Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in Dutch, English and German Civil Procedure

Recital 7 of the EU Directive on the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (Directive 2004/48/EC) argues that 'the disparities between the systems of the Member States as regards the means of enforcing intellectual property rights are prejudicial to the proper functioning of the internal market'. Accordingly, the Directive obliges Member States to seek to achieve 'partial harmonization' of the remedies, procedures and measures necessary to enforce intellectual property law. These obligations provide a minimum standard which must be fulfilled by the Member States in the course of their implementation of the Directive. This book examines the scope of the Member States' obligations to implement the Directive and provides valuable guidance regarding the interpretation of the provisions therein. If there really is, as the European Commission contends, an 'enforcement deficit' in the protection of intellectual property rights by national rules of procedure, then the most effective approach, Cumming shows, is through the principles of legal certainty, full effect, and effective judicial protection. These principles will assist the national court in interpreting the precise meaning of the substantive obligations under the Directive. The three authors' vastly detailed, article-by-article analysis of the fortunes of the IP Enforcement Directive in three EU jurisdictions offers enormously valuable insights into the complex ways Member States respond to Community law, and in so doing provides an important addition to the ongoing inquiry into the nature of the reciprocal tensions between EU law (both judicial and legislative) and the laws of Member States. More than once, the authors argue that implementation is inadequate, either because the pre-existing legislation constitutes inadequate legislation or because the specifically adopted legislation proves to be legally uncertain. Drawing on the tenor of ECJ law that national procedural rules should not present an obstacle to adequate judicial protection, the authors examine the available options for an interpretation of national law which is consistent with the requirements of the IP Enforcement Directive. They further consider whether an eventual claimant, who has suffered loss and damage caused by either the non-implementation or the incorrect implementation the Directive, may bring an action against the State for breach of Community law.The authors present their analyses of the implementation of the Directive in Dutch, English and German national procedure as three separate cases rather than comparatively, as any attempt to compare either the method of national implementation or the degree of adequacy or inadequacy inevitably obscures the essential particularities of each of the three national systems in relation to the Directive. Although this book will repay the study of anyone interested in European law, it will be of special value to practitioners and policymakers engaged in intellectual property law, particularly in EU Member States.