Patents Bill
10:30 am
Mr James Arbuthnot (Shadow Secretary of State for Trade, International Affairs; North East Hampshire, Conservative)
It is good to hear that the Bill is being talked about, at least in circles in which it matters, anyway.
The other issue I want to raise is the order in which we are to consider the clauses. Most unusually, the Bill deals with patents just as a regulatory reform order is going through its stages, so the measures that the Committee is considering might be changed under regulatory reform procedures, and although measures are being considered under the order, we might change them in Committee. That is potentially unsatisfactory. A note from the Library says that it has been assured by parliamentary counsel that it is possible to refer in a Bill to legislation that does not yet exist. I find that unsatisfactory, too; it is like trying to legislate on quicksand. Will the Minister comment on the fact that two groups of people are considering the same body of law, with potential consequences for both groups?