Publications

Research Handbook on Empirical Studies in Intellectual Property Law

Edited by Estelle Derclaye

This comprehensive Research Handbook on Empirical Studies in Intellectual Property Law explores empirical legal studies of intellectual property law. It covers research from four continents and offers unique conclusions to aid in the creation and understanding of policies and legislation. By combining research from both leading experts and up-and-coming scholars, this expansive Research Handbook examines the four main intellectual property rights: patent, trademark, design and copyright, as well as trade secrets. Chapters provide cutting-edge empirical data and projections on legislation and case law, using quantitative and qualitative methods, including surveys, interviews, descriptive and inferential statistics.

Research Handbook on the Future of EU Copyright

Edited by Estelle Derclaye

This original Handbook takes stock and questions what the future of EU copyright should be. What went wrong with the harmonisation acquis? What did the directives do well? Should copyright be further harmonised? Each of the 25 recognised copyright experts from different European countries gives a critical account of the EU harmonisation carried out on several aspects of copyright law (subject-matter, originality, duration, rights, defences etc.), and asks whether further harmonisation is desirable or not. This way, the Handbook not only gives guidance to European institutions as to what remains to be done or needs to be remedied but is also the first overall picture of current and future EU copyright law.

The Legal Protection of Databases: A Comparative Analysis

Estelle Derclaye

The protection of the investment made in collecting, verifying or presenting database contents is still not harmonised internationally. Some laws over-protect database contents, whilst others under-protect them. This book examines and compares several methods available for the protection of investment in database creation – namely, intellectual property, unfair competition, contract and technological protection measures – in order to find an adequate type and level of protection.

To this effect, the author uses criteria based on a combination of the economics of information goods, the human rights to intellectual property and to information, and the public interest, proposing a model that can be adopted at international and national levels.

Copyright and Cultural Heritage: Preservation and Access to Works in a Digital World

Edited by Estelle Derclaye

Thanks to digitisation and the Internet, preservation of and access to our cultural heritage – which consists of works protected by copyright and works in the public domain – have never been easier. This essential book examines the twin issues of the preservation of, and access to, cultural heritage and the problems copyright law creates and the solutions it can at the same time provide.

The expert contributors explore the extent to which current copyright laws from Europe and beyond prevent or help the constitution of a centralized online repository of our cultural heritage. Provided legal reform is achieved and the additional financial and organisational hurdles are overcome, this work argues that it should be possible to fulfill the dream of an online Alexandrian library.

Intellectual Property Overlaps:  A European Perspective

Estelle Derclaye and Matthias Leistner

Intellectual property rights, conventionally seen as quite distinct, are increasingly overlapping with one another. There are several reasons for this: the expansion of IPRs beyond their traditional borders, the creation of new IPRs especially at EU level, the exploitation of gaps in the law by shrewd lawyers, and the use of unfair competition as an alternative when IPRs are either not available at all or expired. The convergence of several IPRs on the same subject-matter poses problems. As they are normally envisaged as water-tight categories, there are very few rules which cater for the sort of regime clash that any overlap of IPRs necessarily entails.

This book's aim is to find appropriate rules to regulate overlaps and thereby avoid regime conflicts and undue unstructured expansion of IPRs. The book studies the practical consequences of each overlap at the international, European and national levels (where the laws of France, the UK and Germany are reviewed). It then analyses the reasons for the prohibition or authorisation of overlaps. This analysis enables the determination of criteria and principles that can be used to (re)map the overlaps to achieve appropriateness and legitimacy.

Core and Contingent Work in the European Union: A Comparative Analysis

Jeff Kenner

Labour and social security law studies have addressed the topic of the decline of the standard employment relationship mainly from the point of view of the growing number of atypical relationships. Only a limited number of studies have examined the issue from the perspective of the differentiation between core and contingent work. Such an examination is necessary as the increase in contingent work leads to complicated legal questions which vary between European states depending on the type of contingent arrangements that have become most prevalent.

This book analyses, using a comparative approach, these different types of contingency from a national and EU perspective touching on the work relationship from a labour as well as a social security point of view.

