Secondary Sources for Intellectual Property Research
If you are completely unfamiliar with intellectual property research, begin with some background reading or consult legal encyclopedias. Both will provide general discussions of intellectual property law, references to primary sources such as case law, and references to secondary sources such as treatises and law review articles. For definitions of IP terms and and acronyms, see the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office's Intellectual Property Glossary
Remember that current awareness, or knowledge of what's new in the field, is critical as you research any topic. News sources often provide a first glimpse at proposed legislation and regulations, reports of important decisions, and information about emerging legal issues.
For students in basic intellectual property courses, interactive lessons are extremely helpful for reviewing concepts learned in class. More advanced students may need practice materials such as forms or continuing legal education handbooks.
Background Reading
These works provide a basic understanding of intellectual property law for the non-specialist:
Intellectual Property and Unfair Competition in a Nutshell
Print: Law Reserve KF1610 .M35 2004Intellectual Property: Patents, Trademarks, and Copyright in a Nutshell
Print: Law Reserve KF2980 .M52 2007Intellectual Property Law: Commercial, Creative & Industrial Property
Print: Law Annex KF 2979 .D73
WestlawUnderstanding Intellectual Property
Print: Law Reserve KF2979 .C45McCarthy's Desk Encyclopedia of Intellectual Property
Print: Law Reference KF2976.4 .M33 2004Internet: Intellectual Property: The Practical and Legal Fundamentals
Legal Encyclopedias
Legal encyclopedias are good tools for starting your research when you know very little about a topic. Use them to select a topic, to develop terms for searching other tools, or to obtain references to primary materials (cases, statutes, regulations) or secondary materials (annotations, texts, forms, etc.). The two major legal encyclopedias are:
American Jurisprudence 2d (AmJur)
Print: Law Reference KF 154 .A45Corpus Juris Secundum (CJS)
Print: Law Reference KF 154 .C65
For a primer on using legal encyclopedias, see the guide Using Legal Encyclopedias to Start Your Research.
Treatises
These are general works about intellectual property law, that provide an overview of the various areas.
Protecting Trade Secrets, Patents, Copyrights, and Trade-marks
Print: Law Annex KF 2979 .D67 (current through 2003)Epstein on Intellectual Property
Print: Law Annex KF 2979 .E672
To find other treatises on intellectual property law in the BU libraries catalog, use Library of Congress Subject Headings. The basic subject headings for intellectual property law research are:
Intellectual property
Copyright
Patent laws and legislation
Trademarks
There are many subdivisions and related subject headings that may be appropriate for your search. Please consult a reference librarian for assistance with refining your searches.
Finding Articles in Journals and Law Reviews
Most intellectual property journals are indexed in LegalTrac and/or Index to Legal Periodicals & Books. Many are also available on the Internet. This is a selected list of intellectual property journals available in the Pappas Law Library. Check the Law Library Periodicals List for the location of these journals.
- AIPLA Bulletin (American Intellectual Property Law Association)
- AIPLA Quarterly Journal
- Buffalo Intellectual Property Law Journal
- Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal
- Intellectual Property Law Review
- IPL Newsletter (ABA Intellectual Property Law Section)
- Journal of Intellectual Property
- Journal of Intellectual Property Law
- Journal of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A.
- Journal of the Patent & Trademark Office Society
- Loyola University New Orleans School of Law Intellectual Property & High Technology Journal
- Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review
- Minnesota Intellectual Property Review
- Texas Intellectual Property Law Journal
- University of Baltimore Intellectual Property Law Journal
You may also search combined law review databases in LexisNexis and Westlaw for articles in these and other periodicals.
Combined Law Review databases
LexisNexis: Intellectual Property Law Reviews
Westlaw: Federal Intellectual Property Texts and Periodicals Combined (IP-TP database)
Current Awareness
These titles provide valuable information about legal developments in intellectual property, including summaries and full text of cases, coverage of new laws and regulations, and references to other legal materials.
BNA's Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal
Print: Law Looseleaf KF 2972 .P38
Online: BNA's Patent, Trademark & Copyright JournalThe United States Patents Quarterly
Print: Law Annex KF 2975 A2 U5
Online: BNA Intellectual Property Library
Interactive Lessons for BULaw Students
These lessons are provided by the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI). They are designed to help you review basic concepts in these areas. The lesson pages are organized by subject outline to help you locate the lessons most relevant to your review needs.
Practice materials
Practice materials consist of practice aids, formbooks, and other materials used in intellectual property practice. Those materials which are more specific to any topic (e.g. copyright) are included in the appropriate pages.
Patents, Copyrights, Trademarks, and Literary Property Course Handbook Series
This series by the Practising Law Institute offers guidance to attorneys on recent developments in intellectual property law.
Westlaw: Patents, Copyrights, Trademarks, and Literary Property Course Handbook Series (PLI-PAT database)Intellectual Property: Valuation, Exploitation, and Infringement Damages
Print: Law Annex KF2979 .S648 2005West's Legal Forms: Intellectual Property (v.25 & 25A)
Print: Law Reference KF 170 .L53
Westlaw: WEST-LF
Page maintained by Raquel Ortiz
Last updated: April 2008