Business Law: A Comprehensive Guide to Legal Principles and Applications

This comprehensive guide delves into the fundamental principles of business law, covering a wide range of topics including the sale of goods, credit agreements, agency, monopolies, anti-competitive practices, and intellectual property. It provides a thorough analysis of relevant legal rules and statutory provisions, offering practical advice and insights for businesses and individuals alike. The guide explores real-world scenarios, case studies, and legal precedents to illustrate key concepts and their application in practice. It also examines the evolving landscape of business law, including recent legislation and judicial decisions, to equip readers with the knowledge and understanding necessary to navigate the complexities of the legal environment.

Business Law
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................4
Task 1.........................................................................................................................................5
1.1 Analyse and advice Ben on the legal rules of implied terms relating to the sale of goods
and supply of services............................................................................................................5
1.2 Analyse and advice Ben on the statutory provisions on the transfer of property and
possession...............................................................................................................................6
1.3 Evaluate the statutory provisions on buyer’s and seller’s remedies in sale of goods
contracts.................................................................................................................................7
1.4 Analyse and advice on product liability legal rules and statutory provisions for faulty
goods......................................................................................................................................8
Task 2.........................................................................................................................................9
2.1 Differentiate between types of credit agreements which Ben could use to obtain the
new car...................................................................................................................................9
2.2 Analyse the rules on termination rights and default notices for Ben to be informed in
case she subsequently has trouble paying the debts as required in the contract..................10
2.3 Analyse the general features of Agency and differentiate between the different types of
agent.....................................................................................................................................11
2.4 Evaluate the rights and duties of an agent to assist Ben understand her position once
she becomes an Estate Agent...............................................................................................12
Task 3.......................................................................................................................................13
3.1 Outline monopolies and anti-competitive practice legislation in the UK......................13
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3.2 Explain the role of the Competition Commission within the context of monopolies and
anti-competitive practices and the UK Office of Fair Trading............................................14
3.3 Define dominant positions within the EU common market...........................................15
3.4 Consider the application of EU exemptions to potentially anti-competitive practices. .16
Task 4.......................................................................................................................................17
4.1 Identify differing forms of intellectual property............................................................17
4.2 Outline the principles relation to the protection of invention through patent rights and
their infringement in a given business scenario...................................................................19
4.3 Describe the principles relating to copyright protection and their infringement in a
given business......................................................................................................................20
4.4 Compare and contrast the protection of trademarks and business names......................21
Conclusion................................................................................................................................23
References................................................................................................................................24
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Introduction
In the economy business law has a wide scope of application and these laws are managed
according to in accordance with the business law. In the market, context business is
controlled by some confinement and disallowances which is likely to affect the since it is
important to keep up such a great conduit for the fulfilment of client and provider
requirements. The activity of price reduction and high price charge which is beyond the
provided scope is not permitted. Services and goods we see in the market are not only
available but also governed by rules and regulations even though they not been mentioned.
The inferred terms can be defined as terms available in the accord by default. Debtors and
creditors are approved to end the sale agreement. Business law terms are extremely standard
and utilized daily in every aspect.
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Task 1
1.1 Analyse and advice Ben on the legal rules of implied terms relating to the sale of
goods and supply of services
At the point when merchandise is sold to the buyer an agreement of understanding for the
products sold is made. The merchandise sold bear obligation and commitment. The buyer and
the seller both set under duty and the law also confines them with a couple of terms. The
terms bounders by the law are called surmised terms of the understanding. The proposed
terms of the understanding are by custom. (Sharma, 2010)
Sale of Goods Act 1979 section 11 explains that the goods sold should bear a title and the
seller should have the title as well. As per section 12, the goods that are being transferred to
the buyer should not have any hinder that can cause a problem to the buyer. According to Sec
13, merchandise must be according to the depiction of the item that is given before the buy of
the products. The purchaser depends on the portrayal of the products and any disappointment
will result to break off. Sec 14 clearly states that the products must be safe for use and fit for
the intended purpose. In case of a sample, similar law of sec 15 apply. The products
according to the sample should match the description
Here, Ben is entitled to restore the vehicle to the merchant in light of the fact that the state of
the agreement isn't satisfied and purchaser can sue the vender (Thampapillai, 2015)
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1.2 Analyse and advice Ben on the statutory provisions on the transfer of property and
possession
The products sold to the merchant should not have any abnormality so that the transfer to the
owner is done without any problem in coming days. Furthermore, during the transfer, the law
requires that the products must be unascertained lest won't be traded according to sec 16 to 20
of the law.
