Thinking about your death isn't easy, but it's even harder to consider the consequences of not thinking about it. Failing to execute a will or set up a trust could burden your heirs beyond just grief at your passing, leaving them to deal with your incomplete affairs as well.

Stephen L. Smith, a longtime attorney with thirty-five years of experience in estate planning, seeks to take the mystery out of what can often be an intimidating process. Using this guide, you can learn how to understand the differences between wills and trusts; evaluate attorneys and tax advisers; empower yourself to direct the planning process; and maximize the money and assets that get passed to others.

Whether you have a large estate or a modest one, it's important to engage in estate planning to make your wishes known. Take control of the process by arming yourself with the knowledge in "Taking the Mystery out of Estate Planning."

Same-Sex Marriage and Children is the first book to bring together historical, social science, and legal considerations to comprehensively respond to the objections to same-sex marriage that are based on the need to promote so-called "responsible procreation" and child welfare. Carlos A. Ball places the current marriage debates within a broader historical context by exploring how the procreative and child welfare claims used to try to deny same-sex couples the opportunity to marry are similar to earlier arguments used to defend interracial marriage bans, laws prohibiting disabled individuals from marrying, and the differential treatment of children born out of wedlock. Ball also draws a link between welfare reform and same-sex marriage bans by explaining how conservative proponents have defended both based on the need for the government to promote responsible procreation among heterosexuals. In addition, Ball examines the social science studies relied on by opponents of same-sex marriage and explains in a highly engaging and accessible way why they do not support the contention that biological status and parental gender matter when it comes to parenting. He also explores the relevance of the social science studies on the children of lesbians and gay men to the question of whether same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. In doing so, the book looks closely at the gay marriage cases that recently reached the Supreme Court and explains why the constitutionality of same-sex marriage bans cannot be defended on the basis that maintaining marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution helps to promote the best interests of children. Same-Sex Marriage and Children will help lawyers, law professors, judges, legislators, social and political scientists, historians, and child welfare officials-as well as general readers interested in matters related to marriage and families-understand the empirical and legal issues behind the intersection of same-sex marriage and children's welfare.

This second volume contains further exploration of the themes considered in Volume 1, namely the theoretical framework of copyright, and the convergence, divergence and globalisation of copyright. New Directions in Copyright Law, Volume 2 offers valuable insights into developments in rights neighbouring on copyright, such as the EU database directive and television broadcast copyright. It also considers the protection of traditional knowledge - such as the legal protection of folklore, freedom of speech and communication channels. In addition the book investigates copyright and new technologies, taking examples from the music industry and from digital policing. Finally, the authors present views on the tension between corporate power and human rights in the context of copyright, questioning whether it is possible to strike a productive and meaningful balance. With contributions from leading copyright scholars and commentators from a diverse range of theoretical and disciplinary backgrounds, this book will be of interest to all those concerned with the problems plaguing the modern copyright system.

International copyright law is a complex and evolving field, of manifest and increasing economic significance. Its intellectual challenges derive from the interlocking relationships of multiple international instruments and national or regional laws and judgments.This ground-breaking casebook provides a comprehensive and comprehensible account of international copyright and neighboring rights law, from the cornerstone of the 1886 Berne Convention and the Rome Convention of 1961, through to the 1994 TRIPS Agreement and the 1996 and later WIPO Copyright Treaties. It examines how national laws have implemented the international norms, and explores the issues these sources have left ambiguous or unresolved. Ginsburg and Treppoz, two of the leading lights in international copyright law, bring their expert commentary and provocative questions to judiciously selected extracts from cases, analytical texts, and the texts of the treaties themselves, to develop a deeply nuanced understanding of this field. The approach centers on comprehending the international law and international treaties and, rather than analyzing the treaties in turn and in abstract, offers a concrete issue-by-issue treatment of the subject. Key features of the casebook: - Written by two leading authorities in the field - Carefully selected extracts from primary and secondary sources - Build a clear picture of the field - Expert analytical commentary and questions set the extracts in context - U.S. and E.U. perspectives integrated throughout the text to ensure maximum relevance and encourage students to make comparative assessments - An issue-based approach that synthesizes the treaties and facilitates a nuanced understanding - Exposition of lacunae in the treaties, and extensive consideration of how private international law fills the gaps - Leads students through the field from beginning to end.

