describes his person, and serves as a voucher of his character and nation, and entitles him to the protection of the authorities of other countries through which he may pass, and which are at peace with his own. On arriving at the outports or frontier towns of a foreign state, every traveller is obliged to show his passport, which is examined by the proper authorities before he is allowed to proceed on his journey. This ceremony is sometimes repeated at every garrison town which he passes on the road. Even the natives of most European states cannot travel twenty miles through their own country without being furnished with a passport. The system of passports is old, but it has become much more rigid and vexatious during the last half-century. Passports are not required in the British Islands and the United States of North America; and the natives of those two countries, accustomed to the freedom of unobstructed movement, find the regulations as to passports when they travel on the continent of Europe to be rather irksome. The practice has been defended on the plea that it prevents improper and dangerous persons from introducing or concealing themselves; but numerous instances have proved that persons, however obnoxious, who have money and friends, can evade such restrictions. That every state may admit or refuse admittance to foreigners as it thinks fit, cannot be questioned; and in times of war especially, some sort of restriction may be required for the safety of the country; but the present vexatious system of passports, as enforced in many European states in time of profound peace, is useless and mischievous. It is a check upon travellers, to whom it causes much trouble and loss of time, while the advantages supposed to result from it are at least very dubious. It is not easy to enforce the regulations respecting passports where railroads have become almost the only mode of travelling; and in Belgium an alteration has recently been made in the passport system in consequence of the difficulty of rigidly adhering to the old regulations. PASTURE. [COMMON, RIGHTS OF ; INCLOSURE.] PATENT. This term is applied to certain privileges which are granted by the Crown by letters patent. [LETTERS PATENT.] The object of such privileges is to encourage useful inventions. Before applying for a patent for an invention, two considerations are necessary: first, what is entitled to a patent; and next, whether the invention has the requisite conditions. In the first place, the machine, operation, or substance produced, for which a patent is solicited, must be new to public use, either the original invention of the patentee, or imported by him and first made public here. A patent may be obtained for England, Ireland, or Scotland, although the subject of it may have been publicly known and in use in either or in both of the other two countries. In the second place, the subject of the invention must be useful to the public, something applicable to the production of a vendible article, for this is the construction put upon the words "new manufacture" in the statute of James I. The discovery of a philosophical principle is not entitled to such protection: such principle must be applied, and the manner of such application is a fit subject for a patent. Inventions entitled to patent may be briefly enumerated as follows: 1. "A new combination of mechanical parts, whereby a new machine is produced, although each of the parts separately be old and well known. 2. "An improvement on any machine, whereby such machine is rendered capable of performing better or more beneficially. 3. "When the vendible substance is the thing produced either by chemical or other processes, such as medicines or fabrics. 4. "Where an old substance is improved by some new working. the means of producing the improvement is in most cases patentable." If the inventor think that the machine, operation, or substance produced comes under any of these enumerations, and that it is new, and likely to be useful to obtained. If any one apply for a patent, the title of which is similar to that contained in the caveat, the attorney or solicitor general will send a notice of such application to the enterer of the caveat, who, if he should think such application likely to interfere with his invention, must, within seven days from the receipt of the notice, state in answer his intention of opposing such patent. The attorney or solicitor general then summons the applicants to appear separately before him; and if he should be of opinion that the two patents will interfere with each other, or are virtually the same, the usual course is not to grant any patent except to the two claimants conjointly, though if priority of invention can be proved by either, he who is prior is entitled to the patent. If the invention is of such a nature that it can at once be produced or put into operation, no caveat is needed; and indeed a caveat may be the means of exciting the very attention and opposition which it is intended to prevent. Where some experiments or operations which require assistance must be performed before a definite title can be given to the invention, as must be done in the declaration and petition, it is much better to avoid the caveat; and by getting the different parts of the machinery or operations performed by different persons, if possible, keep the invention a secret until the patent is secured. As soon as the caveat is entered, the inventor may find it necessary to obtain the assistance of workmen or others, in order to carry his invention into effect; and if in doing this he should make known to them his invention, he will not thereby lose his right to a patent. Any communication which is necessary for carrying his ideas into effect is not considered such a publication as would of course vitiate his right. But though the inventor is thus protected in his experiments, and is safe while dealing with honest people, he is not protected against fraud. If a person in the secret should make such invention public, or cause it to be used by several persons between the time of entering the caveat and the next stage of proceeding, that of sending in the petition, no patent could be obtained, as the declaration that accompanies the petition could not be made, or, if made, would be untrue. Again, if such workman, instead of making it public, were to give to some other person the necessary information, the latter might apply for a patent for such invention as his own; and if he could succeed in concealing the source of his information by a false declaration, he might force the real inventor to allow him to participate in such patent, or to forego it altogether. The caveat can do no more than prevent any one from stealing the ideas of an inventor and appropriating them to his own use, to the exclusion of the inventor; and