PATENT TAXES

According to the law regarding patents,

of January 19, 1906, 1929, as well as the

amended on February 21, 1907, and August 6, regulations of April 21, 1906, amended on August 19, 1929, and various Ministerial Decisions, the owner of a patent is required to pay annual patent taxes within a period of 30 days after the end of each year the patent has run. The taxes are as follows:

1. A fixed tax of 500 lei paid when the application is filed; 2. An annual tax of 600 lei for the first, second, and third years;

3. An annual tax of 1,400 lei for the fourth and fifth years; 4. An annual tax of 2,500 lei for the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth years;

5. An annual tax of 6,000 lei for the eleventh to the fifteenth years;

6. A tax of 1,000 lei for a supplementary (improved) patent; A tax of 200 lei for the issuance of a certificate;

7.

8. A tax of 2,000 lei for the registration of a cession of a patent;

9. A tax of 1,000 lei for patent by inheritance;

the registration and transfer of a

10. A tax of 200 lei for a copy of a description or a design of a patent.

There are, in addition to the above taxes, the following taxes which differ according to the type of patent requested:

Patent for Invention:

1.

2.

3.

Registration tax, 500 lei;

Fee stamp tax, 200 lei;

Tax for publication in the Official Bulletin, 50 lei; 4. Tax for the publication in Official Gazette, 70 lei; Patent for Improvement:

2. Fixed tax for the whole period of the patent, 500 lei; See stamp tax, 200 lei;

3.

4.

Tax for publication in the Official Bulletin, 50 lei; Tax for publication in the Official Gazette, 70 lei. Patent for Importation:

5.

3. Tax for publication in the Official Bulletin, 50 lei; 4. Tax for publication in the Official Gazette, 70 lei.

The annual taxes for the "Importation Patent" are double, and there are no annual taxes for the "Improvement Patent."

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT

OF COMPARATIVE LAW SERIES ARE ALWAYS WELCOME

COMMERCIAL LAWS FORUM

ANNOUNCEMENT HAS BEEN MADE of the appointment of James W. Young, as Director of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce to fill the vacancy left by the appointment of the former Director, Dr. Alexander V. Dye as American Commercial Attaché at London. Mr. Young was formerly associated with J. Walter Thompson Company of New York. MR. YOUNG IS JOINING THE BUREAU at a time when its tasks are multiplying and reorientation of its work is imposed almost daily by the unsettled state of world commerce.

THE INDUSTRIAL ECONOMICS DIVISION created August 24 in the Department of Commerce consists of a group of selected individuals who are to tackle "such problems affecting commerce and industry &s the Secretary shall direct." This staff will be in charge of Mr. Richard V. Gilbert.

THE EXPORT TRADE ACT

(WEBB-POMERENE LAW), recently discussed in COMPARATIVE LAW SERIES, tells the businessman some of the things he can do without violating the anti-trust laws. Essentially, it does not derogate from the principles of the anti-trust laws, but instead interprets them in certain limited respects. More legislation of this general type would help to promote one of the basic aims of all law-certainty.

ANOTHER OBJECT OF LAW is to afford protection. Protection in the field of industrial property offers many difficult problems, and creators of industrial designs struggle with more than their share. The Forum would be glad to hear comments on these problems.

DENMARK

FOREIGN LAW COMMENT

Insurance, War Risk Participation.

Negotiations have been instituted between the Danish Government and a number of local trade organizations with a view to establishing special insurance guaranty funds to take effect in the case of hostilities, according to the Office of the American Commercial Attache, Copenhagen. Segregation will be made between war insurance for commodities and war insurance for ships. In the case of the former, negotiations have progressed to the point where it appears to have been almost agreed to establish a special organization to be called Dansk Sokrigsforsikring for Varer (Danish War Maritime Insurance for Commodities) with a guaranty capital of 40 million kroner. Six million kroner will be supplied from the insurance companies, 8 million kroner from the banks, and another 8 million kroner from the trade organizations, and the State will furnish the remainder. The insurance will cover domestic transportation, transportation of goods from abroad to Denmark, and from Denmark to foreign countries, provided the transportation is made on Danish keels; it may cover also transportation of commodities by tonnage belonging to other neutral count fies upon special consent of the board of management. Another guaranty fund of 80 million kroner will be provided to form the basis of an institution which will be called Krigsforsikring for Danske Skibe (The War insurance of Danish Ships). The State will take over 40 million kroner of this amount, while 30 million kroner will be subscribed to by Danish shipowners, 5 million kroner by the insurance companies, and the remaining 5 million kroner by the banks and others. The insurance will cover damages caused by warfare, riots, and hostilities, but will be discontinued should Denmark become involved in conflict.

Under article 33 of the German Income Tax Law of February 27, 1939, supplemented by various administrative regulations, a special reduction in the tax to be paid may be granted at the discretion of the Revenue authorities, on the application of the taxpayer, for what are called "extraordinary burdens." This applies to special expenditure of a type which is not provided for in the ordinary calculation of taxable income and which the authorities consider to have been, "for factual, legal or moral reasons", beyond the control of the taxpayer.

