Intellectual Property Law

Citation

Bently, L., Sherman, B., Gangjee, D., & Johnson, P. (2026). Intellectual Property Law (7th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Chapter Summary

The seventh edition has fifty chapters and more than 1,500 pages. After an introduction it is divided into six parts: copyright, patents, the legal regulation of designs, trade marks and passing off, confidential information, and litigation and remedies. The publisher describes it as an all-embracing and detailed guide to the law on copyright, patents, trade marks, passing off and confidentiality, drawing on a wide range of academic opinion.

Chapter 1: Introduction

Opens the book and sets the framework for the parts that follow.

Part I, Chapters 2–13: Copyright

Introduction to copyright; subject matter; criteria for protection; authorship and first ownership; the nature of the rights; duration; infringement; defences; moral rights; exploitation and use; limits on exploitation; and rights associated with copyright. The publisher says the treatment of originality and copyright infringement has been substantially reorganised in this edition, and that it considers the impact of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 on copyright and the implications of artificial intelligence for authorship, text and data mining, licensing, digital replicas and image rights.

Part II, Chapters 14–25: Patents

Introduction to patents; the nature of a patent; procedure for grant; patentable subject matter; excluded subject matter; novelty; inventive step; internal requirements for patentability; ownership; infringement; exploitation; and rights related to patents. The publisher highlights a reorganised treatment of patentable subject matter after Emotional Perception and discussion of AI and inventorship.

Part III, Chapters 26–31: Legal Regulation of Designs

How design protection arises in the United Kingdom; the requirement that there be a design; grounds for invalidity (novelty, individual character and relative grounds); ownership, exploitation and infringement of registered designs and supplementary unregistered designs; copyright protection for designs; and design right.

Part IV, Chapters 32–44: Trade Marks and Passing Off

Introduction to passing off and trade marks; passing off, misrepresentation and damage; trade mark registration, subject matter, absolute and relative grounds for refusal; revocation; infringement; defences; exploitation and use; and geographical indications of origin. The publisher refers to a reorganised discussion of bad faith applications after Sky v Skykick.

Part V, Chapters 45–48: Confidential Information

Whether information is capable of protection; the obligation of confidence; breach and defences; and misuse of private information, where the publisher notes reorganised treatment after Abbasi v Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals.

Part VI, Chapters 49–50: Litigation and Remedies

A chapter on litigation and one on civil and criminal remedies.

Key Concepts

Part I: Copyright

• Originality and authorship: the criteria for protection and who first owns the work.
• Infringement and defences: acts restricted by copyright and the exceptions to them.
• Moral rights: rights of attribution and integrity separate from economic rights.

Part II: Patents

• Patentable subject matter: what can and cannot be patented.
• Novelty and inventive step: the central substantive requirements.

Parts III–VI: Designs, marks, confidence and remedies

• Registered and unregistered designs: the protection that arises for designs, and the supplementary roles of copyright and design right.
• Passing off and trade mark registration: the common law action and the registered system, with grounds for refusal and revocation.
• Misuse of private information: the privacy-based claim placed alongside confidentiality.
• Civil and criminal remedies: what a successful claimant can obtain.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• Complete coverage of the main rights. Every principal intellectual property right has its own part, and the six-part structure is easy to navigate by right.
• Detail within a clear structure. The publisher describes the writing as clear and structured even in the most complex areas, and the chapter list divides each right into steps such as subject matter, ownership, infringement, defences and exploitation.
• Academic context. The publisher says the book draws on a wide range of academic opinion, which helps students writing essays and dissertations.
• Current to recent developments. The edition takes account of recent Supreme Court decisions, the impact of the 2023 Retained EU Law Act and parallel developments in EU law, including the Unified Patent Court.

Limitations

• Length. At more than 1,500 pages and fifty chapters, it is a reference as much as a course text; students will need to select chapters.
• Not an introduction for newcomers. The publisher targets students taking an optional intellectual property module, postgraduates and practitioners, so it assumes some legal training.
• UK focus. It is centred on UK law with EU comparisons; readers elsewhere need other sources.

Where It Fits in the Course

Bently, Sherman, Gangjee and Johnson is the full textbook on intellectual property in this course. Jacob, Fisher and Chave's Guidebook to Intellectual Property is a short guide for newcomers that outlines the basic principles without technicalities, and is a good first read before this book. Lloyd's Information Technology Law and Murray's Information Technology Law: The Law and Society cover the regulation of digital technologies, including areas that touch intellectual property, and are the companion texts for the technology half of the course. Boyle's The Public Domain is a critical exploration of how intellectual property shapes culture and innovation, and complements the doctrinal approach here.

How to Use This Book

The book is for undergraduates taking an optional intellectual property module in the second or third year of a law degree, for postgraduates and for practitioners. Some general legal background is assumed.

A practical plan: read the Introduction and then the part for the right being studied, starting with the chapter that introduces it. In copyright, move from subject matter and criteria for protection through ownership and rights to infringement and defences. In patents, follow the order from grant procedure to patentability requirements to infringement. Read Part VI when preparing for questions on enforcement. For revision, use the chapter list as a checklist of each right's elements, and check the edition on a reading list, since chapter numbers differ from earlier editions.