Fundamentals of Intellectual Property: Cases & Materials

Abstract:     
The PDF is approximately the 20th revision of a conventional 470 pp. casebook. It 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. This edition will be used in the spring 2010.

The casebook, intended to serve the needs of legal specialists as well as generalists, flags common themes and critical distinctions among IP components. 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. The goal is 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.

Organization and contents are informed by over thirty-five years experience with the subject matter and students at every level of technical and legal sophistication. A relatively complete table of cases is included 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.

Paperback copies may be purchased for about $20.00 from a Concord, NH publisher (email author for details). A three-color cover is available, so the PDF can also be printed elsewhere for royalty-free, non profit use. The author appreciates being advised and will alert users to supplemental online materials.

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

JEL Classifications: K11, K39

Working Paper Series