Intellectual Property Law and Sociolegal Studies

In recent years, scholarship in the field of intellectual property (IP) has moved in many creative and important directions—as the chapters in this volume illustrate well. One of the most promising developments in IP scholarship is the recognition of the need to explore this area of law and practice from interdisciplinary perspectives, moving beyond the still-dominant doctrinal and law and economics-based approaches to the field. This chapter explores and advocates for a sociolegal—and in particular, a ‘law and society’—approach to the study of IP in social, historical, and cultural context. The chapter also argues for the need to employ a broad range of methodologies, including empirical approaches, for understanding IP in context, explaining how qualitative interviews are a promising research tool in this field. The chapter critiques a narrow notion of ‘empirical’ legal studies that often uncritically assumes that ‘empirical’ encompasses only quantitative approaches to the study of law and legal processes, actors, and institutions.