Annette Kur & Thomas Dreier, European Intellectual Property Law

AuthorSylvia F. Jakob
PositionLL.B. Hons., Dipl. L.P., LL.M. (Edinburgh), Solicitor & Notary Public (n.p.), Research Associate Leibniz University of Hannover, Institute for Legal Informatics
Pages64-69
2014
Sylvia F. Jakob
64
1
Annette Kur/Thomas Dreier,
European Intellectual Property
Edward Elgar 2013, 592 pages, ISBN 978-1-84844-879-7
(Hardback), 978-1-84844-880-3 (Paperback) and 978-1-
78195-364-8 (ebook)
by Sylvia F. Jakob, LL.B. Hons., Dipl. L.P., LL.M. (Edinburgh), Solicitor & Notary Public (n.p.), Research Associate
Leibniz University of Hannover, Institute for Legal Informatics
© 2014 Sylvia F. Jakob
Everybody may disseminate this ar ticle by electroni c means and make it available for downlo ad under the terms and
conditions of the Digita l Peer Publishing Licence (DPPL). A copy of the license text may be obtaine d at http://nbn-resolving.
de/urn:nbn:de:0009-dppl-v3-en8 .
Recommended citation: Sylv ia F. Jakob, Book Review: Annette Kur/Thomas Dreier, European Intellec tual Property Law, 5
(2014) JIPITEC 64, par a 1
Book Review
1
“European Intellectual Property” is a neologism
composed of elements that were once thought to
be mutually exclusive. This was due to the principle
of territoriality, which provided that IP Rights (IPRs)
were not universal, but limited in effect to the ter-
ritory of the state in which they had been granted.
This principle stood in direct opposition to the re-
alization of the single market as set out in the Euro-
pean Treaties, as diverging substantive and proce-
dural IP laws in different Member States made free
trade virtually impossible.
2 It was not until the coming into force of the Lisbon
Treaty that the EU obtained comprehensive compe-
tences for the harmonization of substantive and pro-
cedural norms relating to IP (Art. 118 TFEU). Hence
the EU resorted to a piecemeal approach of harmo-
nization initiatives relating to individual IPRs, which
were either driven by international law or aimed at
the removal of quantitative restrictions on imports
and all measures having equivalent effect within the
internal market (Art. 34 TFEU).
3
Thus when speaking of “European Intellectual Prop-
-
work of international law, EU primary law and spe-
cial IP related Directives and Regulations, which Kur
& Dreier’s Textbook endeavors to tame. The text is
primarily aimed at students but also at practitioners
from the EU and beyond who seek to obtain a fun-

4
The book is divided into nine chapters of consid-
 -
    -
dress particular intellectual property rights in detail:
chapter 3 looks at patents, chapter 4 at trademarks,
chapter 5 at copyright and chapter 6 at plant variety
rights, geographical indications, industrial design
and semiconductor topographies. Chapter 7 deals
with the interplay of intellectual property and com-
petition law, chapter 8 looks at the harmonization
of EU-wide enforcement measures and chapter nine
provides an excursus on jurisdiction and applicable
law with special regard to the particularities of IPRs.
5 Chapter 1 constitutes a general introduction to the
nature of intellectual property, the rationale of pro-
tection and the different international legal instru-
ments, including the Paris and Berne Conventions,
the TRIPS Agreement and the WIPO Copyright Treaty
(WCT). Further reference is made to different inter-
national developments such as the WIPO Develop-
ment Agenda, the Doha Round and the role of bi-
lateral trade agreements. The chapter ends with an
excursus on human rights and its ever growing role
in the EU under the Charter of Fundamental Rights.

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