The law of torts recognises many defences to liability. While some of these defences have been explored in detail, scant attention has been given to the theoretical foundations of defences generally. In particular, no serious attempt has been made to explain how defences relate to each other or to the torts to which they pertain. The goal of this book is to reduce the size of this substantial gap in our understanding of tort law. The principal way in which it attempts to do so is by developing a taxonomy of defences. The book shows that much can be learned about a given defence from the way in which it is classified. This book has been awarded Joint Second Prize for the 2014 Society of Legal Scholars Peter Birks Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship.

As one of the most flexible of the intellectual property rights, copyright law is under constant pressure to adapt and expand in the face of new and sometimes unforeseen challenges and developments. This book is the first in an important new six volume series whose aim is to consider the purpose, role, function and future of the copyright system. The book, and indeed the series, comprises thoughtful, critical and often challenging contributions from an international, multidisciplinary network of scholars. It brings together perspectives on copyright from law, politics, economics, cultural studies and social theory in an effort to forge a truly coherent and meaningful agenda for the future of copyright. Volume 1 presents first a thorough re-examination of the underlying theoretical foundations of copyright law, engaging with such issues as the moral justifications for copyright, and the appropriateness of copyright in a globalised world. The book goes on to examine the convergence and divergence of intellectual property rights in the context of globalisation. Bold in its attempt to be original, this book should be read by anyone interested in the future of copyright, regardless of discipline, and in intellectual property more generally.

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.

This book focuses on a central success factor for family businesses: maintaining the decision-making ability over generations while not jeopardizing the business due to family conflict, inefficient governance structures, or lack of identification. The authors identify that this is not as easy as the endeavor to bring two social systems together with contradicting logic (family and business) leads to many dangerous pitfalls. This book presents outcomes of a unique research project in which family managers of eleven of the oldest and largest German family businesses, at least the fourth generation, met for more than three years on a regular basis and presented the essence of their family governance structures to each other and to the authors. It was a joint "learning journey" that admits identifying twelve core questions that these families had been answering to keep up the relationship between family and business successfully over generations. Obviously, there is no "right" answer to these questions. The key to success is rather engaging the families in a process to find out their own answers and make them aware of the "two sides": being a family is different from being a business family.

This comprehensive book presents the English law of contract and tort in the context of a European law of obligations.Law of Obligations provides the reader with an overview of contract and tort as well as an introduction to the law of obligations in the civil (or continental) law tradition. The book is considered an extensive introduction to the western law of obligations, but with an emphasis on English law. Arising out of the analysis of the two legal traditions, Geoffrey Samuel raises questions about the appropriateness of importing the obligations category into the common law. He also highlights what has been termed the ?harmonisation debate?; should the law of obligations be harmonised at a European ? or even international level? The debate raises some fundamental issues not just about legal traditions and about the law of obligations itself, but also about comparative law theory and methodology.Designed with English law students and jurists in mind, this book will be an invaluable tool for researching contract, tort and the law of obligations. It is an original contribution not only to European private law but equally to comparative legal studies.

Although there appears to be no firm legal basis in the Treaties for EU legislative action aimed specifically at protecting media pluralism, this book opens a number of promising avenues along which a viable legal regime protecting media pluralism may be achieved in the EU. With particular focus on broadcasting, the book examines existing (albeit fragmented) legislative and regulatory measures in competition law and other areas that contribute to this goal, and sets forth ways to strengthen monitoring and transparency, generate 'soft law with hard statements', introduce a 'pluralism test' in the EU Merger Regulation, promote more public service media, and foster media literacy. Among many other issues arising in the course of the discussion, the author describes and elucidates the following: various types of integration of media companies and the different ways they affect pluralism and diversity; limitations of must-carry rules and principles of interoperability; the diverging priorities of different European organizations, institutions and bodies; and contradictory lobbying efforts from industry actors. The author places herself on the culture side of the culture/commodity dilemma, showing why it is vital for regulators to preserve media pluralism by counteracting excessive media concentration and safeguarding quality and diversity of content.

