This volume take the reader through the legal and accounting principles that govern the valuation of assets. A crucial problem for legal, accounting, banking and venture capital professionals, it is also important to owners and managers of IP assets.

Patent rights depend on many interpretive elements, including even the patent's subject matter and the question of who owns the right. Such elements lead to varying legal approaches in different countries and, since it is in the nature of inventions to be international, knowledge of patent law in a variety of national jurisdictions is an indispensable asset for patent lawyers and their clients. This book provides that essential knowledge as it relates to the patent laws of Japan together with English translations of main provisions of the Patent Law. It provides a systematic and concise analysis of theoretical issues and information of practical usefulness (such as examination guidelines of the Japanese Patent Office) as well as analysis of important case law. With detailed attention to both substantive and procedural law, the author's thorough exposition covers such features of Japanese patent law as the following: requirements for patentability; provisions for invention by employee; assignment of invention before application; application of foreign language documents; limitation on effect of patents; effects of bukken (right in rem) and saiken (person-to-person claim); procedure before the Patent Office; civil remedies for infringement of patents; case law interpreting "negligence"; measures for recovery of damage to reputation; establishment of security interests; administrative law suit procedure; appellate review; and, procedure before Japan's Intellectual Property High Court. "The Essentials of Japanese Patent Law" clearly explains the way in which patents may be registered and protected under Japanese law, and will be of inestimable value to counsel for inventors and enterprises everywhere. No patent lawyers or other intellectual property professionals will want to be without it.

This collection is the multifaceted result of an effort to learn from those who have been educated in an American law school and who then returned to their home countries to apply the lessons of that experience in nations experiencing social, economic, governmental, and legal transition. Written by an international group of scholars and practitioners, this work provides a unique insight into the ways in which legal education impacts the legal system in the recipient's home country, addressing such topics as efforts to influence the current style of legal education in a country and the resistance faced from entrenched senior faculty and the use of U.S. legal education methods in government and private legal practice. This book will be of significant interest not only to legal educators in the United States and internationally, and to administrators of legal education policy and reform, but also to scholars seeking a more in-depth understanding of the connections between legal education and socio-political change.

This book challenges certain differences between contract, tort and equity in relation to the measure (in a broad sense) of damages. Damages are defined as the monetary award made by a court in consequence of a breach of contract, a tort or an equitable wrong. In all these causes of action, damages usually aim to put the claimant into the position the claimant would be in without the wrong. Even though the main objective of damages is thus the same for each cause of action, their measure is not. While some aspects of the measure of damages are more or less harmonised between contract, tort and equity (e.g. causation in fact and mitigation), significant differences exist in relation to (1) remoteness of damage, which is the question of whether, when and to which degree damage needs to be foreseeable to be recoverable; (2) the compensability of non-pecuniary loss such as pain and suffering, distress and loss of reputation; (3) the effect of contributory negligence, which is the victim's contribution to the occurrence of the wrong or the ensuing loss through unreasonable conduct prior to the wrong; (4) the circumstances under which victims of wrongs can claim the gain the wrongdoer has made from the wrong; and (5) the availability and scope of exemplary (or punitive) damages. For each of the five topics, this book examines the present position in contract, tort and equity and establishes the differences between the three areas. It goes on to scrutinise the arguments in defence of existing differences. The conclusion on each topic is that the present differences between contract, tort and equity cannot be justified on merits and should be removed through a harmonisation of the relevant principles.

"Softwars: The Legal Battles for Control of the Global Software Industry" explains why the future of the computer industry depends on the nature and extent of intellectual property protection for the software that controls computer hardware. The softwars it discusses are the confrontations taking place in the courtroom, in the legislative chambers and in professional symposia around the world in which the scope of intellectual property protection for computer software is being debated and, in some cases, determined. In a highly readable and entertaining series of essays, the author explains the influences of clones, hackers, vendors of proprietary systems, vendors of open systems, software patents, copyrights and trade secrets on the evolution of the industry. No other book to date has provided either as lucid a description of the major litigation involving software protection or as cogent an analysis of the economic and strategic consequences of that litigation.

