I will thank you to bring the subject to the attention of the proper
authorities and to inquire as to what steps this Government should take for
the proper protection of the rights of American inventors in Germany.
[Inclosure in No. 405.]
Messrs. Howson &
Howson to Mr. Blaine.
Potter
Building, 38 Park
Row,
New York,
April 11, 1892.
Sir: We take the liberty of drawing your
honor’s attention to a matter of considerable importance to American
inventors who take out patents in Germany. As the shortest way of
getting at the point we inclose a translation of a German letter
received in the past day or so from our correspondent in Berlin, the
firm of C. Kesseler, one of the leading patent soliciting firms
there.
From this it appears that an American inventor applying for a German
patent within three months from the issue of the American patent, in
reliance upon the terms of the new German patent law is, to say the
least, running considerable risk as to the validity of the German
patent, because there has not as yet been published in the German
Imperial Official Gazette the specific notification required as to the
reciprocal rights granted by the United States to German inventors.
The initiative from our Government is apparently needed, and we presume
this matter belongs to the State Department.
We need only add that we place all confidence in the statements of our
correspondent.
We are, very respectfully,
[Inclosure to inclosure in No.
405]
Mr. Kesseler to
Messrs. Howson &
Howson.
Patent
and Technical Bureau,
Dorotheenstr., 32. Berlin, N. W., March
7, 1892.
Gentlemen: The negotiations which were carried
on recently between the German Empire and several other states—such as
Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, and Italy, for the purpose of concluding
new commercial treaties, also províding for mutual concessions regarding
patents and useful designs—give me occasion to make the following
remarks:
The new German patent law says, in paragraph 2, clause 2:
“Officially published patent specifications of foreign countries will not
be considered to be publications after a period of three months from the
day of the issue of the patent, provided that the German patent is
applied for by the original inventor who has made the application in the
foreign country or by his legal successor. This advantage is, however,
only extended to the official specifications of those countries which,
according to a previous publication in the Official Imperial Gazette,
grant reciprocal favors.”
Though the laws of your country provide for a similar favor to foreign
applicants, the special notification in the Imperial Gazette has not
been published up to this date.
The new German law for useful designs contains, in paragraph 13, clause
1, the following:
“One who does not have a domicile or some residence in Germany can only
then take advantage of this law if the laws of the country in which he
resides or has his domicile grant a similar protection for useful
designs, and are so recognized by a special publication in the Imperial
Official Gazette.
This also presupposes the reciprocal protection, in obtaining useful
designs in foreign countries by German citizens.
As this law is intended to fill a gap between the patent law and the
design law, it offers to citizens of foreign countries the opportunity
of obtaining patents for useful designs in Germany only in case German
citizens can obtain in the country of the foreign applicant similar
protection for their designs.
There is in your country a law for protecting useful designs, but so far
no publication has been made in the Imperial Gazette that the United
States belong to that class of states which grant reciprocity. It is
therefore doubtful whether American citizens can obtain a valid
protection for their useful designs in Germany, as long as such a
publication has not been made in the Gazette.
I desire to draw attention to the fact that the requirements of paragraph
2 of the German patent law and paragraph 13 of the useful design law
have not been complied with yet on the part of the United States, so
that you can agitate the matter with the proper parties if such an
agitation has not already been started, with a view to have the
representatives of the United States present the matter to the Imperial
chancellor and cause the required publication in the Imperial Gazette,
so that citizens of the United States can be enabled to obtain the
advantages of the paragraph above mentioned.
I should be pleased to obtain a reply from you if you deem such steps
proper, and eventually what results your efforts in this direction might
produce.
Yours truly,
