Fundamentals of Intellectual Property: Cases & Materials

Abstract:     
The PDF is a 13 mb file containing a conventional 470 pp. casebook. It contains a relatively complete table of cases but no index - the latter being unnecessary when the file can be searched digitally. Use of Roger E. Schecter's comprehensive statutory supplement (West) or equivalent is suggested.

Organization and contents are informed by over thirty years experience with the subject matter and with students at all levels of technical and legal sophistication. This book has been used twice annually in 3-semester-hour survey courses since 1999. Except for a few years when it was published by Carolina Academic Press, it has been revised each semester.

The book flags common themes and critical distinctions among IP components and attempts to present the most important and durable aspects of the law. Pursuit of that objective has been facilitated by ongoing discussions with colleagues, current and former students and others similarly engaged.

Besides patents, copyrights, trade secrets and trademarks, brief attention is given to domain names and rights of publicity. Remedies are considered pervasively. Preemption and speech issues are treated separately as well as pervasively.

The book is intended to serve the needs of legal specialists as well as generalists. Over long spans, much that is truly fundamental has been constant, and many current IP debates still center on issues raised in the 1800s and earlier.

Paperback copies with a three-color cover may be purchased for less than $20.00 from a Concord, NH publisher (email author for details). The PDF can also be printed elsewhere for royalty-free, non profit use. In either case, please advise the author of its use.

Keywords: intellectual property, casebook, patents, copyrights, trade secrets, trademarks, domain names, rights of publicity, commercial speech, preemption

JEL Classifications: K11, K39

Working Paper Series