IT Law - The Netherlands

serves as a basis for further analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of auctions. Here it should be noted that, in the PCN-auctions, not only price criteria play a part; qualitative criteria are handled as well. The research provides an insight into the question of what goods are at stake and under what condition they should be made available.

The researchers point at four bot- tle-necks that the Dutch government should take into account if DSC1800- frequencies are being auctioned: 1. what type of auction should be

chosen?

2. how to define the coverage of a licence?

3. how to deal with competition between the parties involved?

4. there is no level playing field’, since providers of DSC1800 have to pay for auction services and other providers do not have to pay. On this last issue, the researchers point at two practical solutions: ignore the dissimilarity or provide compensation.

Concluding remarks The aforementioned studies provide a first insight into the activities devel- oped under the auspices of the ITeR Programme. At the moment, many other projects are still running and recently new subjects have been com- missioned from several research insti- tutes and universities. To give one impression, in the years to come, results are to be expected of research into clearance of intellectual property rights in respect of the use of digital information as well as Trusted Third Party Services - an investigation into legal aspects of digital signatures, and the difference between hard and clear cases in practice. It is with great interest that we await the further outcome of this promising programme by the Dutch government. We hope it will inspire other countries to set up similar defined initiatives in the field of Information Technology and law.

Simone van der Hof & Hadeline Vorse- laars, Center for Law, Public Adminis- tration & Informatization, Tilburg University

E-mail: S.vdrHof@kub.nl; H.A.C.M. Vorselaars@kub.nl Http://cwis.kub.nl/-frw/people/hof/ simone.htm

0 1996 Svan der Hof & H. Vorselaars

About the authors

Both authors are affiliated to the Center for Law, Public Administration and Informatization at the Schoordijk Instituut, Tilburg University.

Simone van der Hof is a research fellow, at present working on projects in the field of access to public sector information and digital signatures.

Hadeline Vorselaars is preparing a thesis on the legal position of consu- mers on the electronic highway, also an ITeR-research project. Previously, her research has mainly been in the field of the protection of personal data.

BOOK REVIEW Intellectual Property Intellectual Property, 3rd Edition, by David Bainbridge, 1996, soft-cover, Pitman Publishing, 572 pp., S27.99, ISBN 0273 622 79X.

David Bainbridge has established himself as a major author in the intellectual property and IT law field. During the 1990s he has published several books aimed at students, lawyers and practitioners in the field, applying his considerable knowledge and experience of the subject.

This third edition of Intellectual Property must be regarded as the centre-piece of his publishing exploits. It is a highly readable and practical text that offers a thorough grounding in the subject. He points out in his preface that, in the two years since the second edition of the book was published, intellectual property has moved on a pace: “There has been some catching up with European development, and a number of important case and other developments. In preparing the new edition, I have attempted to be true to the original purpose of providing undergraduate students with an accessible yet reasonably comprehensive view of intellectual property law.”

The structure of the book remains as before, except that two chapters on the law of breach of confidence have been amalgamated into one, and the trademark chapter has been split into two. Otherwise, the work includes new provisions on duration of copyright and rights in performances, which came into force in 1996.

The work is divided into six parts - prelimimuy; copyright; the law of breach of confidence; patent law; design law; and business goodwii and reputation. Some appendices containing text of primary source material are also included.

Available from: Pitman Publishing, 128 Long Acre, London, WCZE 9AM, tel: + 44 (0)171 379 7383 or fax: + 44 (0)171 240 5771.

Computer Law & Security Report Vol. 13 no. 1 1997 0 1997, Elsevier Science Ltd. 45