Book Review: Patent Enforcement Worldwide
In addition to key jurisdictions in Europe, the text covers major economies in Asia and the Americas. The US section, written by Timothy Maloney, unsurprisingly addresses the expense of litigation. He cites the American Intellectual Property Law Associations's 2013 statistic that the, "median cost of a medium-size patent lawsuit is approximately USD $3.5 million." Maloney argues that the high expense of lawsuits provides an incentive to design around asserted patents to limit potential liability. 'Designing-around' requires investment in R&D and innovation. This is an interesting argument - the higher the cost of litigation, the more incentive there is to innovate. Food for thought.
The first edition of the book was written in 2000 in honour of Dieter Stauder's 60th birthday. According to the preface, Stauder is credited with being one of the first scholars to note the role of enforcement for 'effective protection' of patent rights. In Katanomist-approved fashion, his 1988 study on patent infringement in Germany, the UK, France and Italy used court data to provide empirical insights into litigation in practice. His findings suggested a need for harmonisation. Stauder is the former head of the International Section of University of Strasbourg's Centre d'Études Internationales de la Propriété Intellectuelle (CEIPI) and now a practicing lawyer.
Edited by Christopher Heath, a Member of the Boards of Appeal of the EPO, this book addresses a hot topic and is a useful source of reference. Given the pace of change in patent enforcement in the last 15 years, this new edition required significant re-writes of earlier versions. An impressive feat. If this Kat were to make any complaint, it is that the index is structured in a way that makes it difficult to research by topic (e.g. 'patent trolls'), as opposed to jurisdiction.
Hart Publishing has generously offered a 20% discount to IPKat readers. To receive the discount, please click on the ‘pay now’ button on the right hand side of this link. Once through to the ordering screen type ref: CV7 in the voucher code field and click ‘apply’.
Bibliographic information: Heath, C. (2015). Patent enforcement worldwide : writings in honour of Dieter Stauder. Hart Publishing. IBSN:1849467099. Prices before IPKat discount: hardback: £95, e-book £67.
