Overview
Write a 2–page executive briefing of a selected business-related case that has been decided by a U.S. state court, a U.S. federal court, or the U.S. Supreme Court.
In this introductory course to business law, you will examine real-world court decisions pertinent to the topics that you will be studying. This is not a course designed to train lawyers, and you are not expected to be an attorney-in-training. However, you will be entailed to do a substantial amount of independent research in the scholarly and professional resources of the field. You will be called upon to locate court cases in which the legal topics of focus for each assessment are applied, to select one that you think represents a pertinent example of the law, and to write an analysis paper for each case.
If you have never researched or read court cases before, you may find these tasks daunting at first. To help you get your research started, some prominent searchable databases of court cases have been recommended for you in the Resources. Try to imagine yourself as either the plaintiff or the defendant in the cases you review, to make these controversies more resonant to your life. It will help to make the material more engaging and enjoyable.
Use the resources provided to begin to familiarize yourself with the legal terminology as early as possible, in order to help you make sense of the complex language often found in court cases. It is vital that you start by familiarizing yourself with the essential legal terminology, in order to develop a grounding in the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of American business law. The terminology that you will learn in this course will be useful in both a scholarly and everyday context.
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:
• Competency 1: Articulate the importance, context, purpose, and relevance of law in a business environment.
o Summarize the facts and ruling of a legal case.
• Competency 3: Evaluate key judicial concepts that influence the decisions related to business.
o Analyze how a legal case could impact businesses.
o Explain how a legal case could impact a specific organization.
• Competency 5: Develop information literacy skills as applied to business law.
o Exhibit information literacy skills as applied to business law.
CONTEXT:
The U.S. legal system is often misunderstood. In the United States, jurisprudence is a result of centuries of commercial disputes, transactional lawsuits, scholarly opinions, and, interestingly, centuries of developed systems of law from Great Britain.
Read the Assessment 1 Context (attached) document for important information related to the following topics:
• Common Law Tradition.
• Role of the Judicial Branch.
• Parallel Systems.
• Alternative Dispute Resolution.
Questions to consider
To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of the business community.
• What are some of the differences between the models for law systems throughout the world? What are some of the benefits of each? What are some of the disadvantages of each?
• What is the difference between procedural rules and substantive rules? Which are more important for the average person in society to know? Why?
• How is your country’s legal system connected to business, and what is its impact? Is it favorable to the growth of business, or unfavorable? Does it protect some but not others? Does the legal system foster the goal of resolving disputes promptly, equitably, and peacefully?
Assessment Instructions
For this assessment, you will first select an actual business-related legal case that has been decided by a U.S. state court, a U.S. federal court, or the U.S. Supreme Court, based on briefly conducting associated research. Based on that, you will then select an organization that you believe would be impacted by that legal case. Having completed both of these tasks, you should assume you’re a senior manager in the organization you selected, and that you were asked to perform an analysis of the legal case and to write an executive briefing for the executive team of that same organization. Your executive briefing should include a summary of the case, as well as an evaluation of how the case impacts the organization.
The purpose of this format is two-fold:
1. To give you the opportunity to research and investigate a real court decision.
2. To challenge you to think about the business implications of the case, and specifically how the case will impact an actual organization.
In your case law analysis, you must be able to navigate the court’s decision, and summarize and evaluate it. You may choose any business-related court case, either state or federal, as the basis for your case law executive briefings, as long as the case is applicable to the assessment topic. You are expected to conduct your own independent research to locate and evaluate the applicability of cases. A few appropriate case law websites are recommended for you in the Resources, but you are not limited to using cases from these sites.
For this assessment, use credible legal research databases and online resources, research federal and state court cases, and select any business-related case that has been decided by a state court, a federal court, or the United States Supreme Court. Then select an organization (potentially the organization for which you work) that you believe the selected case might impact. Write an executive briefing that addresses the following:
1. Articulate the context and relevance of law in a business environment:
a. Identify the parties who are before the court.
b. Provide a brief background and context associated with the case. Summarize the facts in no more than 2–3 paragraphs.
c. Identify the specific disagreement between the parties.
d. Explain the ruling of the court and its business relevance in no more than 1–2 paragraphs. Was there a dissenting opinion? If so, explain why some of the judges or justices disagreed with the majority in the decision.