The aim of the book is to identify and analyse those questions adopting an innovative approach and to put forward proposals for safeguarding social cohesion within undertakings and European society.

Competition Laws, Globalization and Legal Pluralism: China's Experience (Hart Studies in Competition Law)

Qianlan Wu

About Competition Laws, Globalization and Legal Pluralism. Building upon a theoretical framework and empirical research, this book provides a thought-provoking analysis of the interests, strategies and challenges that China has faced in developing its Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) in the context of economic globalization.

The Lex Mercatoria in Theory and Practice

Orsolya Toth

The book offers a theoretically justified and pragmatic concept of the so-called 'lex mercatoria' contributing to the debate concerning the existence of this law as an autonomous, a-national and universal legal system established by trade practice.

This new work equips commercial arbitrators and counsel with a formula to 'recognize' and apply a rule of the lex mercatoria in practice. It argues that a rule of the lex mercatoria is established if there is a majority congruent behaviour within a business community followed out of fear of criticism and a willingness to criticize others in case of deviation. This two-element test increases legal certainty and potentially reduces the time and costs of proving the rule.

Case studies are included to illustrate the practical implications of the analysis and more difficult issues such as burden of proof, admissible evidence and the role of written harmonization measures are also considered. The approach adopted in the book reduces the elusiveness of the concept and offers an analysis which makes the lex mercatoria clearer for scholars and more attractive for practitioners.

The book has won the St Petersburg International Legal Forum Private Law Prize in 2018.

Charlesworth and Percy on Negligence

Christopher Walton; Philip Kramer; Roger Cooper; Stephen Todd; Richard Hyde; Mark Armitage

Charlesworth and Percy on Negligence is an exhaustive reference guide to the tort of negligence written by a mixed team of practitioners and academics on the torts of negligence. It has been cited in the highest courts in common law jurisdictions worldwide.

Regulating Food-Borne Illness: Investigation, Control and Enforcement

Richard Hyde

When faced with tackling food-borne illness, regulators have a number of competing goals. They must investigate in order to discover the source of the illness. Once the source is identified they must take action to prevent further cases of illness occurring. Finally, once the illness is under control, they may wish to take enforcement action against those responsible.

Regulating Food-Borne Illness uses interviews and documentary analysis to examine the actions of regulators and considers how they balance these three tasks. Central to the regulators' role is the collection of information. Without information about the source, control or enforcement action cannot be taken. Investigation must therefore take place to produce the necessary information. Utilising theoretical frameworks drawn from regulation and biosecurity, Regulating Food-Borne Illness shows that control is prioritised, and that investigatory steps are chosen in order to ensure that the information necessary for control, rather than enforcement, is collected. This has the effect of reducing the possibility that enforcement action can be taken.

The difficulty of evidence gathering and case-building in food-borne illness cases is exposed, and the author considers the methods aimed at reducing the difficulty of bringing successful enforcement action.

European Intellectual Property Law

Paul Torremans and Justine Pila

European Intellectual Property Law offers a full account of the main areas of substantive European intellectual property law - including the law of copyright and related rights, patents and plant variety rights, trademarks, design rights, and rights in data and information.

EU Copyright Law: A Commentary

Paul Torremans and Irini Stamatoudi (eds.)

This authoritative reference work presents comprehensive article-by-article commentary on each of the EU Directives in the field of copyright, as well as analysis of the underlying basic concepts and principles such as free movement and non-discrimination.

Published as part of the Elgar Commentaries series, this unique book describes and analyses each EU directive in turn, taking into account all recent legislative amendments and pending initiatives in the context of the EU Digital Agenda, as well as the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. With a clear structure allowing readers to navigate quickly to a specific point, the book not only sets out the law, but boldly discusses challenges for the future that will underpin copyright in the years to come. It also presents ongoing discussions in WIPO and assesses the role of copyright in society and economy both from an EU and an international perspective.

EU Copyright Law is a seminal commentary work from a team of leading experts in the field combining aspects of theory and practice and placing copyright in perspective. It will be an indispensable reference tool for academics, researchers, practitioners and policymakers in copyright law and comparative law.

