Copyright Law and the Public Interest in the Nineteenth Century by Isabella Alexander
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2230.2011.856-7.x |
| Published date | 01 May 2011 |
| Author | Ronan Deazley |
| Date | 01 May 2011 |
alreadyallowableunder English common lawis also possible under the BrusselsI
regime. He admits, however,that his conclusion is complicated by the ECJ’s deci-
sion in C-99/96Mi etz vIntershipYachting Sneek [1999] ECR I-2277, which allows a
foreign court to disagree with the issuing court’s compliance with theVa n U d e n
principles upon which the original interim order was based, and therefore poten-
tially prejudices the e¡ectiveness of the interim orders made under the Brussels I
regime. Fentiman ruefully notes (690) the uncertainties posed by Mietz for world-
wide interim orders within the Member States of the EU before commencing the
¢nal chapter on the enforcement of judgment debts. The formal enforcement of a
¢nal order is, ironically, not the target of international commercial litigation. The tar-
get is an advantageous and economic settlement. Thus the treatment of enforcement
provided in this book is, though comprehe nsive, not as detail ed as might be expected
by those accustomed toth inkof the enforcement of the judgmentas the goal of legal
proceedings. That said, Fentiman o¡ers a cle ar account of the reasons which may pre-
vent or obstruct the actual enforcement of a judgment under the regimes variously
provided by the English common law and by the EU.
The end of Chapter Eighteen is thee nd of the book. It seems apity that such a
thought-provoking work should not be capped by a conclusion. We are, as the
text acknowledges at various points, awaiting the reform of the Brussels I Regu-
lation. The nature of the proposed modi¢cations is not yet determined, nor is the
¢nal shape of the legal instrument which will succeed the Brussels I. It would
have been interesting to have had the earlier suggestions of the author presented
again in the conclusion. Despite this minor criticism, Fentiman’s book is truly
excellent and innovative. It o¡ers a novel perspective on important aspects of
national and international law. Everyone interested in international commercial
dispute resolution should read this essential work.
Jonathan Fitchen
n
Isabella Alexander, Copyright Law and the Public Interest in the Nineteenth
Century
,Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2010, 320 pp, hb d55.00.
Over the last thirty years or so, there has emerged a burgeoning interest in the
historyof copyright,an i nterest thathas been prompted asmuch by the discourse
of postmodern literary theory as by the advent of digital technology. Isabella
Alexander’s book represents a signi¢cant addition to this growing body of scho-
larship, while at the same time o¡ering an important corrective to some of this
reviewer’s ownwork in this area. Alexander complains, for example, that in On
theOriginoftheRighttoCopy(Hart Publishing, 2004) ^ a work concernedwith the
development of copyright doctrine and thought i n eighteenth century Brita in ^ I
fail to subject the concept of the public interest to close examination or scrutiny;
on that point, she is correct. But her criticism is not reserved for my work alone.
From Alexander’s perspective, copyright scholars generally have paid insu⁄cient
n
School of Law,University of Aberdeen
Reviews
499
r2011The Authors.The Modern Law Review r2011The Modern Law Review Limited.
(2011) 74(3) 479^501
To continue reading
Request your trial