Foreword
Author | David Vaver |
Pages | 23-25 |
xxiii
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.
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