I will go so far as to say that so far as the efficiency of the Office, as now constituted, is concerned, and considering the short time it has been in existence under its present head, it undoubtedly shows efficiency. If we take the classifications of trade marks under the English system and that under the Irish system there is clear proof that the Irish Office is much in advance of the English Office. That is one of the reasons that I suggest that the Irish Office should stand on its own footing and be independent. The system of classification in England, if I may use the term with all respect and without derogation to the English Office, is rather ancient, whereas the Irish system is entirely modern. I can only explain my meaning by pointing out that the classification of trade marks in England comes under fifty different heads, each one of which means a fee to the patentee, or the person registering the trade mark, of £3. Large firms may, in order to get a trade mark properly protected, require to use each and every one of these various classes so that under the English system the complete protection of a trade mark might cost £150. Under the Irish system the number of classifications has been reduced to nine, so that at the outside the highest possible cost for the complete protection of an Irish trade mark would mean a sum of £27. That, I think, is a great tribute to the efficiency of the Irish Office, in view of the short time it has been in existence. Take, for instance, the patenting of a thermos flask. If that has to be registered in England it has to go through five different classes before registration is complete. That would mean that registering in England would cost £15 but under the modern system which we have adopted and under the head of a very efficient Controller, the registration of a thermos flask would only cost the sum of £3.
These things go to show that the Irish Office is, at least, efficient and compares favourably with the English Office. I agree with Deputy Flinn when he suggests that the employment of an Irish patent agent to help an Irish patentee to complete his patent is a blot upon the existing methods of the Office. I want to keep as far as I can from the Act, for I know the Ceann Comhairle will watch me very closely, but I suggest that the administrative methods of the Office may be improved. I suggest that in England a man who is capable of dealing with a patent himself, perfecting his design and submitting it, can obtain a patent for £5. Since the last discussion on the subject in this House it came under my notice that a man was patenting a little invention and I, like him at the time, was of opinion that he, being a perfectly competent man, could carry out all the processes necessary to deal with the patenting of that invention. The fees appear to be very moderate but there is a section in the Act which says that the services of an Irish patent agent must be used to complete that patent. I do not think that that is a fair mode of procedure as it means that a man in the Free State carrying out a patent is at a disadvantage compared with a man who is carrying one out in England. I am sure that Deputy Flinn has some idea of the amount to which a patent agent's fee runs.
