Program Overview

Program Overview

The Practical Business Law course is part of the Management, Technology, and Entrepreneurship program at EPFL. This course covers the fundamental concepts of business law from a practical standpoint, including contracts and company law, intellectual property, data protection, and competition law, with a special focus on issues specific to start-up companies.

Course Description

The course will cover the legal foundation of business transactions with a focus on practical handling of legal issues frequently arising in a business context. This includes:

• An introduction to contracts (formation, completion, and termination)
• A study of common business agreements (purchase and sale, manufacturing, services, employment, cooperation, non-disclosure, non-compete)
• An overview of intellectual property (patents, designs, copyrights & trademarks), with special emphasis on how to register a trademark and a design
• An overview of competition law and data protection law
• Technology development and transfer agreements (licenses, franchises, R&D, joint ventures)
• An overview of company law, with special emphasis on the most common form of companies
• An overview of the issues that are specific to start-up companies, including relationships amongst shareholders and financing by investors

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Identify major issues in situations with legal implications
• Assess/Evaluate advantages and disadvantages of various legal solutions
• Distinguish different types of contracts and companies and their respective features
• Structure, understand, negotiate, and draft the business terms of the major types of contracts used in business transactions
• Explain the functioning of a company (including its financing and the relationships between shareholders)
• Construct a basic legal reasoning
• Assess/Evaluate the legal risks associated with a transaction
• Identify when legal advice should be sought

Transversal Skills

The course aims to develop the following transversal skills:

• Respect relevant legal guidelines and ethical codes for the profession
• Resolve conflicts in ways that are productive for the task and the people concerned
• Communicate effectively with professionals from other disciplines
• Use a work methodology appropriate to the task

Teaching Methods

The course will employ a variety of teaching methods, including:

• Lecture
• Case studies
• Critical analysis
• Class discussions
• Exercises

Expected Student Activities

Students are expected to:

• Attend the lectures
• Prepare case studies and read documentations provided
• Participate in exercises

Assessment Methods

The assessment will consist of:

• 85% written exam (open book)
• 15% assignments during the semester

Program Details

The Practical Business Law course is part of the following programs:

• Management, Technology, and Entrepreneurship Master semester 2
• Management, Technology, and Entrepreneurship Master semester 4
• Management, Technology, and Entrepreneurship minor Spring semester

For each of these programs, the course details are as follows:

• Semester: Spring
• Exam form: Written (summer session)
• Subject examined: Practical business law
• Courses: 3 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
• Type: optional

Reference Week

The course schedule is provided in a table format, indicating the time slots allocated for lectures, exercises, and other activities throughout the week.

Related Courses

Information on related courses can be found through the EPFL course search platform.