Developments and Directions in Intellectual Property Law: 20 Years of The IPKat

Developments and Directions in Intellectual Property Law celebrates the 20th anniversary of award-winning intellectual property (IP) blog, The IPKat, originally founded in 2003. Over the past two decades, The IPKat has covered and commented on several of the most topical developments in the IP field from substantive, practical, and policy standpoints. Today, The IPKat is considered the “Most Popular Intellectual Property Law Blawg” of all time (source: Justia) and its readers are academics, members of the judiciary, policy and law-makers, practitioners, and students from all over the world.

By bringing together several of the current and past contributors to The IPKat, this book reflects on the developments and directions that have emerged in the IP field over the past twenty years. Topics covered include changes within substantive IP rights, as well as IP law, policy, and practice broadly intended and from a global perspective.

From copyright to trade marks, patents to designs, image and publicity rights to geographical indications, and developments in IP practice and the court system to contract drafting, readers of this book will find expert insights into some of the most notable developments in IP since the inception of The IPKat blog.

Hayleigh Bosher, Senior Lecturer and Associate Dean, Brunel University London,Eleonora Rosati, Professor of Intellectual Property Law and Director of the Institute for Intellectual Property and Market Law (IFIM), Stockholm University

Hayleigh Bosher is a Senior Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law and Associate Dean (Professional Development and Graduate Outcomes) at Brunel University London, as well as, Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Intellectual Property, Policy and Management, writer and Book Review Editor for the specialist IP blog IPKat, founder of the World IP Women (WIPW) network, and a legal consultant in the creative industries. Hayleigh's research focuses on copyright law and the creative industries and in particular she has attained an international reputation for her work on copyright in the music industry.


Eleonora Rosati is Full Professor of Intellectual Property Law and Director of the Institute for Intellectual Property and Market Law (IFIM) at Stockholm University. An IPKat contributor since 2012, Eleonora is Of Counsel at Bird & Bird and holds visiting/guest professorships at Universidade Católica Portuguesa, EDEHC Business School, and CEIPI-Université de Strasbourg. An Editor of the Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, Eleonora is the author of several academic publications on IP issues and regularly collaborates with EU institutions and agencies, as well as professional, IP-focused organizations.