Form in Intellectual Property Law

Form in Intellectual Property Law sets out to expose, analyse and evaluate the conflicting conceptions of legal judgment that operate in intellectual property law. Its central theme is the opposition between law-making through creation of general rules and law-making done at the point of application through case-by-case decisions.

Using examples drawn from statutory and common law materials, the book offers a critical analysis of the factors that influence the form of legal directions in intellectual property law. Through an exploration of form, the work sets out to provide insights into how the law works to balance the interests of rights owners and users and more broadly, how it works to serve the public interest. These insights provide a basis for the evaluation of the contemporary economic and ethical justifications that are commonly advanced in support of intellectual property law.

Form in Intellectual Property Law provides an original perspective on the significance of form in the law and will interest both academics and advanced students of intellectual property law, as well as those interested in the law making process, especially judicial decision-making and the exercise of judicial discretion.