This text examines the ethical issues and debates surrounding intellectual property law and focuses on three aspects of the major intellectual property regimes: subject matter; the allocation of the first ownership of rights; and the scope of protection.

Michael Spence is the Head of the Social Sciences Division of the University of Oxford, Fellow and Tutor in Law at St Catherine's College Oxford, and CUF Lecturer at the University of Oxford. He is also a Consultant to the London law firm Olswang Solicitors, and a Panelist of the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre.

• 1: The Concept of Intellectual Property


• 2: The Justification of Intellectual Property


• 3: The Protection of Creative Assets


• 4: The Protection of Technology Assets


• 5: The Protection of Marketing Assets


• 6: The Protection of Information Assets