Page:EB1911 - Volume 20.djvu/969

 St Helena.—The law is regulated by ordinance No. 3 of 1872. The grantee of an English patent, or his representatives, can have the grant extended to the colony. All cases of doubt and difficulty not provided for by the laws of the colony are governed by the law in force in England. A fee of one guinea is payable on filing copy of letters patent and specification with the registrar of the Supreme Court.

Sierra Leone.—No special regulations exist, but an ordinance practically identical with that of the Gold Coast is being adopted.

Straits Settlements.—The law is prescribed by ordinance No. 12 of 1871. The duration of a patent is 14 years. There is no preliminary examination as to novelty, and there are no provisions as to compulsory working or importation from abroad. There is a stamp duty of S50 on the petition. No renewal fees are payable.

Transvaal Colony.—Proclamations Nos. 22 and 29 of 1902 introduce substantially the English law.

Trinidad and Tobago.—The law is regulated by ordinance No. ID of 1900 and No. 13 of 1905. The duration of the patent is 14 years. There is no preliminary examination into novelty, and there are no provisions as to compulsory working or importation from abroad. A fee of £10 is payable on application for a patent.

Turks and Caicos Islands.—The law of Jamaica has been extended to these islands by No. 7 of 1897. See supplement to Patent Laws of the World, No. 3 of 1900.

Windward Islands.—In the Windward Islands other than Barbadoes, viz. Grenada, St Lucia and St Vincent, patents for invention were granted until recently only by special ordinances. See, e.g. St Lucia, ordinance No. 41 of 1875 (Tooth's patent). A stamp duty of £10 was payable in this island on letters patent for inventions (No. 6 of 1881, schedule). But ordinances based on the Imperial Act have now been passed, St Vincent (No. 5 of 1898). Grenada (No. 4 of 1898) and St Lucia (No. 14 of 1899).

Foreign Patent Laws.—For the text of these see Patent Laws of the World, ed. 1899 and supplemental volumes. But the following are the essential facts.

Algeria.—French law applied by decree of June 5, 1850.

Argentine Republic.—The law of October II, 1864, is still in force. There is no provision as to importation from abroad.

Austria.—A law of January 11, 1897, came into force on January i, 1899. The principal changes introduced by this measure were these. A strict preliminary examination was made into novelty. The term of the patent was fixed at 15 years, and besides an application fee of 10 florins, annual fees were imposed rising from 20 florins for the 1st year to 340 florins for the 15th. The period for compulsory working was raised from i year to 3 years from the date of the publication of the grant of the patent in the patent journal. Provision was made for the conversion of patents under the old law of August 15, 1852 (extended to Hungary by law of June 27, 1878, and to Bosnia and Herzegovina by law of December 20, 1879) into patents under the present law.

Belgium.—The law is still governed by the law of May 24, 1854. Patents are granted, as in France, without guarantee of novelty.

Bolivia.—The patent law depends on a law of May 8, 1858. The duration of the grant is in the case of a patent of invention not less than 10 nor more than 15 years; in the case of an imported invention, 3 years if its establishment requires an outlay of $25,000, if it reaches $50,000, 6 years, and if Sioo,000 or more, 10 years. The novelty neither of patents for invention nor of patents for imported inventions is guaranteed. The patent lapses unless the invention is put into complete practice within a year and a day from the date of the privilege, unless the omission is excused by justifiable causes according to law.

Brazil.—Patents are granted under the law of October 14, 1882. The patent lapses unless the invention is brought into effective use within 3 years from the date of the grant, or if such use is suspended for more than a year, except by reason of force majeure admitted by government to be a sufficient excuse. Besides expenses and fees, patents of invention are subject to an annual and progressive tax, commencing at S20 and increasing at the rate of $10 a year. The patents issued are without guarantee of novelty or utility.

Chile.—The law is regulated by the law of September 9, 1840, decree of August i, 1851, and laws of July 25, 1872, January 20, 1883, and January 20, 1888. There is a preliminary examination as to novelty and utility. Though the duration of a patent does not ordinarily exceed 10 years, the term may be extended to 20 years by the president of the republic, if the report of the experts on the nature and importance of the invention seem to justify it. There are no provisions as to importation from abroad.

Colombia.—Patents are granted under law No. 35 of 1869 and decree No. 218 of 1900. The term varies from 5 to 20 years at the option of the applicant. There is no preliminary examination as to novelty, and there is no provision as to importation from abroad. A patent for a new industry is void when such industry is idle for a whole year, unless inevitable circumstances have intervened. An applicant pays a sum of 20 pesos, which is forfeited if the patent is refused, and taken in part payment of the patent fee if it is granted. The patent tax is from 5 to 20 pesos a year for every year of the privilege.