When the transfer of goods is being done there is a possibility that the goods are not owned
by the seller. The remedy relies on the possession and ownership of the goods. The products
must be learned and not unascertained items as expressed in Healy v Howlett case. The
products will be sold with an expectation to do and the prerequisites will be satisfied to place
the goods in a delivery state. In sec 18 it is clearly spelt that the delivery of goods should be
done in accordance with the agreement specified during purchase. The goods will be
considered to be undelivered if the purchase does not acknowledge the goods (Kubasek, et.
al, 2016)
In this scenario, Ben has acquired the car and will fully own it after he has paid all instalment
and conveyance is done by the merchant in accordance with the agreement. Here, Ben
acknowledged the transfer and is the owner however in case of any default the obligation lie
on the merchant since the trade wasn’t according to the agreement.
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1.3 Evaluate the statutory provisions on buyer’s and seller’s remedies in the sale of
goods contracts
The sale agreements have some commitments that need to be satisfied and if they fail to be
met then the remedy is given in accordance with the act. Both the buyer and the seller are
given these remedies. The remedies accessible to the merchant of the agreement are under sec
41 to 50. Only a few remedies are genuine and others are individual. The seller has an option
of selling the damaged products at the price of his choice to cover the loss that occurred from
non-payment by the buyer (Clarkson, et. al, 2014)
The purchaser of the merchandise is protected by sec 12 to 15 which expresses that purchaser
is approved to rejects those products which are not according to the inferred terms of the
agreement and the purchaser can guarantee for non-conveyance if there should arise an
occurrence of which results to harm to the purchaser. According to 52 of the law, the
purchaser additionally has an ideal to particular execution for the act. The purchaser can
recuperate the cash for the merchant in the event of non-conveyance of the products
according to sec 54 of the law.
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1.4 Analyse and advice on product liability legal rules and statutory provisions for
faulty goods
As stated by law, the risk of the item is in the hands of the vendor and the manufacturer of the
merchandise since it is assumed that the default time is right from the time it was
manufactured. To proof carelessness of the producer the petitioner needs to demonstrate that
there exist the obligation of care with respect to producer and such obligation of care is
broken. According to the Consumer Protection Act, the producer of the item has a strict risk
and pulls in criminal and common obligation. The item obligation depends on the makers by
and large. The merchandise must be flawed or hazardous then the case is allowed.
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Task 2
2.1 Differentiate between types of credit agreements which Ben could use to obtain the
new car.
The credits in the market aides an individual acquire the credit in various structures. The
credit strategy was utilized to profit the sum in brief timeframe for huge speculations. The
buyer used to assume praise and reimburse after settled timeframe. The individual giving the
sum is a creditor and the individual obtaining the sum is a debtor.
Types of credit agreement in the market are as follows:
Hire purchase Credit sale Conditional sale Loans and credit
cards
The purchaser of the
item possesses the
property and the
instalment is paid in
the portions. The
merchandise can't be
traded to another
gathering until unless
the proprietorship
isn't traded.
In this strategy for
credit, the ownership
and the responsibility
for the property is
traded yet at the
season of default the
bank can rest the
property. (Kubasek,
et. al, 2016)
The contingent deal
is the sort credit
technique in which
the purchaser use to
purchase the item
toward the finish of
the agreement. The
loan boss has the
privilege to recover
the property.
The bank advance is
the given by the bank
to the as advance and
the MasterCard’s
helps the holder of
the card to engage
the administrations
ahead of time.
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2.2 Analyse the rules on termination rights and default notices for Ben to be informed in
case she subsequently has trouble paying the debts as required by the contract
The bank of the merchandise and the indebted person of the products both have the privilege
to end the agreement. Both the indebted and the lender issues the default notice as stated in
the agreement. The credit understanding of the agreement can be ended by the bank if arise
an occurrence of a default by the borrower and the indebted person needs to pay the sum with
the accumulated interest according to the law. The period as per recovery act is seven days.
