Week 1
What is law?
Law – the order or pattern of rules that society establishes
to govern the conduct of individuals and the relationships
among them
- the rules of the game
- a bundle of rights
What Is Business Ethics?
Business ethics- Balances the goal of profits with values of individuals and society.
Who can regulation competition and prices?
Federal government- May regulate any area of business to advance the nation’s national economic needs
State government-
Rely on the police power
• May not impose an unreasonable burden on
• Interstate commerce or
• Any activity of the federal government
Nature and Classification of Crimes
- A crime is conduct that is prohibited and punished by a government.
– Classified as common law or statutory
– Misdemeanors are punishable by lessthan one year in prison.
– Felonies are punishable by more than oneyear in prison.
Trademarks and Service Marks
A trademark identifies a product.
– A service mark identifies a service.
– Under the Lanham Act, inclusion on the
Principal Register protects others from using a mark.
– Before starting a business, marks may bereserved for up to 36 months.
Sources of law
Constitution, Statutory Law,Administrative Law,Private Law,Case Law,Uniform State Laws
Why Is Business Ethics Important?
The Importance of Trust
– Capitalism succeeds because of trust. The
reliance on promises produces good
business relationships. Business Ethics and Financial
Performance
– Those with the strongest value systems
are more successful.
The federal and state governments rely on?
1. Sherman Act
2. Clayton Act
3. Robinson-Patman Act
4. Federal Trade Commission Act
--- Each cover a different type of anti-competitive behavior
White-Collar Crimes
Conspiracies
– Agreements to commit an unlawful act
International Registration
- Under the Madrid Protocol, owners of marks registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office can register and protect their mark in 60 countries.
Substantive law v. Procedural law
Substantive law- the law that defines rights and liabilities
Procedural law- the law that must be followed in
enforcing rights and liabilities
How do you Recognize and Resolve Ethical Dilemmas?
- Integrity and Truthfulness
– Promise Keeping
– Loyalty: Avoiding Conflicts of Interest
– Doing no harm
– Maintaining Confidentiality
Vertical restraints v.Horizontal restraints
Horizontal restraints – restraints among competitors Goal to make sure gaining customers because of better service/price and not because of price manipulation or market manipulation.
Vertical restraints – restraints through the supply chain
Money Laundering
- Money Laundering Control Act prohibits knowingly participating in a financial transaction designed to conceal the source of the funds.
– The Patriot Act expands coverage to all financial transactions.
Copyrights
– Copyrights run for the life of the creatorplus 70 years.
– If a business pays someone to create the work, the copyright runs for 120 years from creation (95 from publication).
Criminal Law v. Civil Law
Criminal wrongs – wrongs against society
Punishments – fines and/or imprisonment
Civil wrongs – wrongs against an individual Punishments – monetary damages, specific performance
What a Constitution Is?
A written document establishing the
structure of the government and its
relationship to the people
What is price fixing?
- agreements between competitors to not sell below a certain price
- agreements between competitors on commission rates
- agreements between competitors on credit terms
- agreements between competitors to exchange cost information
Commercial Bribery
- An agent for another is paid or given something of value to make a decision on behalf of the principal that benefits the party paying the agent.
Patents
Types, Duration, and Notice
– Utility patents: Granted for a new process, machine, manufacture, composition or improvement for 20 years.
– Design patents: Protects new, non-obvious ornamental features in connection with manufacture for 14 years.
– Plant patents: Protects inventors of asexually reproduced new plant varietiesfor 20 years.
Law v. Equity
Law- The order or pattern of rules that society
establishes to govern the conduct of individuals, and the relationships among them.
Equity- A body of law that provides justice when the law does not offer an adequate remedy or application of the law would be terribly unfair Equitable remedies – specific performance, injunction
Federal Powers
The Commerce Power Becomes a General
Welfare Power,
The Commerce Power as a Limitation on States
What is a monopoly?
A situation in which a single company or group owns all or nearly all of the market for a given type of product/service
- Characterized by the lack of competition
What is a Computer Crime?
- A crime that can be committed only by a person having some knowledge of the operation of a computer
The Computer as Victim
– Theft of Hardware
– Theft of Software
– Intentional Damage
Trade Secrets
- Any formula, device, or compilation of
information used in one’s business that
provides an advantage over competitors
who do not have that information
- Loss of Protection
– When secret business information is made
public, it loses the protection it had while
secret