Legal Aspects Of Business

Assessment task details and instructions
You are to answer TWO only of the following four questions.

Question 1 – Cybercrime (25 Marks)
Explain the concept of internal hacking and how the Computer Misuse Act 1990 applies to such activities? Why was the decision in DPP v Bignell (1977) so problematic and heavily criticised?

Question 2 – Company Law (25 Marks)
You have been contacted by Orion plc (‘Orion’). Orion has only ordinary shares in issue. It is considering an issue of 3% redeemable participating preference shares. You are required to discuss with Orion, what class rights are, how they arise and how they can be altered. You should refer to authority in your answer.

Question 3 – Intellectual Property Law (25 Marks)
Frank Troute, a keen fisherman and inventor (in his spare time) from Salford, consults you regarding his latest invention, a new type of reel release mechanism to be used with a standard fishing rod.
Frank sold his rights to a previous invention to an international company for a flat fee of £20,000 but feels he did not get as much as he could have for it because he sold it after having produced a working prototype. The purchasing company has since gone on to sell thousands and made substantial profits from this earlier invention.
This time around, Frank, who feels he has established his reputation as an inventor in the field, wishes to apply for a patent in the UK and offer it to several companies to bid for. In doing this he hopes to achieve a higher up-front fee for licensing his invention, as well as future royalties.
Advise Frank as to the patentability of his reel release mechanism and the steps involved in the patenting process.

Question 4 – Corporate Insolvency (25 Marks)
Three years ago Al, a wealthy well-known retired accountant, agreed to become a director of his son’s company, Crash Ltd (“Crash”). Ben, Al’s son, incorporated Crash in April 2010. Ben told Al that his directorship would give Crash increased credibility. Al never actually took part in the day to day management of the company but occasionally attended board meetings. Al has now learned that Crash is insolvent. Ben has confessed to Al that he had deliberately hidden the fact that Crash has been insolvent (by falsifying the accounts) and had carried on trading for the last 18 months, in which time Crash’s debts increased from £50,000 to £300,000.
Advise Al and Ben as regards any potential liability they might face in relation to either fraudulent trading or wrongful trading under the provisions of the Insolvency Act 1986.

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Important – Pre-submission checklist!
Before submitting your assessment, ask yourself the following questions to ensure that you have met all the requirements:
• Have I read the questions thoroughly and answered all four parts fully?
• Have I included appropriate sub-headings re the research areas?
• Have I referenced all the sources which I have used using the Harvard referencing guide?
• Have I produced a Reference List so that my tutor knows where I have found all my information?
• Have I completed the assignment within the word limit and stated my word count?
• Have I used just my ID number to identify myself, not my name?
• Have I included the title page table with word count on page 1 and started my assignment on page 2?
• Have I used a spell checker and proof read my work?
• Am I sure that I’ve completed the work to the best of my abilities?
Assessed intended learning outcomes
On successful completion of this assessment, you will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding and Professional Skills
1. Identify where, in the business context, the application and operation of legal rules and frameworks are critical to success
2. Critically evaluate whether legal rules can be applied non-contentiously within the business context, or whether professional legal advice should be sought;
3. Access and understand primary and secondary legal sources of law in the business context
4. Appreciate and manage the global operation of legal rules and frameworks within the business context; and
5. Effectively negotiate legal agreements which minimise risk to, and maximise alignment with, the objectives of the business

Transferable Skills and other Attributes
1. Take responsibility for their own learning, including time-management
2. Enhance their oral, written and presentational skills
3. Develop strategies for problem solving
4. Practice and enhance their research skills
Module Aims
1. To introduce students to the operation of legal systems in the global business context;
2. To introduce students to those areas of law that underpin the practice of effective business management; and
3. To develop a working knowledge of the law relating to contracts in different business contexts and their effective negotiation.

Word count
Your submission should not exceed 1500 words. You must have a word count on the first page of your assignment. There is a 10% leeway permitted if needed, thus you can write up to 1650 words in total without incurring a penalty.

NB: Your references do not count towards the word count.

In addition please also note that any false misrepresentation of the assessment word count within the required coversheet will amount to academic misconduct, and thus subject to the University academic misconduct procedure which can be found via the following link: http://www.salford.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/653648/AcademicMisconductProcedure.pdf

Feedback arrangements
You can expect to receive feedback three weeks after the deadline.

Support arrangements
There will be further collaborate sessions to support the on line blackboard materials. Please refer to announcements on bb for exact details as to times.
askUS
The University offers a range of support services for students through askUS.
Good Academic Conduct and Academic Misconduct
Students are expected to learn and demonstrate skills associated with good academic conduct (academic integrity). Good academic conduct includes the use of clear and correct referencing of source materials. Here is a link to where you can find out more about the skills which students require http://www.salford.ac.uk/skills-for-learning.
Academic Misconduct is an action which may give you an unfair advantage in your academic work. This includes plagiarism, asking someone else to write your assessment for you or taking notes into an exam. The University takes all forms of academic misconduct seriously. You can find out how to avoid academic misconduct here https://www.salford.ac.uk/skills-for-learning.

Assessment Information
If you have any questions about assessment rules, you can find out more here.

Personal Mitigating Circumstances
If personal mitigating circumstances may have affected your ability to complete this assessment, you can find more information about personal mitigating circumstances procedure here.

Personal Tutor/Student Progression Administrator
If you have any concerns about your studies, contact your Personal Tutor or your Student Progression Administrator.

Assessment Criteria

Assessment Criteria
The attached guidance is in addition to the general assessment criteria guidelines for degree classifications contained in your level handbook (and that will be on Blackboard).
40-49

Answers relating to the two questions are basic and descriptive. There is a limited use of primary (case law and statutes) and secondary sources in the coursework. The drawing of a conclusion in each section is limited and generally lacks a coherent argument. In general, whilst the submission demonstrates an understanding of the basic concepts, it is largely descriptive with a general focus and limited use of either case law or academic commentary to reach a sound conclusion.

50-59
Answers relating to the two questions demonstrate a reasonable understanding of the main concepts and demonstrate an acceptable knowledge. The student has attempted to develop the argument. However, the student failed to develop the arguments in a structured manner. Reference to primary and secondary sources are primarily descriptive and illustrative yet raise some interesting points. The drawing of a conclusion in each answer is limited and generally lacks a coherent argument. In general the submission demonstrates a reasonable understanding of the key points but the analytical and evaluative aspects of the submission lack focus.

60-69
Answers relating to two questions demonstrate a good understanding of the main concepts. The use of relevant case and statute law demonstrate a good knowledge of the key points and there is constructive use of primary and secondary sources. The conclusion in each answer includes some good points and reaches a conclusion. In general, whilst more analysis supported by both case law and academic commentary could have been provided, the submission demonstrates a good understanding of the subject with relevant primary and secondary sources.

70 +
Answers relating to two questions demonstrate a very good understanding of the main concepts. Academic discussions demonstrate a very good knowledge of the key points and there is constructive use of primary and secondary sources. The conclusion in each answer includes some very good points and includes some good commentary which answers the question posed. In general, the submission demonstrates a detailed and good understanding of the subject with relevant primary and secondary sources being used to structure discussions to draw a conclusion in each answer.

In Year Retrieval Scheme
Your assessment is not eligible for in year retrieval.

Reassessment
If you fail your assessment, and are eligible for reassessment, you will need to resubmit the same coursework on or before a date TBC. For students with accepted personal mitigating circumstances, this will be your replacement assessment attempt. Students should be aware that there is no late submission period at reassessment (this includes those students who have an accepted PMC request from a previous attempt).