Congo.—Patents arc issued under a law of October 29, 1886, and a decree of October 30, 1886. They are of three kinds, patents of invention, of importation and of improvement. There is no preliminary examination as to novelty, and the patent expressly mentions that the grant is made without guarantee. The term of a patent of invention is 20 years. A patent of importation or of improvement expires in the former case with the foreign, in the latter with the principal patent. Patents of improvement are not liable to any tax; on other patents a payment of 100 francs is required. There are no provisions as to compulsory working or prohibiting the importation of patented articles.

Costa Rica.—Prior to June 26, 1896, applications for jiatcnts had to be made to the Constitutional Congress. The matter is now dealt with by a law of the above-mentioned date. The duration of the term is 20 years. There is apparently no preliminary examination into novelty. The period for compulsory working is 2 years, and a patent which ceases to be worked (luring any 3 consecutive years becomes public property.

Denmark.—Patents are now granted under a law of March 28, 1894. The duration of the patent is 15 years, and no extension can be granted. There is a preliminary examination into novelty. The patent may, on terms, be appropriated by the state if the public interest demands it. The period for compulsory working is 3 years, and the patent will also lapse if the exercise of the invention is discontinued for more than a year. The patent commission may release the patentee from the obligation of manufacturing the patented article in Denmark, if satisfied that the cost of such manufacture would be unreasonable, on condition that the patented article is always kept on sale in Denmark. The tax is an annual fee of 25 kroner for the first 3 years, 50 kroner for the next 3, 100 for the following 3; then for 3 years 200 kroner yearly, and for the last 3, 300 kroner yearly.

Ecuador.—Patents are granted under a law of October 18, 1880. The provisions are identical with those given for Bolivia.

Finland.—The law is regulated by ordinances of January 21, 1898. The term of the patent is 15 years. There is a preliminary examination into novelty. The period for compulsory working is 3 years, the penalty for non-compliance being an obligation on the part of the patentee to grant compulsory licences. The tax consists of annual fees, commencing with the second year of the patent, and of the following amounts: 20 marks yearly for the 2nd and 3rd years; 40 marks from the 4th to and including the 6th year; 50 marks from the 7th to and including the 9th; 60 marks from the 10th to and including the 12th year; and 70 marks from the 13th to and including the 15th.

France.—The law is still regulated by the law of July 5, 1844. The following additional points should be noted: The term of a patent of invention is 5, or 10, or 15 years, at the option of the patentee. Every such patent is subject to the following taxes, payable by annual instalments of 100 francs: 500 francs for a patent of 5 years, 1000 francs for a patent of 10 years, and 1500 francs for a patent of 15 years. A tax of 20 francs is payable on application for a patent of addition. Patents of addition are not subject to annual taxes. There is no preliminary examination as to novelty. A patentee is not obliged to mark patented articles as such, but, if he does, the words Sans Garantie du Gouvernement, or the initial letters of these words—S. G. D. G.—must be added, under liability to a penalty for omission of from 50 francs to 1000 francs. The provisions as to compulsory working (exploitation) are in the main so interpreted as to strike only at voluntary and calculated inactivity. The law of July 5, 1844 is applied to the French colonies by a decree of October 21, 1848, to Madagascar by decree of 1902, and as to French Indo-China, see decree of June 24, 1893.

Germany.—Patents (the law as to which is not affected by the civil code of 1900) are granted under a law of April 7, 1891. The duration of the patent is 15 years. There is a strict preliminary examination into novelty. The period for compulsory working is 3 years, but it is sufficient if the patentee has done everything that is necessary to ensure the carrying out of the invention. A tax of 30 marks has to be paid before the grant. In addition to this there has to be paid at the commencement of the second and every following year of the term a tax amounting to 50 marks for the first year and increasing by 50 marks every subsequent year. An act of 1900 regulates the profession of patent agents.

Greece.—No special patent law apparently exists. A private act is required, which can be introduced by a deputy and is treated like any other bill.

Guatemala.—Patents are granted under the law of May 21, 1885 and a decree of December 17, 1897. The term of the patent ranges from 5 to 15 years. An annual tax of 30 pesos is payable. The period of compulsory working is 1 year, and abandonment of working for a year forfeits the patent. There is apparently a preliminary examination as to novelty (see Art. 16 of the decree of Dec. 17, 1897), but there is no prohibition of the importation of patented articles.

Hawaiian Islands.—Patents were issued till 1900 under the civil code (§§ 255, 256) and a law of August 29, 1884, which were not at first affected by the annexation of the islands by the United States. There was a preliminary examination as to novelty.