Law Midterm 1 Flashcards
K
is a legal agreement in either written or oral form. Can be both
Requirements of a K
- Consensus (offer +acceptance)
- Consideration (trade)
- Intention for it to be bound
4.Capacity - Legality
6.Writing
Parties in an Assignment of rights
Assignor and Assignee
Damages 2 part test
- Should you have expected the loss
- Did you try and MITIGATE the loss
Compensatory Damages
Natural and direct consequences of a Breach
Consequential Damages
Secondary Losses
General Damages
Non-Quantifiable
Remedies to Damages of a K
- Specific Performance
- Injunctions
- Recission
Injunction
A court order restraining a party to act in a certain way
Recission
Allowed to exit K without breaching
Sales of Goods Act
A transfer of goods (NOT PROPERTY)
K of sales of Goods act
- Negotiated an Agreement
- Proposal or order of good
Implied conditions of a product
- it will conform to description
- Goods will correspond to the sample
Remedies for a Seller in a Sale of Goods
- Stop it in transit
- Resale
- Damages for non-acceptance
- Reposession
- Retention of the buyers deposit
Remedies for a buyer in a Sales of goods transaction
- Recission/damages for misrepresentation
- Refuse to pay
- Request for specific performance
- Return the product
Privity
Parties in a K are the only ones who have rights
Punitive Damages
bad faith behaviour of breaching party
Internal Parties of a corporation
- Shareholders
- Directors
- Officers
Rights of a Shareholder
- Can Vote
- Information
- Recieve DIvidends
- own remaining assets if the company liquidates
Obligations of Directors and Officers
- Must act in good faith (fiduciary duty)
- Use skills on the job
- owe shareholders and the public as a whole
Ordinary resolution
Majority vote
Special Resolution
Select majority vote (2/3 must vote yes to pass this agreement)
Strict Liability
Top management be held accountable
Business Judgment Rule
to assess fath
Corporate Governance
Rules governing the affairs of an organization in order to meet its external and internal responsibilities
Duties of Shareholders
NONE
Methods of Protecting Minority Shareholders
- Dissent and appraisal Remedy: Request to be bought out
- Derivative Action: Blaming Directors for acting improperly
- Winding Up: Liquidation of a company
- Oppression Remedy: Directors are unfairly oppressive to shareholders
Role of Directors
- Issue shares of the corporation
- Declare dividends
- brings in by-laws
- calls meetings with shareholders
Duties of Directors + Officers
Owe the CORPORATION & deal in good faith
Director Risk Management Strategies
- Due Diligence Defence: proactive
- Good faith reliance
- Corporate Indemnity: Reimbursement if acted in good faith
- Directors and officers liability insurance: Bad faith and fraud is not covered
Business Judgement Rule
Did they act in good faith??
Protection of Creditors
Creditors may claim against directors and officers personally if they breach their duty of skill and insolvency arises in the business
Civil Liability of a corporation
- Tort (liability of employees/officers)
- K (pre-incorporations or K made by agents)
Directing mind
Usually officers/directors
Criminal Code offenses for a corporation
- Fraud
- Market Manipulation
- False statements
- Criminal Negligence
- Whistle-Blower
Suggestive Marks (Trademarks)
An attribute of the product or service
Descriptive Marks (Trademarks)
Descriptive names that describe the product
Trademark
A feature unique to your brand that is covered at the FEDERAL level
Requirements for registering a Trademark
- Must be the Owner
- Search the industry to see for duplicates
- Submit an application to CIPO
- Public Notification
- Approval (could take up to several months)
A Trademark cannot be:
- The name of someone living +30yrs
- Confusing with another trademark
- Misdescriptive of the actual product
Trademarks are renewable?
Yes, Every 10 years
Infringement of a Trademark
Unauthorized use of a trademark. You gain his/hers profits
- No intent required just “USE)
Is a Domain Name a Trademark
NO
Copyright
Helps creators get paid for work
Do you need to register for copyright
NO, you have it for your life + 50 years
Can you sign away your moral rights for a copyright
No, but it can be waived
If someone infringes upon your copyright
- injunction for damages
- Damages of profits (civil)
- Getting his/her profits
Patent
A grant from the Government on a creation/Idea
What are the Elements of a Patent
- An art, process, machine, or improvement
- New
- Useful (creates Value)
- Inventiveness (gap in prior invention to present)
How do you get a Patent?
- Hire a Patent Agent
- File an application containing the description and specification of the product
- First to file to the system
- Respond to Examiners objections
- Get the Patent
How to abuse your Patent? /4
- Demand isn’t Reached
- Hindering creation Market
- Discrimination
- Hurting Suppliers
Infringement Remedies for Patents
Include: Damages
Can you patent Math or theories
NO
How to Challenge a Patent
- Action for Infringement
- Actions for Invalidity
- Request for re-examination
- Combination of Strategies
What is Industrial Design
A process of Machinery
Industrial Designs act time?
5 years
How to keep safe a trade secret?
NDA
What is more powerful Copyright vs Patent?
Patent
How to protect an Invention before you have a business?
Use your:
1. Moral Rights
2. NDAs
3. File a trademark
4. File a patent
5. Challengee infringers
Privacy is covered under the?
