A pioneer among international journals in the field of IP and competition law, the "Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht, Internationaler Teil” (GRUR Int.), which first appeared in 1952, has modernized its concept to give it a stronger alignment with its target audience. Since 1967, the academic responsibility for the journal has been in the hands of the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, as it is called today. The economic patron has always been the German Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property and Copyright Law (Deutsche Vereinigung für Gewerblichen Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht, GRUR e.V.), which is also responsible for a series of partner journals.
While the journal’s structural basis – despite an increase in its English content – has remained German up until now, the new journal, which is called „GRUR International – Journal of European and International IP Law” in full, will now be published entirely in English. The first issue of the refurbished journal was released in January. This step takes into account the fact that German has increasingly lost its role as an international language in the fields of law covered by the journal, especially among the new generation of legal scholars.
However, the basic concept of the leading international and comparative law journal in the field of Intellectual Property law remains unchanged. Once a month, GRUR International will continue to publish academic articles, reports, book reviews and, above all, a detailed case law section. The journal will still address developments in patent, copyright, trademark and competition law, with a particular focus on civil law countries in which English is not an official language. By translating important decisions from such jurisdictions, GRUR International will close a gap, enhancing their dissemination internationally.
Simultaneously with the change to publishing exclusively in English, GRUR International is introducing an independent peer-review process for all scholarly articles. The team of peer reviewers consists of around 50 specialized and highly qualified experts from all continents in the various subareas of IP and competition law. In addition to substantive criteria, geographical aspects and specific knowledge of the reviewers with regard to different countries also play an important role in the composition of the team.
The main publishing responsibility for GRUR International will lie, in future, with the internationally renowned publishing house Oxford University Press (OUP), which will also be responsible for sales outside the German-speaking countries. For subscribers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, C.H. Beck-Verlag will remain responsible for the distribution of the printed magazine. Both publishers will operate independent online sites, through which selected parts of GRUR International’s content will be accessible.
To the first issue of the new GRUR International