The Changing Concept of 'Family' and Challenges for Domestic Family Law explores the changing concept of 'family', with the current social, political, medical and scientific challenges for domestic family law discussed in over 20 European jurisdictions. National reports describe the current law and legal development for 'horizontal' (the law of relationships between adults such as marriage, divorce, cohabitation, same-sex relationships), 'vertical' (the law governing the relationships between adults and children, such as parentage including artificial reproductive techniques and surrogacy, parental responsibility and adoption) and individual (the law of names and recognition of gender identity) family law. They show that, while considerable legal and societal diversity still exists within Europe, family law, in many areas, is developing along similar lines, with a convergence towards a European family law.This book, and the others in the set, will serve as an invaluable resource for anyone interested in family law. It will be of particular use to students and scholars of comparative and international family law, as well as family law practitioners. Contributors: G. Douglas, L. Francoz Terminal, T. Keller, O. Khazova, G. Kubi kova, A. Lamarca Marques, D. Martiny, K. McK Norrie, B. Novak, E. OErucu, J.M. Scherpe, I. Schwenzer, B. Sloan, T. Sverdrup, F. Swennen, O. Szeibert, M. Giovanna E. Zervogianni

This book comprehensively discusses the effects of digital technology on the way work is disseminated and the resulting challenges concerning the fair use of copyright. It also analyzes so-called fairness by examining theories on the system of fair use, demonstrating the "system changes that will be brought about by technological changes" from the perspective of economics, i.e., the problem of modification faced by the system of fair use of copyright. Exploring the nature and function of fair use and repositioning the fair use system, the book proposes a better design for China's system of limitation on copyright and a readjustment of the copyright system. Lastly, in addition to analyzing the reconfigurations of fair use from an economic standpoint, the book describes in detail the interactions between legal systems and cultures.

This volume explores the nature of intellectual property law by looking at particular disputes. All the cases gathered here aim to show the versatile and unstable character of a discipline still searching for landmarks. Each contribution offers an opportunity to raise questions about the narratives that have shaped the discipline throughout its short but profound history. The volume begins by revisiting patent litigation to consider the impact of the Statute of Monopolies (1624). It continues looking at different controversies to describe how the existence of an author's right in literary property was a plausible basis for legal argument, even though no statute expressly mentioned authors' rights before the Statute of Anne (1710). The collection also explores different moments of historical significance for intellectual property law: the first trade mark injunctions; the difficulties the law faced when protecting maps; and the origins of originality in copyright law. Similarly, it considers the different ways of interpreting patent claims in the late nineteenth and twentieth century; the impact of seminal cases on passing off and the law of confidentiality; and more generally, the construction of intellectual property law and its branches in their interaction with new technologies and marketing developments. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the development of intellectual property law.

As Britain's leading comparative Family Law scholar, Jens Scherpe demonstrates his considerable knowledge and expertise in this, the final book, in the series on European Family Law. Drawing on the three earlier works in the series (of which he is the editor) Scherpe starts by convincingly arguing that there is such a thing as European Family Law and then examines the concept from different perspectives, namely, institutional and organic, and horizontal, vertical and individual European Family Law. He ends by speculating about future developments. Written in an easy-to-read yet not unchallenging style The Present and Future of European Family Law is a 'must read' for all those interested in Family Law particularly as the subject can no longer be sensibly studied purely from a domestic angle.' - N.V. Lowe, Cardiff University, UKThe Present and Future of European Family Law explores the essence of European family law - and what its future may be. It compares and analyzes existing laws and court decisions, identifies trends in legislation and jurisprudence, and also forecasts (and in some cases proposes) future developments. It establishes that while there is, at present, no comprehensive European family law, elements of an 'institutional European family law' have been created through decisions by the European Court on Human Rights and by the Court of Justice of the European Union as well as other EU instruments. At the same time an 'organic European family law' is beginning to emerge. The laws in many European jurisdictions have developed similarly and have 'grown together', not only as a result of the aforementioned institutional pressures, but also as a result of societal developments, and comparable reactions to medical and societal advances and changes. Hence there already is a body of institutional and organic European family law, and it will continue to grow. This book, and the others in the set, will serve as an invaluable resource for anyone interested in family law. It will be of particular use to students and scholars of comparative and international family law, as well as family law practitioners.

