keeping any thing back relative to its effective operation.-2nd. To pay the usual tax laid upon privileges.

ART. 6. No privilege will be granted for any invention or discovery, unless an exact and full description of the same, as above mentioned, has been previously presented.

ART. 7. No privilege will be granted for inventions which are

not only of no utility to the empire, or to private individuals, but which may even prove injurious.

ART. 8. Privileges may be obtained for inventions and discoveries made in foreign countries, of which the specification has not been published, and which has not yet been made use of in Russia.

ART. 9. Privileges granted for such introductions or applications, are as valid as those granted for inventions made in Russia, if it cannot be proved that the invention had been introduced or used in Russia before obtaining the privilege; or, that at the time the petition praying for a privilege was presented, it was published in the public papers, or in books, so that it could be put into operation without any further description.

SECTION II.

The Course to be taken in obtaining Privileges.

ART. 10. The person desirous of obtaining a privilege, must present a petition to the Minister of the Interior, annexing the description mentioned in Article 5, which must state the benefit or utility to be derived from the invention or discovery.

ART. 11. The Minister of the Interior having examined the petition and laid it before the council belonging to his department, and being convinced that the invention or discovery will really be useful, presents, under these circumstances only, his opinion to the Imperial Council of the Empire.

ART. 12. After the examination of the petition praying for a privilege, the Minister of the Interior must get information, in the first place, if a patent has not been already granted for similar inventions, or discoveries; and in the event of two petitions being presented for the same discovery, the privilege is granted to the person who made the first application, and all subsequent petitions for the same invention are rejected.

SECTION III.

Of the Form of Privileges.

ART. 13. The privilege bears,-1st. The name of the inventor.-2nd. The day of presentation.-3rd. The description of the invention. 4th. The term for which it is granted.— 5th. The amount of tax paid upon it.-6th. The signature of the Minister of the Interior.-7th. The Seal of the Minister of the Interior.

ART. 14. The privileges are written on parchment, and the expenses are included in the fees paid for obtaining them.

SECTION IV.

Of the Term of the Grant and the Duty.

ART. 15. Privileges are granted for three, five, and ten years, from the time of solicitation, but for no longer turm than 10 years. The Government tax is as follows:"

ART. 17. Privileges become void.-1st. By the expiration of the term. 2nd. If it be proved in a court of law, that, at the time the petition praying letters patent was presented, the same invention or discovery was or had been described in any Journal or Work published in Russia, or out of the empire, in such a manner, that it could be put into operation without any further description.-3rd. If it be proved that it is impossible to attain the desired object, by following the instructions of the specification, even under the superintendence of the inventor.-4th. At the expiration of the term, for which the privilege was granted, a notice therof is immediately published by the Foreign Department, in the Gazettes of the two capitals; after which, every one has a right to make use of the discovery for which the privilege was granted.

SECTION VI.

Of Proceedings at Law.

ART. 18. Questions of right, with regard to privileges, are heard before the Council of the Interior Department, in conjunction with experienced persons, chosen by the litigants, an equal number on each side.

ART. 19. The question is decided by a majority.

ART. 20. An appeal lies from the judgment of this court to the senate, where all proceedings are definitively settled, according to the established rules.

In addition to the Government tax, there are some small extra official fees incurred when the invention is imported from abroad, such as an official certificate of the registration of the documents, and the power of attorney, authorizing a resident to act in the name of the petitioner, &c. &c.

ART. 21. All the decrees or regulations, made in this Ukase, are in force from the date of its publication.

SVENTSIANY, JUNE 17th, 1812.

Signed in the original by His Imperial }

ALEXANDER.

(L. S.) Printed at St. Petersburg, at the Senate, July 1st, 1812.

His Imperial Majesty has condescended to confirm and order to be put in force the opinion of the Council General of the Empire, on some points relative to obtaining privileges, not hitherto decided, for want of the necessary information.

APRIL 24th, 1829.

For the President of the Imperial Council,

(Signed) PRINCE ALEXIS KOURAKINE.

Opinion of the Council of the Empire.

The Council of the Empire, in the Department of Economy, and the General Assembly, having examined the proposition of the Minister of the Interior, as to some points relative to certain privileges, which remain at the Ministry of the Interior undecided in consequence of the non-presentation of the necessary information. The Council of the Empire, seeing by this report, that the four cases relating to privileges, which are now at the Ministry of the Interior, and still remain undecided; (one by reason of the non-presentation of the drawings and description, two by reason of non-payment of the duty, and one by reason of the invention not having undergone a trial,) has taken into consideration the following observations.

a. By Article 5, of the supreme manifesto, with regard to privileges, the person desirous of obtaining one, must present to the Government an exact description of his invention or discovery, with all essential details, the manner of putting it into operation, with the models and drawings belonging to the description, without concealing anything relative to its full operation, which is confirmed by Article 10.

b. We find by Article 6, that no privilege will be granted for inventions, of which an exact and full description has not been presented.

c. By Article 5, a person desirous of obtaining a privilege, is obliged to pay the established tax, but it is nowhere stated that this tax must be paid on presenting the petition, and the nonpayment of this tax is not mentioned as one of the reasons for refusing a privilege.

d. The petition, demanding a privilege, depends entirely on the will of the inventor, who, consulting his own interest, may demand the privilege or keep back his petition.

With regard to the preceding observations, the Council of the Empire, having referred to the manifesto concerning privileges, is of opinion,-1st. That petitions from persons desirous of obtaining privileges, will not be accepted, unless they have annexed to them all that is required by Articles 5 and 10 of the manifesto. Petitions presented to the Interior Department, without the said appendages, will be immediately returned to the petitioner. 2nd. Petitions sent by post, will not, under any circumstances, be attended to; and the inventors will be warned by advertisement, that in case of absence, they must give a power of attorney to some person to present the petition with the requisite appendages.-3rd. The person holding the power will be answerable for the payment of the tax, in case the Government should grant the privilege.-4th. If any other person present a petition, with the necessary documents, for a similar invention or discovery, which has not been used in any part of Russia, and for which the first petitioner has not annexed to his petition the necessary documents,-in this case, according to the supreme manifesto, and the decision of the Minister of the Interior, the privilege will be granted to the second petitioner, provided always, that if the first wishes to defend his right, they may take their inventions into court, according to the strict meaning of Article 3, of the said manifesto, which says, "that the privilege granted by Government does not take away the right of any person to prove, in a court of law, that the invention or discovery, therein mentioned, is not the lawful property of the person who presented it."

Signed by the

PRESIDENT AND THE MEMBERS.

Ukase of His Imperial Majesty, Autocrat of all the Russias, emanating from the Directing Senate.

Pursuant to the Ukase of His Imperial Majesty, the Directing Senate, having heard the Report of the Minister of the Interior, in which he states, that on petitions being presented to the Ministry of the Interior, for obtaining, by virtue of the supreme manifesto of June 17th, 1812, privileges for divers inventions and improvements in agriculture, and the arts and sciences--it happens that some persons have presented neither detailed descriptions, nor the drawings of their invention or discovery, and do not pay the established tax for the privilege; that others,