Compliance and ethics programs: competitive advantage through the law

The acquisition of an EPUE may be impermissible under competition law only in special exceptional cases. This conceivably might hold true where a recognizable strategy of obstruction (Art 102 TFEU) is pursued by a company holding a dominant position with the aim of walling in competitors, without such patent proprietor having any intention of using the subject matter of patent protection himself. Also conceivably falling under the heading of inadmissible obstruction is the acquisition of a large number of patents by which the acquiring entity pursues the aim not of exploiting them but instead of using such acquisition to its own competitive advantage. The acquisition of such IP rights used merely for blockading purposes may qualify as part of the aforementioned strategy of obstruction and as such violate Art 102 TFEU. This may make it impermissible to invoke the patent: the competitor affected can raise the objection of abuse of a dominant position, which the UPC is in the position to consider (Art 32(1)(a) UPCA). As a general rule, such violation does not give rise to an obligation of cancellation because, if held by others actually using it themselves, it may turn out that the patent is no longer ‘flawed’.

Download Full-text

Does law as resource bring a competitive advantage to companies?

Management Research The Journal of the Iberoamerican Academy of Management ◽

10.1108/mrjiam-07-2021-1204 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Fernando Teixeira ◽

João J. Ferreira ◽

Pedro Mota Veiga

Keyword(s):

Competitive Advantage ◽

Structural Equation Model ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Design Methodology ◽

Equation Model ◽

Competitive Advantages ◽

Sustainable Competitive Advantage ◽

Business Law ◽

Content Type ◽

The Law

Purpose Resources and their analysis are essential to understand better companies’ internal and external dynamics and the weight each has in obtaining competitive advantages over the competition. This study aims to address the law and legal knowledge as a fundamental resource for companies to succeed in the markets to obtain a sustainable competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach Based upon a sample of 200 managers, a structural equation model was used to validate the hypotheses under study. Findings Results show awareness and managers’ perception of the importance of law as a resource and its advantages for companies and the dichotomy between recognising this importance and not using it consistently. Originality/value Knowing the scope of business law and its growing importance for companies and being academically aware of the inexistence of studies that analyse the law as an individualised resource for companies, this study has a crucial contribution to the interconnection of these two fields – business and law.

Download Full-text

Organizational Ethics Programs and the Law

Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics ◽

10.1017/s0963180100902081 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 218-229 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

BETHANY SPIELMAN

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Risk Management ◽

Health Care Organizations ◽

Max Weber ◽

Close Association ◽

Organizational Ethics ◽

Healthcare Organizations ◽

Ethics Programs ◽

Legal Risk ◽

The Law

Max Weber, the grandfather of organizational theory, recognized the close association between health care organizations and law. When he introduced the concept of a legal–rational bureaucracy, he used hospitals and clinics to illustrate it. Today, there is little doubt that healthcare organizations are “law-saturated,” if not always fully compliant with the law. Like Weber's legal–rational bureaucracies, healthcare organizations have highly formalized rules and procedures. They pay a great deal of attention to legal criteria in decisionmaking, and some have entire departments devoted to legal risk management.

Download Full-text

Ethical Challenges: Less About Moral Wrongdoing and More About Communication Breakdown

Perspectives on Gerontology ◽

10.1044/gero20.3.72 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

pp. 72-84 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Paula Leslie ◽

Mary Casper

Keyword(s):

Ethical Challenges ◽

Speech Language Pathology ◽

Thickened Liquids ◽

Communication Breakdown ◽

Professional Duty ◽

Language Pathology ◽

The Law ◽

Personal Case

“My patient refuses thickened liquids, should I discharge them from my caseload?” A version of this question appears at least weekly on the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's Community pages. People talk of respecting the patient's right to be non-compliant with speech-language pathology recommendations. We challenge use of the word “respect” and calling a patient “non-compliant” in the same sentence: does use of the latter term preclude the former? In this article we will share our reflections on why we are interested in these so called “ethical challenges” from a personal case level to what our professional duty requires of us. Our proposal is that the problems that we encounter are less to do with ethical or moral puzzles and usually due to inadequate communication. We will outline resources that clinicians may use to support their work from what seems to be a straightforward case to those that are mired in complexity. And we will tackle fears and facts regarding litigation and the law.

Download Full-text