Intellectual Property Books

This book gives great insight into an underappreciated area. More executives should manage these issues, but in the end, if it can't be measured easily, compensation plans won't reward those who create value.

This book is full of appeal to authority fallacies, cliches, anecdotes and references to articles in newspapers which is sad state of affairs considering that one of the authors is a Ph.D. The "used" price for this book is in the basement for a reason. This may entertain a first year student at a low level college somewhere or a high level high school student but it's really unfortunate that this subject was treated in such a sloppy manner.

Invisible Advantage is an excellent resource on how the capital markets value intangible factors and their impact on the bottom line. The authors clearly describe 12 measures-ranging from leadership and reputation to talent and innovation-which contribute to opinion makers' and market movers' investment decisions. Low's and Kalafut's research on how nonfinancial factors are taken into account by buy-side and sell-side analysts is revolutionary and finally answers the age-old question of which factors are most important in how companies are valued and perceived. In these uncertain times, the authors' hierarchy of intangibles provides a welcome roadmap for CEOs and other top officers looking to understand what to prioritize- customer know-how, technological prowess, intellectual property, or talent? Because market capitalization and reputation are often influenced by factors other than the bottom line, this book is extraordinarily useful in making the business case for communicating the invisible equity often hidden within corporations. This is a book that matters.

The book is basically about how capital markets value intangibles and also how intangibles influence the company performance in general. The authors have conducted an apparently detailed research and worked out a Value Creation Index on which, they show, intangibles have a significant impact. From this proof, they move on to list 12 intangibles which are important (at present time) for company performance. They then conclude that a major challenge for today's companies is to work out a method to MANAGE those intangibles which are CRITICAL to the industry that the company is working in.

The idea is good. However, it is NOT NEW at all. Banking training companies, like Euromoney Training have been showing in their 'Bank Credit Analysis' classes for the last 14 years the importance of Non-Financial Analysis in evaluating creditworthiness of a company. They have been pointing out ever since that non-financial analysis is far more important than financial analysis (but should be carried out jointly) in understanding potential company performance. Also, there are various books published in late 1980s and early 1990s which elaborated on that point. So you see, the idea of valuing 'non-financial' intangible factors has been around for quite a while. We can only say, regarding this book, that it provides further evidence to a well-known argument. That's all.

When it comes to other points and 12 areas, i.e. the importance of branding and brands, human capital, property rights (intellectual capital), strategy execution, innovation, networking and alliances etc., there is also ample literature on the importance and detailing of these issues. We have known these factors for at least 15-20 years in their coming. So, if the book is pointing to the increasing incidence of these occurences, we can only agree with the authors. However, the discovery of these developments date back to much earlier times and the points are already "obvious" for the students of "doing business in modern times".

So, I would reccommend the book if you are a novice to the field. However, if you have a more than slight familiarity with the changing conditions of doing business in the last 10 years, the book is certainly NOT for you. It is just an ecclectic effort on a very familiar subject.

The Digital Dilemma explores ethical issues surrounding intellectual property and computers. This book is not going to give you a good background summary of copyright. It would be better to read it after having read a few up-to-date books on the subject. So if you are looking for an introduction to copyright law then go elsewhere first.

That said if you are already interested in the subject and know a bit of background then you will probably like this. It deals very much with speculating about possible futures for copyright in digital media and with applying logic to both sides of issues that emerge.

A good approach to reading this is to just go to the chapters about topics that interest you. The book is more of a collection of articles than a single big work, so it will make sense read that way. I am very interested in the subject and when I tried to read straight through I got bogged down. A few months later I skimmed and read headings and topics that interested me - that made sense and was pretty interesting. It was like a happy little grab bag. So I ended up liking the book.

This is a good book for people who are interested and already know a bit of background on the subject. It is worth reading, but not as a first book on the topic. University libraries and public library systems should archive a copy.