"SoftwarS" is divided into five parts, each consisting of two or more essays. In Part I, the author discusses the nature of computer programs and the history of intellectual property protection for computer programs. Part II deals with the look and feel issue; it explains what constitutes infringement of rights in screen displays and other aspects of user interfaces, and the importance of the issue. Part III concerns the practice known as reverse engineering of software; who does it, why, and what the legal and economic consequences are. In Part IV, the reader is led to the boundaries of the legal debate, where the limits of the law are being tested. Part V is the author's conclusion and prognostications for the future of the computer industry and the law. Anyone interested in the intersection of law and technology, and particularly those involved in the computer industry, will find Softwars valuable and compelling reading.

In the past few decades, scholars have offered positive, normative, and most recently, interpretive theories of contract law. These theories have proceeded primarily (indeed, necessarily) from deontological and consequentialist premises. In A Theory of Contract Law: Empirical Understandings and Moral Psychology, Professor Peter A. Alces confronts the leading interpretive theories of contract and demonstrates their interpretive doctrinal failures. Professor Alces presents the leading canonical cases that inform the extant theories of Contract law in both their historical and transactional contexts and, argues that moral psychology provides a better explanation for the contract doctrine than do alternative comprehensive interpretive approaches.

Virtually every jurisdiction is developing private international law rules to deal with trusts and similar ring-fenced structures. With the increasing impact of globalization, business interests throughout the world are intent on maximizing the potential of such structures for raising funds, lowering risks and cutting costs. As a result, numerous complex issues involving the traditional categories of settlor, beneficiary and fiduciary are being radically transformed. This text offers analyses, by 16 authorities in the field, of a broad range of trust-related issues. The many insights in this book reveal the workings of such issues as: the disappearing divergence between common law and civil law jurisdictions in the matter of trusts; using the segregated fund concept to manage the risk of insolvency; the demise of the "amateur trustee" in the charitable trust sector; why loss to the fund supersedes particular losses of beneficiaries; the legal dimensions of hiding ownership by "giving" property to trustees; the intervention of public policy in questions of perpetuity; the selective imposition of OECD and FTF transparency initiatives on offshore jurisdictions; and "policing" of trustee behaviour by beneficiaries. Lawyers, bankers and others dealing with investment and business finance should find much information as well as food for thought in this book, as should those involved in the traditional trust industry, whether as trustees or lawyers or fund managers. Most of the essays in this collection were originally prepared for presentation at a conference held in 2001 at King's College London.

This book offers a guide to intellectual property law in the People's Republic of China. It simplifies the complex and rather atypical judicial system and uses practical cases to demonstrate how Chinese IP law really works. The IP system is evolving rapidly in China, with the adoption of numerous new laws and regulations, more sophisticated and detailed than their predecessors. As such the book provides an up-to-date overview of the field, including legal protection and tax assessment practices in China, focusing especially on matters regarding trademark, patent and copyright law and its protection. It also covers Chinese IP in the international context, discussing all the relevant international organizations and treaties. Furthermore, by presenting the right mix of practice and theory, and examining the best-known IP infringement cases in China, it allows readers to gain an understanding of potential IP infringement risks and ways to protect their own legal rights and interests. In addition, it provides insights into the important area of valorization and fiscal management of IP in China. Based on written law and regulations as well as the authors' expertise, it is a valuable resource for foreign lawyers and foreign companies alike.

Taking as its point of departure the lapse of the Licensing Act 1662 in 1695, this book examines the lead up to the passage of the Statute of Anne 1709 and charts the movement of copyright law throughout the eighteenth century, culminating in the House of Lords decision of Donaldson v Becket (1774). The established reading of copyright's development throughout this period, from the 1709 Act to the pronouncement in Donaldson, is that it was transformed from a publisher's to an author's right; instead, legislation initially designed to regulate the marketplace of the bookseller and publisher evolved into an instrument that functioned to recognise the proprietary inevitability of an author's intellectual labours. The historical narrative which unfolds within this book presents a challenge to that accepted orthodoxy. century Britain is revealed as exhibiting the character of long-standing myth, and the centrality of the modern proprietary author as the raison d'etre of the copyright regime is displaced, being replaced with a more nuanced account of legal change driven by complex interactions between the protagonists, resulting in a copyright regime which was quite different from that anticipated by the reformers.

