Resumé Community Law Against Unfair Competition The purpose of my thesis is to analyze the European legislation on unfair competition, its application by Court of Justice of the European Union (hereinafter referred to as "CJ EU") and its implementation into Czech law. The thesis is composed of six chapters. Chapter One is dedicated to the general explanation and description of the unfair competition and its subjects. Chapter Two examines the background and evolution of the harmonization process on unfair competition on European level and summarizes present applicable directives. It also provides a brief note on respective Czech regulation in which these European directives were implemented. Chapter Three is dedicated to the subject of misleading advertising as defined by the Directive 2006/114/EC. The first part of this chapter provides a description of misleading advertising, second part illustrates the approach of CJ EU in its decisions. Third part is concerned with the Czech regulation of misleading advertising while it can be concluded that Czech regulation is sufficient according to required European standard without further need of implementation. Chapter Four is concerned with the comparative advertising and is subdivided into three main parts. Its first part contains a summary of conditions under...

The Comparative Advertising - development of regulation in the Czech legal order Resumé My thesis analyzes the legal regulation of the comparative advertising in the Czech Republic. It deals not only with the current legislation, but it looks at the historical development and future perspectives too. The goal of my thesis is to provide a thorough guide to the development of its legal regulation within the particular eras of the Czech history, describe different approaches of legislators, judges and professionals, and eventually, I try to evaluate the current situation and draw conclusions. At the very beginning after my introduction I put a short chapter containing a few words about the term "comparative advertising" itself and about the different types of comparative advertising. Then, in the following chapter I chronologically address the issues of legal legislation in the history of the Czech Republic: the first part is dedicated to the time period of so called "First Republic" and its Law on protection against unfair competition and its vast judicature. The second part is concerned with the socialist era in our history, the complete rejection of the economic competition as such and the logical decline in the interest in the unfair competition legislation. The last two parts of this chapter mention the...

European Law Against Unfair Competition Resumé This diploma thesis deals with the European (EU) law against unfair competition, or more specifically with the legal regulation of two directives of European Union, which are the ones for the european law against unfair competition most significant, Misleading and Comparative Advertising Directive and Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. The purpose of this thesis is to provide comprehensive and understandable overview of the legal regulation of both above mentioned directives, to analyze selected judicature of the Court of Justice of the European Union related to these directives, to briefly outline interpretation problems arising from the transposition of both directives to the Czech legal order, which were identified by professional literature. The content of this diploma thesis is divided into 5 main chapters. After the Introduction follows the chapter briefly defining the main notions, economic competition, competition law, the law against unfair competition and unfair competition. The second chapter deals with the development of the European Law against unfair competition till the present day. The third chapter provides overview of the legal regulation of Misleading and Comparative Advertising Directive, describes factual basis of the misleading...

Regulators have long disagreed whether regulation would reduce hedge funds’ financial misreporting. On the one hand, critics have stated that hedge funds are unlikely to misreport because their investors are highly sophisticated financial players who can detect and deter financial misconduct. On the other hand, recent changes in the composition of hedge funds’ investors have led many to question this argument. In this paper, I test whether hedge fund regulation reduces misreporting by using a quasi-natural experiment in which a subset of hedge funds was regulated, deregulated, and then regulated again. Unique features of the setting permit me to study not only whether hedge fund regulation reduces financial misreporting—but, if so, why the regulation reduces misreporting. The results show that regulation reduces misreporting at hedge funds and that the imposition of disclosure requirements, even without other concurrent changes in regulation, can reduce hedge funds’ misreporting. The result seems surprising, because hedge funds’ investors are commonly thought to have access to far more information than is required by disclosure rules. Further inquiries suggest that disclosure requirements led funds to make changes in their internal governance, and that these changes in governance induced funds to report their financial performance more honestly and accurately.

Title: Law of Marketing – A Descriptive Study of Marketing in Sweden and Italy with focal point on TV-commercials (Marknadsföringsrätt – En deskriptiv studie av marknadsföring I Sverig och Italien med inriktning på TV-reklam)   Number of pages: 34   Author: Astrid Lidman   Tutor: Göran Svensson   Course: Media and Communication C   Period: Fall -09   University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University   Purpose/Aim: My goal with this study is to see the differences and similarities that can be found in the Swedish and Italian Law of Marketing. I want to compare the results to see how our different laws are still able to reach the same results concerning the protecting of our public from bad advertisement.   Material/Methods: I’ve been reading laws concerning marketing. I started out my research from different commissions from EU. Then I found the equivalent laws to those commissions in both Sweden and Italy I was able to see how the two different states apply the commissions to their legal system. By doing so I also got a starting-point by getting the most important laws in both the Swedish and Italian legal system concerning marketing and commercials on TV.   Main results: Since both Sweden and Italy apply the commissions from EU to their legal system, the differences were only superficial. Due to the commissions the base, of what is consider as bad marketing, was virtually the same. And when looking at the big picture they both achieved almost the same protection to their public that I think can be considered reaching high standards. The differences lay in the protection of commercials on TV towards children, and that Sweden has a little bit more regulation during the discussions about the protection concerning sexual discrimination.   Keywords: Laws of Marketing, TV-commercials, prohibition of children’s commercials, inappropriate business methods, misleading advertisement, commissions, EU.