An introductory piece at best. The book does not delve deep enough into the present issues facing intellectual property owners. Also, since different writers have written each chapter, the book is repetative.

There is a grown literature and ongoing debate on the `challenges' and `trends' of digital copyright issues. Until now, the discussion has lacked a comprehensive synthesis.

It seems that we might have a serious candidate here: Digital Dilemma is a profound and elaborate analysis of current megatrends within copyright law. Although the topic is hot, this is not a book of hype.

Digital Dilemma is credited to a Committee on Intellectual Property Rights and the Emerging Information Infrastructure. The members, and hence writers, of the committee are an interesting mix of leading scholars in law and technology.

The four main topics of Digital Dilemma are (1) individual access to works, (2) public access to works, (3) protection of intellectual property, and (4) an excursion to the copyright problems concerning digital music. The title of the book is a bit misleading since discussion is focused strongly on copyright issues.

The text is structured easy to approach: first a problem is indicated and described, then a recommendation is given for further discussion. These separate paragraphs for `conclusions', `recommendations' and `points of discussion' add significantly the value of Digital Dilemma for further study. For example, the committee questions the very foundational notion of copy in copyright law and recommends research for a new foundation, which would - at the same time - satisfy the goal of copyright and be more appropriate in the digital environment. A hypothesis is laid that the new concept could be based on the use of a work. If this shift in concepts turns out to be desirable, then the whole existing system of copyright law would need a fundamental revision.

Most of the text is left very abstract, untied to any particular legal system. However, this is not to say the text would lack insight. Digital Dilemma attempts to present a worldwide context for further study - with emphasis on actual questions.

The book is not limited to legal discussion. Far from it. The topics cover also relevant technological aspects and `trendy' business methods, which lay the ground for legal study - especially concerning the protection of intellectual property. In digital economy, it may be profitable to forget enforcing. A new business model with optional technical protection may lead to increasing profits. Instead, a conservative, literal enforcement of intellectual property rights could decrease the outcome. There is a growing number of real life examples of this trend.

All in all, Digital Dilemma is a very recommended reading for scholars, students and people who have interest in the future regulation of intellectual property. It raises questions and fuels academic debate. We need only to remember that the discussion is to start (not end!) from here.

This is a tremendously useful book. Writing a good intellectual property license is not a simple undertaking. There are many permutations and combinations as well as subtle nuances. This book delves deeper into those areas than non-lawyer books which is intentional since this book was written as a course book for law students. For those with no prior legal background, this book may not be as accessible as books clearly aimed at do-it-yourself licensors.

I note in another opinion there is criticism of the format. Although the book does not look like a typeset textbook, it is nonetheless entirely usable and I think easier to read in its full business letter size than truncated classic books. It is the content that is paramount and here it is plentiful.

If you are a law student, a new associate in a law firm, or a newbie in a company, this is the book to get to start you down the road toward becoming a competent licensing attorney, especially in software licensing.

Joe Hustein

Works on intellectual monopoly licensing tend to be an uncomfortable mix of weighty and impractical. At best, they are comprehensive. At worse they are distractions from the real task at hand.

Heather Meeker's book is a refreshing contrast that provides practical and practicable advice on how to negotiate and craft agreements in this broad field.

The material is ideal for business people and well suited to students beginning their studies.

A small weakness is that the (small) coverage on Free Software and Open Source software licensing is relatively useless to those who do not already know the area.

Small warts aside, it is a very useful book. I look forward to the 3rd edition.

The formatting of this book is so poor that it makes the content very difficult to read. It looks like a Word document that someone prepared for a CLE class, and then had bound. The lack of margins and irregular line spacing make the book more of a chore to read than it's worth. There are a few useful items scattered throughout the book, but the author's descriptions (while accurate) may be very misleading to someone who isn't already familiar with the legal concepts. For example, her description of the "work for hire" doctrine is certainly correct, but someone who hasn't practiced in the area may likely not understand (or seriously misinterpret) the underlying messages.

