BSAD424 - Exam 1

Self-Executing Treaty

"Domestic law effect"; If it becomes International Law, it is adopted as U.S Law.

Nations that agree in writing in advance to submit certain cases to the ICJ are said to have submitted to ____________.

Compulsory jurisdiction

Protocol

Modifies or adds to a treaty or convention.

Nigeria is a member of the United Nations. As all members of the UN, it has ratifies the Charter of the UN. It has a border despite with Chas that sues Nigeria in the International Court of Justice seeking an adjustment of its borders. Must Nigeria as a member be bound by the future decision of the ICJ in that case?

No, if it terminates any prior agreement to compulsory jurisdiction.

Transfer of Technology

Sharing of scientific information, technology, and manufacturing know-how.

Expropriation

The taking by a government of privately owned assets with some compensation.

Infringement

The violation of IP rights of another, often referred to as piracy or counterfeiting.

Sanctions

When a disagreement/law against another country happens, making the country no longer eligible for business.

Treaty

A binding agreement between two or more nations; they can be bilateral or multilateral.

A document prepared by a manufacturer or exporter/shipper attesting to the geographic place (i.e., nation) where goods were made is called a:

Certificate of Origin

Intellectual Property Rights

Legal rights which result from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary, and artistic fields.

Signatories

Nations adopting treaty

Non-tariff Barriers

Restrictions on trade that do not involve import taxes.

International Law

The body of rules that has been accepted as such by the international community.

Nationalization

Transfer of private sector firms to government ownership and control.

Multilateral

Between many countries.

Bilateral

Between one country and another country; 2 only.

The primary source of customary international law rules for interpretation of treaties is:

Defined in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

Reservation

Exception to a treaty

Some forms of investments are:

Foreign branches, foreign subsidiary, affiliates, joint ventures, local participation.

Exporting Trading Companies

Market products of several manufacturers in foreign countries.

Venezuela provides a recent example of a host state attempting to restructure its economy by transferring foreign investor assets to itself. This is called:

Nationalization

Joel is the leader of a criminal gang responsible for robbing over a dozen banks in Italy, killing several policemen, and in general terrorizing communities all over northern Italy. He is finally caught by the police. Can he be prosecuted in the International Criminal Court (ICC)?

No

John is a citizen of the U.S. He enters into a contact with a French catering company called "Amuse Bouche" that caters events. They fail to fulfill their contract obligations to him. He looks for the law giving him a right to get a remedy (i.e., money damages). This dispute on its face appears to be a question of:

Private international law

Currency controls in a host state may restrict or prohibit the foreign investor from:

Repatriating profits to home state

Example of issues solved by public international law.

Resolving boundary disputes or how nations treat foreign citizens.

Susan is a U.S citizen. She owns a 50-acre tract of farmland in Mexico. Mexican law enforcement personnel constantly harass her, threaten to arrest her, and eventually detain her in a prison where she was tortured until she agrees to sell her land as a below-market price to local landowner. She angrily returns to the U.S and writes her elected officials asking the U.S government to help her and right the wrong she has suffered. Which is her best remedy or at least a place to start with reasonable prospect of a court remedy?

Seeking diplomatic protection from U.S government and asking it to file a case seeking damages in the appropriate forum.

A nation has clear power over all persons (citizens and non-citizens), places and power within its geographical area, airspace or defined waters. This states the principle of:

Territorial jurisdiction

In the legal systems of the United Kingdom and United States, the reasoned decisions of judges become the law controlling the case, and the precedent of similar cases is binding on future cases. This is called:

The common law system

Trade

The import or export of goods and services across national borders.

Allen is a U.S citizen. He is a pirate and roams the Caribbean in his vessel with his fellow pirates looking for a vessel to attack. The "American Glory" is a vessel registered and operating under U.S laws. Allen's group of pirates boards that vessel and robs the passengers of all their cash and valuables. Allen departs the vessel with his loot and ultimately is captured in Brazil a month later where he is hiding out. He can be prosecuted in Brazil in the basis of the courts:

Universal jurisdiction

Convention

A legally binding multilateral treaty of matters of common concern; think Geneva Convention and Warsaw Convention.

Tariffs

An extra tax added onto the prices of foreign goods and services.

What are some distinguished characteristics of International Law?

Consists of rules countries agree to follow and has no global authority for enforcement.

International Licensing Agreements

Contracts by which the holder of intellectual property will grant certain rights in that property to another party in return for consideration.

Which term below is a type of currency risk related to fluctuations in relative value of two currencies when buyer and seller are in different countries?

Exchange rate risk

What are some currency risks?

Exchange rate risk & currency controls.

International Organizations and IP

Faster cooperation and resolve disputes. Most important is WIPO.

International Trading Companies

Firms that specialize in all aspects of import/export transactions.

Multinational Corporations

Firms with significant foreign investments, assets, or operations move technology, factories, and capitals with most favorable economic conditions.

Public International Law

Governs the conduct of nations with other nations or in their relationship with individuals; norms regarded as binding on all members of the international community.

John wants to go into business as an international trading company like the famous Japanese trading companies. He wants to bring together several U.S companies that make sporting goods and export their products to Mexico, with the power to determine which products are sold in what areas in Mexico and the prices to be charged to Mexican buyers. What are special U.S law uses he may need to be made aware of in his efforts?