Jau nuo seno geografinės nuorodos savo koncepcija išsivystė kaip pirmieji prekių ženklai. Intensyvėjant bei sudėtingėjant komerciniams santykiams geografinės nuorodos ir prekių ženklai tapo skirtingomis kategorijomis žymenų, kurių registraciją, apsaugą bei naudojimą reglamentuoja intelektinės nuosavybės teisės normos. Visgi, nors tai skirtingi pramoninės nuosavybės teisės institutai, geografinės nuorodos ir prekių ženklai sutampa daugeliu aspektų. Visų pirma, šie žymenys, naudojami komercinėje aplinkoje, sutampa jiems priskirtomis funkcijomis, t.y. jie abu atlieka prekių ar paslaugų atskyrimo, kilmės šaltinio identifikavimo, kokybės identifikavimo bei vartotojų informavimo funkcijas. Be šios sutapties, geografinės nuorodos ir prekių ženklai yra panašūs, nes privalo turėti skiriamąjį požymį, o taip pat sutampa ir jų išraiškos formos bei apsaugos galiojimo laikas. Visi išvardinti panašumai, išreiškiantys ryšį tarp geografinių nuorodų ir prekių ženklų, gali lemti painiavą rinkoje bei pramoninės nuosavybės išimtinių teisių pažeidimus, todėl teisiniai mechanizmai, skirti reguliuoti šių žymenų registraciją, apsaugą ir naudojimą yra įtvirtinti siekiant išlaikyti pusiausvyrą tarp vartotojų ir gamintojų, išimtinių teisių turėtojų interesų. Numatyti teisėti geografinių nuorodų ir prekių ženklų naudotojai dėl pažeistų teisių gali remtis skirtingais būdais. Bendrai yra numatyti tokie ginčų sprendimų variantai: pagal taikytiną teisę, pagal atskirų pramoninės nuosavybės objektų teisės... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / For a long time, geographical indications have developed as the first trade marks. As the commercial relations become more intensive and complex, geographical indications and trade marks has become two different categories of signs, the registration, protection and usage of which is governed by the rules of intellectual property law. Nonetheless, even though geographical indications and trade marks are different institutes of industrial property law, they coincide in a majority of aspects. First of all, the fore-mentioned signs used in commercial environment coincide in the attributed functions, i.e. both of them perform the functions of distinguishing goods or services, identification of the source of origin, identification of quality and information of customers. In addition to the considered coincidence, geographical indications and trade marks are similar, since both of them must have a distinctive character; furthermore, their forms of expression and term of protection are in coincidence. All above similarities implying a relation between geographical indications and trade marks may determine confusion in the market and infringements of the exclusive rights of industrial property; therefore, legal mechanisms intended for the regulation of the registration, protection and usage of the considered signs have been established to keep the balance between the interests of customers and producers and holders of exclusive rights. As for the infringements of rights, the... [to full text]

Šio darbo objektas yra informacijos, klaidinančios vartotoją, sklaida ir jos įtaka organizacijos įvaizdžiui. Darbo tikslas – remiantis keleto atvejų Lietuvoje analize, atskleisti vartotojus klaidinančios informacijos sklaidos įtaką internetinės prekybos organizacijų įvaizdžiui. Darbo sudaro trys skyriai: pirmoje darbo dalyje pristatoma elektroninio verslo bei internetinės prekybos samprata, pristatomos organizacijos identiteto kūrimo, įvaizdžio formavimo bei palaikymo procesų ir išorinės komunikacijos sąsajos; antroje darbo dalyje analizuojama vartotoją klaidinančios informacijos sklaida bei organizacijos atsakomybės klausimai; trečiojoje darbo dalyje – aprašoma empirinio tyrimo metodologija ir analizuojami tyrimo metu gauti duomenys. Tyrimas buvo atliekamas keliais etapais. Pirmiausia buvo apklausti keturi internetinės prekybos organizacijų Lietuvoje vadovai. Interviu metu išsiaiškinta, kokią įtaką vartotojus klaidinančios informacijos sklaida turi internetinės prekybos organizacijų įvaizdžiui bei komunikacijai. Taip pat buvo atliktas kiekybinis tyrimas, kuris padėjo nubrėžti gaires bei žvalgomąsias tendencijas, ar vartotojams Lietuvoje apskritai yra svarbi adekvačios bei teisingos informacijos apie produktus bei paslaugas sklaida. Tyrimas atskleidė, kad vartotojams yra svarbi teisingos ir adekvačios informacijos apie produktus bei paslaugas sklaida. Jie pripažįsta, jog netoleruoja klaidinančios informacijos, tačiau vis dar susiduria su ja apsipirkdami internetu... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The object of investigation of master thesis is spread of misleading information to consumers and its impact to the image of organization. Master thesis aims at revealing the impact of misleading information to consumers on the image of the online sales companies in accordance with few cases of analysis in Lithuania. The thesis consists of three chapters: first chapter deals with online business and sales, also the development of organization identity, forming and sustaining image and the correlation of external communication; spread of misleading information and the responsibility of organization are discussed in the second part; whereas in the third part of the thesis the methodology of empirical research is described, also gathered data is analyzed. Research was performed in few stages. Firstly, four of online sales Lithuanian organizations directors were interviewed. During the interviews it was revealed what kind of impact spread of misleading information to consumers does to the image and communication of organizations. Quantitative research has been performed as well. It helped to determine guidelines and trends related to finding out if consumers in Lithuania need spread of adequate and legitimate information concerned with products and services. Research revealed that consumers need spread of adequate and legitimate information concerned with products and services. Consumers admit that they do not tolerate misleading information, however they still find such... [to full text]

