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Kerviel plans to file a plaint for unfair dismissal and extract
pensation from his employer based around three points of defence。
First； Societé Générale appears to have terminated his contract without
a face…to…face meeting； as is required by French labour laws。
Second； the bank’s losses may only have occurred while unwinding
Kerviel’s positions in January 2008； during what was an unprecedented
period of global stock market turbulence。 This situation makes it unclear
exactly how much responsibility Kerviel bears for the total losses。
Third； he had no obvious motive and seems to have made no personal
profit from his trades。 In fact his behaviour has made him a folk hero in
France； with over 150 Facebook groups showing an interest in his fate。
His chances of success in an unfair dismissal case look at least fair。 In
April 2007； Laura Zubulake； 44； won ￡15。5 million from UBS in New York
after a male executive said she was fired because she was ‘old and
ugly and she can’t do the job’。 Three years earlier； Elizabeth Weston
received a ￡1 million settlement from Merrill Lynch over a colleague’s
‘lewd’ ments over a Christmas lunch。
Although Kerviel’s actions put him at the top of the ‘rogue trader’ list；
he is unlikely to head the unfair dismissal stakes。 That title is likely to go
to six women； five female employees in New York and one at London
office of German…owned bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein （DKW）。
They are suing for ￡800 million over allegations that the pany
refused to promote them and discriminated against them by allowing
after…hours trips to strip clubs for male colleagues and humiliating sexual
banter in the office。
186 The Thirty…Day MBA
the market。 It is equally important that such an advantage cannot be easily
copied。 In other words； there is a barrier to entry preventing others from
following the same path to riches。 The advantage can be anything – the
business name （Body Shop）； a catchy slogan （Never knowingly undersold
– John Lewis）； some technological wizardry （Dolby Noise Reduction）； an
instantly recognizable logo （Google） or even a jingle such as that used by
Microso。。’s Windows operating system during start…up。
The generic title covering this area is ‘intellectual property’； usually
shortened by MBAs to IP； and it splits down into a number of distinct areas。
Businesses spend a lot of time and money creating and protecting IP； so you
need at least an appreciation of the legal issues involved。 The case below
is an example of how things can go wrong from the outset。 You should
also read up about Dyson’s ‘Patent Nightmare’ （dyson。uk/about/
story/patent。asp）； as graphic a description of a contest between David and
Goliath as you are likely to find。
When Mark Zucherberg； then aged 20； started Facebook from his
college dorm back in 2004 with two fellow students； he could hardly
have been aware of how the business would pan out。 Facebook is a
social networking website on which users have to put their real names
and e…mail addresses in order to register； then they can contact current
and past friends and colleagues to swap photos； news and gossip。
Within three years the pany was on track to make 100 million sales；
partly on the back of a big order from Microsoft that appears to have
set its sights on Facebook as either a partner or an acquisition target。
Zuckerberg； wearing jeans； Adidas sandals and a fleece； looks a bit
like a latter…day Steve Jobs； Apple’s founder。 He also shares something
else in mon with Jobs。 He has a gigantic intellectual property legal
dispute on his hands。 For three years he has been dealing with a law suit
brought by three fellow Harvard students who claim； in effect； that he
stole the Facebook concept from them。
Patents
A patent can be regarded as a contract between an inventor and the state。
The state agrees with the inventor that if he or she is prepared to publish
details of the invention in a set form and if it appears that he or she has made
a real advance； the state will then grant the inventor a ‘monopoly’ on the
invention for 20 years。 The inventor uses the monopoly period to manufacture
and sell his or her innovation； petitors can read the published
specifications and glean ideas for their research； or they can approach the
inventor and offer to help to develop the idea under licence。
Business Law 187
However； the granting of a patent doesn’t mean that the proprietor is
automatically free to make； use or sell the invention him… or herself； since to
do so might involve infringing an earlier patent that has not yet expired。
A patent really only allows the inventor to stop another person using
the particular device that forms the subject of the patent。 The state does not
guarantee validity of a patent either； so it is not unmon for patents to be
challenged through the courts。
What you can patent
What inventions can you patent？ The basic rules are that an invention must
be new； must involve an inventive step and must be capable of industrial
exploitation。
You can’t patent scientific/mathematical theories or mental processes；
puter programs or ideas that might encourage offensive； immoral
or antisocial behaviour。 New medicines are patentable but not medical
methods of treatment。 Neither can you have just rediscovered a longforgo
。。en idea （knowingly or unknowingly）。
If you want to apply for a patent； it is essential not to disclose your idea
in non…confidential circumstances。 If you do； your invention is already
‘published’ in the eyes of the law； and this could well invalidate your
application。
Copyright
Copyright gives protection against the unlicensed copying of original
artistic and creative works – articles； books； paintings； films； plays； songs；
music； engineering drawings。 To claim copyright； the item in question
should carry this symbol： 。 （author’s name） （date）。 You can take the
further step of recording the date on which the work was pleted； for
a moderate fee； with the Registrar at Stationers’ Hall。 This； though； is an
unusual precaution to take and probab