Fundamentals of Intellectual Property

Over long spans, much that is truly fundamental has been constant, and many current intellectual property (IP) debates still center on issues raised in the 1800s and earlier.In addition to often comparative coverage of basic forms of IP -- patents, copyrights, trade secrets and trademarks -- brief attention is given to domain names and rights of publicity. Remedies are considered pervasively. Preemption and speech issues are treated separately as well as pervasively.This book, used twice annually in 3-semester-hour law school survey courses since 1999, flags common themes and critical distinctions among IP components. Its goal is to present the most important and durable aspects of the law for the benefit of potential legal specialists as well as generalists.Organization and contents are informed by over forty years of study and teaching students at every level of technical and legal sophistication. Making sometimes difficult choices has been facilitated by ongoing discussions with current and former students, colleagues and others similarly engaged.The book contains no index. It does, however, have a relatively complete table of cases, often useful despite the capacity to search digitally. Use of Roger E. Schecter's comprehensive statutory supplement (West) or equivalent is suggested.This edition has been updated for use in the spring, 2011.