According to sec 127 of the law the court is approved to choose inconsistencies of the
indebted person and permit the debtor more time to repay back.
The credit assertion can be ended by the borrower too if there should be an occurrence of
earlier settlements then the time of the agreement. As provided by sec 94 to 97 the
understandings can be ended by an indebted person as well and the account holder can restore
the products to the creditor due to powerlessness by the borrower to convey the assention of
credit. The products will be repossessed by the bank in the event of default.
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2.3 Analyse the general features of Agency and differentiate between the different types
of agent
The agent and the essential proprietor both have the association of the centre individual and
the commitments selected by the guideline to the operator must be taken properly as indicated
by the law. Both the gatherings to the understanding must be skilful to consent to the
arrangement. The consent to the arrangement the customer and the standard are guided by an
agent. The explanation behind the understanding through is to save the long method and
spare the ideal opportunity for the two gatherings (Mundey and Mundey, 2010)
The operators are of two sorts, the general agents and the operators. The general agents have
the higher master when diverged from operators. The agent works for some particular reason.
The home agents manage property which is considerable, for instance, the land and the
building. The banks are furthermore the master of agents dealing with the client. The business
operators use to oversee items and exchange the stock in light of a legitimate concern for
preeminent proprietor. The components and delegates are furthermore the general merchants
of the property.
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2.4 Evaluate the rights and duties of an agent to assist Ben understand her position once
she becomes an Estate Agent
The agent has the obligation to deal with the trade and ensure that the outcome isn't
influenced.
AGENT’S RIGHTS
• General Rule: If A acts with actual authority, entitled to:
– Compensation (as agreed or reasonable value of services unless gratuitous)
– Reimbursement of reasonable expenses actually incurred
– Indemnification of losses suffered because acting for P, if losses were not the
result of A’s breach of duty or other wrongdoing
• Consequences of Breach:
– If an agent breaches any of her duties, she will be liable for damages for any
loss caused to the P by her breach
– May be other consequences, as below
1. Duty of Obedience
An Agent has a duty to obey the P’s lawful instructions
a. No obligation to obey unlawful instructions (not just illegal instructions)
2. Duty of Diligence
An agent has the duty to use reasonable skill and care when acting for the principal
An agent has the duty to use any special skill or knowledge the agent represents
himself as having when acting for the principal
3. Duty to Inform
4. Duty to account (note difference from the text)
An agent has a duty to maintain and provide P with an account of all funds or
property received by A or expended on P’s behalf
An agent has a duty to account for and turn over to P any financial benefit A received
as a result of transactions conducted on behalf of P
5. Fiduciary duty
An agent has a duty of undivided loyalty and good faith to P
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The duty requires that A cannot serve his own interests or those of T, but must act
solely for the interests of P. If A breaches fiduciary duty
Task 3
3.1 Outline monopolies and anti-competitive practice legislation in the UK
Competition commission refers to a set of measures designed to allow the existing market
forces to operate freely by regulation of restrictive trade customs and anti-competitive
practices, preventing the abuse of dominant positions held by certain companies and the
control of state assistance. The markets are monitored by competition agencies that have the
jurisdictional authority to probe and commend legislative action and other changes in the
market.
Competitive commission role is to curb to reduce monopoly power like instituting anti-
monopoly laws. Other actions involved preventing mergers and acquisitions that were geared
towards creating a monopoly and in dire cases a compulsive sale of assets may be ordered by
the Minister responsible for Competition, though this is yet to be utilized (Gorecki &
Maxwell, 5).
The government has effectively used Competition Commission to streamline its markets with
favourable outcomes to customers. The parties executing these policies, however, require
massive financial resources and support for them to deliver effectively. Appropriate
utilization of Competition Commission has ensured cartels have been broken and prices
lowered for UK nationals.
