Produce a briefing document for the Board of Directors of a UK SME which is looking to
expand its business internationally. The company produces business software solutions
delivered through Software as a Service (SAS). The software solutions support the generic
business functions of an engineering product design – being workflow based the software is
very highly customisable to specific company needs. The company sells to development and
production companies so has a very wide range of potential customers in each country. As
part of its customer service, the company offers a pre-sales consultancy service to work with
the company to ensure its business processes are ready for, and will benefit from, an IT
solution. It has the reputation in the UK of honesty and integrity and regularly walks away
from a contract where it feels it would not be in the best interests of the customer. This has
helped build its reputation as a top-class service provider. The software solutions currently
sold have associated patent, trademark and copyright IP protection in the UK.
The company objective is to expand its geographic coverage area and start selling its
products in a country which you can choose from the list below. The company is expecting
to set up an office (the “local office”) in the country and employ some local staff although
management of the business will be from the UK headquarters. To limit liability, the
company will set the “local office” and all in country sales and aftersales support as a
subsidiary company under the parent holding company.
Your task is to produce a short briefing document which clearly states the legal differences
between UK law and the law of your chosen country. You should focus your attention on
the key areas where there is a difference in the legal systems and hence the areas that the
company should be particularly mindful of in planning to trade in the country. You should
report on four areas of law where there is a difference.
The following is a suggested list of questions you could address in your briefing paper but do
not take this as a list of the only questions you should be answering. The full list of
important differences should come from your own research into the legal system of the
country based on the content of the entire law module.
· In the event of legal issues how would they be resolved?
· What legal rules apply to the establishment of a subsidiary company for the
“local office”?
· What are the IP implications? What steps does the company need to take to
ensure it has IP protection for its software solutions?
· What are the important differences in contract law?
· What are the important differences in employment law?
· Are there any specific ethical differences that could relate to trading between the
UK and customers in the country?
· How are professional engineers recognised in the country as a technical authority
in consultancy activities?
· In what language(s) would the software solutions need to be provided?
You can choose one of the following countries for your answer. You must use the same
country for the entire briefing document.
· Brazil
· Canada
· Chile
· China
· France
· Germany
· India
· New Zealand
· Russia
· South Africa
· Spain
· United Arab Emirates (UAE)
· USA
Sample Solution
