BOOK REVIEW
RESEARCH HANDBOOK ON COPYRIGHT LAW
Edited by Paul Torremans
Second Edition
ISBN: 978 1 78536 142 5 (book)
978 1 78536 143 2 (ebook)
Edward Elgar Publishing Limited
Research Handbooks in Intellectual Property
www.e-elgar.com
www.elgaronline.com
RECENT CHANGES AND TRENDS IN COPYRIGHT LAW WORLDWIDE
An appreciation by Elizabeth Robson Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers and Phillip Taylor MBE, Head of Chambers
and Reviews Editor, “The Barrister”
‘Copyright has become a fast-moving area of intellectual property’, writes Paul Torremans, who has so ably edited the new second edition of this informative handbook, published by Edward Elgar as part of Elgar’s ‘Research Handbooks in Intellectual Property’ series.
The dizzying pace of change in this field is, as the editor adds ‘reflected in the wealth and diversity of copyright research’. The book presents a judiciously selected sampling of this research from a team of two dozen international contributors. The editor has certainly succeeded in his aim of presenting ‘a mix of interesting topics’ and varying opinions from experts in this field from around the world.
‘Interesting topics’ here include, for example, the tensions inherent in the concept of originality and the right to communicate with the public -- and (another example) the oft recurring clash between morality and public policy.
Speaking of which, note the discussion concerning the established principle of European law that the commercialization of subject matter contrary to public policy or morality must be denied domestic trademark and patent rights, or – in many cases – copyright and related rights protection.
An interesting footnote illustrates how copyright can intrude into almost everything. Note the famous ‘burkini ban’ imposed in France for instance. No longer allowed on French beaches, the ‘burkini’ (a sort of ‘onesie’ with a hood for female swimmers) has been condemned (quite rightly in the view of many) by the French Prime Minister as ‘immoral due to its representation of the enslavement of women’.
The book, of course, covers a wide range of other topics which come under the scrutiny of copyright, from online search engines, to resale rights, musical creativity, cultural heritage and much more, across many jurisdictions.
Researchers in this complex, often controversial, ever changing and ever fascinating area of intellectual property law will appreciate the research resources that this book provides: the extensive footnoting, for example, and the especially useful thirty-eight-page index, which certainly facilitates looking things up.
Timely and up to date, this compact volume should be essential reading for intellectual property lawyers, as well as academics and those tasked with decisions relating to public policy.
The publication date is cited as at 27th October 2017.
