The title and table of contents of Dutfield and Suthersanen on Global Intellectual Property Law could easily give the impression that this treatise is setting rather high expectations. However, the book fulfills its promise as an impressive work of scholarship that spans jurisdictions and intellectual property regimes. The authors’ approach to intellectual property (IP) is distinctive in that it considers ways in which national laws influence and are influenced by global trade in physical and information products and services. For example, an IP norm developed in Europe may be adapted and modified by the U.S. and then added to bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, dispersing the norm into other legal and economic systems, which then implemented them with their own idiosyncratic changes.
Each chapter is agnostic as to jurisdiction, but the authors gracefully jump from international treaties to national laws. Legislation and judicial opinions from the U.S. and E.U. receive the most attention, but legal materials from other countries also appear. The table of legislation includes laws from over twenty nations. This description may make the text sound disjointed, but in fact the book is remarkably readable; the transitions between different jurisdictions’ approaches to the issue at hand are smooth, and the story is easy to follow. This book is surely one of few from which a reader can learn about IP regimes in well over a dozen jurisdictions.
Every type of IP is considered. Patents, trademarks, and copyright receive the most thorough treatment, but readers will also find chapters on IP in designs, geographical indicators, plant varieties, and utility models. Each chapter explains major doctrinal and practical issues for each type of IP, again focusing on how norms and rules interact through global trade.
The final third of the book discusses any kind of IP related to crucial issues in international law, including human rights, health, education, biotechnology, and traditional knowledge. While the chapters on each type of IP tend to be expository, these later chapters lean more toward the normative, with well-reasoned proposals for leveraging IP to address major global challenges. The chapter on education and cultural heritage will be especially interesting for librarians and informational professionals. The chapters on health and new biologic technologies were eye-opening discussions of how IP, particularly patents, affect which medicines, health care devices, and even foods, will be available to us.
This book tells a distinctive story about IP and its place in global economic and cultural exchange. While it would not likely be the final source for a specialist in IP for a given jurisdiction, it is an outstanding starting point and teaching tool for courses on any IP topic. It is strongly recommended for IP scholars and students.