Property Rights in Land widens our understanding of property rights by looking through the lenses of social history and sociology, discussing mainstream theory of new institutional economics and the derived grand narrative of economic development. As neo-institutional development theory has become a narrative in global history and political economy, the problem of promoting global development has arisen from creating the conditions for 'good' institutions to take root in the global economy and in developing societies. Written by a collection of expert authors, the chapters delve into social processes through which property relations became institutionalized and were used in social action for the appropriation of resources and rent. This was in order to gain a better understanding of the social processes intervening between the institutionalized 'rules of the game' and their economic and social outcomes. This collection of essays is of great interest to those who study economic history, historical sociology and economic sociology, as well as Agrarian and rural history.

Causation and Risk in the Law of Torts provides a comparative account of the legal and scientific issues relating to proof of causation in cases of alleged drug-induced injury, principally in Europe and North America.

This text seeks to assess whether, by using probabilistic approaches, the courts may more accurately determine the cause of adverse reactions contentiously associated with drugs. In four case studies (DES, Bondoctin, vaccine damage and "Gulf War Syndrome"), the deficiencies of orthodox approaches to causation are revealed. A sustained argument is presented in favor of applying greater weight to epidemiological statistics, as refined by the application of the Bayes' Theorem.

A valuable feature of this book is the discussion of the role of expert witnesses, including an examination of how the author's proposals could be accommodated with the reformed civil process envisaged by the Woolf Report.

Goldberg also examines the economic implications of these proposals. Causation and Risk in the Law of Torts is a timely contribution to the resolution of the legal problems in this complex area of tort law.

Medical-legal consultant Randine Lewis provides lawyers with basic instruction in the practice of modern medicine, and introduces health care professionals to the process of litigation. Her goal is not to incite frivolous or excessive legal actions; instead, she hopes to enable people on both sides of a legal issue to understand how the other side will proceed toward obtaining some kind of redress. Lewis maintains that medical knowledge is lacking in most law firms and her book seeks to remedy that. With the basics of medicine clearly laid out and the risks inherent in medical treatment explained, hew book will be a hands-on desk reference not only in law offices but also in medical and health care occupations. Well illustrated, with examples, lists, and medical terms clearly explained, the book will also be useful to paralegals, nurses, consultants, and other professionals who become involved in litigation involving health care.

The 2005 Amendments to the Indian Patent Act expanded the scope of patentability by (among other provisions) allowing patenting of new substances brought about by incremental innovations. What exactly is an 'incremental innovation'? And how does the amended Act alter the legal definition of patentable subject matter and restructure the essential criteria - utility, novelty, no prior publication, and non-obviousness - around which patent law revolves? This masterful analysis of patent law in India, by two of India's most distinguished jurists, investigates thoroughly the scope of the possible answers to these crucial questions. Recognizing the character of the revolution taking place in patent law globally under the regime of multinational corporations - and India's central role in its development - Dr. Rao and Dr. Manjula Guru's analysis focuses on the patenting of substances arising out of advances in biotechnology, genetically engineered products, and computer-related devices. But they do not neglect the practical details of application, registration, and proceedings as constituted under the amended law; in fact, this book is the most detailed and insightful procedural and practice guide to the subject we have. Topics and areas of practice covered include the following: * patent for new use of a known product; * prescribed form of application; * entry in the Register; * powers of the Controller of Patents; * opposition and revocation proceedings; * addition and restoration of lapsed patents; * defences and reliefs in infringement proceedings; * compulsory licensing; * experimental use; * international arrangements for grants of patents simultaneously by several countries; * anti-competitive practices; and * exclusive marketing rights. Dr. Rao and Dr. Guru refer throughout to the far-reaching effects of the relevant World Trade Organization instruments (the TRIPS Agreement and the Doha Declaration), including provisions related to public health and national or regional emergencies and to research and development into new medicines. Important case law is also referred to, and various corresponding provisions of the law of several countries, in particular the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, are frequently brought into comparative analysis. No legal, administrative, or business professional in any of the many areas touched by patent law - not only in India, and elsewhere - can afford to bypass this deeply-informed study of a topic of huge global significance. Corporate counsel seeking an Indian patent will find no better guide.

