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“Without the law, the crown would always go to the loudest

voices, the biggest sticks and the readiest fists.“

E PRIMER MODULE 2018-20

 Subject Slide No.
INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS LAW? 3
OBJECTIVE OF STUDYING BUSINESS LAW 4
LEGAL ENTITY AND BUSINESS FORM 5
COMPANIES ACT 6

LAW OF CONTRACT 7
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS 8
CASE OF TURMERIC 9
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACT, 2000 10

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 LAW is essentially a rule of actions established in a community by some authority and applicable to its people

 Mercantile or Business Law is that branch of law which consists of laws relating to trade, industry and commerce

 Management Law are legal provisions concerning the act of running and controlling a business

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Law is a fundamental part of business and business has always been intertwined with the law and
legal regulations, but these are becoming more complex. As a result, a comprehensive understanding
of the law or the role of legal professionals in the creation and operation of a business becomes
imperative for management students.
Objectives:
To understand the global legal environment in which business operates, develop an approach to
managing and maximizing the value of the corporate legal function and analyze the dynamic nature
of law
To address current issues in the law of agency, contracts, and employment law and assess the
impact of these laws on business
Ability to anticipate the legal needs of companies and comprehend how laws and regulations can
impact businesses in both positive and negative ways

What follows is an overview to get you exposed to the legal aspects of running a business.

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All businesses are categorized as some sort of
legal entity that governs the way they are treated
under the law. Some structures (like LLC’s, LLPs)
are considered free standing entities that have
special rights (e.g. They can enter into contracts)
and the owners have limited liabilities. While
others, most notability the sole-proprietorship, the
owner assumes all the liability and rewards
There are three basic legal business forms:

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 The Companies Act 2013 is an Act of the Parliament of India which regulates incorporation of a
company, responsibilities of a company, directors, dissolution of a company

 The Act has replaced The Companies Act, 1956 (in a partial manner) with few changes like
earlier, private companies’ maximum number of member was 50 and now it is 200. A new term
of "one person company" is included in this Act that will be a private company

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 The Law of Contracts is the basis of business law because the bulk of transactions of the people
engaged in trade, commerce and industry is based on contracts. In India, the Law of Contracts is
contained in the Indian Contract Act,1872
 The Act lays down the general principles relating to formation, performance and enforceability
of contracts
 The Partnership Act, the Sale of Goods Act, the Negotiable Instruments Act, the Companies Act,
though technically belonging to the Law of Contracts, have been covered by separate
enactments. However, the general principles of the Contract Law are the basis for all such
contracts as well
 As per the Indian Contract Act,1872, a "contract" is an agreement enforceable by law. Every
agreement begins with one party making an offer to sell something or to provide a service, etc.
An acceptance is the act of manifestation by the offeree of his assent to the terms of the offer

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 Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind such as musical, literary, and artistic
works; inventions; and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce, including
copyrights, trademarks, patents, and related rights
 Under intellectual property law, the holder of one of these abstract "properties" has certain
exclusive rights to the creative work, commercial symbol, or invention by which it is covered
 Most of the countries having large number of local industries with innovative designs have
specific laws to safeguard the innovations by some regulations with respect to copying of
inventions, identifying symbols and creative slogans. As in other developing countries, India too
showed for quick enforcement of intellectual property right protection laws
 Essential elements of intellectual property rights:
1)Patents for inventions
2) Copyrights for material
3) Trademarks for broad identity and
4) Trade secrets

The Law on the subject is covered by the Copyright Act; the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act;
Patents Act and the Designs Act.
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The Government of India enacted its Information Technology Act 2000 with the objective of
providing legal recognition for transactions carried out by means of electronic data interchange and
other means of electronic communication, commonly referred to as “electronic commerce”, which
involve the use of alternatives to paper-based methods of communication and storage of information,
and to facilitate electronic filing of documents with the Government agencies

The Act essentially deals with the following issues:

Legal Recognition of Electronic Documents
Legal Recognition of Digital Signatures
Offenses and Contraventions
Justice Dispensation Systems for cyber crimes.

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