2. Evaluate the business impact of the case:
a. Summarize your analysis of how the case will impact businesses in general, including both positive and negative impacts.
b. Indicate the organization you selected as potentially impacted by the case, and why you selected that organization.
c. Explain how the case will impact the specific organization you selected, such that the executive team will understand the implications of the legal decision.
Based on your executive audience, your executive briefing should be no more than two pages, and should be well organized and written in clear, succinct language. Follow APA rules for attributing sources that support your analysis and conclusions.
Academic Integrity and APA Formatting
As a reminder related to using APA rules to ensure academic honesty:
1. When using a direct quote (using exact or nearly exact wording), you must enclose the quoted wording in quotation marks, immediately followed by an in-text citation. The source must then be listed in your references page.
2. When paraphrasing (using your own words to describe a non-original idea), the paraphrased idea must be immediately followed by an in-text citation and the source must be listed in your references page.
Suggested Resources
The following optional resources are provided to support you in completing the assessment or to provide a helpful context. For additional resources, refer to the Research Resources and Supplemental Resources in the left navigation menu of your courseroom.
Capella Resources
1. Assessment 1 Context.(attached/provided)
2. Analyzing a Case Law | Transcript.(attached/provided): Throughout this course, you will be required to submit case law analysis papers. This multimedia presentation points out key areas of a case law. Use this presentation to help you complete your case analyses. Refer to this media as often as you need to.
3. Business Law Foundational Concepts | Transcript.(attached/provided): This media piece offers interactive flashcards that you can use to learn (or review) foundational terms and concepts in business law. Refer to this study aid often and as needed.
Library Resources
DuBoff, L. D. (2004). The law (in plain English) for small business. Naperville, IL: Sphinx Publishing.
Course Library Guide
A Capella University library guide has been created specifically for your use in this course. You are encouraged to refer to the resources in the BUS-FP3021 – Fundamentals of Business Law Library Guide to help direct your research. Pay particular attention to the Capella University Library Legal Research Library Guide linked within.
Internet Resources
Access the following resources by clicking the links provided. Please note that URLs change frequently. Permissions for the following links have been either granted or deemed appropriate for educational use at the time of course publication.
Nolo. (2013). Nolo law for all. Retrieved from http://www.nolo.com
This resource provides helpful background on a range of legal issues. You may find the Free Legal Information section of the site particularly helpful.
Your assessments throughout this course will be case law analysis papers based on real-world court decisions you will choose and research independently. The following suggested resources provide helpful methods of locating relevant cases:
FindLaw. (2013). US Supreme Court opinions. Retrieved from www.findlaw.com/casecode/supreme.html
Cornell University Law School – Legal Information Institute (LII). (n.d.). Supreme Court: Most recent decisions. Retrieved from www.law.cornell.edu/supct
Nolo. (2011). US Supreme Court center. Retrieved from http://supreme.nolo.com
Oyez, Inc. (2011). U.S. Supreme Court media – Cases. Retrieved from http://www.oyez.org/cases
Bookstore Resources
The resources listed below are relevant to the topics and assessments in this course and are not required. Unless noted otherwise, these materials are available for purchase from the Capella University Bookstore. When searching the bookstore, be sure to look for the Course ID with the specific –FP (FlexPath) course designation.
Miller, R. L., & Cross, F. B. (2018). The legal environment of business: Text and cases (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage.
Solution
At its basic, the rule of law is critical in the business environment; it holds people, entities, and governments accountable for any action they undertake. Business law is also a vital framework of guiding businesses and protecting the latter’s best interest, as seen in Star Athletica, LLC v. Varsity Brands. While the mentioned case ruling mainly affects the two firms’ operations, the ruling may also impact my organization by protecting its designs from replication by other fast-fashion retailers.
