Business Law 2014

Business Law

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Business Law 2014

Table of Contents

1. Sale of Goods Act 02

2. Transaction Act 03

3. Sales Act 03

4. Transfer of Property 03

5. Agreements Related to Credit 05

6. Agent 06

7. Business Competition 07

8. Monopoly 07

9. Trade Laws (UK & EU) 08

10. Intellectual Property 08

11. Trademark Laws 09

12. Conclusion 09

13. References 10

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Business Law 2014

Activity 1

The objective of almost every business is to maximize the wealth of its owners or

shareholders. Due to this fact customers acquire a central position in the company operations

and become the most important asset. The companies are in a constant quest of finding

innovative ways to cater to the needs of their customers. Most of these innovative ideas flow

from customers to the companies. The companies then transform customer needs and wants

into innovative products and services. This product development involves a lot of cognitive

efforts and brain storming by the company personnel. This relationship between the

customers, innovation and companies can never be denied and is of vital importance for the

life of the companies. At times different disputes arise between the customers and companies

as a result of this relationship and interaction. So to protect the interest of customers and

companies there are certain legislations. As a result of these legislations this relationship goes

uninterested. An overview of these legislation have been given in this paper.

Sale of Goods Act

The sphere of applicability of this law extends to every city and every place in this world.

The general name of this law is “SOGA”. This law gives a piece of legislation for dealing

with the sale and purchase of goods and services. The purpose of this law is to safeguard the

interest of both parties entering into sale or purchase of goods and services. So that no dispute

arises and troubles are avoided. The clauses and terms are written down and agreed upon by

both the parties making a sale or purchase. Some conditions are given by the seller and some

are given by the purchaser. Ultimately all the terms and conditions are agreed upon mutually

by both parties. In times of any dispute this agreement acts as a proof and saves both parties

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from troubles. The mutual consent of both the selling and purchasing party is an essential ele-

ment of this contract.

Transaction Act

This act defines the legislative boundaries for dealing with the payments and transactions.

This act also includes in it the clauses for debt, mortgages and loans. A relieve is given to the

debtor according to this act. Sometimes relaxation or relief is offered to the creditor under

this act. It is in case of default by the debtor or for the purpose of securing the creditor. This

act serves as a moderator for risk factor in case of credit transactions. The terms are defined

and agreed upon by the parties before the transaction.

Sales Act

Another act dealing with the sale is called sales act. This act includes the delivery of products

or services from business to the customers. As per this act, the sale point is the location of

business or seller. This sale point could be in any form. It may be the factory where goods are

manufactured and then delivered or a retail store or a house of the manufacturer. This law is

applicable in most of the world with minor changes with respect to each area and tradition.

The sale provision is put under legislation under this act. The customer has a right of free will

and can act accordingly (Keenan, 2007).

Transfer of Property

The possession of property and its transfer is a sensitive issue and leads to disputes and

problems. There is always a need of statutory regulations for this purpose. This law of

transfer of property deals with the transfer and lawful possession of property and other

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tangible assets. These assets may include machinery, electronic gadgets, products,

commodities, buildings and vehicles etc. A person using any asset of any kind should have

that asset registered under his own name. If the asset used by someone is in name of some

other person then lawfully it is the possession of that person in whose name it is registered.

The person using this asset cannot claim its ownership. The usage of items and products are

also covered by the provision of this act. According to this act a product can be used by the

customer but it belongs to the company. The customer has no lawful right to own the product.

This is seen in car rental services. They follow this act. The right of the claim and possession

rests with the companies or owner who has invested capital in acquiring the product. In case

of any dispute the recovery is claimed under this act. The user of the product is put to

litigation by the owner. The responsibility of any damage to the asset rest with the user of the

product and under this act owner can claim it.

The statutory regulations about the personal assets and property owned by a single person are

also covered under this act. Two types of properties and regulations are defined by this law.

These types are corporeal and incorporeal property. The corporeal property includes the

tangible assets owned by a person. These assets are property, merchandise, machine,

perfumes and any other asset having a tangible existence. The incorporeal natured assets are

those related to cognitive and intellectual properties of the persons. Intellectual property

assets include those which don’t have a physical existence and includes ideas, patents and

trademarks etc. Bailment is also discussed under this act. The lost and disputed properties are

treated under the heads of this act. If a person gives off a property under his or her own

willingness and consent then this property is treated as abandoned property. The provisions

about abandoned property are also present in this act (Emerson, 2009).

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Activity 2

Agreements Related to Credit

The credit transactions and arrangements follow certain conditions and terms agreed upon by

both borrower and creditor. These conditions are drawn under some legislation. There are

various types of such agreement related to credit. If a person hires a property against a certain

agreed upon amount, the agreement in this case is called agreement of hire purchase. Under

this agreement the person hiring the property is responsible to pay the owner certain amount

of money or any other remuneration agreed upon prior to the agreement of hire. The owner is

entitled to this remuneration. The legal right of possession rests with the owner and is not

transferred under this agreement. Only possession is given to the hiring person not the

ownership. Selling of items on lease and installments by the companies to the customers is

also dealt under this agreement. These items are treated as the hired items and the ownership

is not transferred to the customers unless full payments along with the agreed interest are

received by the company. Similar to this agreement is another agreement for the sale and

purchase of luxury items on installments and lease. These luxury items are treated the same

way as in the agreement of hire. The customer gets the possession, uses the product and pays

the company on agreed upon intervals with an extra charge in form of interest (Peter, 2004).

