Foreword

• Author: David Vaver
• Pages: 23-25

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FOR E WOR D

In a world which trades on brand reputation, cultural products and

high technology, intellectual property has increasingly become a sub-

ject of greater national and international importance. More than ever

before, fortunes are made through products of intellect, whether it be

in art, science, or business. Indeed, in 1997, the year the f‌irst edition of

David Vaver’s Intellectual Property Law was published, two university

students had just chosen a new name for their internet search engine:

Google. In this world, intellectual property has become vastly more

important, not only for lawyers, but for consumers, businesses, and

countries, and this growth shows no signs of slowing.

The increasing importance of intellectual property is readily ap-

parent when examining the potential scope of protection under each of

the three intellectual property regimes. By challenging the boundaries

of what is protected, litigants are questioning what exactly intellectual

property is. In the second edition of Intellectual Property Law, Profe s-

sor Vaver addresses these new questions which challenge every facet

of intellectual property and legal imagination: Can a sound be a trade-

mark? Can a smell? Are e-mails protected by copyright? What about

text messages or “tweets”? Is wrapping the Reichstag in fabric a work of

art? Is a house design? Is a life form patentable? Is a business process?

As always, the answer to these questions is, “it depends.” But Professor

Vaver’s discussion of existing boundaries, and the bases on which new

boundaries may be drawn stands to serve as a valuable guide in grap-

pling with these diff‌icult issues.