Organisation
History of patents
Patents cannot be described as a new innovation, as they have already existed for a long time. In 600 BC, patents were granted for culinary dishes in the Greek colony of Sybaris, in the south of Italy. These certainly must have been delicious dishes.Some time had passed before we heard about patents again in the course of history. This brings us to the year 1421. In Florence, a certain Brunelleschi obtained a three-year patent on a type of ship, but an organised grant procedure did not take place until 1474. At that time, the city of Venice had a bye-law that promised a ten-year privilege to 'All inventors of new arts and machines'.
From 1589 onwards, we can see that 'patents for inventions' were being granted and recorded in the deed books of the States General of the United Provinces of the Netherlands. 'Patents for trademarks and manufacturers' trademarks' also existed, such as the right to sell brooches on a green piece of paper with the image of an angel.
New, inventive and applicable
In order to obtain a patent for an invention, it was important that this invention was a new one. The invention may have already been seen somewhere else in another country, but this was acceptable if a new industry could be established on the basis of this invention in the Netherlands, such as for the production of macaroni.
One requirement was that the invention could be applied in practice, and a period of approximately one year was allowed for this. The invention then became public once this year had passed; a concept that still applies to 'patents for inventions'. Counterfeiting (misuse of the right) was a punishable offence, and a patent could also be declared void…. There was a certain arbitrariness as to the duration of a patent's validity: it could be two years, but it could also be fifteen years, and sometimes even fifty years. When the patents expired, they could often be extended.
One thing is certain: even then, patents served as an economic resource in many countries. The criteria and costs for extending patents varied somewhat; it depended upon the granting authorities, from sovereigns to public bodies.
The First Patent Act
In 1817, the first Patent Act came into force in the Netherlands. This Patent Act stipulated that patents could be valid for five, ten or fifteen years. The considerable fees involved could rise to 750 guilders. Complete descriptions of the invention had to be filed and these became public when the applicant came to 'collect' the patent. In other words, the applicant made his/her payment and received a certified copy of the patent. In 1869, the Act was abolished once again and the Netherlands acquired the image of a free-spirited nation.
International collaboration
The end of the 19th century was dominated by international collaboration. This was when the League of Nations was established. The euphoria surrounding industrialisation meant that people were prepared to cross over their own national boundaries. In 1883, representatives of over 140 countries met in Paris in order to try to compare the national acts concerning industrial property (patents, trademark and designs) and to achieve uniformity between them. In the famous Paris Convention of that year, it was agreed that priority should be recognised in all signatory countries. Three years later, international agreements were made with regard to the protection of Intellectual Property and works of literature and art. This took place at the Berne Convention in 1886.
Patent Act 1910 and European Patent Convention
The Netherlands belonged to one of the participating countries regarding the Union of Paris and the Berne Convention, but a new patent act did not enter into force until 1910, the Patent Act 1910. From 1912 onwards, the year from which the patents were being granted, the number of patent applications steadily increased. In the 1960s and 1970s, the number of patent applications was between 14 and 18,000. The signing of the European Patent Convention in 1973 by fifteen countries was a unique event. Two years later, an inventor or a manufacturer was able to make a single application for the first time and obtain a patent for 17 countries. The European Patent Office in Munich granted the patents and soon acquired branches in Rijswijk, Berlin and Vienna. The numbers of Dutch initial applications then decreased spectacularly.
Patents Act 1995
In 1995, this decrease led to a new act, the Patent Act 1995. By means of this act, it was possible to apply for patents more cheaply and more rapidly, without the need for a search into the state of the art, which took many years to complete, and without examining them. A novelty search was not carried out for six-year patents, however the applicant was able to request a novelty search for twenty-year patents. The deadline for the grant procedure was reduced to eighteen months, and from then on, the patent was published after the same deadline.
Amendment to the Patents Act 1995
The six-year patent ceased to exist with effect from 5 June 2008. The Patent Act 1995 was being amended in a number of sections. The novelty search remained compulsory for twenty-year patents. The result of this search, the novelty search report, is published and provides the applicant and the outside world with insight into the strength of the patent.
What can we expect in the future?
What is the next step going to be? A global patent, as a single document? Or are we yet to witness the arrival of the Community patent? Time will tell and we will keep you informed.
