This course aims at demonstrating the impact of law on business and society. It is designed for students who have already gained some experience (second semester) so that they are able to develop a more comprehensive view over their previous courses in business and economics (and the legal course Governance and Legal Environment). To this end, specific areas of law are presented to make students understand the effects of legal regulation on individuals, businesses and society as a whole. 

This will include tax law (and the impact of taxation on business, public finance and society), the law of intellectual property (the concept of intellectual property rights and their protection) and the legal regulation of competition (regulatory rules and their economic effects). 

All content will primarily be based on relevant international legal standards and concepts or, where useful, on a comparison of national legal systems. 

Topics covered:

The first three classes cover the following topics:

• Intellectual Property Rights (copyright, patents, trademarks)
• Regulation of Online Services (Digital Services Act, Platform to Business Regulation)
• Competition Law (unfair competition law, anti-competitive agreements, abuse of a dominant position, merger control)

The remaining classes cover the following topics:

• Class 4 - Introduction to Tax Law and Tax Policy 
• Class 5 - Income Tax 
• Class 6 - Corporate Income Tax 
• Class 7 - Tax Structuring and its Limits 
• Class 8 - Principles of International Tax Law 
• Class 9 - Value Added Tax 
• Class 10 - Tax Procedures and Sanctions 

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to

• understand basic concepts of intellectual property rights
• understand the purpose and effects of regulation of online services and competition law
• understand design concepts of important types of taxes 
• understand the functions of tax as both a cost for taxpayers / business and a duty against society 
• understand the principles for the taxation of international businesses.

Attendance is required for at least 70% of the classes. Students are expected to actively participate in the lectures. 

Classes will be held by means of interactive in-person lectures at the times provided in the Syllabus. Students will also be required to watch pre-recorded lecture casts that are intended to give an introduction to the specific modules. However, these recordings do not substitute the in-person classes and students will be expected to  attend and actively participate in the in-person lectures where the professors will provide more in-depth discussions on the topics as well as go through case studies.

Assessment is based on two exams: a midterm exam covering the contents of the first part of the course (1/3 of maximum points) and a final exam covering the contents of the second part of the course (2/3 of maximum points).

Grading scale (in % of maximum points):

Excellent (1): 87.5% - 100% 
Good (2): 75% - 87.5% 
Satisfactory (3): 62.5% - 75%
Sufficient (4): 50% - 62.5%
Fail (5): < 50%

The midterm and final exam will be held online via the learn@WU platform. A prerequisite for participation in the final exam is that the students have the necessary technical infrastructure, consisting of a computer with camera and microphone and the latest version of Google Chrome. Please make sure you fulfill the necessary criteria in order to enable a smooth examination process. Please use the following link for all information concerning online examination.

For information on the consequences of cheating, refer to the website of the examinations office.

Please log in with your WU account to use all functionalities of read!t. For off-campus access to our licensed electronic resources, remember to activate your VPN connection connection. In case you encounter any technical problems or have questions regarding read!t, please feel free to contact the library at readinglists@wu.ac.at.

philipp.homar@wu.ac.at;

stefan.pregesbauer@wu.ac.at;