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keeping system priced at ￡78。95。
So。。ware such as that provided by Vizual Management Solutions （
vizualms。uk 》 Personnel Manager） will cost several times that of the
paper version and for most small businesses will add li。。le value。 If you can
write a simple database program using so。。ware such as Access then that
is worth exploring。 If you keep records on a puter you will need to be
mindful of the Data Protection Act as it applies to employee records。 You
can get that from the Information missioner’s Office （ico。gov。uk
》 For organizations 》 Data protection guide）。
Safety at work
Employers have a ‘duty of care’ to ensure that anyone working for you
is working in a safe environment and is not exposed to possible health
and safety hazards。 You need to make an assessment of risk and working
conditions covering everything from fire exits to ensuring that ventilation；
temperature； lighting and toilet facilities meet health and safety
requirements。 The Health and Safety Executive （hse。gov。uk 》
Businesses 》 Small businesses） has ready…made risk assessment forms and
a basic guide to health and safety at work。
Unfair dismissal
Although it’s the handful of cases usually brought by City workers that grab
the headlines； some 180；000 unfair dismissal claims are filed with tribunals
each year： 40；000 of those proceed to a hearing and just under half of those
are won by the employee； with the average claim being se。。led for ￡5；000。
Employers who have been through the process say that it’s the stress and
administrative burden rather than the se。。lement itself that is of greatest
concern。 You can find a list of fair reasons for dismissing an employee on
Monster’s Employment Law （wwwpactlaw。uk/monster/empf9。
html）。 Also Iambeingfired （iambeingfired。uk 》 Claim Evaluator）
Business Law 185
is worth examining as it gives the employee’s side of the argument。 The
Claim Evaluator Tool takes an employee through a series of questions to
see if they have a case for unfair dismissal； which could be useful as MBAs
are o。。en high on the casualty list during restructuring or a。。er acquisitions。
The site also has prehensive information on all aspects of employment
law that impinges on the likelihood of being dismissed。
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
The holy grail of petitive business strategy is to have a product or
service with sufficient unique advantage to make it stand out from others in
Societé Générale； the French bank； reported a trading loss of �4。9 billion
on 24 January 2008 after liquidating �50 billion in what the bank says
were unauthorized futures positions taken by a relatively junior trader；
Jerome Kerviel。 The bank claims that Kerviel forged documents and
e…mails to suggest he had hedged his positions。 But Kerviel insists that
his bosses at SocGen； as the bank is generally known； must have been
aware of his massive risk taking； and turned a blind eye as long as he
was making money for the bank。
Kerviel plans to file a plaint for unfair dismissal and extract
pensation from his employer based around three points of defence。
First； Societé Générale appears to have terminated his contract without
a face…to…face meeting； as is required by French labour laws。
Second； the bank’s losses may only have occurred while unwinding
Kerviel’s positions in January 2008； during what was an unprecedented
period of global stock market turbulence。 This situation makes it unclear
exactly how much responsibility Kerviel bears for the total losses。
Third； he had no obvious motive and seems to have made no personal
profit from his trades。 In fact his behaviour has made him a folk hero in
France； with over 150 Facebook groups showing an interest in his fate。
His chances of success in an unfair dismissal case look at least fair。 In
April 2007； Laura Zubulake； 44； won ￡15。5 million from UBS in New York
after a male executive said she was fired because she was ‘old and
ugly and she can’t do the job’。 Three years earlier； Elizabeth Weston
received a ￡1 million settlement from Merrill Lynch over a colleague’s
‘lewd’ ments over a Christmas lunch。
Although Kerviel’s actions put him at the top of the ‘rogue trader’ list；
he is unlikely to head the unfair dismissal stakes。 That title is likely to go
to six women； five female employees in New York and one at London
office of German…owned bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein （DKW）。
They are suing for ￡800 million over allegations that the pany
refused to promote them and discriminated against them by allowing
after…hours trips to strip clubs for male colleagues and humiliating sexual
banter in the office。
186 The Thirty…Day MBA
the market。 It is equally important that such an advantage cannot be easily
copied。 In other words； there is a barrier to entry preventing others from
following the same path to riches。 The advantage can be anything – the
business name （Body Shop）； a catchy slogan （Never knowingly undersold
– John Lewis）； some technological wizardry （Dolby Noise Reduction）； an
instantly recognizable logo （Google） or even a jingle such as that used by
Microso。。’s Windows operating system during start…up。
The generic title covering this area is ‘intellectual property’； usually
shortened by MBAs to IP； and it splits down into a number of distinct areas。
Businesses spend a lot of time and money creating and protecting IP； so you
need at least an appreciation of the legal issues involved。 The case below
is an example of how things can go wrong from the outset。 You should
also read up about Dyson’s ‘Patent Nightmare’ （dyson。uk/about/
story/patent。asp）； as graphic a description of a contest between David and
Goliath as you are likely to find。
When Mark Zucherberg； then aged 20； started Facebook from his
college dorm back in 2004 with two fellow students； he could hardly
have been aware of how the business would pan out。 Facebook is a
social networking website on which users have to put their real names
and e…mail addresses in order to register； then they can contact current
and past friends and colleagues to swap photos； news and gossip。
Within three years the pany was on track to make 100 million sales；
partly on the back of a big order from Microsoft that appears to have
set its sights on Facebook as either a partner or an acquisition target。
Zuckerberg； wearing jeans； Adidas sandals and a fleece； looks a bit
like a latter…day Steve Jobs； Apple’s founder。 He also shares something