If anti-trust law prohibits these activities in Mexico just as U.S law may do so inside U.S.

Export Management Companies

Independent firms that assume export-related duties for manufacturers, producers, or other exporters.

Company A owns intellectual property (IP) and agrees in writing to let Company B use that property for a specified purpose only. Company A and Company B are (in order):

Licensor and licensee

A written and binding agreement between three or more countries given effect under international law is best described as a(n):

Multilateral treaty

If you are asked which nations below are NOT a signatory to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which is your best response?

None of these three states are signatories.

Certificate of Origin

One of the most important legal documents used to determine where the product comes from.

Foreign Direct Investment

Ownership and active control of ongoing business concerns including investment in manufacturing, mining, farming and other production facilities in a foreign (host) country.

What are some distance and logistics risks?

Payment/credit risk, supplier risk, property/marine risk.

Non-tariff barriers to foreign trade include __________, which are used to quantitatively restrict the number of defined item that can enter into a country:

Quotas

Exporting

Shipping goods or rendering services to a foreign buyer in a foreign country.

Which item below givers federal courts in the U.S jurisdiction over civil claims for damages brought by non-U.S citizens for torts committed against them by other non-citizens outside the U.S?

U.S Alien Tort Statute

International Franchising

Business arrangement that uses an agreement to license, control, and protect the use of the franchisor's patents, trademarks, copyrights, or business know-how in return for royalties, fees, or commissions.

The case of Liechtenstein v. Guatemala decided by the UCJ in 1955 focused on the concept of:

Diplomatic protection

Confiscation

Expropriation without payment or compensation.

A foreign entity organized under the laws of the host state but owned and controlled by the parent corporation in the home country of the investor is a:

Foreign subsidiary

Ratification

Formal expression of a nation's consent

What are the sources of International Law?

International treaties and conventions, international customs, and general principles of law recognized by civilized nations.

ABC Company owns and manufactures appliances from its plant in Arlington, Virginia. It decides to open a new operation in Chile under Chilean law making appliances and selects William to be its local partner in Chile. William invests 20% of his own money of total startup costs for the Chilean entity, which is called a:

Joint venture

Private International Law

Deals with the rights and responsibilities of private individuals or corporations operating in an international environment.

The most important international IP organization fostering government cooperation in developing IP policies and laws and assisting in the resolution of disputes via arbitration is:

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

Export controls

Export regulations in the country you are doing business with. Answers what you can and cannot ship.

The shipment of goods out of the country and the rendering of services to a buyer located in a foreign country is called:

Exporting

An example of a treaty automatically creating legal rights in the courts of a signatory state includes:

Montreal Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air.

ABC Company in Memphis makes motorcycles at its plant there. It is considering the benefits of selling its motorcycles in the market of motorcycle riders in Brazil (estimated to be 5,000,000 new potential customers). Which is the LEAST risky way it can enter the Brazilian motor cycle rider market?

Entering into a foreign sales distribution agreement with a local owner of stores selling motorcycles.

Paul operates a vessel in international waters (i.e., in the high seas) off the coast of Texas. It acts as his floating base of illegal drug manufacturing operations, and after the drugs are made he sells his product to other individuals who come to his vessel and buys the drugs for which they will smuggle into the U.S and sell illegally. Paul is never at any time on U.S land, or within the U.S territorial sea or airspace. However, U.S law enforcement staff arrest him on the vessel. Hs is prosecuted in a U.S court on the basis of that court's:

Territorial jurisdiction based on "effect" inside U.S of Paul's acts.

A US citizen (individual or company) owes a duty to pay income taxes no matter where the income was earned. Which is the basis for exercise of this power to collect such tax by the United States?

Nationality jurisdiction

Idaho Battery Inc. (IB) makes millions of batteries for generating power for a variety of small consumer items. All batteries are manufactured in Boise, Idaho. It enters into a contract with Juno of Rome, and Italian company owning many department and equipment stores in Italy, whereby Juno sells the batteries made by Idaho Battery to Juno's many customers at store locations. Which statement below is true about this arrangement?

Juno is a foreign sales distributor of IB products and does obtain title to the IB product before they are resold.

In an export/import transaction the most common concern of the seller (particularly when not sure of the buyer's organization statutes and stability) is:

Payment or credit risk

California Stove Company (CSC) owns a patent on special technology for making its stoves sold in the U.S. CSC decides to license its patented technology to Ecuador United (EU) in that country which also makes appliances. EU will use CSC technology to make the stoves and sell them to customers all over Chile for any price it determines. Under this licensing arrangement, EU pays to CSC an up-front fee of $50,000 for entering into this arrangement. For one year per their license agreement, CSC will receive a 10% royalty on sales revenue generated by EU from sales of its stoves made under the agreement. Over the course of that year, EU sells stoves having a total sales price of $1,000,000 (exclusive of sales taxes) and actually collects $800,000 of that amount from its customers. At the end of the year, EU will have paid CSC in total consideration under their arrangement the amount of:

$130,000 ($800,000*10%=$80,000; $80,000+$50,000=$130,000)