Individualism and Collectiveness in Intellectual Property Law

Individualism and Collectiveness in Intellectual Property Law embraces fundamental, eternal and yet very contemporary elements in IP law dealt with in all parts of the world. There are certain classic values embedded in the protection of human effort and the creativeness of individuals. This book examines the relationship of those values to the questions inherent both in individual creativeness in a collective setting, and in the tendency to build national, regional or global monopolies based on IP rights. The respect for original ownership, the occasional need for collective management of IP rights, the idiosyncrasies of co-ownership of rights and the ever present tension to be found in encounters between exploitation of IP rights and competition law are extensively exposed in this book. This innovative collection of work will strongly appeal to scholars and researchers in intellectual property law, as well as all those with an interest in the dynamics of the creative process.