International Intellectual Property: a Handbook of Contemporary Research

With genuinely unfeigned pleasure, this Kat is delighted to announce the publication of The Research Handbook on International Intellectual Property, another emanation from the IP production line at Edward Elgar Publishing. This volume is edited by that prolific scholar Daniel J. Gervais (Professor of Law, Vanderbilt University Law School and a man whose IP interests run considerably wider than the WTO/TRIPS topics with which he is so often associated).  This book is the ninth in the series of Research Handbooks in Intellectual Property, of which this Kat is Series Editor.  For this reason the review of this title will not be attempted here, but will instead be passed on to an objective and independent reviewer. It goes without saying that many of the contributors are either personal friends of this Kat or scholars whose works he has long admired and occasionally wished were his, which is another good reason for getting it independently reviewed. 

Here's how the publishers describe this book:

International Intellectual Property: A Handbook of Contemporary Research aims to provide researchers and practitioners of international intellectual property law with the necessary tools to understand the latest debates in this incredibly dynamic and complex field.

Ground-breaking research can be
a 'hole' lot of fun ...

The book combines doctrinal analysis with ground-breaking theoretical research by many of the most recognised experts in the field. At its core, it offers overviews of the structure and content of the two instruments that can undoubtedly be considered historically as the most important intellectual property treaties, namely the Berne Convention on the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property. Several chapters also discuss parts of the TRIPS Agreement. This important book will prove a valuable resource for students and academics of international intellectual property wishing to obtain useful knowledge of current issues such as conflicts between intellectual property (especially patents and trademark) rights, geographical indications, protection of luxury brands, orphan works and innovation.

For the record, its bibliographic data runs like this: official publication date March 2015 [though the book seems to be published already, since this Kat has a copy sitting on his desk]. xli + 482 pages. Hardback ISBN 978 1 78254 479 1;  ebook ISBN 978 1 78254 480 7. Price £240 (online price £216). Rupture factor: moderate.  Book's website here.

Other books in the same series are

• Copyright Law: A Handbook of Contemporary Research (edited by Paul Torremans)
• Trademark Law and Theory: A Handbook of Contemporary Research (edited by Graeme Dinwoodie and Mark D. Janis)
• Patent Law and Theory: A Handbook of Contemporary Research (edited by Toshiko Takenaka)
• Research Handbook on the Future of EU Copyright Law (edited by Estelle Derclaye)
• Law and Theory of Trade Secrecy: a Handbook of Contemporary Research (edited by Rochelle C. Dreyfuss and Katherine J. Strandburg)
• Criminal Enforcement of Intellectual Property: a Handbook of Contemporary Research (edited by Christophe Geiger)
• Research Handbook on Intellectual Property Licensing (edited by Jacques de Werra)
• Research Handbook on Cross-Border Enforcement of Intellectual Property Licensing (edited by Paul Torremans)