Book review: a new regime

JIPLP is now operating a new regime for the review of intellectual property law publications, with immediate effect.  Please note the following:

In common with most legal journals, JIPLP faces a difficult task in farming out books for review and ensuring that a review is received within a reasonable period following its publication. In many cases books are not reviewed at all, since the reviewer has too many commitments, the book lies at the outer edge of the reviewer's interest or competence, or the book ceases to be current by the time a review is written, delivered, prepared for publication, proof-read, corrected and then published.  This is unhelpful for authors of books under review, who are deprived of useful feedback.  It is also unhelpful for publishers, who end up in many cases sending free copies of their books to people who might otherwise have been expected to pay for them.

JIPLP has opted for what we hope will be a more transparent, efficient and interactive process for reviewing books.  From now on, a notice of each book received for review by JIPLP will be posted on this weblog.  Details of the first five books offered for review under the new regime are posted below.

Anyone wishing to review a title should email Sarah Harris (Content Commissioning Editor) at sarah.harris@oup.com by the closing date for receipt of requests to review, indicating why that person believes him- or herself to be qualified to review it.  Reviewers will be given a maximum of 60 days in which to submit their review. If you are too busy to review the book, you are too busy to receive it, so please do not offer to review a title if you are unlikely to be able to submit a review.  If, having received a book for review, you realise that you cannot review it, please notify us accordingly and let us have the book back so that it can be sent to another reviewer.

From time to time, this weblog will publish a list of reviews in the pipeline together with their reviewer, so that readers can gain an idea as to what books will shortly be reviewed and, if necessary, defer their decision to purchase a book until they have had a chance to read the review.

JIPLP will endeavour to expedite the publication of reviews, making full use of the journal's Advance Access facility and by publishing a greater number of reviews on this blog.

The first five books offered under the new regime appear below.  If you would like to review one, please email Sarah Harris by this Friday, 29 July, and indicate (i) which book you would like to review and (ii) why you feel that you are qualified to review it.  If you are chosen, the book will then be sent out to you for review. If your request is unsuccessful, we will try to prioritise you on future occasions where possible.


Patent rights in pharmaceuticals in developing countries: Major challenges for the future, by Jakkrit Kuanpoth.  This book is published by Edward Elgar Publishing and you can check out the details of book and author on the book's web page here. This book would suit a reviewer who has worked in, or been involved in the regulation of, the pharmaceutical industry, or perhaps an academic who is active in the interface of healthcare, the development agenda and patent law.


Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology and Chemical Inventions, edited by Duncan Bucknell. This vast, state-of-the-art two-volume book has only just been published by Oxford University Press. Full details of the book and its contributors can be found on its website here. This is very much a practitioners' and innovation strategists' book, rather than academic fare.

A Practical Guide to Working with TRIPS, by Antony Taubman -- formerly of WIPO, now with the WTO and himself the contributor of a substantial book review for JIPLP.  This book is published by Oxford University Press and its details are available here. While experience of having worked with TRIPS would be an ideal qualification for a reviewer, that would exclude most IP experts straight away -- but both within the professions and academe there are many people who have had an opportunity to watch, to advise and to form an opinion of TRIPS in operation.

'Expert Privilege' in Civil Evidence has been written by regular JIPLP contributor Paul England. It is published by Hart Publishing and its details can be inspected on its web page here. This title really does call for a litigation lawyer as first choice, though privilege affects non-contentious practice too.

Landmark Intellectual Property Cases and their Legacy.  This intriguing title has been put together by scholars Christopher Heath and Anselm Kamperman Sanders (editors) and has been published by Wolters Kluwer Business & Law. Further particulars can be found here. A reviewer with an across-the-board interest in intellectual property and a solid academic pedigree might be best placed to review this.


Reviewers who are currently holding books.  Here is a message for the large number of reviewers who are currently in possession of unreviewed books for which the review date is now substantially overdue: can you please contact JIPLP and let us know either (i) how you are progressing with your reviews or (ii) whether you still propose to review the book.  Not hearing from you is frustrating for us and makes it difficult for us to plan the content of our journal since, the later a review is received, the greater is the imperative to get it into print while it still has some currency.


Publishers of intellectual property books.  The publication of any IP book should be a significant event in its field, not just for the author and publisher but for the likely readership. JIPLP is committed to promoting and improving its book review services and is happy to hear from any publisher who has any comments, ideas or suggestions as to how this might be done.