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Morality in the Unitary Patent System: A Universal Method of Legal Interpretation

New Arrival Morality in the Unitary Patent System: A Universal Method of Legal Interpretation

Morality in the Unitary Patent System: A Universal Method of Legal Interpretation

Author: Joanna Wisniowska
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 9781035365395
Published In: February 2026
Format: Hardback
Jurisdiction: U.K. ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

List Price: HKD 1,365.00

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Description
Contents

Details

Under the rules of European patent law, inventions whose commercial exploitation is contrary to morality are denied exclusive protection; however, there is currently no standardised mechanism for interpreting the morality exception. In this pioneering book, Joanna Wisniowska proposes a novel method of interpreting the morality clause in European patent law.

Following the establishment of the Unified Patent Court in 2023, the need for a universal method for interpreting the morality clause has become more evident. Through interdisciplinary and legal theoretical analysis, this book searches for a standardised mechanism for interpreting the morality exception to be applied by both national and supranational patent authorities. Wisniowska revisits principles of legal theory and combines them with analysis of other areas of private law equally familiar with exceptions and limitations invoking immorality. Drawing on rules of statutory interpretation, the author proposes a method of ‘systemic functionalism’ that considers morality as a legal term, tailored to the needs of supranational patent authorities. The concluding chapter provides a guide to the new method’s operation through a series of case studies based on recent innovations in the field of biotechnology.

Morality in the Unitary Patent System is an essential resource for students and academics of intellectual property law, legal theory, and European law. It also serves as a valuable reference for legal professionals with a major presence in patent litigations.

Introduction: morality in the Unitary Patent System

Impetus for Change: Unified Patent Court

Structure of the Book

European sources of the morality patent exception

What?: subject and scope of moral assessment

Who and when?: institutional and temporal aspects of moral assessment

Morality as a foreign term: interdisciplinary transplants

Interdisciplinary transplants as a source of morality

Morality as a legal term: intralegal transplants

Cornerstones of the original method of interpreting the patent morality clause

Step 1: Functional interpretation of morality clause

Step 2: Systemic frame for interpreting morality