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Malcolm Bruce: I am not entirely surprised, although I would like to make two points of clarification. The idea is that people who wanted a vanity patent should be able to register it through a one-stage process. I say to the right hon. Member for North-East Hampshire that removing the exemption would enable us to say, ''That is the deal; we are not liable because we have not gone through the whole process.'' That would not cause the Chancellor of the Exchequer concerns, because there would be no liability. The Minister is right to say that, in a sense, the two-stage process exists. I made that point; however, there would be a patent only if both stages were gone through. We were asking why we should not allow people to register a patent through the first stage, without any liability on the part of the Patent Office, to enable them to register the vanity element, while requiring the full process for anybody who had a serious intention for their patent. The judgment would be made by the person making the application; they would have to consider how seriously they wanted their patent to be taken. If they could get a patent number that said that their idea had been registered, that would satisfy their vanity; only if their idea needed commercial application would they need to take it forward. However, at the moment, the Column Number: 45 silly patents that I gave details about have to go through the whole process to get a patent number and be duly qualified as patents.There was a serious point behind the new clause, and a serious intent to reduce the work load of the Patent Office. The problem is that some people are so vain that they will insist on going through the whole process and take up Patent Office time. I am more than happy to withdraw the new clause, but there was a serious point behind it: to try to reduce the work load and deal with the needs of the kind of people—home inventors, perhaps—who have the desire to register their inventions, but do not necessarily need to go through the whole process as they do now. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion. Motion and clause, by leave, withdrawn. Question proposed, That the Chairman do report the Bill, as amended, to the House. Mr. Sutcliffe: Thank you, Mr. Amess, for your chairmanship, which has taken us through the Bill speedily, but effectively and efficiently. I thank the Committee Clerks, Hansard, the police and Committee members, particularly the right hon. Member for North-East Hampshire and the hon. Members for Gordon and for Weston-super-Mare for their support in ensuring that we got through the Bill, Column Number: 46 not only during Committee, but on Second Reading. It was properly examined, and they raised issues that I will take back with me.The spirit of the Bill has been to examine what works best, and to ensure that United Kingdom patent law is in line with the European situation and that we do everything in our power to make things easier for inventors. I congratulate Committee members, particularly my hon. Friend the Member for Newport, West. The Patent Office is situated in his constituency in Wales, and he spoke eloquently about its quality. The Chairman: I call Mr. Arbuthnot. Mr. Arbuthnot rose—
Mr. Sutcliffe: If the right hon. Gentleman will forgive me, I have one more thing to add. He will appreciate that I nearly made a serious omission that could cost me my political career. I almost forgot to thank the Whips on the Government and Opposition sides. As a former Whip—and I know that the right hon. Member for North-East Hampshire is also one—I know how much pain would have been caused to me had I not thanked my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) for the work that she has done. Mr. Arbuthnot: I would do the same, but my Whip is not present. In accordance with the remainder of the Committee, I agree with the Minister's comments and will not add anything. Question put and agreed to. Bill, as amended, to be reported.
Amess, Mr. David (Chairman) Arbuthnot, Mr. Atkinson, Mr. Peter Bruce, Malcolm Cotter, Brian Cryer, Mrs. Ann Fisher, Mr. Flynn, Mr. Lepper, Mr. Liddell-Grainger, Mr. Love, Mr. Merron, Gillian Sutcliffe, Mr.
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| Prepared 15 June 2004 | |