Holyoak and Torremans Intellectual Property Law

Paul Torremans

Holyoak and Torremans Intellectual Property Law provides readers with a clear introduction to UK intellectual property law, whilst carefully placing the law in its global context and acknowledging the influence of EU and other international jurisdictions over its development.

Conflict of Laws in Intellectual Property: The CLIP Principles and Commentary

Paul Torremans and European Max Planck Group on Conflict of Laws in Intellectual Property

The Conflict of Laws in Intellectual Property (CLIP) Principles address issues of private law for disputes involving intellectual property rights. They were produced by a Max Planck Institute research project, in which the authors of this work were heavily involved. The Principles are intended to provide a model European framework to respond to the increasing need for guidance on the applicable law. They represent a significant body of work which will help to inform developing practice on applicable law and conflict throughout the field.

This new work presents the Principles, alongside article-by-article commentary and notes, which analyse thoroughly the context of the rule within the Principles, as well as within the existing legal solutions at the national, European and international level. It also explores the policy considerations underlying the rule, enabling a better understanding of why the Principles adopt the solutions laid out in the rules. Useful references are provided to the relevant legal provisions and cases dealing with the respective issues of intellectual property and private international law.

Cheshire, North & Fawcett: Private International Law

Paul Torremans (general editor), Uglješa Grušić, Christian Heinze, Louise Merrett, Alex Mills, Carmen Otero García-Castrillón, Zheng Sophia Tang, Katarina Trimmings, and Lara Walker (Consultant Editor James J. Fawcett)

The new edition of this well-established and highly regarded work has been fully updated to encompass the major changes and developments in the law, including coverage of the Recast Brussels I Regulation which came into force in 2015. The book is invaluable for the practitioner as well as being one of the leading students' textbooks in the field, giving comprehensive and accessible coverage of the basic principles of private international law.

It offers students, teachers and practitioners not only a rigorous academic examination of the subject, but also a practical guide to the complex subject of private international law. Written by an expert team of academics, there is extensive coverage of commercial topics such as the jurisdiction of various courts and their limitations, stays of proceedings and restraining foreign proceedings, the recognition and enforcement of judgments, the law of obligations with respect to contractual and non-contractual obligations. There are also sections on the various aspects of family law in private international law, and the law of property, including the transfer of property, administration of estates, succession and trusts.

Intellectual Property and Private International Law

Paul Torremans and James Fawcett

Intellectual property has traditionally been regulated on a territorial basis. However, the protection and commercial exploitation of intellectual property rights such as patents, trade marks, designs and copyright occurring across borders are now seldom confined to one jurisdiction. This book considers how the introduction of a foreign element inevitably raises potential problems of private international law, ranging from establishing which court has jurisdiction and which is the applicable law to securing the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments.

The Internet has brought a significant increase in the scale of this phenomenon and valuable new chapters have been added to this edition to reflect this. Nationally protected trade marks are now used globally on websites and copyright material is distributed, communicated and copied in a world without borders. Patents have already been licensed on a transnational basis for several decades. All this raises questions of jurisdiction and applicable law. The well-respected and expert author team address such questions as; which court will have jurisdiction to deal with the issues arising from intellectual property rights and their exploitation in an international context? And which national law will the court with jurisdiction apply? Private international law questions increasingly arise and the two disciplines that previously operated in different spheres are increasingly obliged to co-operate.

Research Handbook on Copyright Law

Paul Torremans (ed.)

This second edition is a timely presentation of the state-of-the-art in copyright research. Copyright law is currently at the centre of many debates and the subject of substantive new developments. The new edition of the Research Handbook captures these fast moving developments and goes far beyond a mere update of the chapters. All of the topical chapters are completely new and the authors have been chosen for their expertise and excellence in the areas concerned. Research Handbook on Copyright Law offers global coverage, both in terms of substance and in terms of author expertise, and maps both the present and future of the discipline. It will prove an invaluable research tool for all those involved in copyright research who wish to keep up with the pace at which this area of law is evolving.

Research Handbook on Cross-border Enforcement of Intellectual Property

Paul Torremans (ed.)

The Research Handbook on Cross-border Enforcement of Intellectual Property systematically analyses the unique difficulties posed by cross-border intellectual property disputes in the modern world.