it will also ensure notice of any application for a patent for a similar invention, and in some cases prevent the ex-vention. penditure of time and money upon a subject for which no patent could be The next step is to draw up a petition to the crown, before doing which however the title of the patent must be settled. To those who have not considered the subject this may not seem a very difficult matter, but in fact it requires the greatest care; for the least discrepancy between the title and the description contained in the specification will endanger the patent. (See the evidence of Mr. Farey and others before a committee of the House of Commous upon this subject, 1829.) The title should set forth the subject of the patent in such terms that any one may see if a patent has been taken out or applied for in the case of any similar in The titles of patents collectively should form an index of the inventions thus pro An honest and valid title may be stated, in a few words, to be, a description of the precise object of the invention in the most simple language. tected. It is a common practice however | out the title, as the machine therein deto make the title as obscure as it can be scribed was not capable of making paper made without endangering the patent, in of a width greater than 12 feet. The order that the real object of it may be patent then was invalid, as the title comkept secret. But this is a matter of great prised more than the specification. This difficulty, and has often justly vitiated a is the most common error that patentees patent. The law requires all patented fall into. Jessop's case, cited during the inventions to be open to public inspection, trial of Boulton and Watt against Bull, and the enterer of a caveat may be in 1795, by Mr. Justice Buller, is another cheated by a title, for although the sub- instance. A patent was taken out for a jects may be the same, a title may ex- "New Watch," whereas the specification press the invention so faintly, or indeed only described a particular movement in so falsely, that the similarity of two in- a watch, which was the real invention, ventions may escape the notice of the and the patent was therefore void. attorney-general, and injustice may be done by granting a patent to one party while priority of invention belongs to another. By the 5 & 6 Wm. IV. c. 83, a patentee is allowed to enter a disclaimer of any part of the title or specification, with the consent of the attorney-general or solicitor-general, who may order such disclaimant to publish his disclaimer. This act supplies a remedy for unintentional errors, but is ineffectual where the title is purposely made obscure. Besides this, the disclaimer does not operate retrospectively, so that if an action be commenced before the entry of the disclaimer, the title and specification must be adduced on the trial as they originally stood. A caveat may be entered against the granting of such disclaimer. The following cases contain instances of patents being lost through defective titles:-King v. Metcalfe (2 Starkie, N. P. C., 249); Cochrane v. Smethurst (K. B., 1 Starkie, 205). In the case of Bloxam v. Elsee (6 Barn. and Cress., 169 and 178), the title of a patent which came in question was "A Machine for making Paper in Single Sheets, without seam or joining, from 1 to 12 feet and upwards in width, and from 1 to 45 feet and upwards in length." The specification however described a machine only capable of producing paper of one width or to a certain width. Now if an inventor who thought of taking a patent for a machine to make paper of a greater width than 12 feet had looked at the title only of this patent, he would have supposed that such a patent already existed; but if he had inspected the specification, he would have found that it did not bear The title being settled, the petition must be drawn in the following form:"The humble petition of A. B., of in the county of Showeth, "That your petitioner hath invented (here insert the title which you intend the patent to bear), that he is the first and true inventor thereof, and that it has not been practised by any other person or persons whomsoever, to his knowledge and belief. "Your petitioner therefore most humbly prays that your Majesty will be graciously pleased to grant unto him, his executors, administrators, and assigns, your royal letters patent under the great seal of Great Britain for the sole use, benefit, and advantage of his said invention within England and Wales and the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all your Majesty's colonies and plantations abroad, for the term of 14 years, pursuant to the statute in that case made and provided." The passage in Italics must be omitted if the inventor does not intend to obtain a patent for the colonies. This petition, with a declaration annexed, must be left at the office of her Majesty's secretary of state for the home department. The declaration is in lieu of the affidavit which was required until the passing of the Act 5 & 6 Wm. IV. c. 62. A few days after the delivery of the petition, the answer may be received; which contains a reference to the attorney The 3rd part declares that the patent shall be void, if contrary to law or prejudicial and inconvenient to the public in general, or not the invention of the patentee, or not first introduced by him into this country. The 4th declares that letters patent shall not give privilege to the patentee to use an invention for which patent has been obtained by another. or solicitor general to report if the inven- | feiting or imitating the invention, or tion is deserving of letters-patent. If making any addition thereunto or subsuch report be favourable, it must be traction therefrom, with intent to make taken and left at the Home-office for the themselves appear the inventors thereof. queen's warrant, which is addressed to This clause also directs all justices of the the attorney or solicitor general, and peace and other officers not to interfere directs the bill to be prepared. The bill with the inventor in the performance of is in effect the draft of the patent, and his invention. contains the grant with reference to the clauses and provisos in the letters patent. It is signed by the secretary of state for the home department, and by the attorney or solicitor general. If at this stage of the proceeding any person should wish to oppose the patent, a caveat may be entered in the manner already described, but the enterer is required to deposit 301. at the office of the attorney or solicitor general to cover the patentee's expenses if he should succeed in establishing his right to patent. The bill, when prepared, must be left at the office of the secretary of state for the home department for the queen's sign manual. It must then be passed at the signet-office, where