This book applies a novel conflict-based approach to the notions of `idea', `concept', `invention' and `immateriality' in the legal regime of intellectual property rights by turning to the adversarial legal practices in which they occur. In doing so, it provides extensive ethnographies of the courts and law firms, and tackles classical questions in legal doctrine about the immaterial nature of intellectual property rights from a thoroughly new perspective. The book follows the legal proceedings of disputes in patent, copyright and trademark law as they circulate from the sites of enterprises, through the offices of law firms, the court registry, the courtroom and the judge's office, until they finally arrive at judgment. In this way, the central matters of a dispute are gradually transformed into immaterial works, inventions, or signs through the ceaseless `material' operations of legal practices. This analysis sheds light on how seemingly abstract philosophical notions are rendered workable as concrete legal concepts with important consequences. Grounds of the Immaterial offers an inventive and refreshing take on intellectual property rights which will be valued by academics and students in philosophy, legal theory, legal anthropology and intellectual property.

This book centers on estate planning with code sections, regulations, court cases and experiences involved in estate planning. It was written over 5 years with excitement, pain, love and hate. It was designed for the regular person to understand because the Internal Revenue Code is not user-friendly, never was and never will be until Congress decides differently. While there are technical areas in this book, there is also an effort to explain those areas in everyday terms so the reader can easily get the point of estate planning. You must read the section on Being A Consultant - Absolutely Brutal!

The US tax and reporting rules applicable to foreign trusts - principally embodied as Subchapter J of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended - are notoriously complex. Now, with this volume, anyone who has to deal with these rules can find their use and meaning clearly explained, and proceed confidently to the best outcome in any situation where they apply. This guide covers all the following topics in detail: regular nongrantor (or accumulation) trusts of both the "simple" variety and the "complex" type with its challenging "throwback" rules and interest charge on accumulation distributions; the circumstances under which certain foreign trusts, such as section 672(f) (barring the application of the normal grantor trust rules to certain foreign trusts), section 643(h) (relating to distributions by certain foreign trusts through nominees), and section 643(i) (relating to loans from foreign trusts); reporting and penalty provisions and the accompanying IRS forms; and special issues, such as those surrounding incoming immigrants and outgoing expatriates. The book provides modified versions of the principal IRS forms (3520, 3520-A, 4970, 1040NR, and 1041) that are commonly filed for foreign trusts. These modifications, which scrupulously follow all applicable IRS rules, are much easier to use than the actual forms for the purpose of foreign trusts. Numerous examples throughout the book clarify the valid procedures and alternatives available at every point, a feature particularly useful in applying provisions that still await settled regulation and case law. Compliance issues that may arise on IRS audit are also examined. Professionals and advisors in law, tax, accounting, banking, and securities; settlers and beneficiaries; and students and academics both within and outside the United States should find this an informative and useful volume.

Conventional wisdom holds that robust enforcement of intellectual property (IP) right suppress competition and innovation by shielding incumbents against the entry threats posed by smaller innovators. That assumption has driven mostly successful efforts to weaken US patent protections for over a decade. This book challenges that assumption. In Innovators, Firms, and Markets, Jonathan M. Barnett confronts the reigning policy consensus by analyzing the relationship between IP rights, firm organization, and market structure. Integrating tools and concepts from IP and antitrust law, institutional economics, and political science, real-world understandings of technology markets, and empirical insights from the economic history of the US patent system, Barnett provides a novel framework for IP policy analysis. His cohesive framework explains how robust enforcement of IP rights enables entrepreneurial firms, which are rich in ideas but poor in capital, to secure outside investment and form the cooperative relationships needed to transform a breakthrough innovation into a marketable product. The history of the US patent system and firms' lobbying tendencies show that weakening patent protections removes a critical tool for entrants to challenge incumbents that enjoy difficult-to-match commercialization and financing capacities. Counterintuitively, the book demonstrates that weak IP rights are often the best entry barrier the state can provide to protect entrenched incumbents against disruptive innovators. By challenging common assumptions and offering a powerful integrated framework for understanding how innovation happens and the law's role in that process, Barnett's Innovators, Firms, and Markets provides important insights into how IP law shapes our economy.

