The Requirement for an Invention in Patent Law provides a critical analysis of legal conceptions of the invention in UK patent law and under the European Patent Convention. Dr Justine Pila brings to this text her extensive experience in intellectual property law. A central theme of the book is that the requirement for an invention, properly construed, sets the boundaries of the patent system in two ways. The first is by defining the categories of subject matter capable of supporting a patent, and the second is by restricting the protection conferred by a patent to individual subject matter conceived qua invention. In serving these functions, the requirement for an invention helps to fulfil the public benefit objectives of the patent system by mediating the balance struck by patents between individual patentees and the public. This book offers an analysis of legal conceptions of the invention in UK patent law and their development from before the first patent legislation of 1623 through the patent system's recent phase of Europeanisation. It includes a detailed study of the contemporary (EPC) requirement for an invention and its construction by the European Patent Office, and an analysis of the legal and policy issues which that construction raises. It also places the UK and EPC law in its interpretive context, including its international statutory context, and offers a detailed account of international law-making in the field of patents. The Requirement for an Invention in Patent Law is an indispensible reference text for students and academics of intellectual property law in general and contemporary patent law in particular, and will appeal to anyone interested in Europeanisation, international patent law and harmonisation, and the history of the UK patent system. Its elucidation of this complex area also makes it an excellent guide for practitioners.

About the Author
Justine Pila has undergraduate degrees in Law and Arts and a PhD in Law from the University of Melbourne. She has been admitted to practice as a barrister and solicitor in the Victorian Supreme Court and the High Court of Australia, and has worked as a solicitor in Intellectual Property Law and an associate to the Chief Justice of the Australian Federal Court. Since 2004 she has been a Lecturer in Intellectual Property at the University of Oxford, a Fellow of St. Catherine's College Oxford, and a Senior Research Associate at the Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre (OIPRC). She teaches and researches in copyright and patents.

Reviews
Her analysis is accompanied by concise and digestible case notes, and her commentary provides a compelling narrative that ties the work together without being repetitive. a though provoking and informative book to suit anyone with a legal background and a strong interest in how and why contemporary society protects ideas * www.ip-brands.com/blog *



Book Information
ISBN 9780199296941
Author Justine Pila
Format Hardback
Page Count 400
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 746g
Dimensions(mm) 249mm * 164mm * 28mm