The purpose of this study was to better understand how the universities in Sweden work to prevent plagiarism, how they use plagiarism detection tools and what knowledge the students have or wish to have about plagiarism. This was studied through interviews with teachers and administration staff from one smaller university in Sweden together with a questionnaire for students attending any university in Sweden. The study shows that the information about plagiarism can be clearer from teachers according to the students, to prevent plagiarism as far as possible. It also shows that the university is already working to improve the information so that the students in a better way can understand, but it is hard to know how to give the information and what information that the students need. The examined university are using the system Urkund as a plagiarism detection tool and the study shows that teachers in general are satisfied with the system and how they use it. However, some teachers see an opportunity to use the detection tool in their teaching practises but need more knowledge of the system to do so efficiently. The students reportedly know what plagiarism means according to the study, but they do not have a deeper knowledge about it which they want from their universities, especially how the school is handling plagiarism cases and how the plagiarism detection tool works. The study concludes with recommendations for the universities to improve their work against plagiarism. / Syftet med denna studie var att ta reda på hur ett lärosäte i dagsläget arbetar för att motverka plagiat, hur man använder plagiatkontrollsystem och vad studenterna har för kunskap eller vilken information de känner att de saknar gällande plagiering. Detta undersöktes genom att intervjua lärare och förvaltningsanställda på en mindre högskola i Sverige och även genom en enkätundersökning som gick ut till studenter vid högre utbildning i hela Sverige. Studien visade att många studenter upplever att informationen från lärare och lärosätet kan bli tydligare för att i största möjliga mån undvika plagieringsfall. Den visar på att lärosätet redan jobbar för att förbättra informationen för studenterna men att det är svårt att veta vad som fungerar optimalt. Studien visar också på hur systemet Urkund används och i vilken grad. De allra flesta lärarna tycker att det är ett bra och användbartsystem och det känner sig bekväma med användandet, många kan också se en möjlighet till att använda systemet på ett mer pedagogiskt vis men behöver mer kunskap i hur det skulle kunna fungera. Studenterna anser sig veta vad plagiat innebär men en stor del tycker sig sakna mer djupgående information från sitt lärosäte för att få en bättre förståelse i främst förfarande vid upptäckt av plagiat och hur plagiatkontrollsystem fungerar. Slutligen ges rekommendationer till lärosäten för att kunna utveckla sitt arbete med att motverka plagiering och förbättra kommunikationen mellan lärare och studenter för att minimera plagiatfall.

With criminal cases continuing to be exonerated across the United States, research must be done on the subject to advance current practices to reduce its occurrence in the future. This study combines county population data with the National Registry of Exonerations to analyze the contributing factors to wrongful convictions and the possible effect of population on their frequency. The objective of this study was to identify specific policy changes based on the five contributing factors to wrongful convictions that could be applied to population specific areas. The results yielded multiple patterns that are discussed thoroughly. These findings allowed the introduction of policy changes and proposals for future research.

European Law Against Unfair Competition Abstract The scope of this thesis is intended to cover mainly two branches of the European law against unfair competition. Those two branches were recognized in (i) business-to- business relations governed mostly by the European Union Directive 2006/114/ES and in (ii) business-to-consumer relations governed by the European Union directive 2005/29/ES respectively. Taking in consideration the above-said, it can be stated that this thesis predominantly analyzes what should be in more precise way called as "European Union law against unfair competition". The thesis is divided into ten chapters while five of them should be considered as the leading ones. First of them is the chapter number five dedicated to B2B relations. The author examines the respective directive 2006/114/ES also to the extent of its relevant jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice. The same approach was chosen to describe functioning of B2C relations under directive 2005/29/ES in chapter number seven. Chapter number six focuses on so called "Average Consumer" model that has been found as one of the most important elements of EU law against unfair competition. Because of its exceptional relevance, chapter six deals with the average consumer in a very detail, emphasizing important role of the...