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Rh and 5,000. Only 68 applications were rejected in 1872, and 78 in 1873. About 70 per cent. of these are allowed to expire at the end of three years, and about 20 per cent. of the remainder cease to exist at the end of seven years. In 1873 the receipts from patents amounted to £144,760, which exceeded the cost of issue by £90,000. In the United States the number of patents annually issued is much greater than in England, but the surplus receipts are materially less, because the fees required are much smaller, and from 10 to 15 American patents may be required to cover an invention which would be embraced in one English patent.—In France patents are granted for 5, 10, or 15 years, and cannot be extended beyond the last named term except by a special law. The invention must be new and applicable to industry. Pharmaceutical preparations or remedies of any kind cannot be patented; they can only be protected by the law governing trade marks. The application for a patent is made to the prefecture of the department in which the applicant resides, and embraces a petition to the minister of agriculture and commerce, a specification of the invention or discovery, and the necessary drawings or specimens. The demand must be limited to a single principal object, and the term desired must be specified. The tax is 500 francs for 5, 1,000 for 10, and 1,500 for 15 years, payable in annual instalments. Letters patent are issued without previous examination, their validity being at the risk of the patentee. Failure to work the inventions for two years causes forfeiture of the patent. Alterations, improvements, or additions to the invention while the patent is in force may be protected by a certificate, which is obtained by the payment of 20 francs, and expires with the original patent; or a new patent may be taken out for such improvements. Foreigners may obtain patents upon the same terms as natives. Patents are granted to the authors of inventions already patented abroad; but they expire with the foreign patents.—The imperial constitution of Germany of 1871 declares that questions concerning patents and patent laws are reserved to the Reichstag; but no uniform law for the German empire has yet (1875) been made, and patents are issued by the several states pursuant to their respective laws. The patent system of Prussia has some peculiar features. The invention or discovery must be new and must have industrial value. Inventions of an artistic nature are not patentable. Patents are granted only to natives or to the citizens of such countries as have acquired special rights by treaty, as in the case of British subjects. Foreigners not within this rule may obtain a patent by appointing a Prussian as their representative, in whose name the patent will issue. Any person, native or foreign, may obtain a patent for an invention patented abroad, provided no description of the invention has been published in Prussia or

elsewhere, and that the invention has not been in use in Prussia. As the details of patents granted in England or the United States are promptly published, the English or American inventor who wishes to have his invention patented in Prussia must make contemporaneous application there and at home. The application for a Prussian patent must be made to the minister of commerce in Berlin, and must be accompanied by full descriptions, and also models if necessary. These are kept from the knowledge of all persons except those whose special duty it is to examine and report upon them. All applications are carefully examined by a special department under the ministry of commerce, consisting of nine members under the presidency of a director of the ministry. These decide whether a patent shall issue, and also for what period, which must not be for less than six months nor more than 15 years, but may be for any period within these limits. The usual term for which patents are granted is three years. The cost of obtaining a patent is almost nominal. The patentee is required to bring his invention into use in Prussia within the time fixed by the minister, which is usually six months and never more than a year; non-compliance with this requirement will render the patent void. The patentee also loses his rights if at any time during the term for which the patent is granted the invention remains unemployed for 12 consecutive months. A Prussian patent gives to the owner the exclusive right of making the article patented, and in the case of machinery the sole right of using it when made; but the patentee cannot prohibit the sale or importation of an article which is like that for which the patent is granted. Infringing articles, in the case of a second offence, are liable to confiscation. The number of Prussian patents annually granted is less than 100; the number of applications is about 700 or 800. In Bavaria patents are granted for any number of years not exceeding 15; the cost ranges from $10 41 for the first to $114 54 for the 15th year. In Saxony the term is five years, but may be prolonged for five more.—In the Austro-Hungarian empire the period for which patents are granted is limited to 15 years; but a patent may be taken out for a shorter term at the option of the patentee. The taxes for 15 years amount to $341: for the first five, $48 72; second five, $97 44; third five, $194 88. The patentee may be a native or a foreigner. The application is made to the political authorities of the district or the provincial governors, and by them forwarded to the ministry of commerce. It must be accompanied by an intelligible description of the invention, and models and drawings if practicable. The description will be kept from the knowledge of the public at the request of the applicant. If the patentee fails to make use of his patent for one year from the date of issue, or subsequently allows two consecutive years to elapse without