I found this book very obtuse and thought the author tried to make this subject much more difficult than it really is. Save your money.

This book offers a comprehensive overview of intellectual property issues, suitable for (among others) high-tech executives, entrepreneurs, and investors in early stage companies (all of which describe me). Its coverage includes trademarks (6 chapters, 70 pages), copyrights (5 chapters, 68 pages), patents (4 chapters, 40 pages), and trade secrets (1 chapter, 18 pages), plus chapters on unfair competition, owning IP created by employees and independent contractors, and conducting internal IP audits. I have experience with software copyrights and biotechnology patents; this book is fairly strong on the former, but only briefly mentions the latter. The material on internal IP audits is rather brief (12 pages) but includes a fairly good audit checklist, and an action plan for protecting a company's IP; also, the first chapter should be required reading for managers, since it points out the many places in a business where valuable IP may be found, department by department.

The writing is very clear -- certainly not "obtuse" as one reviewer claimed -- and the book is quite current, with good coverage of the Internet's impact on copyright and other IP issues, and coverage of recent changes in the law such as the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. The book is a high-level overview for managers rather than a lawyer's or practitioner's guide, but it does describe the application process for trademarks, copyrights, and patents, all in reasonable detail. Yet this book is just 250 pages of highly readable text -- not a huge tome -- which I think makes it suitable for managers, early stage investors, or board members, especially in high-tech companies.

In the interests of safety, we'll refrain from quoting this fine book by Deborah E. Bouchoux, a specialist in intellectual property who teamed with AMACOM to create that rarest of volumes: a straightforward book about law that is simple to read (it's a formula she should patent). This comprehensive volume covers the nuts and bolts of U.S. patent and trademark law. It also gives advice on how to protect your intellectual property and avoid infringement, and reports on the latest patent trends in high tech. Of most concern for general business managers, Bouchoux reviews how (and why) to conduct intellectual property audits within your organization. With intellectual property emerging as the new corporate treasure of the knowledge economy, we [...] suggest that research and development managers and executives of every stripe study this volume carefully. Why should your attorney be the only one who understands what you really own?

Does this book give the prospective condo-buyer a lot of useful information? Yes. Does that matter if it's an incredible chore to slog through? Not really.

The author's credentials as a condo attorney are impeccible, but as a writer they're non-existent. He writes like a lawyer, with lots of useless hemming and hawing in lieu of clear, direct advice. Ever heard of a bullet point? Apparently not, as key topics are buried in long, detail-laden paragraphs and attempts at humor. Way too much space is devoted, for instance, to such common-sense advice as "don't raise a family in a condo development full of singles or seniors." Did I really need this guy to tell me that kids need playgrounds and back yards?

The organization into chapters proves almost totally arbitrary; information about time shares, vacation homes and other corner cases is mixed in with the key information applicable to the vast majority of the audience: namely, people who are buying or selling a condo as a primary residence.

The author has also didn't do much research beyond his own practice. He bases most of his anecdotes and specific examples on Michigan law, without only cursory asides about finding out about the laws in your own state and municipality.

I came to this book looking for easily digestible, intelligently organized information. I didn't want to have to wade through a broad overview of condo law to pluck out the bits that applied to me (a first-time home-buyer looking at purchasing a condo). By the end, I learned what I wanted to. But I felt like I was listening to a gasbag regaling me with the minutiae of his day-to-day activities when all I really wanted was the highlights.

Whether you're thinking of buying a condo or selling one, you need CONDO LIVING: A SURVIVAL GUIDE TO BUYING, OWNER AND SELLING A CONDOMINIUM: it's a primer by an attorney with over thirty years experience of practicing community association law, and covers just about everything to know about condo ownership. From common developer and association practices to differences between simple conflicts and real problems, CONDO LIVING covers everything you need to know in advance about condo rules and regulations.

