The Structure of Intellectual Property Law: Can One Size Fit All?(ATRIP Intellectual Property series)

This well-researched and highly topical book analyzes whether the ever-increasing degree of sophistication in intellectual property law necessarily leads to fragmentation and inconsistency, or whether the common principles informing the system are sustainable enough to offer a solid and resilient framework for legal development. The expert contributors explore the legal tools that are available to adjust IP protection to different needs and circumstances and how much flexibility exists to employ these tools. In providing answers to these and other similar questions, the book helps to resolve the fundamental question of whether one size can really fit all in the domestic and international context. Uncovering the general matrix of IP, The Structure of Intellectual Property Law will appeal to researchers in law, economics and business, students in intellectual property, competition law and economics, as well as practitioners and policy makers. Contributors include: M. Barczewski, M. Brown, M. Carroll, A. Christie, K. Crews, G. Dinwoodie, S. Enchelmaier, C. Geiger, H. Grosse Ruse-Khan, A. Ohly, R.J.R. Peritz, U. Petrusson, A. Peukert, C. Schmidt, M. Senftleben, J. Zajadlo

Table of Contents:
Contents: Foreword Introduction PART I: THE GENERAL FRAMEWORK: FOUNDATION AND LIMITS OF IP PROTECTION 1. Remarks: ‘One Size Fits All’ Consolidation and Difference in Intellectual Property Law Graeme B. Dinwoodie 2. A Framework for Tailoring Intellectual Property Rights Michael W. Carroll 3. Patents and Progress: The Economics of Patent Monopoly and Free Access: Where Do We Go From Here? Rudolph J.R. Peritz 4. Comment: Some Economic Considerations Regarding Optimal Intellectual Property Protection Claudia Schmidt 5. Patents and Open Access in the Knowledge Economy Ulf Petrusson 6. Free Access, Including Freedom to Imitate, as a Legal Principle – A Forgotten Concept? Ansgar Ohly PART II: FINETUNING THE SCOPE OF PROTECTION: LIMITATIONS AND EXCEPTIONS 7. Maximising Permissible Exceptions to Intellectual Property Rights Andrew F. Christie 8. Overprotection and Protection Overlaps in Intellectual Property Law – the Need for Horizontal Fair Use Defences Martin Senftleben 9. Intellectual Property and Technology – Looking for the Twelfth Camel? Maciej Barczewski and Jerzy Zajadlo PART III: IP RIGHTS AS OBJECTS OF PROPERTY 10. Individual, Multiple and Collective Ownership of Intellectual Property Rights – Which Impact on Exclusivity? Alexander Peukert 11. Proprietary Transactions in Intellectual Property in England and Germany: Transfer of Ownership, Licensing, and Charging Stefan Enchelmaier 12. Control of Museum Art Images: The Reach and Limits of Copyright and Licensing Kenneth D. Crews and Melissa A. Brown PART IV: INTERNATIONAL IP LAW: ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL 13. Exploring the Flexibilities of the TRIPS Agreement’s Provisions on Limitations and Exceptions Christophe Geiger 14. The Concept of Sustainable Development in International IP Law – New Approaches from EU Economic Partnership Agreements? Henning Grosse Ruse-Khan Index

About the Author :
Edited by Annette Kur, Professor, Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition (retired), Munich, Germany and Vytautas Mizaras, University of Vilnius, Lithuania

Review :
In 2009, the Association for the Advancement of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property (ATRIP) dedicated its yearly congress to the theme Horizontal Issues in IP Law; Uncovering the Matrix. That theme and the main concern of the so-called Intellectual Property of Transition Project have been brought together by the editors of the current book under the intriguing title The Structure of Intellectual Property Law. Questioned, is whether the apparent compartmentalisation and fragmentation of actual intellectual property law can be based upon a coherent system that supports the entire field. In other words: it is questioned whether one organising principle which underlies the different parts of this domain of law can be found. Not surprisingly, the answers given by the various experts that contribute to this book tend to differ, mainly depending on their field of interest: copyright law, patent law, trademark law, the main tendency being in favour of tailoring instead of unifying both from the perspective of efficiency and that of economics. However, even more interesting than the answers to the question posed, are the stimulating and thought-provoking analyses which the book offers. This is really a book one should read if one is interested in the conjunction of the basic principles of intellectual property law and how they work out in practice. - Willem Grosheide, Utrecht University, The Netherlands Today, intellectual property is a broad genus embracing various more specific species - invention patents, copyright, trade marks and so forth. Anyone concerned with how this ever-expanding grouping is developing should read the fourteen essays in this book. Written by leading scholars, they tackle not only the relationships between the species, but also those between sub-species. Originally presented as papers to the Association for Teaching and Research in IP, the writing is both subtle and full of verve. Strongly recommended. --- William Cornish, Cambridge University, UK