The contributions to this book focus on the enforcement of intellectual property primarily from a cross-border perspective. Infringement remains a problematic issue for emerging economies and so the book assesses some of the enforcement structures in a selection of these countries, as well as cross-border enforcement from a private international law perspective. Finally, the book offers a unique insight into the roles played by judges and arbitrators involved in cross-border intellectual property dispute resolution.

Intellectual Property and Private International Law

Paul Torremans (ed.)

This collection, made possible by the recent convergence of intellectual property and private international law as critical disciplines, brings together the most important papers on these now linked subjects. More and more issues of private international law arise in the area of intellectual property, and the articles selected chart the route that both disciplines have covered together, discussing bridges built and dead-ends reached.

Also looking forward to the future of the subject, with an original introduction by Professor Paul Torremans, Intellectual Property and Private International Law will prove to be an essential research tool for all students, academics and practitioners working in this fast-developing area.

Intellectual Property and Human Rights

Paul Torremans (ed.)

As human rights issues continue to arise in an intellectual property context, this well-established cornerstone work in the debate has kept pace with developments and trends in this nexus of legal issues. Now, in an expanded and updated third edition, well-known authorities in both intellectual property law and human rights law present in-depth analysis and discussion of the essential issues, centred on the relations between intellectual property and freedom of expression and the fundamental right to privacy in an intellectual property environment.

Banks, Consumers and Regulation

Peter Cartwright

This important book provides a timely, original, and critical examination of the role of the law in regulating banks in the interests of the consumer. The work examines the social and economic rationales for, and the objectives of banking regulation. In so doing, it focuses on the crucial role of regulation in the protection of the consumer. The book then provides a critical appraisal of the principal techniques by which regulation is delivered and protection ensured. Such techniques include prior approval by licensing, continued supervision, and information remedies such as disclosure.

The work also looks at how the law protects depositors of insolvent banks through financial compensation schemes, and how it provides consumer redress through mechanisms for ensuring access to justice, in particular ombudsmen. Finally, the book looks at the topical question of consumer access to banking services, and considers the extent to which the law can justify placing social obligations on banks in the consumer interest.

This is the first monograph to examine these important topics in this way. It was described by Professor Jenny Hamilton as being "an extremely well written, accessible and succinct discussion of the key issues concerning the role of the law in regulating banks in the interests of consumers" which "for anyone wanting to understand the principal sites of debate about the proper role and effectiveness of banking regulation vis-à-vis consumers, this book provides a thoroughly accessible, informative and, in my opinion, indispensable resource." (Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance).

Consumer Protection and the Criminal Law

Peter Cartwright

In this book, Peter Cartwright considers the role of the free market in consumer protection and asks whether the state should intervene in the relationship between consumers and producers. He considers topics such as trade descriptions and product safety, and asks whether the UK should go further to holds traders (particularly corporations) to account for their activities towards consumers. The author defends the use of criminal sanctions to control business, highlighting traditional criminal law doctrine and placing consumers law in its socio-economic context.

It is the first book to examine criminal law and consumer protection in this way. When first published it won a Society of Public Teachers of Law Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship. Professor Colin Scott wrote that "the breadth of Cartwright's scholarship and lucid writing style have enabled him to produce a book which both advances the academic debate about regulatory crime while providing an excellent resource for graduate and undergraduate students in consumer law, criminal law and regulation." (Law Quarterly Review).

Banks in Crisis: the Legal Response

Peter Cartwright with Andrew Campbell, University of Leeds

This title was first published in 2002 by Ashgate and reproduced by Routledge as part of its Routledge Revivals series in 2017. A detailed and critical analysis of the various legal problems that arise when banks are in serious financial difficulty, Banks in Crisis offers an invaluable, international perspective on the concept and causes of bank failure. It takes an authoritative and much-needed look at a number of key issues including:

• Effective bank regulation as an instrument in the possible prevention of banking crises, with particular reference to the role of the Financial Services Authority in the UK, and the impact of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000
• The role of the Bank of England in the new regulatory landscape, with particular reference to its function as lender of last resort
• The legal controls on those involved in the management of banks
• Insolvency procedures and bank liquidation
• The use of depositor protection schemes

It was described by Professor David Milman as providing "a scholarly analysis of how English law has sought to provide a focused response to those lending institutions encountering financial difficulties" which "contains informative comparative insights, provides a valuable tool for those lawyers practising or researching in this vital field" (Insolvency Lawyer).

