Anne Fitzgerald

Intellectual Property Law - LBC Nutshell

Law Book Company $17.00
183pp ISBN 0-455 21661-4

Reviewed by
Leif Gamertsfelder
Deacons Graham & James, Australia
Leif.Gamertsfelder@dgj.com.au
 

1. Introduction

Often a student or practitioner who is not familiar with a certain area of law will need to refer to a text that explains all the major principles in that area of law concisely.

When that area of the law is intellectual property, a student or general practitioner is ably assisted by, Intellectual Property Law by leading intellectual property academic, Anne Fitzgerald. It has been published by LBC Information Services as part of their nutshell series for which the Hon. Mr Justice Young of the Supreme Court of New South Wales is the general editor.

Anyone who has attempted to explain a complex legal principle to a person unfamiliar with that principle will understand the skill required to communicate one's message clearly and accurately. Anne Fitzgerald's task in communicating the myriad of legal principles underlying intellectual property law is no less difficult and she has done a remarkable job.

Intellectual Property Law is written in an easy style that allows a reader who is not familiar with intellectual property law to grasp key concepts readily. Further, readers are provided with extensive references so that they can explore issues in greater depth if the need arises.

2. Current Issues in Intellectual Property

All the main categories of intellectual property are covered in the work, including copyright, patents, trade marks, designs and confidentiality. The work provides a comprehensive coverage of the important issues under these headings and also contains a chapter focusing on current issues in intellectual property, namely the difficulties in protecting computer programs and indigenous intellectual property.

For those interested in gaining a more comprehensive understanding of intellectual property (as opposed to those who require a ready reference for discrete issues), Intellectual Property Law is structured so that a reader can grasp the principles and themes underlying intellectual property regimes.

The work also contains a good overview of intellectual property generally and a discussion of the international dimensions of intellectual property law. This discussion is important because it reveals the real driving force behind changes to domestic intellectual property laws in recent years, such as changes to wine labelling laws and new digital copyright laws.

3. Trade Practices Act 1974

A crucial area of law that must be addressed in any intellectual property law book is the impact of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) and State Fair Trading legislation. Anne Fitzgerald's latest offering provides a very good indication of the impact of Trade Practices legislation in intellectual property contexts.

4. Index and References

The value of the work as an initial reference is increased substantially due to the inclusion of a comprehensive index. Also, the use of text notes rather than endnotes streamlines the referencing process.

5. Conclusion

Put simply, this work is a must for those who:

• are about to commence studying intellectual property;
   

• need to refresh their knowledge of intellectual property and do not have the time to read more specialised texts;
   

• require a general overview of key concepts informing intellectual property law prior to commencing an in-depth study of the area.

This is a Book Review published on 29 October 1999.

Citation: Gamertsfelder L, 'Intellectual Property Law - LBC Nutshell', Book Review, 1999 (3) The Journal of Information, Law and Technology (JILT). <http://elj.warwick.ac.uk/jilt/99-3/gamert.html>. New citation as at 1/1/04: < http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/elj/jilt/1999_3/gamertsfelder1/>