Vessels very frequently serve under a long chain of charterparties and sub-charterparties. When this is the case, the legal issues are more convoluted than they might at first seem. Incorporation clauses are commonplace in bills of lading used in the tramp trade due to the desire to make this web of contracts back-to-back. The extent to which the terms of the charterparty referred to can be carried across to the bill of lading has, over the centuries, been hotly disputed in many jurisdictions. Entirely dedicated to the topic of the incorporation of charterparty terms into bills of lading, this book discusses and analyses the legal and practical issues surrounding this topic under English and US law. Through discussions on the incorporation of a wide range of different charterparty terms, the book combines the peculiar and sophisticated rules of incorporation with the legal and practical issues concerning shipping, international trade, arbitration and conflict of laws and jurisdiction.

Presenting a selection of innovative research contributions written by some of the best-known academics in the field, The Economics of Copyright covers issues that are at the forefront of the implementation and management of copyright. The book touches on all aspects of copyright management including the effects of copyright piracy, optimal contractual arrangements between authors and publishers, copyright and antitrust issues, and collective management of copyright. This selection of papers not only shows how fruitful the study of copyright from an economic theory perspective has been, but they also clearly indicate the directions (and analytical tools) that will be of principal interest over the next few years, as research in this area flourishes. Both legal scholars specialising in intellectual property and applied economics scholars will find this book of importance, as will organisations dealing with the management and protection of intellectual property rights. The book will also be good reading for any advanced university course dealing with the economics of copyright.

The regulation and flow of information continues to have a critical impact upon how people live their lives and the way society functions. In recent times, disinformation and privacy violation have become the 'information pollution' of the 21st century. This book explores ways and means of protecting the 'information environment' by drawing upon four theories of contemporary environmentalism: welfare economics, the commons, ecology, and public choice theory. Welfare economics highlights the need to focus on costs (as well as benefits) when evaluating regulatory structures. The commons encourages queries about the validity of propertisation. Ecology speaks to the importance of diversity and resilience. And public choice theory hazards against the regulatory effect of concentrated interests. The lessons from each inspire the proposed information environmental governance framework. By neatly capturing the metaphorical relationship between the physical environment and the information environment, Robert Cunningham explores progressive regulatory pathways for the digital age. This book will be a thought-provoking read for scholars and students with an interest in intellectual property or the regulation of information.

Intellectual property law is built on constitutional foundations and is underpinned by the twin freedoms of freedom of expression and freedom of economic enterprise. In this thoughtful evaluation, Gustavo Ghidini offers up a reconstruction of the core features of each intellectual property paradigm, including patents, copyright, and trademarks, suggesting measures for reform to allow intellectual property to become socially beneficial for all. Rethinking Intellectual Property is a deeply reflective conceptualisation of the modern principles of intellectual property law at both a national and an international level. The first chapter investigates conflicts of interests relating to intellectual property and guiding principles for their resolution within its constitutional framework. Ghidini then moves on to examine the reshaping of patent protection, and the way that the exercise of patent rights goes hand-in-hand with the competitive dynamics of technological innovation. In chapter 3, he analyses the copyright paradigm from an industrial perspective, focusing particular attention to the online distribution of material. Chapter 4 moves on to examine trademark protection, and the protection of entrepreneurial identity and brand value. Finally, he addresses the complex intersection between intellectual property law and competition law. This book will be invaluable reading for anyone interested in the conceptual foundations of intellectual property law, and challenges the reader to re-examine their understanding of the field.

This book represents a major innovation in the institutional analysis of cities and their planning, management and governance. Using concepts of transaction costs and property rights, the work shows systematically how urban order evolves as individuals co-operate in cities for mutual gain. Five kinds of urban order are examined, arising as co-operating individuals seek to reduce the costs of transacting with each other. These are organisational order (combinations of property rights), institutional order (rules and sanctions), proprietary order (fragmentation of property rights), spatial order and public domain order. Property Rights, Planning and Markets also offers an institutional interpretation of urban planning and management that challenges both the view that planning inevitably conflicts with freedom of contract and the view that its function is a means of correcting market failures. Real life examples from countries and regions around the world are used to illustrate the universal relevance of theoretical generalisations, which will be welcomed by a new generation of policymakers and students who take on a world view that goes beyond national boundaries.