Insolvency within Multinational Enterprise Groups

Irit Mevorach

This book provides a framework for addressing the complex cases of multinational enterprise groups (MEGs) insolvencies, taking into account the opposing concerns of entity law and enterprise principles, as well as territorialism and universalism, which are in play in such cases. The discussion is assisted by a taxonomy describing prototypical scenarios of MEGs' insolvency cases, and it includes a critical analysis of various tools and mechanisms that can promote insolvency objectives. As such the book provides guidance on the proper use of current cross-border insolvency frameworks as the may apply to multinational groups, as well as for future reform.

Reconstructing European Copyright Law for the Digital Single Market

Dr Bernd Justin Jütte

The book critically examines the current process of reforming the copyright system in the European Union. On the basis of core elements of the harmonised copyright acquis, the work exposes the shortcomings of current reform proposals with a view to establishing a digital single market. In this regard, it is highlighted that the existing directives and regulations lack fundamental principles that could serve as a basis for a systematically structured European copyright, and that also the current reform proposals do not reflect such an approach. These deficits are addressed by fundamental approaches for an EU copyright reform.

For this purpose, three legislative options are discussed. The work takes a clear position in the current debate of EU Copyright reform and offers starting points from which a more systematic and coherent copyright system can be developed.

Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Insolvency, A Modular Approach

Irit Mevorach (with Riz Mokal, Ronald Davis, Alberto Mazzoni, Madam Justice Barbara Romaine, Janis Sarra, Ignacio Tirado, and Stephan Madaus)

This new book systematically examines the current process for distressed Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and proposes a different, more appropriate, 'modular' approach to the treatment of such entities when faced with insolvency proceedings.

Security Interests under the Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment

Sanam Saidova

Sanam's book, titled Security Interests under the Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment, has just been published by Hart Publishing. The book provides an extensive analytical examination of the Convention and its Protocols.

The aim of the Convention is to facilitate asset-based financing and leasing of aircraft, railway and space objects by establishing a uniform legal regime governing security and other international interests in these types of equipment. This book provides a detailed treatment of the issues of creation, registration, priority and enforcement of security and other international interests arising under the Convention.

The Copyright/Design Interface Past, Present and Future

Estelle Derclaye

Protecting designs is complex and diverse; it involves deciding whether to protect them by design law, copyright law, or by both laws. A single protection may be under- or overprotective but two or more can be overprotective if there are no rules regulating the overlap. Legal systems in Europe and abroad have struggled to find the most adequate solution to this problem.

This book traces the history of the design/copyright interface of 15 countries, selected for their diversity in the way they dealt with the interface. It examines how these countries have coped with the problems engendered by the interface, the rules they applied to it over time and the reasons for legislative changes. This analysis reveals the most appropriate rules to regulate the interface at EU and global level and will appeal to academics, practising lawyers, judges, students and policymakers all over the world.

The Future of Cross-Border Insolvency - Overcoming Biases and Closing Gaps

Irit Mevorach

Irit's new book on cross-border insolvency was recently published by Oxford University Press (I Mevorach, 'The Future of Cross-Border Insolvency - Overcoming Biases and Closing Gaps', OUP 2018).

The book draws on Irit Mevorach's extensive work and involvement in standard setting and policy work in the field of international insolvency including at UNCITRAL and the World Bank. It interrogates the current cross-border insolvency regime and its application to both commercial entities and financial institutions.

By drawing upon sources from international law as well as behavioural and economic theory, the book offers a blueprint for meeting the demands of future cross-border insolvencies. It considers how to translate 'modified universalism' into binding international law and how to choose the right instrument for cross-border insolvency as well as the impact that instrument design has on decisions and choices. It also explores how to encourage compliance, and proposes mechanisms that could close gaps in the system as well as overcome or mitigate behavioural biases that can undermine international coordination.