Cases and Materials on Intellectual Property

It incorporates all of the recent amendments to United States intellectual property law, made when the United States accepted the GATT Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations. The numerous intellectual property provisions of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, enacted in December, 1994, are fully discussed and integrated into the text.

The casebook presents a forward presentation of the broad range of intellectual property issues and includes these special features:

• The cases in the Patents chapter are accessible to students of all educational backgrounds, featuring relatively simple, straightforward inventions with technical aspects that do not obscure the courts' discussions of relevant legal concepts.
• There is a discussion of how familiar common law doctrines addressing contracts, unjust enrichment, and confidential relationships may be used to provide legal rights in ideas and information when trade secret and patent doctrines do not apply.
• There is an examination of copyright eligibility limitations including the difficulty courts have encountered in applying them to particular categories of copyrightable subject matter, such as factual complications, computer programs, and the designs of useful articles.
• The discussion of the issues of passing off, false advertising and product disparagement includes a comparison of the federal cause of action under the Lanham Act § 43(a), with the traditional common law claim.
• The text includes the Supreme Court and federal appellate decisions recognized as the bedrock of intellectual property doctrine. The remaining cases are very recent and selected to reflect the most current trends and to provide stimulating and accessible fact patterns.
• Text and Notes between the cases provide extensive background information, freeing the instructor to move beyond the basics in class.

In recognition of the increasingly international nature of intellectual property protection, Barret's Cases and Materials on Intellectual Property integrates discussion of international issues throughout - including the Paris Convention for the Industrial Property, the grey market, and changes in U.S. Copyright Law as a result of the Berne Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, including Trade in Counterfeited Goods ("TRIPS").

This casebook covers the federal law of patents, copyrights, trademarks and unfair competition, as well as state trade secret, unfair competition and right of publicity doctrines.

It incorporates all of the recent amendments to United States intellectual property law, made when the United States accepted the GATT Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations. The numerous intellectual property provisions of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, enacted in December, 1994, are fully discussed and integrated into the text.

The casebook presents a forward presentation of the broad range of intellectual property issues and includes these special features:

• The cases in the Patents chapter are accessible to students of all educational backgrounds, featuring relatively simple, straightforward inventions with technical aspects that do not obscure the courts' discussions of relevant legal concepts.
• There is a discussion of how familiar common law doctrines addressing contracts, unjust enrichment, and confidential relationships may be used to provide legal rights in ideas and information when trade secret and patent doctrines do not apply.
• There is an examination of copyright eligibility limitations including the difficulty courts have encountered in applying them to particular categories of copyrightable subject matter, such as factual complications, computer programs, and the designs of useful articles.
• The discussion of the issues of passing off, false advertising and product disparagement includes a comparison of the federal cause of action under the Lanham Act 43(a), with the traditional common law claim.
• The text includes the Supreme Court and federal appellate decisions recognized as the bedrock of intellectual property doctrine. The remaining cases are very recent and selected to reflect the most current trends and to provide stimulating and accessible fact patterns.
• Text and Notes between the cases provide extensive background information, freeing the instructor to move beyond the basics in class.

In recognition of the increasingly international nature of intellectual property protection, Barret's Cases and Materials on Intellectual Property integrates discussion of international issues throughout - including the Paris Convention for the Industrial Property, the grey market, and changes in U.S. Copyright Law as a result of the Berne Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, including Trade in Counterfeited Goods ("TRIPS").