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3.2 Explain the role of the Competition Commission within the context of monopolies
and anti-competitive practices and the UK Office of Fair Trading
The Competition Commission has the ultimate aim of promoting competition to ensure
markets are working better and cartels are eradicated. The Competition Authority is
commissioned with this mandate in the UK. Its other objectives include promoting dynamic
efficiency by encouraging technological innovations while keeping prices low, ensuring
effective price competitions and safeguarding consumer interests through lower product and
services’ prices and increased variety of products and services to choose from. It can be used
to achieve economic growth without inflation (Massimo, pp. 17-26). Some of UK’s
competition policies are pro-competitive reforms such as the government’s plans for
restructuring infrastructure industries. The competition commission also controls mergers in
cases where they are illegal for no reason rather than to create an environment of monopoly.
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3.3 Define dominant positions within the EU common market
The European Court’s definition of a dominant market suggests that a position of economic
strength can be enabled if a company can undertake its operations without having to worry
about fierce competition. Therefore, the company is able to set its own prices (price-maker)
and have the consumer pay a relatively higher price, compared to a company operating in a
competitive market situation where the firm is a price taker. I agree that the EU definition
does make sense because a firm with a high market share/dominance can exploit its market
power to earn more money from consumers.
The EU loosely describes monopoly and oligopoly behaviour. When considering a monopoly
with this definition, a firm in this position is greatly independent of both consumers and
competitors. Monopolies dominate the market and receive very little competition from other
firms. By owning the majority of a market share, a particular monopoly becomes the only
purchasing choice for a consumer.
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3.4 Consider the application of EU exemptions to potentially anti-competitive practices
The EU competition policy entails the application of rules and regulations to ensure that there
is competition between companies, there is innovation in the business field and the businesses
offer fair prices to consumers. It is the role of the European Commission’s Directorate
General to oversee matters concerning antitrust, cartels, liberalization, mergers, challenges of
globalization and the state aid
The EU and the United States (US) are the largest economic partners in the world
representing bilateral trade that amounts to approximately a third of goods and services of the
world trade. Due to this fact, the EU competition policy may raise concern to the US
businesses with international businesses in the EU.
The policy grants the EC power to dawn raid the business premises for investigation of
undertakings that include private properties (The European Union's competition policy,
n.d.).This provision applies to all businesses including those owned by firms outside the EU,
therefore, it affects the US businesses in the region. For this reason, the US businesses in this
region have to be overcautious in their activities.
The tough fines that the EU competitive policy imposes may scare away the US investors in
the region as they fear the heavy fines which might adversely affect their businesses. Even
though there is no excuse for the violation of this policy, the mention of the hefty fine is a
point of concern by the US firms.
The liberalization of the business form the within the member states makes them have an
added advantage over the US owned businesses that do not have such freedom in the Europe
markets. However, the bilateral agreements between the US and the EU are making the EU
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Task 4
4.1 Identify differing forms of intellectual property.
Why are they called Intellectual Property?
All these areas deal with ideas and creative work. Must be contrasted to other forms of
personal property because if it is stolen or wrongly misused it still exists as its original intent
was, but still be returned to the owner but the value could’ve been significantly diminished.
When the property is decided in negotiations, there is a protection that is called
confidentiality agreements.
Types of Intellectual Property:
 Copyrights → the pertaining to this give a right to copy. It gives the right of the
creator of any such works, ideas, etc. First developed in statutes, but then created
Copyright Act, the federal government has the power over. Lasts for about 50 years.
o It covers only the original work of the creator. The expression is what is
needed to be protected not the idea itself. Literature video, music. The main
concern is that the work is generated or performed, and then it is automatically
under copyright.
o If someone Registrations determines when the copyright was created.
o Once the copyright has been created the owner can assign it or lease it to
someone else. The court will see that the copyright belongs to the creator
unless to the contrary. They have the moral rights and can keep the integrity of
the work; the rights can’t be assigned but only waived.
o Infringement → a person tries to obtain a benefit or use by the sale, use,
reproduction or distribution.
 Plagiarism is most common in academics.
 Remedies
 In common law → injunction
 Damages in tort
 Obtain damages according to the tort of passing off whereby all
profits must be disgorged.
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1. Patents → no common law history. A government produced mono digital
technologies and media?
