Form in Intellectual Property Law

'A refreshing and thought-provoking addition to IP scholarship, Booton offers an analysis of the rule-standard tension that lies within IP law. With its sweep of key issues in copyright, patent and trade mark laws (and the role played by equity in this area) he offers a new perspective on familiar material. The book ultimately explores the hypothesis that rules relate to certainty and securing claims while standards constrain the scope of rights and facilitate public access.'
- Hazel Carty, University of Manchester, UK

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

sing 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 IP law. Through an exploration of form, the work provides insights into how the law balances the interests of rights owners and users and, more broadly, how it serves 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 IP law.

This book provides an original perspective on the significance of form in the law and will appeal to both academics and advanced students of IP law, as well as those interested in the law-making process, especially judicial decision-making and the exercise of judicial discretion.