The content in the book is current, useful and well researched.
However, in 40 years of reading, I have never seen a book so poorly proofread. There are spelling errors, bad grammar, incomplete sentences and such throughout the book... I will be writing the author to see if the next time she wishes to write a book, she'd like for me to proofread it free of charge... I feel badly for her. Somebody dropped the ball big time in an otherwise fine and useful work.

Van Tassel gives an overview of current DRM methods. At a level understandable by a non-engineer or programmer. She describes why DRM is so important to many media companies. Or, in fact, to any company that has assets in digital form. If you've never dealt with DRM, her book is a useful introduction.

Some more technical readers might want to check out an alternate book - "Multimedia Security Technologies for DRM" by Zeng et al. That book goes far deeper into the mechanics of the various DRM methods.

This was my first stop to decode topics I didn't understand because it's so easy to read. But this book is better for an IP survey course than for a standalone patent, copyright, or trademark class. For those, I had to look to additional study aids to cover the topics well.

This book has pretty good coverage of topics: Copyrights, Patents, Trademarks, Trade Secrets.

The information is pretty complete, but could be organized better.

My main complaint is that there is no table of cases. This is a pretty serious ommission from a law book. No table of statutes, either. And the index is pretty sucky too - no entries for "cybersquatting", "GATT", "Licensing", "genericide" - I won't go on, but I could.

This is a legal text. It is written for persons with a legal education. Viewed in the proper perspective, it is an excellent one-volume introduction to the topic and a handy deskside reference text. I would recommend it

A turgid writing style which is excellantly referenced but difficult to read. Good reference on where to find that appropriate case, but find a book with a better writing style for extensive study. This book is not for the non-lawyer novice, but would function for the lawyer wanting to know more about patent law. It is bound in a ring binder suggesting it may be updated easily, but the binder is difficult to hold and doesn't stay open without excessive manual encouragement, which is distracting.

When Judge Richard Posner first called himself and other legal academics "intellectual entrepreneurs," he was at least half-kidding (in a Chicago kind of way). But in recent years the "market" for legal scholarship has become among the most cutthroat in the world. Professors seem desperate to be the first to homestead new territory in any emerging market.

The work of economists like Edward Castronova has demonstrated that virtual worlds constitute a new frontier, ripe for cutting edge scholarship. The authors in this book are staking their claim to its legal issues. But just being the first to a topic does not mean you have anything interesting to say about it. Castronova's work is interesting, but you don't need this book to understand it. The remaining essays in this book reminded me of cyber-squatted domain names. "What will happen?" they all seem to ask, but they don't offer many answers or even interesting speculations.

The real problem here is that law exists to dealing with real-world consequences, while virtual worlds exist to eliminate them. Law may eventually get some traction in virtual reality, but it hasn't happened yet. If you want to be there when it does, don't read a law book - get yourself into a MMPORG. Just don't plan on keeping your job or your marriage.

Great book, interesting essays about where our digital lives are going.

This is a terrific guide that tells writers at all levels what they need to know to avoid legal problems and negotiate successfully. It has the broadest coverage and is clearly written with many cases turned into fascinating and eduational anecdotes. I can't recommend it too highly.

I am about to be a published author. (scheduled for the summer of 2000) My hero is William Zinsser, author of On Writing Well. I like him because he writes so...well. Mr. Crawford needs to read Zinsser's book-several times. To be fair, Mr. Crawford's Legal Guide is organized and thorough, but the wording is stiff and technical. I feel as though I am reading a college law (or business) text book. He has no humor. I have an urge to drag out my yellow highlighter because there will be a test later. I am convinced I can read about anything if the material is well written. Mr. Crawford is always grammatically correct, but I have to work too hard to understand him. Legal Guide would be a wonderful book if you have a background in law or business. Since I have neither, I recommend Bunnin and Berens, The Writer's Legal Companion. The style is friendlier for new authors who lack experience in the business of contracts, copyright and publishing.