 Patents give the inventor the right to sell, produce or otherwise profit from a specific
invention. Patent Act. Invention must be new and has not been introduced to Canada
or anywhere within the last year. Patents from other countries are not allowed to be
“re-patented” anywhere else. Granting for patent lasts for about 20 years.
 Trademarks → any term, symbol, design, or combination that identifies a specific
business, company, or product that distinguishes it from the competition. Registered
trademarks are protected under the Federal Trademarks Act. It helps protect the
goodwill. This allows the owner of the trademark to use it anywhere in Canada but
only for 15 years (but it is renewable). Popular in franchises and the selling of
businesses.
 Confidential secrets → no statutes for it but it are under protection from the provincial
courts. The mere ideas are not property and cannot be subject s theft of ideas.
o Cadbury Schwipesinc v FBI food: ideas are not property. But it still chooses in
action so it is up to be sued. It dealt with the idea how Caramilk was able to
get the caramel into the chocolate bar.
o Recipes, industry secrets, client lists are not subject to theft but they can be
sold and can be of value for owner.
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4.2 Outline the principles relating to the protection of invention through patent rights
and their infringement in a given business scenario.
Apple's products have lately become very popular in the world, the author questions whether
all Apple’s innovations should have patent rights to the iPhone’s design. The author points
out some of the negative effects of patent protection and, some of the iPhone’s designs have
been granted patent rights based on Apple’s latest innovation at its exquisite. Many
companies have used technologies and closest lookalikes design similar to the iPhone,
especially Samsung. Although apple had won the lawsuit; however, if more and more patents
exist, this will destroy the innovation development and, will impetus many of the American
patent system’s broader problems because of too many patent restrictions. Ultimately these
will reduce the consumer choices. In conclusion, people need to determine whether Apple
should have the patent rights.
I thought patent rights were a very effective way to protect the inventors. After reading this
article, there are many hidden issues behind this. Although I had heard about the lawsuit
between Apple and Samsung from the news, the media never mention that some of the
iPhone’s designs are based on existing designs patented by others In my opinion, we should
think twice of the consequence before issuing the patent rights to the iPhone’s innovation
design. There is no doubt that many companies want to increase their cell phones’ market
share; however, more patents rights will decrease the innovation freedom and will slow down
the development of new technology, the designers will have no hesitation to design new
products because they may be punished by lawsuits. Therefore, we should elevate the
consumer’s and inventor’s situations to determine whether the patent rights are applicable. In
addition, Apple will monopolize over this style of smart phones. The consumers will need to
buy the iPhones at higher prices since there is no equivalent alternative. In conclusion, the
patent rights will protect Apple’s innovation design but this will harm the consumers' benefit
without having a wide variety of cell phones available in the market.
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4.3 Describe the principles relating to copyright protection and their infringement in a
given business
A trademark refers to a phrase, word, design or symbol used in trade that uniquely identifies a
source of goods or services from one business enterprise to others. A trademark is usually a
visual symbol that can be in the form of a device, word or label that is meant to communicate
to the public that the goods they are purchasing belongs to a particular person and can be
used to distinguish similar goods produced by a different manufacturer(Calboli & Lee, 2014).
A registered trademark can be protected from by others through an infringement act. If a
trademark is not registered, it can be protected against unauthorized use by other people
through an auction or passing off, and this is a common law remedy
Apple Corps filed a lawsuit against Apple computer in 1978 for infringement of its trademark
This was settled in 1981 at a sum of $80000. An agreement was made where Apple Corps
agreed to stay away from the computer business, and Apple Computer would keep off the
music business. Apple Corps again sued Apple Computer for violating this agreement in
1986 and a settlement of $26.5 million was agreed. The two organizations have been at wars
over trademarks several more times, and it has become a big issue between the two.
Copyright protects a person’s work of art from being duplicated by others. A copyright notice
is very important because it protects one against copyright infringement and when used it
helps an artist easily win a copyright infringement case and sometimes collect enough
damages (Bagdikian, 2014).
Bright tunes a struggling New York publisher filed a copyright infringement suit against
George Harrison’s song “My Sweet Lord” which was identical to one of their song, “He’s So
Fine”. Harrison tried an out of court settlement of the matter, but Bright tunes pressed on
insisting that he should surrender his copyright protection. It led to a four-year stalemate
where Bright Tunes went into receivership for other unrelated problems.
