The purpose of this book is to explore the key substantive, methodological, and institutional issues raised by the proposed unitary EU patent system contained in EU Regulations 1257/2012 and 1260/2012 and the Unified Patent Court Agreement 2013. The originality of this work lies in its individual contributions and uniquely broad approach, taking six different (historical, constitutional, international, competition, institutional and forward-looking) perspectives on the proposed patent system. This means that the book offers a multi-authored and all round legal appraisal of the proposed unitary system from experts in patent law, EU constitutional law, private international law, and competition law, as well as leading figures from the worlds of legal practice, the bench, and the European Patent Office. The unitary patent system raises issues of foundational importance in the fields of patent and intellectual property law, EU law and legal harmonization, which it is the purpose of the book to engage with. This is a work which will enjoy wide and enduring interest among academics, policy makers and decision makers/practitioners working in patent law, intellectual property law, legal harmonization, and EU law.

The creation of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) is the most prominent change in the European legal landscape for the last four decades. This book explains how the new system works in practice and how to make the best use of its provisions. It offers readers an in-depth and comprehensive commentary on the legal mechanisms of the upcoming ratified European Patent Law, and advice on potential problems that users of the forthcoming regulations may face. The book first describes the creation of the Unified European Patent Law and how its four new legislative texts interact. The new legislative texts are then explained and commented on in detail, rule by rule, with diverse approaches and perspectives from a practitioner team comprising patent litigators, European patent attorneys, law professors and patent judges. The Commentary takes into account the practical needs of users of the new system on both the prosecution and enforcement sides, addressing substantive and procedural problems. This book is the most authoritative text on the Unitary Patent and Unified Patents Court, and an invaluable tool for practitioners in this rapidly developing area of law.

The purpose of this book is to explore the key substantive, methodological, and institutional issues raised by the proposed unitary EU patent system contained in EU Regulations 1257/2012 and 1260/2012 and the Unified Patent Court Agreement 2013. The originality of this work lies in its individual contributions and uniquely broad approach, taking six different (historical, constitutional, international, competition, institutional and forward-looking) perspectives on the proposed patent system. This means that the book offers a multi-authored and all round legal appraisal of the proposed unitary system from experts in patent law, EU constitutional law, private international law, and competition law, as well as leading figures from the worlds of legal practice, the bench, and the European Patent Office. The unitary patent system raises issues of foundational importance in the fields of patent and intellectual property law, EU law and legal harmonization, which it is the purpose of the book to engage with. This is a work which will enjoy wide and enduring interest among academics, policy makers and decision makers/practitioners working in patent law, intellectual property law, legal harmonization, and EU law.

European Intellectual Property Law offers a full account of the main areas of substantive European intellectual property law - including the law of copyright and related rights, patents and plant variety rights, trademarks, design rights, and rights in data and information.

This book examines the impact and shortcomings of the TRIPS Agreement, which was signed in Marrakesh on 15 April 1994. Over the last 20 years, the framework conditions have changed fundamentally. New technologies have emerged, markets have expanded beyond national borders, some developing states have become global players, the terms of international competition have changed, and the intellectual property system faces increasing friction with public policies. The contributions to this book inquire into whether the TRIPS Agreement should still be seen only as part of an international trade regulation, or whether it needs to be understood – or even reconceptualized – as a framework regulation for the international protection of intellectual property. The purpose, therefore, is not to define the terms of an outright revision of the TRIPS Agreement but rather to discuss the framework conditions for an interpretative evolution that could make the Agreement better suited to the expectations and needs of today’s global economy.

Constitutional pluralism has become immensely popular among scholars who study European integration and issues of global governance. Some of them believe that constitutionalism, traditionally thought to be bound to a nation state, can emerge beyond state borders - most importantly in the process of European integration, but also beyond that, for example, in international regulatory regimes such as the WTO, or international systems of fundamental rights protection, such as the European Convention. At the same time, the idea of constitutional pluralism has not gone unchallenged. Some have questioned its compatibility with the very nature of law and the values which law brings to constitutionalism. The critiques have come from both sides: from those who believe in the 'traditional' European constitutionalism based on a hierarchically superior authority of the European Union as well as from scholars focusing on constitutions of particular states. The book collects contributions taking opposing perspectives on constitutional pluralism - some defending and promoting the concept of constitutional pluralism, some criticising and opposing it. While some authors can be called 'the founding fathers of constitutional pluralism', others are young academics who have recently entered the field. Together they offer fresh perspectives on both theoretical and practical aspects of constitutional pluralism, enriching our existing understanding of the concept in current scholarship.