Designing private international law rules that are fit for intellectual property
Professor Paul Torremans was amongst the first scholars to investigate and develop the relationship between intellectual property and private international law.
Previously intellectual property experts had argued that their concept of national treatment that lead to territoriality meant that private international law problems did not arise and private international lawyers tended to leave the weird and complex niche area of intellectual property to one side. Professor Torremans' book Intellectual Property and Private International Law (with Professor em James Fawcett, 2nd ed, OUP 2011) is widely accepted as the leading monograph in this area.
On the basis of his expertise Professor Paul Torremans was invited to join the CLIP project or the European Max Planck Group on Conflict of Laws in Intellectual Property. This project was funded by the Max Planck Gesellschaft and brought together experts form the Max Planck Institutes in Hamburg (Private International Law) and Munich (Intellectual Property), as well as a select group of external experts.
The project established a complete set of Principles covering all aspects of the relationship between intellectual property and private international law (European Max Planck Group on Conflict of Laws in Intellectual Property, Conflict of Laws in Intellectual Property: The CLIP Principles and Commentary, Oxford University Press (2013). These Principles can be applied by judges and private parties, but they also form a blueprint for treaties and national legislation in this area.
When the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom finally overturned the old flawed caselaw highlighted in Prof Torremans' work the judgment in Lucasfilm Limited and others (Appellants) v Ainsworth and another (Respondents) [2011] UKSC 39 made explicitly reference to the CLIP Principles.
Professor Torremans' work was also cited by the Supreme Court of Appeal in South Africa in Gallo Africa Ltd and Others v Sting Music (Pty) Ltd and Others ((40/2010) [2010] ZASCA 96; 2010 (6) SA 329 (SCA) ; [2011] 1 All SA 449 (SCA)) and he advised the European Commission on the most recent Hague Convention.
Professor Torremans continues his research in this area.