Evolution of Modern Intellectual Property Law (The British Journey 1760—1911)

Author: (Australia) Sherman
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: Recently, a common theme in public debate has been that the law cannot adapt to the new methods developed in the creation, dissemination, and replication of knowledge products in recent years. The author of this book argues that to understand the many challenges the law faces today, it is necessary to understand its past. Sherman and Bentley use extensive archival research to provide a detailed explanation of the formation of modern British intellectual property law. In this process, they explore two related themes. , they explain why intellectual property law has taken the form familiar to people today, with subcategories such as patents, copyrights, design, and trademarks. In refuting the view that intellectual property law is naturally formed or shaped by some higher philosophical principle, this book seeks to demonstrate the complexity and contingency of this legal field. Second, the authors portray the emerging intellectual property law as an independent legal field, while also attempting to explain how the law grants intangible property with the status of tangible property and the resulting challenges. The book further explores the rise and fall of creativity as an organizational concept in intellectual property law, the creative characteristics of intellectual property law, and the important role of registration procedures in the formation of intangible property.