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4.4 Compare and contrast the protection of trademarks and business names
Most people would desire to start their own businesses but they do not understand well what
the Trademark Law and naming your business entails a business start-up. There are several
provisions granted by the law on the way businesses should be started, named and how their
names are to be protected. For one to secure their business name, they ought to trademark
their own business names. There are several benefits associated with having a business name
registered and a trademark.
Protection from the federal law and the state is achieved when one trademarks their business
name. However, the protection varies from one state to another state and it is important to
check the level of protection one would be entitled to receive from their particular state. This
guarantees that the future of the business would be stable.
Ownership is another benefit of trademark law and naming your business. This ownership
guarantees that nobody else can trade under your registered name at all. They cannot also use
that particular business name to trade using it once it is trademarked. If one does not
trademark their business name, another company might pick it and start trading using it
which would confuse the customers and clients of the first trader. The business name is used
to identify a particular business entity from other business entities.
Trademarks are important to a business as they protect sounds, colours, words and symbols
that are used to distinguish a particular product from other similar products in the market.
These symbols and signs are registered in order to distinguish products from one person to
another. Trademarks are renewed after a certain period of time and the trademarked business
names could be used to obtain registration in other different countries (Palmer, 2011).
When starting a new business, there are various steps involved in acquiring a trademark. The
proposed trademark ought to be very distinctive and could be made up of words, designs,
letters, numbers, shapes, one colour or a combination of colours. It must be distinctive in
character as it would be used to identify distinctive products. The second step involves
infringement of another party’s trademark. One should have a search conducted to ensure that
their proposed trademark does not infringe any existing trademarks. This search minimizes
the chances of infringing another party’s trademark and also saves a lot of time and money.
After ensuring that both of the above conditions are met, then the trademark is registered.
21

A business name, on the other hand, has some process to be followed before it is registered.
One ought to search the state corporate records to ensure that no other corporation utilizes the
same name one proposes to register. After the search, one should also conduct an online
search to ensure that no one else utilizes the same business name or to check if the domain
name is free. An example of such an online website is the Trademark which consists of a
database of business names from as early as the 1870s. After ensuring that the trade names
are available, then one would proceed and register their business name after paying a certain
preset fee. The above factors highlight clearly the benefits of trademark law and naming your
business when starting a new business.
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Conclusion
It is concluded from the above report that the functioning of the various acts proves to be
helpful in the solution of the various acts and the cases. The laws related to the intangible
rights and the competition provisions are effectively clearweed from the provided report to
develop the concepts and the laws. The concepts of the monopoly and the trade practices are
cleared from the report along with the differentiation among them. Thus it can be concluded
that the laws play an crucial role in the solution of the cases and generation of the various
remedies.
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References
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contracts (2nd Ed.) first supplement. Sweet & Maxwell.
 Thampapillai, D., 2015. SALE OF GOODS. Australian Commercial Law, p.29.
 Kubasek, N.K., Brennan, B.A. and Browne, M.N., 2016. The legal
environment of business: A critical thinking approach. Pearson.
 Clarkson, K., Miller, R. and Cross, F., 2014. Business Law: Texts and Cases.
Nelson Education.
 Palmer, F.P., Allstate Insurance Company, 2011. Credit risk evaluahon with
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 Munday, R. and Munday, R.J., 2010. Agency: Law and Principles. Oxford
niversity Press.
 Bagdikian, B.H., 2014. The new media monopoly: A completely revised and
updated edihon with seven new chapters. Beacon Press.
 Jones, A. and Sufnn, B., 2016. EU competition law: text, cases, and materials.
oxford university Press.
 Bishop, S. and Walker, M., 2010. The economics of EC competition law.
Sweet & Maxwell.
 Wellington, A., 2011. Intellectual Property Rights. In Encyclopedia of Global
Justice (pp. 538-540). Springer Netherlands.
 Pandey, N. and Dhami, K., 2014. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. PHI
Learning Pvt. Ltd..
 Turner, J.D., 2010. Intellectual Property and EU Competition Law 2e.
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