What Is Intellectual Property

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.

The term ‘intellectual property’ has come to include numerous intangible rights beyond the traditional ‘Big Three’ (patent, trademark and copyright) – rights that force us to reconsider and maybe also change the object and purpose of intellectual property (IP). Not only do these rights generally have less solid normative footing and few if any well understood inherent limits, but the borders of their misappropriation are hard to draw. This groundbreaking book scrutinizes the existence of commonalities in this realm, and poses the question of what risks and advantages accrue to such IP or ‘IP-like’ rights. Sixteen distinguished contributors offer in-depth analyses of such rights as the following: - trade secrets; - image and publicity rights; - geographical indications; - traditional knowledge; - protection of databases; and - sports rights and ambush marketing. Recommendations and solutions investigated include the use of specialized courts or judges and of private standards. There are also thoughtful considerations of practices such as forum-shifting and an analysis of the special value of evolving Chinese law as a ‘norm laboratory’. Two chapters discuss the complexities of enforcement. Enforcement impacts substantive intellectual property and can be said to be its own ‘form’ of IP. Practitioners, judges, academics, and policymakers will all welcome this work and value it highly. Its contributors collectively take a giant step toward clarifying and synthesizing one of the most baffling areas of current law both internationally and at national level around the globe.

International Intellectual Property: A Handbook of Contemporary Research provides researchers and practitioners of international intellectual property law with the necessary tools to understand the latest debates in this incredibly dynamic and complex

Taking an interdisciplinary approach unmatched by any other book on this topic, this thoughtful Handbook considers the international struggle to provide for proper and just protection of Indigenous intellectual property (IP). In light of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 2007, expert contributors assess the legal and policy controversies over Indigenous knowledge in the fields of international law, copyright law, trademark law, patent law, trade secrets law, and cultural heritage. The overarching discussion examines national developments in Indigenous IP in the United States, Canada, South Africa, the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia. The Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the historical origins of conflict over Indigenous knowledge, and examines new challenges to Indigenous IP from emerging developments in information technology, biotechnology, and climate change. Practitioners and scholars in the field of IP will learn a great deal from this Handbook about the issues and challenges that surround just protection of a variety of forms of IP for Indigenous communities.

Much of the debate around the parameters of intellectual property (IP) protection relates to differing views about what IP law is supposed to achieve. This book analyses the object and purpose of international intellectual property law, examining how international agreements have been interpreted in different jurisdictions and how this has led to diversity in IP regimes at a national level.

The definitive guide to intellectual property for business managers How can a product of the mind—an innovation, a song, a logo, a business secret—become the subject of precise property rights? No idea is entirely original; every innovative business borrows, sometimes extensively, from its competitors and others. So how do we draw the line between fair and unfair use? Billions of dollars ride on that question, as do the fates of publishers, software producers, drug companies, advertising firms, and many others. It’s also a key question for individuals—for instance, if you quit your job after mastering the company’s secrets, what can you do with that information? With the growth of the internet and global markets, having a smart IP strategy is more essential than ever. Intellectual Property is the ideal book for non-lawyers who deal with patents, trade secrets, trademarks, and copyrights—all essential business issues that have changed rapidly in the last few years. Goldstein draws on dozens of fascinating case studies, from the Polaroid vs. Kodak battle to Kellogg’s surprising trademark suit against Exxon to whether a generic perfume is allowed to smell exactly like Chanel No. 5. Every business decision that involves IP is also a legal decision, and every legal decision is also a business decision. Lawyers and managers need to work together to navigate these murky waters, and this book shows how.

Concentrating on international intellectual property law, this volume is a collection of works by current authors in the field. Their work is supplemented by numerous essays and notes prepared by the editors. The controlling provisions of the major treaties in the field are included in a comprehensive appendix.