Business Law Basics - GENL5021
Faculty: Faculty of Law
School: Faculty of Law
Course Outline: See below
Campus: Sydney
Career: Undergraduate
Units of Credit: 6
EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)
Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 3
CSS Contribution Charge: 1 (more info)
Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule
Further Information: See Class Timetable
Available for General Education: Yes (more info)
View course information for previous years.
Description
We all enter into agreements everyday but when can we really enforce other peoples’ promises by going to court? When can someone escape from their obligation under contract? If you have accepted the risk of engaging in a dangerous sport can you still sue when something goes wrong? You may think badly about someone but can you tell others about your views even if they happen to be true? You may not be business owners but we are all consumers of goods and services; do we know when we can claim a refund when what we have bought doesn't work properly? Have you ever applied for a loan or credit card and then refused credit on the basis of a negative credit report? If you owe someone money or you are trying to recover money owed to you, what are your alternatives? What can you do if your company starts to fail? So much of your business will depend on being able to protect your idea, creation, invention, commercial advantage and reputation. You will find out about the many forms of intellectual property protection and how the fictitious beer, Duff Beer, of The Simpsons fame made the headlines in Australia and how Thorpedo won over Torpedoes brand.
Recommended Prior Knowledge
Course Objectives
More specifically the course aims at facilitating the student's ability to:
- Identify and analyse legal issues
- Apply principles to the facts of a particular problem
- Consider possible legal solutions to a particular problem
Main Topics
- Australian Legal System - brief introduction to how we got our laws, structure of our courts, advantages and disadvantages of different types of business entities
- Contracts
- Torts - negligence and defamation
- Trade Practices - consumer protection Restrictive Trade Practices - such as price-fixing and other anti-competitive conduct
- Credit regulation and debt recovery
- Intellectual Property - copyright, patents, trademarks, confidential information and passing off.
Assessment
Team presentation (unwritten) 30%
Take home exam 60%
Course Texts
Prescribed
Printed notes: available from the UNSW bookshop
Resources