Intellectual Property Stories

This book brings famous cases to life by telling the true, never-heard-before stories behind landmark Intellectual Property cases. It is organized into six chapters, each drawing on cases in patents, copyrights, trademarks, or unfair competition, to illustrate the problems encountered in intellectual property law. The works, inventions, and marks at issue in these cases vary widely.

This volume brings together a group of contributors from varied backgrounds to tell a history of intellectual property in 50 objects.

Intellectual Property (IP) is often a company’s single most valuable asset. And yet IP is hard to value, widely misunderstood and frequently under-exploited. IP accounts for an estimated $5trn of GDP in the US alone. It covers patents, trademarks, domain names, copyrights, designs and trade secrets. Unsurprisingly, companies zealously guard their own ideas and challenge the IP of others. Damages arising from infringements have fostered a sizeable claims industry. But IP law is complex, and the business, financial and legal issues around it are difficult to navigate. Court decisions and interpretation of IP laws can be unpredictable, and can dramatically change the fortunes of businesses that rely on their IP – as demonstrated in the pharmaceutical industry’s battle with generic drugs. This comprehensive guide to intellectual property will help companies, investors, and creative thinkers understand the scope and nature of IP issues, pose the right questions to their advisers and maximize the value from this crucial intangible asset.

With this publication, WIPO and the author aim at making available for judges, lawyers and law enforcement officials a valuable tool for the handling of intellectual property cases. To that effect, the case book uses carefully selected court decisions drawn from various countries with either civil or common law traditions. The extracts from the decisions and accompanying comments illustrate the different areas of intellectual property law, with an emphasis on matters that typically arise in connection with the enforcement of intellectual property rights in civil as well as criminal proceedings.

Provides a comprehensive and engaging introduction to copyright, patents, trademarks, and other forms of knowledge that are subject to global law and regulation.

Intellectual Property at the Edge exposes and analyses newly emerging intellectual property rights and limitations from historical and comparative law perspectives.