"Introduction" [2011] ELECD 442; in Kur, Annette; Mizaras, Vytautas (eds), "The Structure of Intellectual Property Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011)

Book Title: The Structure of Intellectual Property Law

Editor(s): Kur, Annette; Mizaras, Vytautas

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848448766

Section Title: Introduction

Number of pages: 4

Extract:

Introduction
Annette Kur* 1




Is there a coherent system underlying the entire field of intellectual prop-
erty (IP), or are the different constituent areas only loosely connected
with each other? Have the foundations on which the different rights
were originally grounded converged, or are they drifting apart? Does the
fact that the law must react to a host of problems characterised by an
ever-increasing degree of sophistication necessarily entail fragmentation
ultimately leading to inconsistency, or are the principles informing legal
choices sustainable enough to provide a solid and resilient frame? Vice
versa ­ are those principles too rigid and inflexible, and therefore incapa-
ble of responding to novel challenges? To what extent, and where, should
the system make room for more differentiation? Which tools does the law
provide for the adjustment of protection to different needs and circum-
stances, and how much flexibility exists in employing those tools? Can One
Size Fit All?
The idea of focusing on these and other issues at ATRIP meetings
was born out of the Intellectual Property of Transition project, to which
Graeme Dinwoodie refers in the first chapter of this book. The clue was
taken from two seemingly antagonistic tendencies that were considered
characteristic of contemporary IP law. As their overall coverage broadens,
legal fields such as patent and copyright law become increasingly compart-
mentalised: pharmaceutical patents have little in common with patents in
`classical' technical fields such as machinery, and copyright in works of
fine art is quite another discipline than copyright in ...