Compulsory Licences under the Patent Acts. By J. W. Gordon,
of the Middle Temple. (Stevens and Sons.)—The distinction between monopolies and patents is somewhat un- defined, but the law, which recognises the inventor and rewards him with a patent, has since the reign of James I. inclined to discourage monopolists. It has, moreover, always been the law of England that a patentee is obliged to introduce his invention into this country. A. patentee who adopts a dog-in-the-manger policy may cause incalculable damage or inconvenience to the public. The forfeiture of the patent, which was the ancient remedy for this evil, by disuse became of no avail. At present a cure is provided by the twenty-second section of the Patents Act, 1883, and upon this section Mr. Gordon has written a thoroughly painstaking treatise. Under the section power is given to the Board of Trade to order the patentee to grant licenses to use the invention upon reasonable terms, when the Board are satisfied that the patent is not being worked in the United Kingdom, or that the requirements of the public cannot be supplied, or that some one else is being prevented from using an invention of which he is possessed. For some reason this section has lain, as it were, dormant since its enactment, till recently, when pro- ceedings have been instituted, in some of which Mr. Gordon was engaged as counsel. It is rare to find a legal book which opens up an almost untouched department of law.
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