The Object of Patents
The recklessness with which Patents are issued, and the dishonesty on the part of the State in selling the same article to two or more persons, and then coolly leaving them to litigation for the possession of it, cannot be too strongly reprehended. The common sense of the question is summed up by Dr. Percy, in these words: “I cordially subscribe,” says the Doctor, “to the opinions expressed by Mr. Grove, Q.C.—namely, that the real object of Patent Law was ‘to reward not trivial inventions, which stop the way to greater improvements, but substantial boons to the public; not changes such as any experimentalist makes a score a day in his laboratory, but substantial practical discoveries, developed into an available form.’”
The law with respect to Patents has been greatly simplified and improved by the statute 15 and 16 Vict. c. 83: the fees payable for a Patent have been reduced, and the payment of spread over several years. One Patent now suffices for the United Kingdom, and is no longer void, as formerly, for trifling inaccuracies in the Specification, as these may be now disclaimed.
Before quitting the subject of Patents it may, perhaps, be serviceable to call attention to the admirable Abridgments of Specifications now publishing by the Patent Commissioners. In a few minutes one can get exact information there which cannot otherwise be obtained in as many hours. These Abridgments are in the form of small 8vo volumes.
Hereafter we hope to see provided out of the revenues of the Patent-office, a public library and museum, to constitute a historical and educational institution for the benefit and instruction of the skilled workman of the kingdom. Exact models of machinery are to be exhibited in the subjects, showing the progressive steps of improvement.