Books (Monographs)

Wanted, More than Human Intellectual Property: Animal Authors and Human Machines (2025)

Owned, an Ethological Jurisprudence of Property (2020)

Read the first chapter here (click PDF preview)

This book draws upon domestication science to undertake a radical reappraisal of the jurisprudence of property and intellectual property.

Bringing together animal studies and legal philosophy, it articulates a critique of dominant property models and relationships from the perspective of cognitive ethology, domestication science and animal behaviour. In doing so, a radical new picture of property emerges. Focusing on the emergence of property models through prevailing ideas of human domestication and settlement, the book challenges the anthropocentrism that informs standard approaches to ownership and to authorship. Utilising a wide range of examples from ethology and animal studies, the book thus rethinks the very nature of property as uniquely human.

This highly original contribution to the fields of property and intellectual property will appeal, not only to legal scholars in these areas, as well as in animal law; but also to legal theorists and others working in the social sciences with interests in posthumanism and animal studies.

The Logic of Innovation (2014)

‘Using Alice’s travails in Wonderland as her diagnostic tool, in this book Johanna Gibson deconstructs the relationship between intellectual property rights and innovation with all the verve of Lewis Carroll as well as her own remarkable inter-disciplinarity in literature, philosophy and socio-linguistics along, of course, with law.’ Hector L MacQueen, University of Edinburgh, UK

‘With Alice as her wide-eyed guide, Professor Gibson embarks on an ambitious trip over language, logic, law, and literature, through a philosophical Wonderland. The work is a tour de force in the form of a journey showing how our preconceptions become “curiouser and curiouser” when examined in her probing light.’ Sheldon W. Halpern, The Ohio State University and Albany Law School, USA

‘This is a towering work of imagination and insight, elegantly written and compellingly argued. If all scholarship was like this our intellectual world would be infinitely enriched. Reading intellectual property law through the looking glass proves an effective device for understanding its maze of rabbit holes, where they lead us and why it matters.’ Fiona Macmillan, Birkbeck, University of London, UK

Intellectual Property, Medicine and Health (2nd ed, 2017; 1st ed, 2009)

 ‘Professor Gibson’s second edition of “Intellectual Property, Medicine and Health” like the first edition is a wide ranging and detailed discussion of the legal and moral aspects of health policy that has been brought up to date. The focus is on international treaties, morality and intellectual property law. The conflict between incentives to invent new medical devices and medicines and the right of people to have access to such technologies is thoroughly reviewed and updated.’ Martin J. Adelman, George Washington University Law School, USA

‘Professor Gibson makes a very significant contribution to the literature on the intellectual property aspects of medicine and health, focussing upon gene and pharmaceutical patenting, framed by an ethical and sociological perspective. It importantly locates these perspectives within the broader context of the internationally mandated “right to health”.’ Michael Blakeney, University of Western Australia

‘In the second edition of “Intellectual Property, Medicine and Health” Professor Gibson offers a deep, extensive and thought provoking analysis of the ever controversial relationship between patents and health. The book provides an ideal source for anyone seeking a current and thorough review of the tensions that surround the subject and a fuller understanding of the nature of and background to the various differing perspectives that are held on it.’ Trevor Cook, Partner Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, USA

Creating Selves: Intellectual Property and the Narration of Culture (2006)

‘The necessary link between intellectual property rights and the promotion of creativity and innovation has become a government and industry mantra in recent years. Dr Gibson subjects the claim to searching and thought-provoking scrutiny, drawing effectively on a wide range of inter-disciplinary sources to provide fresh perspectives with important implications for relevant policy and practice in the field.’ Hector L. MacQueen, University of Edinburgh, UK

Community Resources: Intellectual Property, International Trade and the Protection of Traditional Knowledge (2005)

‘Gibson brings to bear not only her legal training but also her training in critical theory as she examines the cultural and philosophical underpinnings of current legal practice…Community Resources is a challenging, thought-provoking work. Gibson skillfully combines anthropological, political, sociological, legal, and philosophical perspectives to shape the justifications for her proposed international convention.’ The Law and Politics Book Review

‘International in perspective and scope, the book will be a valuable resource for academics and researchers in law, international relations and cultural studies.’ Journal of Intellectual Property Rights

‘This is an important and stimulating book…Johanna’s research and breadth of analysis are remarkable. The author’s conclusions are imaginative and stimulating. It is a splendid book containing an authoritative coverage and analysis with thought-provoking questions. It is a wonderful tool and a valuable starting point for research in the field of community resources.’ Journal of Environmental Law