“It is their practical experience in the evolvement of intellectual property for a period of close on four decades and their academic input which renders this textbook invaluable.”

With these words, Judge Mabel Jansen of the Gauteng High court introduced the new book jointly authored by the Chair of Intellectual Property Law and Spoor & Fisher, specialist intellectual property practitioners. (Click here to read the rest of Judge Jansen’s speech delivered on 13 November at the book launch in Pretoria.)

The new book, Dean & Dyer: Introduction to Intellectual Property Law, provides a thorough and accessible review of the full, broad spectrum of intellectual property law in South Africa including the fields of copyright, trade marks, unlawful competition, counterfeit goods, patents, plant breeders’ rights and designs.

It is also the first publication of its kind that addresses the contemporary challenges faced by IP law and practice, such as the commercial considerations for transactions involving intellectual property, traditional knowledge, IP in the digital environment and the constitutional protection of IP rights.

The work was conceived by Prof Owen Dean, incumbent of the Chair of Intellectual Property Law at the Faculty of Law, Stellenbosch University and is jointly edited by Alison Dyer.

With contributions from 15 authors the book is a collaboration between the University of Stellenbosch’s Chair of IP Law and the specialist practitioners at Spoor & Fisher and brings together the value of practical expertise and academic research and analysis to deliver a dynamic and indispensable reference. As such, the digest is an essential resource for legal practitioners and is essential reading for all IP rights holders.

The book was specifically designed as the core course material for IP law students and contains the full spectrum of IP law issues, case law and comparative legal analysis. As such, the book represents the primary reference work for all students in all of the Faculty’s pioneering IP law programmes and courses including the LLB modules in IP and IT law, the Post-Graduate Diploma and the LLM in IP Law. It is also supported by additional academic resources for IP law lecturers and academics, including slideshow presentations and template examination questions prepared by each of the authors to reflect the structure and fundamental issues of each area of IP law.

The book is available from all leading academic booksellers, including Van Schaik and Protea Bookstores, or online from Oxford University Press (South Africa) (UK) or Amazon. An electronic (e-book) version of the title is also available.