Landmark Intellectual Property Cases and Their Legacy

This is a book dedicated to the significance and legacy of landmark cases in
the field of intellectual property. Eleven well-known scholars offer in-depth
commentary and analysis of cases that have made an impact on legal theory or
critical thinking about the scope and purpose of the protection of
intellectual and industrial creativity. All the cases covered have proven
useful in developing doctrine, even though subsequent developments have made
some appear 'misleading' rather than 'leading', and for some recent cases it
is too early to say whether their approach will become mainstream. Among the
fundamental questions - all profoundly interesting, and to which no definite
answers have yet been found - arising in the course of the analysis are the
following:

Who should be master over the reputation, esteem and legacy of authors and
their works - authors and their heirs, or subsequent copyright owners?

What, if any, protection should be granted to achievements in the absence of
confusion?

Should prevention of unfair competition allow one to 'reap what one has not
sown'?

Should we protect commercial investment beyond the scope of defined
intellectual property rights?

Should it be considered a tort to use a well-known mark in a way that may
dilute its repute and distinctive character?

What kinds of monopolies should be protected, if any?

Does the patent system in its current form allow us to question the
assumption that technological progress is good per se, and that novel and
inventive solutions should thus be protected?

Should extraneous considerations such as public good and social usefulness
be considered at the stages of grant and enforcement of patent rights?

Should we grant patents over living organisms whose workings and
reproduction are a long way from being completely understood?

Should the rules developed for the enforcement of property rights limit a
patentee's remedies to appropriate damages, thereby effectively granting a
compulsory licence?

The book concludes with an analysis of two case clusters remarkable for the
worldwide dimension of the dispute. The authors show how litigation over Lego
in about 30 jurisdictions and Budweiser in over 40 jurisdictions has enriched
doctrine on such issues as contract, trade marks, trade names, geographical
indications, property rights in general, human rights, and various
international and bilateral treaties, all as they impinge on the protection of
intellectual property rights. For scholars in the field, as well as for
lawyers seeking a rich vein of doctrine to buttress a case, this unusual book
will be of incomparable value. As a masterful clarification of salient
doctrine, it represents a major contribution to the legal theory underpinning
intellectual property law.