PIPEDA
Invasion of Privacy Triggers
- Tech
- Discrimination
- Security/Safety
- Target Marketing
Are Businesses allowed to collect and store personal Info?
Yes!
What are the 10 PIPEDA Principles
- Accountability
- Identifying
- Consent
- Limit collection
- Limit Use, Disclosure & Retention
- Ensure accuracy
- Safeguard
- Make Processes and policies public
- Allow individual owner access
- Allow Challenges and receive complaints
PIPEDA principle #2 what are the three reasons you are allowed to identify?
- Communication
- Collection
- Reasonableness
PIPEDA Principle #3 on Consent Principles?
- Meaningful Consent
- Collection and use of info
- for Government investigations
When Do you Not need consent for Privacy concerns according to PIPEDA?
- For Employee info
- To give to a government agency
- Disclosing personal info to prevent fraud for the business
- In the case of a transaction to safeguard it
How to be proactive on privacy within your business /4?
- Develop a response protocol for privacy breaches
- Train Employees
- Communicate policies to stakeholders
- Regularly update policies and procedures
Data Breaches
When someone get access to businesses data that can cause serious harm to the business or individual
How to respond to a Data Breach /4
- Breach containment
- Evaluate the risks associated with the breach
- Notify the authorities
- Mitigate
Secured Interest
An interest in personal property that sources PMT for performance
Tort Liability of Privacy
- Wilful invasion of privacy
- Negligence
- Breach of confidence
Canada’s Anti-Spam Law
Applies to electronic messages
Canadas Anti-spam Law requires
- the identity of the sender and an unsubscribe button
What does Canada’s Anti-spam law not require /2
- Between employees in an org sent down
- Organizations sending between one another pertaining to business
Possible Debt lenders: /3
- banks
- Subordinated Debt
- Credit Funds
- Asset-based lenders
Positive Covenants in a loan agreement /3
- Compliance with Laws
- Insurance
- Financial Covenants
Negative Covenants
- No other borrowing
- No other security
- No acquisitions or amalgamations
- conditions
- Reporting
A property interest parties
borrower (Debtor)
Lender (creditor)
Secured interest is effective when /3?
- Creation (written)
- Attachment (Creditor is given value)
- Perfection (registered)
Can creation and attachment happen in any order for a secured interest PMT?
yes
How to assess legal risk for a creditor when accepting secured interest? /4
- Asses Credit risk
- Which security is best
- Who has priority
- Obtain a guarantee
How to assess legal risk for a debtor when Credit? /4
- Limit security
- Resist personal guarantees
- Collect AR
- Consider personal liability of Directors and officers
3 Components of Modern Privacy
Infringement vs tort of passing off
Passing Off applies to integrated trade mark while trade mark infringement applies to registered trade marks
Common law protection of trademark
tort of passing off
To be considered the Tort of passing off…
- Plantiff must enjoy their representation
- Defendant must have misrepresented its goods as those of the plantiffs
- Must be confusion between the products
- Plantiff must have suffered damages
Different Kinds of property
Real - Tangible and immovable (ex. Building)
Personal - Tangible and moveable (ex. Inventory)
Reviewable Conspiracies
Need Actual Proof
Criminal Conspiracies
No need for actual Proof (goes to court)
Is Mediation Non-binding or Binding
Non-Binding
Is Arbitration Non-Binding or Binding
Binding
Responses to Business Regulations /4
- Comply with regulations
- Lobby for change (protest or elect politicians in your favour)
- Challenge its constitutional validity
- Create overwhelming consumer demand
How to challenge a regulation’s Constitutional Validity
- Authority Overlap (paramountcy goes to federal court)
- Charter (it violates the charter of rights and freedoms)
Modern Business Environment has what type of bargaining power?
“Take it or Leave it”
What is the competitions act policy
to promote fair competition
Horizontal Mergers
Acquiring Competitors
Vertical Mergers
Suppliers/customers
Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act
Can’t do anything fraudulent anywhere
Phases of Entrepreneurship /4
- Development
- Start-up (launch)
- Expansion (growth)
- Exit
Development phase in entrepreneurship
- Is there demand?
- Finances
- Prodcution
- Sales/marketing
Growth/expansion phase in entrepreneurship
- adding new things
- Expanding market share
How to exit your business
- Sell shares/assets
- IPO
- File for Bankruptcy
Owning something means you have the right to…
Possess, use and control the property obtianed
When do we use Licensing/Assignments /4
- Sale of a Business
- Sale of a Trademark
- License Agreement
- Franchising
Patents last how long
20 years
K is discharged if?
- Entire K is breached or an essential term is
Is licensing a sale?
NO
Loan Agreement Steps on a secured interest PMT
- Credit facilities give you the amount
- Availments (Profit)
- Repayment
- Security ( in some cases is taken if you cannot repay)
- Due Diligence Over the K
- Talk to representations
Assignment of Book Debts:
A security interest is in Debtor’s AR
What are Covenants
These are promises borrowers make to lenders in part of the Loan Agreement
PMSI
Purchase Money Security Interest
Can a PMSI have priority over a Prior-registered security Interest?
YES
Criminal Code Offences for Privacy & Data Breaches? /5
(FU & TMP)
- Fraud
- Unauthorized use of a business computer
- Theft of telecommunication
- Mischief in relation to data
- Wilful interception of private information