Parties Before the Court
The selected case law involves two parties; Star Athletica, LLC and Varsity Brands. Both parties design and manufacture clothing for athletic activities. Varsity Brands is the plaintiff in this case, while Star Athletica is the defendant.
Background, Context, and Facts
The selected case stems from Star Athletica, LLC’s move to advertise two-dimensional artwork similar to Varsity’s designs. Varsity had received copyright registration for the artwork and thus considered Star Athletica’s actions an infringement of the Copyright Act (“Star Athletica, LLC v. Varsity Brands, Inc.,” n.d.). However, the defendant countered the claim arguing that the designs were not copyrightable because they could not be separated from the designed uniforms. In essence, this case arose from a disagreement between the defendant and plaintiff on whether the artwork on Varsity’s uniforms was copyrightable.
During the first hearing at the district court, the jury ruled in favor of the defendant. Notably, the court held that the designs in question were integral to the uniform’s functionality (“Star Athletica, LLC v. Varsity Brands, Inc.,” n.d.). The Court of Appeal overturned the decision, thus appealing to the supreme court.
Court Ruling
Despite the contradicting verdict, the Supreme court made the final decision and ruled in favor of the plaintiff. The court held that the Varsity’s designs met the Copyright prongs: design elements be identified separately from the article and capability of existing designs to be separate from the article (“Star Athletica, LLC v. Varsity Brands, Inc.,” n.d.). However, this decision was contented by two dissenting judges who argued that the designs in question failed the separability test. In the judges’ view, the designs could not exist independently of the useful article; therefore, they could not be copyrighted (“Star Athletica, LLC v. Varsity Brands, Inc.,” n.d.). Despite the two judges’ dissenting opinion, the majority ruled in favor of the plaintiff.
Business Relevance
The Star Athletica, LLC v. Varsity Brands case is paramount, notably in the fashion industry, because it clarifies the law governing fashion designs. Notably, the ruling clarifies the existence of copyrights for fashion designs in the fast-changing clothing industry. As the literature suggests, the fashion industry has long lacked copyright protection (Jacqueline, 2015). Serena (2014) adds that this gap in intellectual property and protection explains the high rate of coping in fashion design. Therefore, the selected case is vital because it overturns the idea that fashion designs are uncopyrightable.
Evaluation of Business Impact of the Case
Impact on Busines in General
The selected case has both positive and negative impacts on the fashion industry. On the one hand, the case results offer protection to fashion designers and their artistic work from others’ replication. On the other hand, this case may also threaten fast-fashion retailers, destroy jobs and reduce consumers’ shopping options (Serena, 2014). Arguably, a large number of fast fashion retailers thrive from copying high-end designs and selling the products at lower prices. This diversity provides customers with many purchase options, including buying expensive or relatively lower-priced designs. With the court’s ruling, these firms may go out of business because high-end designs can easily sue their counterparts for violation of the copyrights Act. Besides, with these retailers going out of business, consumers may have a limited option of designs to choose from.
Impact on Specific Organization
The selected organization for this analysis is Luis Vuitton, a fashion house headquartered in Paris, France. The organization is chosen because it operates in the fashion industry, a focus sector in the case. Based on the case analysis, the mentioned case positively impacts my organization by giving it the privilege to copyright its designs and sue any fast-fashion retailer that copies the existing designs.
References
Jacqueline, L. (2015). Discrimination against fashion design in copyright. Journal of International Business and Law, 14(2), 273-294. http://scholarlycommons.law.hofstra.edu/jibl/vol14/iss2/6?utm_source=scholarlycommons.law.hofstra.edu%2Fjibl%2Fvol14%2Fiss2%2F6&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages
Serena, E. (2014). How the lack of Copyright protections for fashion designs affects innovation in the fashion industry. Theses. https://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1370&context=theses
Star Athletica, LLC v. Varsity Brands, Inc. (n.d.). Oyez. https://www.oyez.org/cases/2016/15-866
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