Constructing Intellectual Property

What is 'intellectual property'? This book examines the way in which this important area of law is constructed by the legal system. It argues that intellectual property is a body of rules, created by the legal system, that regulate the documented forms of abstract objects, which are also defined into existence by the legal system. Intellectual property law thus constructs its own objects of regulation and it does so through the application of a collection of core concepts. By analyzing the metaphysical structure of intellectual property law and the concepts the legal system uses to construct 'intellectual property', the book sheds new light on the nature of this fascinating area of law. It explains anomalies between social and intellectual property uses of concepts such as authorship - here dubbed 'creatorship' - and originality and it helps to explain the role of intellectual property from a structural (rather than the traditional normative) perspective. Review: 'Social scientists should find the book methodologically meticulous and appreciate that the author clearly explicates a formidable range of philosophical theory (rejecting a common tendency to exalt its cabalism). The examples are imaginative and varied, and her opening of the book with the fairy tale of the Emperor's New Clothes primes the reader's will for analyzing IP as an institutional fact. The book is an excellent inquiry into the role of jurisprudential discourse in producing IP as a coherent institution that maintains and reproduces itself.' Julia Tomassetti, Sociologica 'Dr George's analysis reveals that the term 'Intellectual Property' is a metonym for the cultural and societal rules and norms (including under-examined, even forgotten, assumptions) that foster and reward human innovation. Constructing Intellectual Property benefits from Dr George's skilled, thoughtful, and clear approach to the subject. Theoreticians and practitioners alike can benefit from Dr George's reexamination of the subject.' Alfred C. Frawley, The Trademark Reporter