Copyright, Design and Patents

This edition relates the history and assesses the limitations of copyright law from its inception in 1709, through the 1959 and 1988 Acts, to the present. Detailing some of the seminal cases in the development of copyright law, this is a jargon-free guide to a complex area of law.

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Available by subscription or individually through bookshops, "The Hume Papers on Public Policy", a quarterly journal, replaces the series of short monographs previously published by the David Hume Institute under the general title of "The Hume Papers". The journal is a forum for the publication of research on issues of public policy with especial reference to legal and economic aspects. Each issue deals with topical subjects in an accessible and scholarly way, and some are thematically linked. This volume of the journal updates the story of copyright, design and patents. It relates the history and assesses the limitations of copyright law from its inception in 1709, through the 1959 and 1988 Acts, to the present day. Detailing some of the seminal cases in the development of copyright law, this is a jargon-free and comprehensive guide to a complex area of law. The work is intended for students and lawyers specializing in intellectual property and competition.