letters of warrant to the lord keeper of the privy seal will be made out by one of the clerks of the signet; and lastly, the clerk of the privy seal will make out other letters of warrant to the lord chancellor, in whose office the patent will be prepared, sealed with the great seal, and delivered to the patentee. Considering the number of offices through which a patent passes, it might be supposed that the inquiry into the validity of the claim is very rigid, and that, when once the patent is sealed, it is safe from opposition. But in reality the law officers through whose offices it is carried exercise no opinion upon the validity of the patentee's claim; the whole responsibility rests upon himself, as will be seen by perusing the following abstract of the form of letters patent: The first part of the patent recites the petition and declaration, and sets forth the title which has been given to the invention by the inventor. The 2nd relates to the granting the sole use of the invention to the inventor for the space of fourteen years, whereby all all other persons are restrained from using the invention withont a licence in writing first had and obtained from the patentee, and persons are restricted from counter The 5th relates to the manner in which letters patent become void, if divided into more than a certain number of shares. The number of such shares used to be five, but all patents sealed since May, 1832, allow the interest to be divided between twelve persons or their representatives. This part also relates to the granting of licences. The 6th contains a proviso that a full and accurate description or specification shall be enrolled by the patentee in a specified time. The 7th directs the patent to be construed in the most favourable manner for the inventor, and provides against inadvertency on the part of the clerk of the crown in enrolling the privy seal bill. Letters patent then only grant the sole use of an invention for a certain time, provided that the statement in the declaration be true, that the title give a distinct idea of the invention, and that the specification be enrolled within a certain time mentioned in the patent, generally two months for England, four for England and Scotland, and six for the three countries together. This time depends on the attorney or solicitor general, a longer or shorter period being granted according to the extent or difficulty of the invention; in some instances two years have been allowed for specifying. The object of the specification is twofold: First, it must show exactly in what the invention consists for which a patent has been granted, and it must give a detailed account of the manner of effecting the object set forth in the title. It must describe exactly what is new and what is old, and must claim exclusive right to the former: the introduction of any part that is old, or the omission of any part that is new, equally vitiates the patent. | verted into instances of bad specifications, as the invalidity arises from the title and specification not agreeing with each other. The patentee may describe his invention just as he pleases, and he may illustrate such description by drawings or not; but he should be careful to use words in their most common acceptation, or if some technical use should have perverted their meaning, he should make it appear distinctly that he intends them to be taken in such perverted sense. Subjoined is the form of the other part of the specification : 66 To all to whom these presents shall come greeting, I the said (patentee's name and residence) send greeting. Whereas her most excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by her letters patent under the great seal of Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster, the day of in the year of her reign, did give and grant unto me, the said A. B., my executors, administrators, and assigns, her special licence, full power, sole privilege, and authority, that I the said A. B., my executors, administrators, and assigns, and such others as I the said A. B., my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time, and at all times hereafter during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend within England, Wales, and the town of Berwick In the second place, a patent is granted for a certain number of years on the condition that such full and accurate information shall be given in the specification as will enable any workman or other qualified person to make or produce the object of the patent at the expiration of that term without any further instructions. A specification is bad if it does not describe the means of doing all that the title sets forth it is equally bad if it describes the means of effecting some object not stated in the title: it is incomplete if it mentions the use of one substance or process only, and it can be proved that the inventor made use of another, or that another known substance or process will answer the purpose as well; and it is false if more than one substance or process is described as producing a certain effect, and it is found that any one of them is unfit to the purpose. Patentees frequently render their patents invalid by claiming too much; thus, after describing one substance or process which will answer a certain purpose, they often conclude by some such expression as "or any other fit and proper means." The follow-upon Tweed, and also in all her said Maing is an instance in which a patent was set aside by such an expression. In specifying a machine for drying paper by passing it against heated rollers by means of an endless fabric, the inventor, after describing one sort of fabric, the only one in fact which he used, went on to say that any other fit and proper material might be used. Now if he used any other means of effecting his object, such means should have been distinctly described. This alone rendered his specification incomplete; but, besides this, it was proved that no other fabric would answer the purpose, or rather, that no other was known, and the patent was annulled accordingly. The cases which have been already mentioned as instances of bad titles will, by supposing the title to be good, be con jesty's colonies and plantations abroad (if such be the case), my invention of (here insert the title set forth in the letters patent verbatim); in such letters patent there is contained a proviso that I the said A. B. shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be enrolled in her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within calendar months next, immediately after the date of the said in part recited letters patent, reference being thereunto had may more fully and at large appear. Now know ye, that in compliance with the said proviso, I the said A. B. do hereby declare the nature of my invention and the manner in which |