As companies and organisations increasingly operate across national boundaries, so the incentive to understand how to acquire, deploy and protect IP rights in multiple national jurisdictions has rapidly increased. Transnational Intellectual Property Law meets the need for a book that introduces contemporary intellectual property as it is practiced in today?s global context. Focusing on three major IP regimes - the United States, Europe and China - the unique transnational approach of this textbook will help law students and lawyers across the world understand not only how IP operates in different national contexts, but also how to coordinate IP protection across numerous national jurisdictions. International IP treaties are also covered, but in the context of an overall emphasis on transnational coordination of legal rights and strategies. Providing detailed thematic coverage of the major IP rights, including Patents, Copyright, Trademarks, Trade Secrets and Design Protection, the book delves into the national laws and operational realities of these three jurisdictions, highlighting the issues and questions that are most frequently encountered in practice. Of special note are the many English translations of Chinese legal materials = providing the richest and most in-depth coverage of authoritative IP-related statutes, cases and commentaries currently available to students. The textbook draws heavily on cases and other primary sources to tease out the differences, commonalities, and ultimately, strategies for taking a global approach to IP protection. Thought-provoking questions and scenarios throughout the book will stimulate class discussion and cement understanding. Key features: Introductory problems allow students to identify and navigate the key issues An accessible layout with case extracts, questions and notes clearly highlighted illustrates examples of crucial issues, helps identify key information, and points to extensive practical and scholarly commentary on important issues? Comparative approach with numerous references to law and business context in China, the United States and Europe allows students to place national IP in a global context Expert analytical commentary on carefully selected cases guides readers on the key issues. Engaging and comprehensive, this textbook will be essential for all IP courses that aspire to teach the global dimension of IP, and for all students whose aim is to practice IP in what is an increasingly transnational marketplace.

For this comprehensive collection, the editor has brought together key readings on the subject of the law and economics of intellectual property rights - patents, copyrights and trademarks. It provides a judicious selection of the most important published research on this crucial topic, drawing equally from the law and economics literature. It thus brings together frequently cited classic articles that are rarely encountered in a single published source. The articles have been selected on the basis of three primary criteria: their continuing influence in legal and economic discussions; their longevity (important in a field where the volume of published work is very large and growing very quickly); and their relevance to contemporary theoretical and policy debates. The chosen writings delve deeply into theory, empirics, and institutional detail, ranging from Edwin Mansfield's early, influential study on patents and imitation costs, to very recent work on the relationship between copyright law and the first amendment. This collection makes an indispensable desk reference for scholars of intellectual property rights.

As companies and organisations increasingly operate across national boundaries, so the incentive to understand how to acquire, deploy and protect IP rights in multiple national jurisdictions has rapidly increased. Transnational Intellectual Property Law meets the need for a book that introduces contemporary intellectual property as it is practiced in today?s global context. Focusing on three major IP regimes - the United States, Europe and China - the unique transnational approach of this textbook will help law students and lawyers across the world understand not only how IP operates in different national contexts, but also how to coordinate IP protection across numerous national jurisdictions. International IP treaties are also covered, but in the context of an overall emphasis on transnational coordination of legal rights and strategies. Providing detailed thematic coverage of the major IP rights, including Patents, Copyright, Trademarks, Trade Secrets and Design Protection, the book delves into the national laws and operational realities of these three jurisdictions, highlighting the issues and questions that are most frequently encountered in practice. Of special note are the many English translations of Chinese legal materials = providing the richest and most in-depth coverage of authoritative IP-related statutes, cases and commentaries currently available to students. The textbook draws heavily on cases and other primary sources to tease out the differences, commonalities, and ultimately, strategies for taking a global approach to IP protection. Thought-provoking questions and scenarios throughout the book will stimulate class discussion and cement understanding. Key features: Introductory problems allow students to identify and navigate the key issues An accessible layout with case extracts, questions and notes clearly highlighted illustrates examples of crucial issues, helps identify key information, and points to extensive practical and scholarly commentary on important issues? Comparative approach with numerous references to law and business context in China, the United States and Europe allows students to place national IP in a global context Expert analytical commentary on carefully selected cases guides readers on the key issues. Engaging and comprehensive, this textbook will be essential for all IP courses that aspire to teach the global dimension of IP, and for all students whose aim is to practice IP in what is an increasingly transnational marketplace.

Students and established scholars of intellectual property law often look for historical context when trying to understand the development and present-day contours of IP rules and systems. American Patent Law supplies this context, offering readers a comprehensive account of the evolution of the US patent system and patent doctrine beginning in 1790. From the technologies for harvesting wood and shoemaking in the earliest periods to computer software and biotechnology of the present, each chapter of the book covers the characteristic technologies of each historical era. The book also describes how businesspeople in each era acquired and enforced patents and used patents as the foundation of various business arrangements. This book is a landmark in the history of technologies, the US patent system, and the way private actors have deployed patents across American history.

Students and established scholars of intellectual property law often look for historical context when trying to understand the development and present-day contours of IP rules and systems. American Patent Law supplies this context, offering readers a comprehensive account of the evolution of the US patent system and patent doctrine beginning in 1790. From the technologies for harvesting wood and shoemaking in the earliest periods to computer software and biotechnology of the present, each chapter of the book covers the characteristic technologies of each historical era. The book also describes how businesspeople in each era acquired and enforced patents and used patents as the foundation of various business arrangements. This book is a landmark in the history of technologies, the US patent system, and the way private actors have deployed patents across American history.

Why should a property interest exist in an intangible item? In recent years, arguments over intellectual property have often divided proponents who emphasize the importance of providing incentives for producers of creative works from skeptics who emphasize the need for free and open access to knowledge.

In a wide-ranging and ambitious analysis, Robert P. Merges establishes a sophisticated rationale for the most vital form of modern property: IP rights. His insightful new book answers the many critics who contend that these rights are inefficient, unfair, and theoretically incoherent. But Merges vigorous defense of IP is also a call for appropriate legal constraints and boundaries: IP rights are real, but they come with real limits.

Drawing on Kant, Locke, and Rawls as well as contemporary scholars, Merges crafts an original theory to explain why IP rights make sense as a reward for effort and as a way to encourage individuals to strive. He also provides a novel explanation of why awarding IP rights to creative people is fair for everyone else in society, by contributing to a just distribution of resources. Merges argues convincingly that IP rights are based on a solid ethical foundation, and when subject to fair limits these rights are an indispensable part of a well-functioning society.