IP and European competition law: a new book

Various members of the IPKat's blogging team are attending the launch this evening of a new and welcome publication, Intellectual Property and EU Competition Law, by London-based barrister Jonathan D.C. Turner (13 Old Square). The publisher, Oxfor University Press, describes the book as follows:

"This book explains the application of EU competition law to intellectual property, and the resulting regulatory framework for the exploitation and licensing of intellectual property rights [This is important: from the word 'and' in the title, it's not apparent whether this is explaining IP to competition lawyers, competition law to IP lawyers or seeking to integrate the two complementary disciplines].

* Provides a thorough yet accessible analysis of one of the more complex areas of EU commercial law [Competition law's not just complex: it's pretty verbose. The author has managed to get a lot into a relatively short space here];
* Explains the fundamental principles and policy on the interface between intellectual property and competition law, with detailed accounts of the key case-law and official guidance;
* Approaches the subject from a practical viewpoint, analysing its impact under the three broad headings of Technology, Culture and Branding [this tripartite approach works well, though the Kat bets that, when competition principles are finally applied to internet service providers, these broad headings will have to be merged]

The interface between intellectual property rights and competition policy is one of the most important and difficult areas of EU commercial law. The exploitation of exclusive rights can conflict with competition law, which aims to preserve competition as the driving force in efficient markets. These conflicts have to be resolved against the background of a complicated relationship between EU law, national laws and international treaties relating to intellectual property. There have been major developments recently in this area, including the new Technology Transfer Block Exemption, the Commission's Guidelines on Technology Transfer, and cases such as IMS and Microsoft concerning the circumstances in which exploitation of intellectual property rights is an abuse of a dominant position.

This book contains a detailed explanation of the application of EU competition law to all types of intellectual property, including recent developments, and the resulting regulatory framework for the exploitation and licensing of intellectual property rights. It has practical analysis of such issues as technology transfer and pools, research and development, and franchising and merchandising.It derives from a section in the looseleaf Law of the EU (Vaughan & Robertson, eds), and is made available here for the benefit of those who do not subscribe to the looseleaf".

This Kat would have read the entire book by now, but he was distracted by the distant sound of corks popping and crisps being crunched so he has had to put it down and head off to the reception. He looks forward to putting it through its paces and wishes both it -- and its author -- the very best of luck!

Bibliographic detail. Hardback 384 pages. Price £145. ISBN 978-1-90-450145-9. Web page here. Rupture factor: small.