The latest IP book to hit the sparse South African
bookshelves is a collaborative effort between The Anton Mostert Chair ofIntellectual Property at the University of Stellenbosch, and Spoor & Fisher
partners. It’s academia and practice together, focusing on introducing IP to
its reader in 500 odd pages of paperback published by Oxford University Press. As
50 Shades of Grey screens for the first
time in RSA this week, Afro-IP asks - can this book emancipate IP from its
current lofty place of sacredness to something interesting, enticing, useful
and fun? Let’s take a closer look.
Its authors: Beharie, Bagio, Blignaut,
Cilliers, Cochrane, Du
Bois, Foster,
Grant, Karjiker,
Khader, Reimers, Shabangu, Van Der Merwe and Van Wyk. This
is quite a team, edited by the formidable Dean and
Dyer. Not a
bad start, especially if you were going to write a book on IP law destined for
the shelves of lawyers, businessmen and students.
Its content: The obligatory
chapters on trade marks, designs, copyright unlawful competition, counterfeit
goods, patents, plant breeder’s rights, designs are well covered PLUS (and this
is where it really stands out) there are chapters on traditional folklore, commercial
considerations for transactions, IP law in the digital environment (EIP law)
and IP rights and the constitution.
The compendium of information is really useful and relevant.
For example (and to focus only a few parts of the book), the chapter on EIP starts
with a romantic cruise into the history of computer law then takes you through fast-moving
Bit torrents and file sharing, before ending in the currents that make social
networks and IP, challenging; all well explained by Cobus Jooste and Sadulla
Kariker. Dina Bagio’s chapter provides a neat summary of all IP legislation affecting
commercial transactions whilst Tertia Beharie and Tsehpo Shabangu tackle
biodiversity and traditional knowledge with aplomb, even referencing the Afro-IP
blog. Merci.
Afro Leo is also highly impressed by the Foreword written by
Judge Mabel Jansen who pays testimony to the editors and writers, making
special mention of the contributions of Dean and Dyer to South African IP law
and, in the case of Alison Dyer, to becoming a role model for women in a field traditionally
dominated by men. Ms Jansen, of course, may well also refer to herself.
Its style: With
multiple authors it can be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve a single consistent
style. The structure of the book helps this tremendously. Chapters are broken
down into short paragraphs; headings are plenty as is the cross referencing
making this book easy to follow and pick-up on a specific topic. It contains regular
“Pause(s) for Reflection” and “Counter Points” which assist to create depth
to some of the more interesting or contentious points.
Overall recommendation:
This book gets the Afro-IP thumbs up. It may not be the book that you hide
between the covers of 50 Shades on
the Gautrain on the way to work, but it could help spawn a much needed boom of
IP savvy lawyers, and business folk. It's well priced too - you can get it here. for R549.00 (around $50)
