Bøker i Cambridge Intellectual Property and Information Law-serien

This book was first published in 2005. Copyright 'exceptions' or 'users' rights' have become a highly controversial aspect of copyright law. Most recently, Member States of the European Union have been forced to amend their systems of exceptions so as to comply with the Information Society Directive. Taking the newly amended UK legislation as a case study, this book examines why copyright exceptions are necessary and the forces that have shaped the present legislative regime in the UK. It seeks to further our understanding of the exceptions by combining detailed doctrinal analysis with insights gained from a range of other sources. The principal argument of the book is that the UK's current system of 'permitted acts' is much too restrictive and hence is in urgent need of reform, but that paradoxically the Information Society Directive points the way towards a much more satisfactory approach.

An examination of the nature and function of trade marks and brands, and the scope of their legal protection. Linguists, anthropologists, sociologists, business historians and philosophers provide their views on brands, and their legal counterparts explore the implications of their insights for trade mark law.

By repackaging software as a 'device', patent attorneys have succeeded in getting protection for their clients. This text argues that this approach by the Patent Offices makes it difficult for competitors to assess what has been protected. If software is being protected, it should be examined and assessed as such.

A comprehensive account of the internationalisation of literary copyright, focusing on nineteenth century international copyright law as it affected Europe, the British colonies (particularly Canada), America, and the UK. Explores the history of international copyright law, and looks at how this history is relevant today.

The cost of patent licenses needed to design a new genetic test or treatment may ultimately prevent research projects getting started, as individual components are protected by different patent owners. This book examines legal measures which might be used to solve the problem of fragmentation of patents in genetics.

Alongside that of lawyers, an understanding of the changing nature of copyright infringement requires the inputs of economists, historians, technologists, sociologists, cultural theorists and criminologists. In this examination of the topic, specialists in such disciplines offer their appraisals, and a lawyer provides a commentary on each.

Davison examines several legal models designed to protect databases, considering in particular the EU Directive, the history of its adoption and its transposition into national laws. As well as comparing the Directive with a range of American legislative proposals, he comments on various models in the context of an international agreement.

An examination of the nature and function of trade marks and brands, and the scope of their legal protection. Linguists, anthropologists, sociologists, business historians and philosophers provide their views on brands, and their legal counterparts explore the implications of their insights for trade mark law.

The professional media enjoys greater protection than private individuals when preparing or publishing speech. The best-known example is the right of journalists to keep their sources confidential. Jan Oster explores whether these privileges are still justified, and how 'journalists' are actually to be defined in the internet age.

Efforts to expand the scope of legal protection given to reputation and brands in the Asia Pacific region have led to considerable controversy. Written by a variety of experts, the essays in this book consider the developing law of reputation and brands in a fraught area.

Aimed at students, scholars, legal professionals and policy-makers dedicated to intellectual property issues, this book aims to solve potential conflicts between intellectual property rights, human rights and free competition through the adoption of legislative and judicial exceptions to intellectual property rights.

There is huge variation in the nature, scope and institutional forms of legal protection for valuable geographical brands such as Champagne, Colombian coffee and Darjeeling tea. Adopting a historical approach, Dev Gangjee investigates the extent to which these brands are protected by international intellectual property law.

Vigorous public debate about intellectual property has a long history. In this assessment of the shifting relationships between the law and the economic, social and cultural sources of creativity and innovation during the long-nineteenth century, Megan Richardson and Julian Thomas examine the 'fashioning' of the law by focusing on emblematic cases, key legislative changes and broader debates. Along the way, the authors highlight how, in 'the age of journalism', the press shaped, and was shaped by, the idea of intellectual property as a protective crucible for improvements in knowledge and progress in the arts and sciences. The engagement in our own time between intellectual property and the creative industries remains volatile and unsettled. As the authors conclude, the fresh opportunities for artistic diversity, expression and communication offered by new media could see the place of intellectual property in the scheme of law being reinvented once again.

Small market economies provide a unique insight into balancing competing interests in global intellectual property. As developed countries and net-importers of intellectual property, such economies can have similar concerns to some developing countries. Susy Frankel uses examples drawn from small market economies to explore global intellectual property issues.

Exclusions from Patentability reviews the history of the adoption of exclusions from patentability under the European Patent Convention since its first conception in 1949 through to its most recent revision. The analysis shows how other intellectual property treaties, such as UPOV, the Strasbourg Patent Convention, PCT, the EU Biotech Directive and TRIPS have affected the framing of the exclusions. Particular attention is given to those exclusions considered the most contentious (computer programmes, discoveries, medical treatments, life forms and agriculture) and those decisions which have been most influential in shaping the approaches by which the exclusions have been interpreted. The 'morality' exclusion and the interpretation of the exclusions are discussed critically and suggestions for coherent interpretation are made.

Combining a theoretical perspective with in-depth empirical studies, Sebastian Haunss discusses how conflicts over intellectual property issues such as access to medicines, the emergence of Pirate Parties and the creation of Creative Commons are linked to more general social conflicts in the knowledge society.

Intellectual Property at the Edge provides a basis for the study of newly emerging intellectual property rights and defences, their history and their impact on creativity. It examines these developments comparatively: for each new development, scholars in two jurisdictions trace the evolution of the new legal norm.