Lectures, videos, analysis of legal issues, discussion of legal cases, case assignments, and group activities
1. Introduction to the field of law and the administration of justice
2. Sources of Canadian and British Columbia law
a. distinction between private and public law
b. Acts of the Canadian Parliament and the provincial legislatures (emphasis on British Columbia)
c. Canadian Constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
d. subordinate legislation including by-laws and government regulations
e. the court process, case law, and judicial precedent
3. Intellectual Property
a. trade-marks law
i. passing off
ii. registration of trade-marks
iii. infringement
iv. depreciation of goodwill
v. expunging marks from trade-marks registry
vi. domain name issues
vii. distinguishing guise
b. copyright
i. creation of copyright protection
ii. moral rights
iii. infringement and exceptions, including fair dealing
c. patents, trade secrets and confidential information
d. licensing of intellectual property rights
4. Labeling and packaging
a. label disclosure requirements, including marking of imported goods and general requirements under the Consumer Packaging and Labeling Act
b. bilingualism requirements pursuant to Charter of French Language
5. Tort Law Applicable to Sales and Marketing
a. injurious falsehood
b. defamation
c. deceit
d. conspiracy
e. interference with contractual relations
f. misappropriation of personality
g. negligence (particularly regarding product liability)
6. Competition Act
a. agreements to restrict competition
b. multi-level marketing (ie pyramid schemes)
c. bait and switch selling
d. refusal to deal
e. price maintenance
f. tied selling
g. abuse of dominant position
h. misleading advertising (including comparative advertising)
7. Promotional Contests
a. requirements for skill-testing questions
b. prohibitions against purchase requirements
8. Privacy
a. rules governing the collection, use and disclosure of personal information
b. requirements to obtain consent
c. exemptions to requirements under the federal and provincial privacy regimes
d. telemarketing issues, including Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules and ‘do not call’ lists
e. anti-spam legislation
9. Consumer Protection
a. key provisions of the British Columbia Sale of Goods Act
i. contracts of sale of goods
ii. risk and passing of property
iii. the implied conditions and warranties of the consumer protection provisions
iv. special remedies under the Sale of Goods Act
b. relevant provisions under the British Columbia Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act
The student will be able to:
1. describe the structure of the Canadian legal system;
2. recognize the main aspects of the Canadian judicial system including the sources of law, the levels and roles of courts in the judicial system, and the basic elements of the court process;
3. describe the scope of the protection for freedom of expression under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as that right applies to marketing activities;
4. summarize the different interests and legal mechanisms relating to trade-marks and copyright law, including licensing of such intellectual property rights;
5. identify common law torts particularly relevant to sales and marketing contexts, including injurious falsehood, defamation, deceit, conspiracy, interference with contractual relations, misappropriation of personality, and negligence (particularly regarding product liability).
6. demonstrate a strong understanding of relevant criminal and reviewable matters under the Competition Act, including price discrimination, multi-level marketing, bait and switch selling, and abuse of dominant position;
7. summarize the laws applicable to promotional contests;
8. identify the basic pertinent features of the law of privacy, including exemptions available under the applicable legislative schemes;
9. recount the key elements of sale of goods legislation, including passing of property and consumer protection;
10. summarize the material aspects of the B.C. Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act; and
11. apply the legal principles that are contained in this course to real world situations and cases.
| Term Tests (2) | 35-45% |
| Term paper | 15-25% |
| Participation and Assignments/Quizzes | 0-10% |
| Final Examination | 25-35% |
| 100% |
Pritchard, Brenda and S. Vogt, Advertising and Marketing Law in Canada. Latest edition, (Markham: LexisNexis Canada)
Other textbooks or custom course packages as determined by the Sales and Marketing Law Instructors
Additional cases and readings decided by the Instructor.
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