Such reductions may be granted, for example, when it is proved that there has been special expenditure above a certain minimum in connection with the bringing up or education of children for whom deductions from taxable income are granted (principally the minor children of the taxpayer himself, including illegitimate children). Reductions are likewise granted in the case of children who have reached their majority, if they are dependent for support on the taxpayer. Contributions to the support of needy relatives are also allowed for, and relatives include those of the second and third degree in the lateral line as well as relatives by marriage of the second degree, a former husband or wife, or a person to whom the

taxpayer is affianced. Under the new law all these relationships are still considered valid for tax purposes even if the marriage in question is dissolved or if the relationship is based on adoption or illegitimacy.

A wage earner, in order to obtain reductions of the kind referred to, must file his application and submit his evidence in advance, since no refund can be made of taxes already collected at the source by the retention of a part of the wages. In any case the application must be filed during the calendar year in which the event or events occur for which extraordinary expenditure is anticipated. Thus & person who suffers an accident and cannot predict the amount of the hospital and doctors' bills before the end of the year, must at least make a rough estimate in order to have his case considered at all. Example: A person with a monthly income of 400 RM, who has paid his taxes regularly for the first 8 months of the year, suffers an accident on August 31 which will cost him 1600 RM, or, in other words, his entire income for the rest of the year. The tax office may then cancel all his taxes for the last 4 months of the calendar year, but it is not authorized to carry over the reduction into the following year.

Reductions of the nature described may be granted only if the extraordinary expenditure exceeds a certain percentage of the annual taxable income. For incomes not exceeding 5,000 RM this deduction is 10 percent for persons with no dependents, and 4 percent for those with five or more dependents; for persons with incomes above 50,000 RM the corresponding deduction ranges from 33 1/3 percent to 15 percent. No deductions will be granted for extraordinary expenditures in connection with children or other dependents who are of the Jewish

race.

THE NETHERLANDS

Labor, Proposed Wages Legislation.

The Second Chamber (Lower House) has just passed a bill entitling heads of families with fixed wage incomes to higher wage scales, according to the Office of the American Commercial Attache, The Hague. If the First Chamber (Upper House) also passes this bill, which the press believes likely, the measure will become law following the Queen's signature; but, in view of the present crowded legislative program, this may still take several months.

Briefly, the contents of the bill are as follows:

Extra wages will be paid to workers with more than two children under 15 years of age. They will amount to:

10 guilder cents per workday when the wages reach:

100 guilders per month, 24 guilders per week, or 4 guilders per day or less;

15 guilder cents per workday when the wages reach:

From 100 to 150 guilders per month, from 24 to 36 guilders per week, or from 4 to 6 guilders per day;

20 guilder cents per workday when the wages reach:

From 150 to 200 guilders per month, from 36 to 48 guilders per week, or from 6 to 8 guilders per day;

25 guilder cents per workday when the wages reach:

More than 200 guilders per month, more than 48 guilders per week, or more than 8 guilders per day.

On the average, it is calculated that this "childrens' additional payment", as the subject is referred to, will work out at about 3 percent of the wage basis. As no wage limit has been fixed for eligibles, people with high salaries would also profit from the law. Employers, it is distinctly mentioned, may not juridically collect any premium from their employees in order to fund required obligations by them, but how this will work out in practice remains to be seen, since it has been estimated in the legislature that the new procedure would in the aggregate cost employers about 18,000,000 guilders annually.

The payment of the proposed extra wages would occur at least once every 3 months. The necessary funds for the carrying out of this regulation would be secured by levying a certain premium on the total wage sum paid by all employers. The premium would be established by the Crown, probably on an annual basis. If and when the law becomes effective, this premium would probably amount to 1 percent of total wages paid annually by employers to employees.

It is not, as yet, clear how employer's payments will operate. It is assumed that they will make their payments to a Government fund, whence they will be apportioned among eligibles under the law; but it has also been suggested that, in certain cases, employers may make payment direct to their employees, under permission of official authorities.

*

SWEDEN Real Property Conveyances.

Land is conveyed in Sweden through a deed of conveyance, usually based on a purchase contract. The deed must contain the exact definition of the property conveyed, the amount of the purchase price, and a statement to the effect that the purchase price has been fully paid. On the deed of conveyance, only the signature of the seller is required, together with those of two witnesses. Registration of titles is accomplished by application to the court under whose jurisdiction the property is situated. Application in the case of rural property should be made not later than 6 months after the proper ty has been acquired and in the case of city property, within 3 months after such acquisition. The application should be accompanied by the deed of conveyance, or in the case of inheritance property, the will and inventory of the deceased estate, or other proof of acquisition, as well as proof of the prior owner's title. When the application is in order, the court issues a certificate of title. This, however, is not granted until it is established that the seller is unmarried, or if married that the other spouse agrees to the sale except in cases where a legal division of property between husband and wife has been made and the real estate sold was the property of the seller only. The Court will not grant title where the deed of conveyance fails to state that the purchase price has been fully paid.

There is a general prohibition in Sweden against the acquisition of real property by aliens. An alien who desires to purchase