Once again, this is an important area of discussion. I am sorry to disappoint the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare, who generally moves amendments so delightfully that one feels one ought to support them, but I shall try to explain why I think the amendment is unworkable and perhaps a little unfair.

The right hon. Member for North-East Hampshire raised a point about the Bill itself, and on Second Reading he described it as workmanlike and less challenging than it could have been. However, the organisations to which he referred, and others, have been well consulted on the Bill, and discussion continues. If there is a need for substantial change in the light of what we say in Committee, there is always the possibility of bringing things back on Report. We are trying to achieve the best result for legislation that has not changed dramatically since 1977. Having said that, consultation has been excellent and the process has been well thought through. I am not expecting dramatic change, but if bodies still want to consult and discuss key issues with officials, that offer is on the table.

On amendment No. 11, a patent is not some kind of award or certificate of merit for a good idea, although it may be perceived as such. It is a powerful statutory right that allows the holder to stop other people from doing what they would otherwise be perfectly entitled to do. It goes much further than just preventing someone from deliberately copying someone else's idea: if someone patented an idea and I later developed that same idea independently, I could still be stopped from using it. It falls to Parliament to ensure that, as far as possible, those powerful rights are awarded only to, and exercised by, those who have genuinely new ideas.

There are two ways to do that. First, we can ensure that we have a robust and reliable patent granting system, which weeds out as many non-patentable ideas as possible; that is where the Patent Office comes in. I

and other Members, notably my hon. Friend the Member for Newport, West, spoke at length on Second Reading about the high quality of the work done by that organisation.

Secondly, we can ensure that a legal framework for patents does not, as far as possible, allow unjustified patents to remain in force and give people powerful rights to which they are not entitled. An important part of the patents system is allowing such powerful rights to be challenged, and not just during a short, arbitrary time frame after a patent has been granted. At any time during the lifetime of a patent, someone can be taken to court for infringing it; why should they be denied the defence that they were not infringing it because the patent was invalid? To deny such a defence would seriously restrict the public's legitimate right to innovate or simply to continue doing things that they are entitled to do.

The availability of the revocation procedure, which is open to all at any time, is an important factor in the delicate balance achieved by the patents system. It allows the removal of patents that should never have been granted and that are stopping people from doing what they should be allowed to do. That ensures that we have a patents system in which, as far as possible, only genuinely new ideas remain protected.

I should like to make two other important points, which I hope will help to explain why I am opposed to the amendment. First, the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare talked about the difficulty endured by a patent holder when his patent is revoked. It is important to note that when a patent holder faces a revocation action, it is often not the end of the road for the patent. The court or the comptroller of the Patent Office will allow the patent holder to amend the patent if that could save it from revocation. The amendment must result in a valid patent, one that genuinely protects a new invention. There can surely be no argument with that.

Secondly, our law on the revocation of patents is harmonised with the European patent convention and applies to UK patents and European patents enforced in the UK. Adopting the amendment would mean that the UK no longer complied with the convention and that we would have to leave the European patents system. I noted from the hon. Gentleman's comments that he does not want to support what would be a disastrous move for UK businesses. I hope that on that basis, and in light of my earlier points, the hon. Gentleman will consider withdrawing his amendment.