Unit 5 Course Materials

Welcome to Unit 5: Legal Environment! In this unit, we will explore how the legal system shapes the business environment.

We will learn the purpose and meaning of law and learn to differentiate between statutory, common, and tort law. We will discuss product liability and warranties and how these impact how a business operates. We will define intellectual property and identify why patents and trademarks are so important to organizations. We will review the purpose of contracts and discuss repercussions for organizations and partners for failure to deliver on agreed-upon contractual terms, and summarize the importance of business law.

By the end of this unit, you should be able to:

  • Define law
  • Explain the purposes of law & “rule of law”
  • Define statutory law and common law
  • Explain the three major bases for product liability claims
  • Differentiate between compensatory and punitive damages

In order to successfully complete this unit, you’ll need to do the following:

1. Read this Open Educational Resource (free to access): Module 5: Legal Environment¹
Please note: you do not need to complete the activities listed in this resource.

2. Watch this video from the Study.com (also embedded below) about US money & what makes money valuable2:

3. Complete our Unit 5 Assignment. You can find more details here.


As always, if you need more information, you can ask me a question. For information on due dates, check our Course Schedule.


Sources:

1CC LICENSED CONTENT, ORIGINAL Revision and adaptation. Authored by: Linda Williams and Lumen Learning. LicenseCC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

2Study.com via YouTube What is Business Law: Definition and Overview. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch9LPTtIwaI