Haaga-Heliabasics of Law5. Weekly Assignment

HAAGA-HELIABASICS OF LAW5. WEEKLY ASSIGNMENT

Online course

COMPETITION LAW AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIHGTS

• Material:
• AapoSurakka. Access to Finnish Law. 1st edition pp. 99-105
• Act on Competition Restrictions, 480/1992
• Unfair BusinessPractices Act,1061/1978
• PowerPoint slides

ASSIGNMENT

Consider the following cases and give your reasoned answers to the questions:

1. A local wholesaler arranges a competition in which any retailer who buys goods worth at least

€ 10,000 in the following week takes part in a raffle. The first prize is the opportunity to participate in a top management course for free. The prizealso covers a free trip to Sicily where the course is being arranged. Do you believe that such a competition is legal?

1. PakkausihmeOy was a leading manufacturer of cartons for foodstuffs in Finland. Its market share was 80%. In addition to cartons it also made filling machines that could be used in filling Pakkausihme cartons. These filling machines were not necessary, however, since they could easily be replaced by other corresponding equipment.

A foodstuffs company that had used Pakkausihme packages for a long time bought a new filling machine from another manufacturer. Because of this Pakkausihme refused to deliver cartons to the company any longer. According to their business policy Pakkausihme only delivered cartons to customers who used Pakkausihme filling machines. Analyse the situation with regard to competition law provisions.

1. Pakkausihmefaced a serious new competitor. Pakkausihme therefore decided to priceits competing products under manufacturing costs for a while. Was this legal?

1. Finnish Wood is a marketing association of Finnish paper companies. Its target is to promote the trade of its members. A meeting of the association approved a marketing campaign to customers and to collect and register information on concluded deals (size of deliveries, customers, prices etc.). The aim of the campaign was to make the members of the association better known in the market. The association also formulated standard contract terms covering delivery terms, notifications, quality standards, exemption clauses, choice of law and choice of forum clauses. Also the price level and mutual pricing principles were discussed. The members agreed to strive toreduce mutual competition and to improve co-operation. These discussions were not recorded. Some time after the meeting a member of the association increased its prices by 20%. In a few months all the member companies had increased their prices to the same level. Evaluate the activities.

1. Consider the following questions and briefly explainwhy they are true or false.

a)Industrial rights consist of patent, trademark and copyright.

b)A new dance style cannot be patented.

c)Patent rights cannot be renewed.

d) A utility model is valid for a shorter period of time than a patent and can be obtained in less time.

e)A copyright can be renewed.

f)A right in a trademark can be renewed indefinitely.

g) A copyright is granted by the NBPR after the applicant has filed for registration.

h) Finnish law on fair competition includes a general clause that prohibits erroneous and misleading advertisements.

i)Both price and bidding cartels are banned, with the risk of being fined.

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