The Making of Modern Intellectual Property Law

This book is the first detailed historical account of intellectual property law. In part, it examines why intellectual property law with its subcategories of patents, copyright, designs and trade marks took the shape that it did over the course of the nineteenth century. In addition the authors deal with ways in which the law grants property status to intangibles and describe how the law came to create techniques that enabled it to recognize protectable intangibles, and the inescapable problems that have arisen from their use.
This book explores the shape that intellectual property law took over the course of the nineteenth century.
"Sherman and Bently have made bold and provocative contributions to a topic of central importance and are to be congratulated on the excellence of their work." Business History Review
"This book is full of new ideas and methods. As such, it will serve as a model and stimulus for further scholarly inquiry. With penetrating working hypotheses, Sherman and Bently uncover new evidence that puts much conventional wisdom into question." Paul Edward Geller, Copyright Society of the U.S.A. Journal