Preface

• Author: Adam Levy and Claas Junghans
• Pages: 11-13

XI

To the uninitiated, the world of intellectual property often appears an impene-

trable collision of legal, scientific and economic themes. Indeed, the study of intel-

lectual property draws from these three disciplines in a way that our educational

and philosophical systems struggle to reconcile. Technically-expert lawyers, scien-

tists and economists find it equally difficult to adopt a holistic overview and to

look beyond their specialised field.

Whilst Patent Offices have recently intensified their efforts to be more accessi-

ble, publishing readable introductions to the very basic terms of intellectual prop-

erty, and guides to initial patent application, these laudable efforts fail to penetrate

the heart of the problem as we see it: the connection of legal procedure, beyond

its mere application, with technological development and the business strategy

that drives it.

“Intellectual Property Management” provides an introduction to the world of

creating value through inventions. This book is written by international experts

who from their day-to-day experience are able to position the technical and legal

nature of patents within an economic and commercial framework. Readers are

given a clear view of patents as a rational business process, and are presented with

a toolbox with which to make careful assessment of the time and money that

inventions warrant, concentrating on an assessment of risk, and within this

framework, on maximising both value and personal return. From these carefully

elaborated fundamental principles, we progress to address more complex and

sophisticated issues of intellectual property strategic planning and wider corporate

strategy.

The first four chapters of this book treat the aspects of patenting that both an

inventor and a manager of an invention-intensive business will need to under-

stand to make meaningful decisions on the subject. In doing so, the authors have

concentrated on the underlying principles of the process, which are similar to

almost all countries, rather than on precise definition of local regulations. Indeed,

readers may note a certain European bias in the book. The European Patent Con-

vention is both the largest judicial entity in the world of IP, and its law, in its syn-

thesis of both Anglo-Saxon and French-German legal influences, presents a para-

digm for most other patent systems in this world. The great exception to this rule

is the USA, which treats many problems differently from all other systems.

Preface