If you need to develop a sense of the types of issues that arise in intellectual property law, you might want to begin your topic selection process by skimming some basic texts available in the library. You might try scanning the table of contents and reviewing the chapters that seem most interesting to you. Listed below are three titles that will at the very least discuss the fundamental concepts, cases, statutes, and regulations tied to patent, trademark and copyright laws. The Dorr and Munch text is the most comprehensive.
Robert C. Dorr and Christopher Munch, Protecting Trade Secrets, Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks. (3rd ed.) (KF2979 .D67 2000).
Sheldon W. Halpern, Craig Allen Nard, and Kenneth L. Port. Fundamentals of United States Intellectual Property Law: Copyright, Patent, Trademark. (3rd ed.) (KF2979.H357 2011).
Arthur R. Miller and Michael H. Davis, Intellectual Property: Patents, Trademarks and Copyright in a Nutshell (2nd ed.) (KF2980 .M52 1990).
Marqcat catalog search tip: Search Intellectual Property as a Subject Heading using the advanced search template. Limit the search to a year range -- for example, 2000-2021, to begin. When you get the results of the search they will be displayed by relevance. You can use the Modify Search button to sort the results by year.
Intellectual property law periodicals, subject matter services, websites and blogs will highlight changes and trends in intellectual property law and law practice. You might start monitoring a couple of blogs or news websites and follow up on issues, cases and pieces of legislation that grab your attention. For IP law sources, see the guide pages linked below (these pages are also included as drop downs on the IP tab for this guide).