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More than 60 authors – supreme and high court judges, law professors, legal specialists in corporate and private practice – from Europe, East Asia, and the United States contribute original essays to this excellent compilation of the current issues regarding the laws and practices in intellectual property in Europe and Japan.

The articles cover a broad spectrum of subjects, including the procedural implications of litigation, international jurisdiction, doctrines of exhaustion, utility model systems and practice, and employed inventor’s compensation, as well as the special aspects of pharmaceutical patenting such as obtaining supplementary protection certificates. Many of the articles also include a comparative analysis of the laws and practices in both geographical regions or deal with the same legal issues but in different jurisdictions, for instance:

• the reform of the Japanese judicial system to establish an IP-based nation;
• the role of patent firms in the economic development of Japan;
• disclosure requirements in Japan: a judge's view;
• I.P. High Court decisions on inventive step;
• international jurisdiction in Japan, Europe and the United States;
• patent infringement by multiple parties in Japan;
• patent exhaustion in Japan;
• corporate remuneration systems for employees' inventions in Japan and Germany;
• the present and future of Japan's utility model system;
• notable differences between Korean and German patent infringement and invalidation practices;
• fifteen years of the Eurasian Patent System;
• the future European and EU Patents Court;
• opposition proceedings at the EPO: tips for success;
• the interaction between infringement and invalidity decisions in German patent disputes;
• protection of confidential information in patent litigation in the UK and Germany;
• interpretation and determination of the scope of patents by the French Courts;
• provocative thoughts on the patenting of new pharmaceuticals;
• Obama Care: implications for research pharmaceutical companies;
• and many others.

Its authoritative articles in the English language make this volume required reading for all professionals working in the field of intellectual property law.