A new book -- and a competition

Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology and Chemical Inventions: World Protection and Exploitation is the title of a blockbuster of a book, edited by Duncan Bucknell.  Divided into two volumes, this work covers a lot of ground that is of clear and immediate interest to readers of this weblog who hail from pharma companies, as well as the lawyers and patent attorneys who represent them.  According to the publisher, Oxford University Press, the work is "written by a handpicked team of expert practitioners" from each of the 12 jurisdictions which it spans. "Handpicked" makes it sound rather as though they grew on trees, which conjures up some delightful imagery.  You can check the identities of the authors here.  Anyway, as OUP says:

"This book highlights the special issues arising in obtaining, commercialising, enforcing or attacking intellectual property rights (including protection of regulatory data) in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and chemical industries across the world's key jurisdictions. It is unique in presenting topic matter horizontally by subject to facilitate comparison between country practices. 

The first two chapters give a general introduction to the differences between the jurisdictions and an overview of some of the key concepts in patent law. The remainder of the book is dedicated to a detailed analysis of the major legal issues arising in these areas of technology. 

Each component chapter has a comparative introduction, looking at the variances in the laws of different domains, followed by side-by-side analysis of the relevant regimes, including tables and flow-charts which summarise and explain the key legal concepts. The jurisdictions covered are the United States, Europe (UK, Germany, Netherlands, France and Italy), Japan, Canada, Australia, India and China".

As is to be expected, supplementary protection certificate and patent terms extension issues are covered.

The publishers offer a sample chapter, this being the one on Infringing Acts and 'Literal Infringement', which you can peruse here at your leisure.

The SPC Blog is pleased to announce that it is sitting on a spare copy of this magnum opus, which it is offering as a prize.  As mentioned, the book covers 12 major jurisdictions. Your task is to state which country should be included in the second edition as the 13th jurisdiction, explaining in not more than 30 words why it should be included. Please email your answer to The SPC Blog here, with the subject line "Bucknell Book". Entries should be received by not later than midnight (BST) on Sunday 24 July.

Bibliographical data.  Hardback, 2 volumes, 2,536 pages. ISBN 978-0-19-928901-1. Price £295.00. Book's web page here.

Book review

Participants at last week's SPC Seminar may have enjoyed the chance to chat and perhaps share a pleasant glass of wine with Bird & Bird partner Trevor Cook, whose second edition of Pharmaceuticals Biotechnology and the Law has just been published by LexisNexis. Described by the publishers as "the definitive guide to the law in Europe relating to pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and their related areas such as medical devices", this second edition, arriving some six-and-a-bit years after the first, is an impressive monument to the author's industry and enthusiasm as well as his expertise in the field. 

Sadly for many intellectual property lawyers of the old school, a depressingly large proportion of this book is taken up with regulatory issues: while the need for regulation of the sector is unassailable and its absence unthinkable, when one realises how much in terms of time, effort and resources must be invested in regulatory compliance, it is tempting to speculate as to whether -- if the sector could start again with a clean slate -- a more streamlined and functionally efficient means of regulation could not be devised.

Written primarily from the perspective of harmonised EU law, the book does not neglect those areas which, remaining unharmonised, remain within the realm of English law.  It is well researched, clearly written and handsomely produced.  A special treat for readers of this weblog is that Trevor has kindly devoted some 28 pages to the treatment of SPCs -- for which, many thanks!

Bibliographical details: publication date, January 2009. Hardback. ISBN 9780406914415.  Price £200.  STOP PRESS: the book now has its own web page here.