Module code and title:

GMDGBS206 International Business Law

Module leader:

Tobi Arikawe

Assignment No.

and type:

Written assignment (scenarios) 3000 words

Assessment weighting:

100 %

Submission time and date:

Monday, 1^st May 2023 (23:59)

Target feedback time and date:

Three weeks from the

date of final submission

Assignment task

The Summative Assessment will be composed by three scenarios that will allow you to demonstrate your knowledge of analysis of corporate internationalisation and the challenges of operating across borders.

This assignment has been designed to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your achievement of the following module learning outcomes:

LO1 Demonstrate understanding of issues in international business law and evaluate the scope and the ways in which business is regulated in a global economy, understand, and analyse contract and tort law.

LO2 Critically consider the law that governs international contractual relations conducted and concluded electronically across borders and over distances.

LO3 Consider and analyse the ways in which international business law seeks to align and enforce national intellectual property protection mechanisms.

LO4 Critically analyse the regulation of international corporate behaviour and corporate culture in a globalised economy.

Task requirements

Read carefully the cases and answer the questions:

Part 1: The below scenarios will align with Learning Outcomes 1 & 2 (you are expected to write a maximum of 1500 words):

1a) Ellie, who lives in Paris, emailed Memoona -an acquaintance who owns an art gallery in London- a picture of an old painting which was left to her by her grandmother, who also lived in London. Ellie is interested in selling the painting as soon as possible. Memoona thinks that it might be by Rembrandt but is not sure. Memoona offers £5,000 for the painting. Ellie, who will travel to London that week, sends a text message accepting Memoona’s offer, to be paid in exchange for the painting next week. The evening before the transaction occur, Ellie shows the painting to Herve, who is an art critic. He recognises the painting and assures this is a Rembrandt. It may be worth up to £500,000. The following day Ellie refuses to hand it over to Memoona for the agreed price.

a) State and discuss the specific legal issues in scenario 1a) that arise between Memoona and Ellie in the above transaction.

1b) Memoona decided to put on an art exhibition at the gallery, to be held on the 2^nd of January 2022. She contracted with Eric Suppliers Ltd to install a new heating system, and to paint the entrance hall in the gallery, at a total cost of £10,000. Both works had to be completed by 27^th December 2021. Eric completed the installation work by 26^th December 2021 but could not complete the painting until the 1^st January, 2022.

As a result of Eric using the wrong type of paint, horrific toxic smells emanated through the main hall of the gallery. Memoona became furious, anxious, and extremely disappointed when she realised that it would be very difficult to hold the exhibition at her gallery. She phoned another gallery to find out if the exhibition could be held there instead.

, she received no reply. She could have held the exhibition in the gallery basement but due to space restrictions there that would have meant she could have only accommodated some 50 guests (as opposed to the original 200 invited guests). Instead, she decided to cancel the whole exhibition.

In scenario 1b) Memoona has refused to pay Eric because of the defective painting. Advise Eric of what to do using relevant legal principles.

Memoona has now decided to sue Eric for the loss of income in the sum of £500,000 as a result of the cancellation of her exhibition. Advise Memoona of the specific legal issues in this matter and what may be the likely outcome.

Part 2: The below scenarios will align with Learning Outcome 3 (you are expected to write a maximum of 750 words):

Hiades Ltd, a UK based company, has developed a very innovative technological solution that unifies all the operative and administrative systems with an easy-to-use interface adapted to all pilotage requirements. The software is being used by several European Port Authorities. In Europe, software is usually copyrighted, but Hiades would like to expand to the USA. However, in the meantime, Hiades found that their software is being used by some companies without any license.

Critically analyse the different types of protection for the software and advise Hiades how to obtain the best possible protection for their software worldwide.

Advise Hiades about their options using relevant legal Intellectual Property principles.

Part 3: The below scenarios will align with Learning Outcome 4 (you are expected to write a maximum of 750 words):

Death Star Group, Ltd is a multinational company operating in the aerospace industry. While the company considers the carbon intensity of their business to be low, they have been publishing greenhouse gas emissions data for a number of years to meet regulatory requirements. At the last AGM, shareholders filed a resolution requesting that Death Star Group, Ltd disclose more information on the risks of climate change to their business and the financial impacts associated with these risks in the next annual report.

As other companies in the aerospace sector have not disclosed this information, the company is concerned that publishing these figures will draw negative attention to the business, as they may be perceived to be more vulnerable in the market. The reporting team have also expressed concerns over the quality of the information you currently have available, as the company have not undertaken a specific climate risk assessment.

a. State and discuss the specific legal issues that arise in the above scenario. Advice Death Star Group, Ltd about the convenience of disclosing the risk and financial impact information investors are requesting alongside its legal and reputational implications.

Referencing and research requirements

Please reference your work according to the UoS Harvard style; you can access guidance on this here: https://libguides.uos.ac.uk/academic/referencing/Harvard

Use this link for legal references:

https://www.citethemrightonline.com/QuicklinkReferences?menuid=7&refid=1

How your work will be assessed

Your work will be assessed on the extent to which it demonstrates your achievement of the stated learning outcomes for this assignment (see above) and against other key criteria, as defined in the University’s grading descriptors.

This assignment will be marked according to the grading descriptors for Level 5

Submission details

This assignment should be submitted electronically via Moodle (module tutors will discuss this process with you during class time).

Please ensure that your work has been saved in an appropriate file format (Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint, or PDF are the most widely used; Google Docs is also accepted). DO NOT upload your assignment in .pages format. Your file must also contain at least 20 words of text, consist of fewer than 400 pages and be less than 40MB in size.

You can submit your work as many times as you like before the submission date. If you do submit your work more than once, your earlier submission will be replaced by the most recent version.

Once you have submitted your work, you will receive a digital receipt as proof of submission, which will be sent to your forwarded e-mail address (provided you have set this up). Please keep this receipt for future reference, along with the original electronic copy of your assignment

You are reminded of the University’s regulations on academic misconduct, which can be viewed on the University website: https://www.uos.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Academic-Misconduct-Policy.pdf.

Submission date and time

This assignment should be submitted to Moodle before 23.59pm on Monday, 1^st May 2023.

You should submit all work for summative assessments by the above deadline. Work submitted up to three working days after the deadline will be accepted and marked, but the mark will be capped at the pass mark (40%) unless there is a valid reason for the late submission (i.e. having been granted an extension to the deadline or a deferral under the terms of the Extenuating Circumstances Policy).

Work submitted more than three working days after the deadline without a valid reason will not be accepted and will be recorded as 0% RN (refer, no work submitted).

For more information, please refer to: http://uosstudenthandbook.learningservices.online/index.php/your-study/teaching-learningassessment/assessment-guidance

Feedback and marks for this assignment will be available in three weeks from the deadline.