This book provides the first comprehensive study of what cannot be patented and what should not be patentable in Europe.

This text provides an analysis of European patent law and procedure (including practice under the PCT) and examines the provisions and case-law of the European Patent Convention, the Patent Law Treaty, and Community Patent.

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.

The focus of this book is on the fifteen-member European Union but its coverage extends to many other bodies which form part of today's Europe, such as the Council of Europe, the European Economic Area and Western European Union.