Book reviews

There are now a good number of well written textbooks available to the practitioner on the subject of intellectual property law. In certain respects this book is no different from most of the other published texts in that it contains a general overview of all the relevant intellectual property rights (patents, registered trade marks, unregistered trade marks, copyright, design rights, database rights and the protection of confidential information) and has also been written for the benefit of the law student or general practitioner rather than the intellectual property specialist.

However it has some unique qualities which set it apart from other standard texts. First, its approach is from the perspective of Scots law. It can be difficult for the practitioner to research or advise on specific Scots law issues as most of the relevant legal sources make reference only to English decisions. Although most of intellectual property law is statutory and therefore of uniform application throughout the United Kingdom (and indeed Europe), the authors have taken the time to analyse the issues under Scots law. This is illustrated particularly well in the chapter on confidentiality which makes reference to various decisions of the Court of Session and House of Lords on breach of the duty of confidentiality and enforceability of restrictive covenants. Moreover the appendix contains a useful collection of patent, trade mark and copyright licences and assignations which have all been drafted to comply with Scots law.

Secondly the work is highly practical. This is illustrated in the chapter on procedure for securing patent protection which contains various examples which can help clarify some of the difficulties associated with novelty and prior art in the context of analysing the patentability of an invention. This is welcome as many other texts do not explain with such clarity the procedures for securing patent protection.

The book contains a detailed analysis of moral rights and performers’ rights which is often given less attention in other texts, and the chapter on industrial designs contains a useful summary of the new community design rights which came into force recently.

Any niggles? The authors have gone to the trouble of including two short chapters on European competition law implications. These chapters include a brief overview of article 81 of the EC Treaty (which prohibits anti-competitive agreements) and article 82 (which prohibits the abuse of a dominant position). However the authors have omitted to mention that these rules have been enshrined in domestic law since 2000 under the Competition Act 1998. Neither is any mention made of the new technology transfer block exemption which came into force in May of this year. This is disappointing as the block exemption is particularly relevant in the context of drafting and negotiating patent and/or knowhow licences.

Nevertheless this book will be a good investment for the Scottish practitioner who is seeking to gain a clear understanding of the principles of intellectual property law.

Colin Miller, Partner, Biggart Baillie

Please send any suggestions on future books to be reviewed to:

Alistair Bonnington,The Law School,The Stair Building,University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ e: alistair.bonnington@bbc.co.uk