else in mon with Jobs。 He has a gigantic intellectual property legal
dispute on his hands。 For three years he has been dealing with a law suit
brought by three fellow Harvard students who claim； in effect； that he
stole the Facebook concept from them。
Patents
A patent can be regarded as a contract between an inventor and the state。
The state agrees with the inventor that if he or she is prepared to publish
details of the invention in a set form and if it appears that he or she has made
a real advance； the state will then grant the inventor a ‘monopoly’ on the
invention for 20 years。 The inventor uses the monopoly period to manufacture
and sell his or her innovation； petitors can read the published
specifications and glean ideas for their research； or they can approach the
inventor and offer to help to develop the idea under licence。
Business Law 187
However； the granting of a patent doesn’t mean that the proprietor is
automatically free to make； use or sell the invention him… or herself； since to
do so might involve infringing an earlier patent that has not yet expired。
A patent really only allows the inventor to stop another person using
the particular device that forms the subject of the patent。 The state does not
guarantee validity of a patent either； so it is not unmon for patents to be
challenged through the courts。
What you can patent
What inventions can you patent？ The basic rules are that an invention must
be new； must involve an inventive step and must be capable of industrial
exploitation。
You can’t patent scientific/mathematical theories or mental processes；
puter programs or ideas that might encourage offensive； immoral
or antisocial behaviour。 New medicines are patentable but not medical
methods of treatment。 Neither can you have just rediscovered a longforgo
。。en idea （knowingly or unknowingly）。
If you want to apply for a patent； it is essential not to disclose your idea
in non…confidential circumstances。 If you do； your invention is already
‘published’ in the eyes of the law； and this could well invalidate your
application。
Copyright
Copyright gives protection against the unlicensed copying of original
artistic and creative works – articles； books； paintings； films； plays； songs；
music； engineering drawings。 To claim copyright； the item in question
should carry this symbol： 。 （author’s name） （date）。 You can take the
further step of recording the date on which the work was pleted； for
a moderate fee； with the Registrar at Stationers’ Hall。 This； though； is an
unusual precaution to take and probably only necessary if you anticipate
an infringement。
Copyright protection in the UK lasts for 70 years a。。er the death of the
person who holds the copyright； or 50 years a。。er publication if this is
later。
Copyright is infringed only if more than a ‘substantial’ part of your work
is reproduced （ie issued for sale to the public） without your permission； but
since there is no formal registration of copyright the question of whether or
not your work is protected usually has to be decided in a court of law。
Designs
You can register the shape； design or decorative features of a mercial
product if it is new； original； never published before or – if already known
188 The Thirty…Day MBA
– never before applied to the product you have in mind。 Protection is
intended to apply to industrial articles to be produced in quantities of more
than 50。 Design registration applies only to features that appeal to the eye
– not to the way the article functions。
To register a design； you should apply to the Design Registry and send
a specimen or photograph of the design plus a registration fee （currently
￡90）。 The specimen or photograph is examined to see whether it is new
or original and plies with other registration requirements。 If it does；
a certification of registration is issued which gives you； the proprietor； the
sole right to manufacture； sell or use in business articles of that design。
Protection lasts for a maximum of 25 years。 You can handle the design
registration yourself； but； again； it might be preferable to let a specialist do
it for you。 There is no register of design agents； but most patent agents are
well versed in design law。
Trademarks and logos
A trademark is the symbol by which the goods or services of a particular
manufacturer or trader can be identified。 It can be a word； a signature； a
monogram； a picture； a logo or a bination of these。
To qualify for registration the trademark must be distinctive； must not
be deceptive and must not be capable of confusion with marks already
registered。 Excluded are misleading marks； national flags； royal crests and
insignia of the armed forces。 A trademark can apply only to tangible goods；
not services （although pressure is mounting for this to be changed）。
To register a trademark； you or your agent should first conduct preliminary
searches at the trademarks branch of the Patent Office to check there
are no conflicting marks already in existence。 You then apply for registration
on the official trademark form and pay a fee （currently ￡200）。 Registration
is initially for 10 years。 A。。er this； it can be renewed for periods of 10 years
at a time； indefinitely。
It isn’t mandatory to register a trademark。 If an unregistered trademark
has been used for some time and could be construed as closely associated
with a product by customers； it will have acquired a ‘reputation’； which will
give it some protection legally； but registration makes it much simpler for
the owners to have recourse against any person who infringes the mark。
Names
Business and domain names involve a cross…section of IP issues。 A good
name； in effect； can bee a one… or two…word summary of your marketing
strategy； Body Shop； Toys ‘R’ Us； Kwik…Fit Exhausts are good examples。
Many panies add a slogan to explain to customers and employees alike
Business Law 189
‘how they do it’。 Cobra Beer’s slogan ‘Unusual thing； excellence’ focuses
a。。ention on quality and distinctiveness。 The name； slogan and logo bine
to be the most visible tip of the iceberg in a corporate munications effort
and as such need a special effort to protect。
Business name
When you choose a business name； you are also choosing an identity； so it
should reflect：
。 who you are；
。 what you do；
。 how you do it。
Given all the marketing investment you will make in your pany
name； you should check with a trademark agent whether you can protect
your chosen name （descriptive words； surnames and place names are not
normally allowed except a。。er long use）。 Also； chec