Legal Responses to Unjustified Threats of Patent Infringement: Intellectual Property Approach or Unfair Competition Approach? (Elgar Intellectual Property and Global Development series)

In this incisive book, Minyu Zheng examines the various legal responses to unjustified threats of patent infringement. Employing a comparative, jurisdiction-based analysis, Zheng investigates whether the unjustified nature of such threats originates from the inaccuracy of the infringing accusation, or the inappropriateness of issuing threats. In particular, Zheng reveals how to resolve threats which are issued in an undue way but contain a correct allegation of patent infringement. The book provides a clear picture of how the legal systems in China, Germany, UK and the US resolve the common problem of patent infringement threats from various perspectives including statutes and judicial practice. Comparing these jurisdictions at a micro-level, Zheng assesses the principle of proportionality that assists in the critical evaluation of the approaches used in the investigated legal solutions, namely the intellectual property approach and the unfair competition approach. Ultimately, Zheng suggests a general rule for dealing with unjustified threats of patent infringement, fitting into the legal framework of the Paris Convention. Championing an international perspective, Legal Responses to Unjustified Threats of Patent Infringement is an informative resource for students and scholars of law, specifically intellectual property law. Its instructive nature will also appeal to policy makers and legal practitioners in the field.