There is another type of the contract or agreement dealing with the hiring of items in

exchange for a fixed monthly rental. Under this agreement only right of usage is given to the

hiring person and ownership remains with owner no matter for how long interval the asset is

used by the person under this agreement.

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Agent

The representative of someone else given the responsibility to perform on the behalf of some

other person knows as principle is called the agent to that principle. For agent the counterpart

of principle is necessary. Both these parties are mandatory for the agent principle

relationship. There are several different types of agents. The differentiation among these

types is on the basis of responsibilities and authority given by the principal. The other factors

determining the type of agent are the remuneration of the agent and the freedom given. The

agents are known to be executive, contributory and collaborative agents. If a person handles

the affairs of its principal with own will and independence, it is known as collaborative agent.

Sometimes a group of person is facilitating the planning process of a business or firm. This

group of people is known as executive agents. At times, a single person offers some services

to the principal and acts under the direct supervision of the principal. Such agents are said to

be service agents (Bose, 2008).

Rights and Responsibilities

The agent is performing certain duties for its principal against some agreed remuneration.

Along with these duties, agent also has certain rights given by the law. The rights and duties

of the agent are briefly given below:

The payment or remuneration for services is due to the agent once the services are

performed and principal cannot retain them legally. The agent can claim this

remuneration at any time after performing the duty.

The principal can retain payments in case of unperformed duties.

The agent can act on the behalf of principal and the actions of agent are considered

the actions of principal

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Activity 3

Business Competition

The objective of almost all the business is the profit maximization. Wherever marketers see

the potential customers they invest and exploit resources to earn profits. In case of markets

where entry barriers are less and potential customers are more, more and more businesses

start their operations. In this way a state of competition is created. Different businesses have

the same target customers and they have to sell their product offerings to these customers.

The businesses then adopt innovative techniques to offer and market their products. In

markets driven by the competition, innovation fosters. In case of competition consumers get

diverse product choices with competitive prices and quality. This competitive nature of

business markets has changed the face of modern business world. There is another state or

approach where there is no competition in the market. Only one or few players are catering to

the needs of the customers. This happens when the entry barriers and regulations for carrying

out operations are tough. In such anti-competitive business environment, consumers are left

with only few choices and they have to pay more for those choices. Such anti-competitive

environment leads to the formation of monopolies (Miller, 2010).

Monopoly

Anti-competitive approach gives birth to the monopolies. The monopolies are created when

the demand for a single business reached to undue level or there is only one supplier to

specific product or service. This supplier then charge the customers with own will.

Monopolies are not desired in the markets of the world and almost every government

discourages the monopolies through legislation. The purpose for discouraging the monopolies

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is to provide a safe side to the customer interest. Very common laws against monopolies are

the acts of competition. The governments favor market competition and monopolies are

discouraged automatically (Peter, 2004).

Trade Laws (UK & EU)

The government intervention in trade and trade markets is inevitable for smooth functioning

of the economy. The state interferes to maintain a balance. The trade laws of UK and Europe

have a purpose of market regulation and interest protection of businesses and customers.

These laws are against the monopolies. Two famous laws are Enterprise Law and Law of

Competition. The purpose of these trade laws is to promote fair play in business and trade

operations. These laws promote trade and business activities across the boundaries of

countries and regions. These laws are strictly against the anti-competitive forces (Bose,

2008).

Activity 4

Intellectual Property

The property not having any tangible existence is called intellectual property. It includes

ideas and innovation. There are laws for the protection of intellectual property so that no idea

can be used without prior permission of the person to which it belongs. These laws and

regulations are called “rights to intellectual property”. The legal provisions of trademarks,

patents and copyrights protect the intellectual property from illegal use and ensure its lawful

use. The patents provide protection to the inventions which are scientific in nature while

copyrights are for the pieces of art and artistic work. Trademarks protect the business names

and logos.

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Trademark Laws

The business names and their logos are protected by the laws and regulations of trademark.

According to law these business names are called trademarks and no one can use these

trademarks without the consent of the owner. Trademarks are registered and after registration

of trademark no other person can use them (Twomey, 2010).

Protection laws

The above discussed laws provide the right of infringement to the owner in case of any stolen

intellectual property. The owner gets the protection and incase of theft or illegal use fines and

penalties are imposed. Due to these protection laws no one can use intellectual property of

someone without prior consent.

Conclusion

The modern business is driven by the competition and change. The businesses have to keep

pace with the changing trends. This is fostering innovation. The companies are trying to

incorporate innovation in their operations and products to acquire new customer or to retain

older customers. The customers are itself a source of innovation for the businesses. Therefore

the relationship between customers, innovation and businesses can never be denied. There are

different legislations and laws for the protection of interest of customers and business so that

this relationship progresses with the progress and development of the world. Many laws and

regulations have been discussed in this paper. The purpose of these laws is to resolve and

avoid disputes so that business activities are carried un interruptedly.

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Business Law 2014

References

Bose, C. (2008). Business Law. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.

David, K. (2011). Business Law. Taylor & Francis.

Kenneth, C. (2008). Business Law: Text and Cases. Cengage Learning.

Keenan, D. (2007). Business Law. Retrieved at:

https://web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/statutes/ccsm/s010e.php

Macintyre, E. (2010). Business Law. Longman.

Twomey, D. (2010). Business Law: Principles for Today's Commercial Environment.

Cengage Learning.

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