Intellectual Property Law and Geography

Abstract

Geography contributes knowledge and novel perspectives to other fields, including law in general and intellectual property (IP) law in particular. This chapter explores ‘law and geography’ as a research prism through which scholars examine the interactions of findings in law and geography to study the confluence of geographical, legal, and myriad other social phenomena. The chapter reviews the history of ‘law and geography’ and delineates its contours while highlighting the differences between ‘geography in law’ and ‘law in geography’. It identifies examples of the research prism in IP law research and concludes that, regrettably, research in ‘law and geography’ in the strict sense remains rare, including in ‘IP law and geography’.