This opening chapter begins by outlining the interests of the book. It then sets the scene for the studies of the law, first by recounting recent insights into the nature of innovation. It next considers the implications of these insights for the fashioning of policy measures in the Western economies. It raises particularly the question whether a market-oriented approach to innovation promotion has been supplanted by closer, more selective, relations between government and industry.

OUTLINE OF THE BOOK

THE FIELD OF STUDY

This book is the result of a study of the responses in the law to recent policies to promote innovation in high technology industries. I have become interested in innovation as a theme for a study because it is so often advanced these days as the key element in the transformation of the economy, influencing the distribution of power and wealth, and perhaps altering the nature of our relations as members of society – even our definition of ourselves as human beings. Certainly, the concern with competitiveness in a rapidly changing, often internationally drawn economy explains much of the experience with government policy in the field of economic law during the eighties.

In return, I hope to make some valuable connections between innovation, policy and the arcane world of law for the benefit of non-lawyers and lawyers alike. For some, law is an esoteric interest to pursue in the round of innovation policy, but in fact it is represented in a broad spectrum of policy measures. I suggest that even non-specialists will find its consideration rewarding.