Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

——I introduced the original Bill in the Dáil. At that time I stated, "Patent law has been revised only once since the foundation of the State. That revision was in 1964 and the Patents Act of the same year is still the current law on the subject." I was aware of the Bill's significance, as having a good patent law led to the success of the economy to some extent. I also stated:

I should like to mention another patent convention, namely, the Community Patent Convention, which was signed by Ireland and other Community member states in 1975. It will not be possible to ratify that convention on the basis of the present Bill because an amendment of the Constitution is required before ratification of this convention can take place. This matter will be kept under review in the context of other possible amendments of the Constitution which may arise in the period ahead.

Will the Minister of State clarify what has transpired since 1991?

This Bill was introduced in 1999 before the last general election, at which time it fell, and it would be an exaggeration to say there is urgency about it. Matters have proceeded well enough since then. During the debate, I was advised the Government was considering establishing either a semi-State or independent commercial patents office. Has the Minister of State considered this matter? The Patents Office was decentralised to Kilkenny successfully ahead of time, but it was difficult to decentralise such a technical office of 74 staff.

Intellectual property rights comprise a key element in promoting competitiveness and economic growth. In 2004, the office sought to provide business, industry and individual entrepreneurs with an effective and vital system of protection of their intellectual property rights. The office continues to expand its collection of patent information in electronic format with publicly searchable Irish, European, American and Japanese documents available on CD-ROMs and DVDs at information centres in Dublin and Kilkenny. It is vital for the development of industry that information on what has been invented around the world is available. There are many new ideas, but it is important the wheel is not re-invented and people know what is patented throughout the world. It is a worthwhile service.

In 2004, the Patents Office promoted awareness of industrial property protection of information via attending a number of exhibitions and seminars. The office is an annual exhibitor at the Esat BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition in the RDS and sponsored a prize in the competition in January 2004. Its special awards were won by students of the Christian Brothers grammar school in Newry. It is noteworthy that students of the school have won the award several times. It is important that the office should continue this type of promotion and reinforce in schools the notion that patents should be registered through available facilities.

Ideas are formulated all of the time. Agents acting for individuals can provide an excellent service, but one does not need an agent to register a patent. For people with ideas, going through the procedures can be awesome. Therefore, more public awareness would be worthwhile and the Minister of State should examine the matter in his capacity in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The Patents Office is doing well, but some people are unaware of its existence. I do not know whether individuals from the office are present, but I wish to commend them on supporting investment in education.

In May 1997, the Minister for Enterprise and Employment decided to establish a Patents Office users council, the terms of reference of which were to consider and report to the Minister on the administration of industrial property protection by the Patents Office and advise on appropriate changes and innovations in its operation. Will the Minister of State indicate how well the council is operating? The proposal was a useful one because it would make the public more aware of patenting opportunities.

People have often told me they have ideas they wish to put forward. It is important those ideas are sent to the Patents Office for registration, because they can be of worth to the country and the individuals in question. Using cats eyes in the middle of the road is a good example. A simple idea based on cats' eyes reflecting light at night made a fortune for the inventor and created a large industry. I have told people to register their ideas rather than allow someone to take their ideas and create industries around them.

The Bill has taken time to appear before the House because it is technical in nature. People must be made aware of patents through the education system. People have ideas all of the time and they should be allowed to register them and create a viable industry. Ireland is innovative and some of its business people have been inventors. For example, the submarine was invented in Ireland and Henry Ford was an Irishman. One could go through an entire litany of people. Sometimes we do not recognise what was achieved here in this country. Such people are still there. There are many young people, and older people, who have ideas to offer.

In 2004 there were only 496 patents granted. It seems a small number. The numbers are dropping somewhat. The numbers of applications are falling also, which is rather strange. At the end of 2004, the latest year for which I have figures, there was a total of 2,395 pending applications on hand. Of these, it is interesting to note that 980 applications were awaiting the submission of evidence of novelty or originality.

I can assure the Minister of State that at the time of the passage of the Patents Act 1992 there were thousands of applications pending. That is why the emphasis at the time was on relocating the office to Kilkenny, increasing the number of staff and providing the opportunities contained in that Act. It was envisaged that we would create an independent semi-State company, which would look after this entire area and would provide other possibilities of increasing income as well. Perhaps the Minister of State would mention that in his concluding remarks.

The advice of the Attorney General at the time was that a constitutional amendment was required, but I could not figure out what was to be amended. It is interesting that a Bill was presented to the House in 1992 when we are now considering another Bill dealing with this office. In 1992 I was advised by my officials on the appropriate pronunciation of the word "patents".