Syllabus

Mission Statement:

The Stetson School of Business and Economics of Mercer University delivers 
career focused business education to develop entrepreneurial leaders and responsible global citizens.

Course Description:

This course will explore the legal environment and focus on the formation and operation of a variety of business organizations including the corporation, the partnership and the LLC (Limited Liability Company).  It will examine the roles and obligations of organizational participants - the directors, officers, partners, and members - and examine best practices relating to corporate sustainability and social responsibility.  Additional related topics may include stock trading, valuation, shareholder’s rights, mergers and acquisitions, insider trading and antitrust laws.  The course will also explore topics in contract law and intellectual property.

Course Objectives:

                Upon successful completion of the course, the student should be able to:

Prerequisites

             None

Textbooks

Law for Entrepreneurs, by Don Mayer, Daniel M. Warner, George J. Seidel and Jethro K. Lieberman

This textbook is available for no charge at https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/BookDetail.aspx?bookId=279. You may read the textbook online or download a PDF file containing the whole book.

Class Assignments and Evaluation

Evaluation Criteria

Grading Structure

Note from the Professor

The exams will cover the assigned readings, as well as any additional material covered in class. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out what you have missed - both material covered and future assignments.  No make-up examinations will be given. If you cannot be present for an exam (for a legitimate reason), let me know beforehand - call me at my office and tell me, or leave a message on my answering machine. Failure to do so will result in a grade of zero on that test.

Mercer University Honor Code and Council

See Mercer catalog for detailed description.

Honor Code

Mercer University Atlanta expects each and every student to maintain the highest principles of academic honesty and integrity.  Violations of academic honesty represent a breach of the University's expectations and will be regarded as a serious matter.  Violations include, but are not limited to, plagiarism, cheating, lying, and stealing.

All work on tests must be your own. Any inappropriate copying or collaboration on any test will result in a grade of 'F' for the course.

Disability Statement

Students requiring accommodations or modifications for a disability should inform the instructor at the close of the first class meeting or as soon as possible.  The instructor will refer you to the ACCESS and Accommodation Office to document your disability, determine eligibility for accommodations under the ADAAA/Section 504 and to request a Faculty Accommodation Form.  Disability accommodations or status will not be indicated on academic transcripts.  In order to receive accommodations in a class, students with sensory, learning, psychological, physical or medical disabilities must provide their instructor with a Faculty Accommodation Form to sign.  Students must return the signed form to the ACCESS Coordinator.  A new form must be requested each semester.  Students with a history of a disability perceived as having a disability or with a current disability who do not wish to use academic accommodations are also strongly encouraged to register with the ACCESS and Accommodation Office and request a Faculty Accommodation Form each semester.  For further information, please contact Richard Stilley (stilley_r@mercer.edu) at (678) 547-6823 or visit the ACCESS and Accommodation Office website at http://atlstuaffairs.mercer.edu/disability-services.cfm

Inclement Weather

If severe weather occurs, classes will be canceled in accordance with the Associate Provost’s decision of Mercer-Atlanta.  Call the Mercer weather phone for information about class cancellations (678) 547-6111 (Atlanta) or listen to WSB 750 AM.

Course Reading and Learning Schedule:

(Syllabus subject to change at the discretion of the Professor)

Introduction to the Law (full version)
Physician Assisted Dying
Contract Law (full version)
Business Organizations (full version)
Copyright Law (full version)
Patent, Trademark and Trade Secret Law
Employment Law
Covenants Not to Compete
2010 Georgia Ballot Amendment
Environmental Law

Your Guide to the Georgia Courts (PDF file)
Exploring Constitutional Law - an interesting site that presents some basic information about the U.S. Constitution (for those of you who would like some more information about the Constitution)
Constitutional History - PowerPoint

Reading assignment for Ethics, Society and Law  (Week 2) 

What is Stakeholder Theory? - R. Edward Freeman - video

Sample Exam Questions

These 1923 Copyrighted Works Enter the Public Domain in 2019
Public Domain Day 2020

A Fair(y) Use Tale - YouTube clip

He's So Fine - The Chiffons
My Sweet Lord - George Harrison
Copyright Website - George Harrison and the Chiffons

Roy Orbison - Oh! Pretty Woman
2 Live Crew - Pretty Woman
Copyright Website - 2 Live Crew and the Case of the Pretty Woman

Justices, 9-0, Bar Patenting Human Genes - New York Times article
Patent Trolls - Electronic Frontier Foundation

Don't Say Velcro - funny trademark video

Environmental Law

    How Wolves Change Rivers - video
    Gowanus Canal - Wikipedia article
    U.S. Announces Proposals to Clean Gowanus Canal - New York Times article
    In Gowanus, Big Development Can Wait - New York Times article and Slide Show 
    In Brooklyn, Worrying About Not Only Flooding but Also What's in Water? - New York Times article
    Come On In, Paddlers, the Water's Just Fine.  Don't Mind the Sewage -  New York Times article
    Cleaning Up Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal - video
    The Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club - video
    After Gowanus Canal Floods Its Banks, Fear of What's Left Behind - video 
    Wow! What's in Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal? - video
    CSI Gowanus: Cleaning up the Canal - video
    First Look at Dredging of Toxic Gowanus Canal - video
    New York the Oyster City - video

Forty Years of the Clean Water Act - Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
EPA Plans to Rewrite Clean Water Act Rules to Fast-Track Pipelines - Inside Climate News

UDRP Case Note: Warner Bros. Loses <dumbledore.com>