To provide valuable legal service to persons in today's Europe, practitioners must be conversant in both national and transnational law. At the European level, the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL) are an increasingly important element of contract law, together with national contract law, as contained in Civil Codes and various national statute. Accordingly, Kluwer Law International has initiated a series of volumes, under the direction of Prof. Hondius of the University of Utrecht, comparing PECL with the most important European legal systems. This volume on Italian law is the second in the series. Using a straightforward comparative method, the editors' analysis not only reveals a significant area of convergence between the PECL and Italian contract law, but also highlights the main differences between the two bodies of rules. The book provides complete texts, with annotations, of the PECL and the corresponding Italian rules. The presentation proceeds as follows: general provisions (scope of application, general duties, terminology); formation of contracts (general provisions, offer and acceptance, liability for negotiations); authority of agents (general provisions, direct and indirect representation); validity; interpretation; contents and effects; performance; non-performance and remedies in general; and, particular remedies for non-performance (right to performance, withholding performance, termination of the contract, price reduction, damages and interest). The book is a valuable handbook and guide for both foreign and Italian lawyers. For non-Italian lawyers, be they practitioners or academics, it provides a concise but complete and up-to-date outline of current Italian contract law, organized on the basis of a system (PECL) with which many European lawyers are familiar. For Italian lawyers, it offers a clearer insight into a wider European legal contract system whose importance in the evolution of a common European private law is growing rapidly.

The healthcare delivery system in the United States is inundated with medical malpractice and liability issues, and there is no consensus about causes or solutions. Both physicians and an alliance of lawyers and consumer groups agree that there is a crisis, but physicians claim that the current medical malpractice system inheres in too many lawsuits while the lawyers argue that the current level of litigation is insufficient. Multivariate statistical methods are used in this much needed effort to investigate the effects of medical malpractice on various aspects of health care.

After introducing the various tort reforms that have been proposed and implemented by some states, the author analyzes the impact of these reforms on medical malpractice payment rates, claim payments, malpractice insurance, and in dental malpractice. The impact of malpractice liability on costs, licensure, disciplinary action, the supply of physicians, and the practice of defensive medicine are also covered. This is an essential guide for students in law, medicine, and health administration, as well as anyone who wants to research these issues for public policy.

The purpose of this book is to honour the influential and wide-ranging work of Professor Hugh Beale. It contains essays by twenty-five very distinguished authors, each of whom has worked with Professor Beale as a co-author, as a teaching colleague, during his time as Law Commissioner of England and Wales, or as part of the study groups working in Europe on contract and commercial law. The essays reflect different aspects of Professor Beale's interests. Some concentrate on English contract law, either from a historical or a current perspective, while others are focused on aspects of European contract law. There are four essays looking at current issues relating to security and financing, and, as befits a former Law Commissioner, three essays on law reform. The essays in the final section discuss trends in transnational and European commercial law. This book brings together the reflections of eminent writers from all over Europe on important issues facing contract and commercial law and will be of interest to all scholars and practitioners working in these areas.

This anthology brings together over a dozen articles published by David Nimmer over the past decade regarding copyright, together with updated commentary weaving together the various threads running through them. The Unifying theme running through the work is the need to reconcile standards in order to protect that most ethereal creation of mankind: the written word. From that unique vantage pointy the discussion delves into the religious roots and sacred character of the act of creation. Religion and copyright are brought into resonance as issues from one field are deployed to illuminate those in the other. Given its culminating focus on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act this work of necessity drills deeply into current advances in technology, notably the dissemination of works over the internet. The religious perspective shines an unexpected light onto those issues as well.