Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(2,313)
- Faculty Publications (382)
- May 2006 (Revised October 2007)
- Case
EU Verdict Against Microsoft
By: David B. Yoffie and Michael Slind
In 2004, following an investigation that began in 1998, the European Commission (EC) issued an antitrust judgment against Microsoft Corp., levying a record fine of 497 million euros ($613 million) and mandating changes of commercial behavior and bundling of Windows... View Details
- February 2006 (Revised February 2009)
- Case
AIDS in Brazil
By: Rohit Deshpande and Ricardo Reisen de Pinho
Abbott Labs has reached an impasse with the Brazilian government in negotiations over the pricing of a new anti-AIDS drug, Kaletra. The Brazilian government threatens compulsory licensing unless Abbott drastically reduces the price of Kaletra. View Details
- February 2006 (Revised March 2008)
- Case
ChoicePoint (A)
By: Lynn S. Paine and Zack Phillips
The CEO of ChoicePoint, a leading company in the rapidly growing U.S. personal data industry, must reexamine the company's business model after a serious breach of data security affecting some 145,000 U.S. citizens. He must decide on steps to strengthen data protection... View Details
- February 2006 (Revised August 2006)
- Case
Investment Banking at Thomas Weisel Partners
By: Malcolm P. Baker and Lauren Barley
Thomas Weisel Partners (TWP), a San Francisco-based bank focusing on emerging growth companies, is considering its strategy in the context of regulatory, competitive, and legal changes. Blake Jorgensen, the chief operating officer and co-director of investment banking,... View Details
- Article
Policy Implications of Weak Patent Rights
By: James J. Anton, Hillary Greene and Dennis Yao
Patents vary substantially in the degree of protection provided against unauthorized imitation. In this chapter we explore a range of work addressing the economic and policy implications of "weak" patents—patents that have a significant probability of being overturned... View Details
- November 2005 (Revised February 2006)
- Case
Oracle vs. PeopleSoft (A)
By: Lynn S. Paine, Guhan Subramanian and David Millstone
Focuses on the hotly contested takeover battle between software rivals Oracle and PeopleSoft in 2003 and 2004. Raises novel issues of takeover law under Delaware corporate law as well as issues of fair competition under California law. A central issue is whether the... View Details
- November 2005 (Revised February 2007)
- Case
Governing Sumida Corporation
By: Lynn S. Paine, Masako Egawa, Chisato Toyama and Kim Bettcher
Describes the corporate governance changes adopted by Japan's Sumida Corp. between 1999 and 2005, setting them in the context of changes in Japan's commercial code during this period. Sumida was the first Japanese company to adopt a new U.S.-inspired "committee system"... View Details
- August 2005
- Background Note
Dual Class Share Companies
By: Samuel L. Hayes III, Lynn S. Paine and Christopher Bruner
Provides a brief historical overview of dual class share companies in the United States, focusing on the New York Stock Exchange's evolving position on dual class structures since the 1920s, the impact of hostile takeovers on their use since the 1980s, and recent... View Details
- August 2005 (Revised April 2015)
- Background Note
Employment At Will: A Legal Perspective
By: Lynn S. Paine and Christopher M. Bruner
Provides a brief overview of the employment-at-will doctrine, an important concept unique to the U.S. legal system and business landscape. Briefly surveys the history and development of this doctrine and certain limitations and exceptions to it, as well as some of the... View Details
- July 2005 (Revised August 2008)
- Background Note
Attorney-Client Privilege
By: Lynn S. Paine and Christopher Bruner
Provides a brief summary of the requirements of the attorney-client privilege--an important mechanism for protecting client confidences under U.S. law. Discusses the application of the privilege in a corporate context. View Details
- July 2005
- Background Note
Guth v. Loft: Synopsis
By: Lynn S. Paine and Christopher Bruner
Provides a brief overview of the Supreme Court of Delaware's opinion in the 1939 case of Guth v. Loft, a widely cited application of the "corporate opportunity doctrine." Explores the corporate law principles regulating when a corporate manager can or cannot take... View Details
- March 2005 (Revised August 2007)
- Case
Aguas Argentinas: Settling a Dispute
By: Louis T. Wells Jr. and Alexandra de Royere
The French-owned Aguas Argentinas faces a demand from the Argentine government that it renegotiate its concession to operate the Buenos Aires water and sewage services. The company must decide whether to continue with efforts to settle on a new contract or to exercise... View Details
- February 2005 (Revised April 2006)
- Case
Rx Depot: Importing Drugs from Canada
By: Debora L. Spar
In 2002, a handful of entrepreneurs began to ship drugs from Canada into the United States, taking advantage of regulatory and price differentials across the neighboring countries. Using the Internet and a low-cost network of Canadian pharmacies, firms like Rx Depot... View Details
- Article
Consequences of Financial Reporting Failure for Outside Directors: Evidence from Accounting Restatements and Audit Committee Members
By: Suraj Srinivasan
I use a sample of 409 companies that restated their earnings from 1997 to 2001 to examine penalties for outside directors, particularly audit committee members, when their companies experience accounting restatements. Penalties from lawsuits and Securities and Exchange... View Details
- November 2004 (Revised June 2005)
- Case
Mall of America (A)
By: Lynn S. Paine and Christopher Bruner
Explores fiduciary duty issues that arose in litigation among partners in the partnership that owned and controlled the Mall of America. Describes the complex real estate transaction in which one partner attempted to purchase an additional interest in the mall from a... View Details
- November 2004 (Revised May 2005)
- Case
Marvel Enterprises, Inc.
By: Anita Elberse
The management team of Marvel Enterprises, known for its universe of superhero characters that includes Spider-Man, the Hulk, and X-Men, must reevaluate its marketing strategy. In June 2004, only six years after the company emerged from bankruptcy, Marvel has amassed a... View Details
- October 2004 (Revised October 2013)
- Case
In Search of Global Regulation
By: Geoffrey Jones, Mona Rahmani and Alexis Gendron
The history of the international regulation of global capitalism is surveyed, addressing the challenges facing firms confronting international, national, and regional regulation. Follows the history of global regulation after 1914, from the League of Nations'... View Details
- September 2004
- Article
Trust in Agency
Existing models of the principal-agent relationship assume the agent works only under extrinsic incentives. However, many observed agency contracts take the form of a fixed payment. For such contracts to succeed, the principal must trust the agent to work in the... View Details
- August 2004 (Revised June 2008)
- Case
Debating the Expropriation of Mexican Oil
By: Geoffrey G. Jones and R. Daniel Wadhwani
In 1938, the Mexican government expropriated the assets of foreign oil companies. Explores the legal and moral arguments in favor of and against expropriation. View Details
- June 2004 (Revised January 2005)
- Case
Rambus Inc., 2004
By: David B. Yoffie and Deborah Freier
Examines the role of technology licensing in strategies for high-technology companies. In the 1990s, Rambus developed a revolutionary memory technology that would improve the ability of DRAMs to keep pace with ever-faster microprocessors. To commercialize the... View Details