Intellectual Property and Private International Law: Strangers in the Night?

Abstract

The relationship between intellectual property (IP) and private international law (PIL) has become fraught with tension. For many years the two fields barely intersected, as almost all IP disputes were wholly domestic in nature, concerning parties within a single national territory, rights conferred by the law of that territory and local infringements. The emergence of new forms of technology and greater mobility of goods and services have, however, substantially changed the picture.