BLAW2007 International Business Law
Part A: (worth 20 marks)
Kaveeta and Cassandra are friends who both graduated from Curtin University with a degree in fine arts. Kaveeta lives with her parents in Kensington (WA) and Cassandra and her husband Carl live in Coogee (WA). Kaveeta and Cassandra own and operate a business together which consists of a small workshop and art gallery in Fremantle (WA). Kaveeta specialises in pottery while Cassandra loves to paint. Together they produce stunning ceramic home wares. Their products are well sought after and they have decided to grow their business.Kaveeta loves to travel. Shortly after her graduation, she worked with famous Portuguese potter Pedro in Lisbon for six months. During her stay in Portugal, Kaveeta became friends with other local potters and she is still in contact with them via Instagram and Facebook. Kaveeta would like to take advantage of her international contacts to grow the business at an international level. She is thinking about renting a small studio in Lisbon and hiring three or four artists to produce the home wares as per Kaveeta’s instructions, and to have the finished products shipped to Fremantle for sale in Western Australia. Kaveeta would also like to find export markets for their products, possibly New Zealand and Europe.
Cassandra, on the other hand, would like to support the local industry and expand within WA. This way, they could also promote the business as ‘wholly Australian owned’ and the products as ‘made in Australia’. Cassandra’s brother Clive owns a rural property with a large shed in the Swan Valley (a popular tourist area 30 minutes’ drive from Fremantle, WA). The shed on Clive’s property could be turned into a fully equipped small factory for less than $20,000. Three of Cassandra’s artist friends from Curtin University are keen to work for the business, should the WA expansion of the business go ahead.
Instructions: You are required to identify and briefly introduce aspects (relating to BLAW 2007) that may impact upon Kaveeta and Cassandra’s decision on where, and under what arrangements, to have their home wares manufactured and sold.
In each topic studied in this unit, there are at least one or two areas or principles of law relevant to Kaveeta and Cassandra’s decision on how to grow the business. It is expected that students advise the business on matters covered in topics one to seven inclusive, though you are welcome to also use materials from the remaining topics covered in this unit. Students who have a background in taxation law or any other laws that may impact upon Kaveeta and Cassandra’s decision on how to expand are welcome to cover such additional aspects, as long as 75% of the paper covers materials studied in ‘’International Business Law’. Please do not discuss cases and/or principles of law in any great detail. Simply apply your knowledge of the relevant principles of law to the business proposals outlined above, to make Kaveeta and Cassandra aware of possible legal implications and risks (and advise them how they can guard against such risks). This part of the paper should be approximately 1500 to 1600 words in length. It is not necessary for you to reference this part of the assignment because the advice you give should all be your own work. Please read these instructions in combination with the information in the unit outline and the information on how your paper will be marked (see below).
The paragraph below is an example of possible advice relating to conflict of laws (studied in topic one) and how Kaveeta and Cassandra would benefit from having an awareness of conflict of laws:
Any legal issues arising from the operation of the business at present will be determined according to the law of Western Australia, assuming all contracts are entered in WA. However, once they operate the business at the international level, a conflict of laws may arise. For example, if a dispute arose between Kaveeta and Cassandra’s business and the Portuguese artists (assuming the contracts were entered in Portugal) it is likely that the law of Portugal, rather than the law of WA would be applied. This, however, depends on the circumstances and the closest connection with the contract. If Kaveeta and Cassandra wanted to make sure that any disputes were to be settled under (West) Australian law, they could incorporate a choice of law clause into their contract.Note how the above paragraph informs Kaveeta and Cassandra of what they need to know, why they need to know this information, and how they can use the advice to overcome, or at least minimise, risks or uncertainties. Please also note that the word count (127 words in this example) is of an appropriate length and level of detail, to fit within the prescribed word count and to provide really useful advice.
Part B: (worth 10 marks)
Kaveeta and Cassandra have recently discovered that some of the ceramic glazes commonly used by pottery artists/manufacturers in Portugal may contain traces of lead which may make the finished products unsuitable for a number of uses (e.g. to be used as dinner ware, drinking vessels and vases). Naturally, they are worried about the legal risks and implications the use of such glazes may have on their business and/or themselves, in the event of injury to a person or damage to property. They are also worried that purchasers of the products may wish to seek remedies, should one of their products not comply with one or more of the implied terms contained in the Sale of Goods Act 1895 (WA).
There is no set format on how to answer this part of the assignment. Please use any format that results in a clear, well-structured answer. You may wish to write an essay, a memorandum or a letter of advice. This part of the assignment should include case discussions and must be referenced appropriately, using either Chicago style or AGLC. Your answer should be between 750 and 900 words in length.
Please read the instructions above in conjunction with the instructions in the unit outline. Information on how to submit assignments through Turnitin is available on Blackboard, in the assignments folder.