Disgorgement of Profits

Disgorgement of profits is not exactly a household word in private law. Particularly in civil law jurisdictions - as opposed to those of the common law - the notion is not well known. What does it stand for? It is best illustrated by examples. One of the best known being the British case of Blake v Attorney General, [2001] 1 AC 268. In which a double spy had been imprisoned by the UK government before escaping and settling in the former Soviet Union. While there wrote a book on his experiences, upon which the UK government claimed the proceeds of the book. The House of Lords, as it then was, allowed the claim on the basis of Blake's breach of his employment contract. Other examples are the infringement of intellectual property rights, where the damages of the owner are limited, but the profits of the wrongdoer immense. In such cases, the question arises whether the infringing party should be disgorged of his profits.

This volume aims at establishing the notion of disgorgement of profits as a keyword in the discourse of private law. It does not purport to answer the question whether or not such damages should or should not be awarded. It does however aim to contribute to the discussion, the arguments in favour and against, and the organisation of the various actions.

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About the Authors.- List of Abbreviations.- A. Original Questionnaire.- B. Common Law.- Disgorgement of Profits in Australian Private Law; Katy Barnett.- Gain-Based Remedies for Civil Wrongs in England and Wales; Stephen Watterson.- Disgorgement in Ireland; Niamh Connolly.- C. French Legal Systems.- Disgorgement of Profits in Belgian Private Law; Marc Kruithof.- The Disgorgement of Illicit Profits in French Law; Michel Séjean.- An Italian Way to Disgorgement of Profits?; Paolo Pardolesi.- Disgorgement of Profits in Portugal: a Journey Between the Present and the Future; Henrique Sousa Antunes.- Legal Mechanisms Enabling Disgorgement of Profits in Romania; Adriana Almäan and Cristina Zam a.- Disgorgement of Profits under Spanish Law; Carlos Gomez Ligüerre.- D. German Legal Systems.- Disgorgement of Profits under Austrian law; Maximilian Brunner and Stefan Perner.- Disgorgement of Profits in German Law; Tobias Helms.- Disgorgement of Profits in Greek Law; Eleni Zervogianni.- Non-Genuine Benevolent Intervention In Another's Affairs and Disgorgement of Profits under Turkish Law; Basak Basoglu.- E. Nordic Legal Systems.- Disgorgement Damages in Norwegian Law; Erik Monsen.- F. Mixed Legal Systems.- Disgorgement of Profits in Canada; Lionel Smith and Jeff Berryman.- Disgorgement of Profits in Israeli Law; Talia Einhorn.- Disgorgement of Profits in Scots Law; Martin A. Hogg.-Disgorgement of Profits in South African Law; Jacques du Plessis and Daniel Visser.- G. Central and Eastern Europe.- Disgorgement of Profits in Croatian Law; Ana Keglevic.- Disgorgement of Profits in Slovenian Law; Damjan Mozina.- H. East Asia.- The Disgorgement Damage System in Chinese Law; Xiang Gao and Chengwei Liu.- Disgorgement of Profits in Japanese Law; Yoshihisa Nomi.- I. Latin America.- Disgorgement of Profits in Brazilian Law; Aline de Miranda Valverde Terra.- Disgorgement of Profits in Chilean Private Law; RodrigoMomberg.- J. General Report.- Disgorgement of Profits: Gain-based Remedies throughout the World; Ewoud Hondius and André Janssen.