An examination of how the patent system works, imperfections and all, to incentivize innovation Do patents facilitate or frustrate innovation? Lawyers, economists, and politicians who have staked out strong positions in this debate often attempt to validate their claims by invoking the historical record-but they frequently get the history wrong. The Battle over Patents gets it right. Bringing together thoroughly researched essays from prominent historians and social scientists, this volume traces the long and contentious history of patents and examines how they have worked in practice. Editors Stephen H. Haber and Naomi R. Lamoreaux show that patent systems are the result of contending interests at different points in production chains battling over economic surplus. The larger the potential surplus, the more extreme are the efforts of contending parties-now and in the past-to search out, generate, and exploit any and all sources of friction. Patent systems, as human creations, are therefore necessarily ridden with imperfections. This volume explores these shortcomings and explains why, despite all the debate, historically US-style patent systems still dominate all other methods of encouraging inventive activity.

It seems incredible that a mere 33 years separates the maiden flights of the Barnes Wallis-designed R.100 airship from the beautiful VC10 airliner. It is also remarkable that, in 2013, the latter is still in service, albeit in dwindling numbers, but still representing a company that was formed 102 years ago! Although the VC10 was prefixed with BAC by the time of its entry into service, the aircraft represents the rapid rise of Vickers, which actually embarked on its first aeronautical project in 1908, before establishing an official aviation department in 1911. Vickers produced over 70 different types of aircraft during a 49-year period, not including a host of sub-variants, the Wellington, for example, having 19 alone. Not all were successful, but every one contributed, however small, another nugget of experience, which was either ploughed into the next aircraft or stored away for the future. An ability to think outside the box', was another of Vickers' fortes. A good example of this was not only employing Barnes Wallis, but having such faith in his ideas, which must have seemed quite radical at the time, especially his perseverance and ultimate success with geodetic construction. Wallis had no shortage of critics and many dyed in the wool' employees of Vickers, during the early days, left the company because of his ideas. However, history has shown us that he was right about geodetics, and like Hawker with its Hurricane and Supermarine with its Spitfire, only God knows what the RAF would have done without the Wellington at the beginning of the Second World War. This book gives readers an insight into the aircraft produced by Vickers, as well as a history of the aircraft company itself.

Eine Ausbildung zum Beruf ist meist die Grundvoraussetzung fur eine erfolgreiche Berufsbiografie. Fur Jugendliche werden jedoch auch oft Ausbildungsangebote geschaffen, die sich zwar an Berufskriterien orientieren, jedoch nicht immer zu gesellschaftlich anerkannten Berufsabschlussen fuhren. Unter anderem werden zeitlich verkurzte Formen der Berufsausbildung entwickelt, um bestimmten Zielgruppen den Berufseinstieg zu erleichtern oder Beschaftigungsfelder mit geringeren Qualifikationsanforderungen zu erschliessen. Der Band stellt empirische Untersuchungen und theoretische Diskussionen aus Deutschland, OEsterreich und der Schweiz zu verkurzten Berufsausbildungen vor, um Wirkungen und Effekte der Konzeptionen zu erschliessen und zu bewerten. Die Buchbeitrage gehen insbesondere der Frage nach, welche Formen der Berufsausbildung als Ausbildung zum Beruf angesehen werden koennen.

In this richly detailed and eye-opening book, Rick Wartzman chronicles the erosion of the relationship between American companies and their workers. Through the stories of four major employers--General Motors, General Electric, Kodak, and Coca-Cola--he shows how big businesses once took responsibility for providing their workers and retirees with an array of social benefits. At the height of the post-World War II economy, these companies also believed that worker pay needed to be kept high in order to preserve morale and keep the economy humming. Productivity boomed. But the corporate social contract didn't last. By tracing the ups and downs of these four corporate icons over seventy years, Wartzman illustrates just how much has been lost: job security and steadily rising pay, guaranteed pensions, robust health benefits, and much more. Charting the Golden Age of the '50s and '60s; the turbulent years of the '70s and '80s; and the growth of downsizing, outsourcing, and instability in the modern era, Wartzman's narrative is a biography of the American Dream gone sideways. Deeply researched and compelling, The End of Loyalty will make you rethink how Americans can begin to resurrect the middle class.

Soon to be an Apple TV+ documentary series One of Billboard's 100 Greatest Music Books of All Time Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize, and the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year A New York Times Editors' Choice ONE OF THE YEAR'S BEST BOOKS: The Washington Post * The Financial Times * Slate * The Atlantic * Time * Forbes "[How Music Got Free] has the clear writing and brisk reportorial acumen of a Michael Lewis book."-Dwight Garner, The New York Times What happens when an entire generation commits the same crime? How Music Got Free is a riveting story of obsession, music, crime, and money, featuring visionaries and criminals, moguls and tech-savvy teenagers. It's about the greatest pirate in history, the most powerful executive in the music business, a revolutionary invention and an illegal website four times the size of the iTunes Music Store. Journalist Stephen Witt traces the secret history of digital music piracy, from the German audio engineers who invented the mp3, to a North Carolina compact-disc manufacturing plant where factory worker Dell Glover leaked nearly two thousand albums over the course of a decade, to the high-rises of midtown Manhattan where music executive Doug Morris cornered the global market on rap, and, finally, into the darkest recesses of the Internet. Through these interwoven narratives, Witt has written a thrilling book that depicts the moment in history when ordinary life became forever entwined with the world online-when, suddenly, all the music ever recorded was available for free. In the page-turning tradition of writers like Michael Lewis and Lawrence Wright, Witt's deeply reported first book introduces the unforgettable characters-inventors, executives, factory workers, and smugglers-who revolutionized an entire artform, and reveals for the first time the secret underworld of media pirates that transformed our digital lives. An irresistible never-before-told story of greed, cunning, genius, and deceit, How Music Got Free isn't just a story of the music industry-it's a must-read history of the Internet itself.

First published in 1981, this edited collection reviews the operations of state-owned enterprises, examining the actual performance of such organisations in the advanced industrialised countries. The authors consider the regularities and characteristics of state-owned enterprises, in particular the persistent efforts of managers to increase their autonomy and escape from the oversight of government agencies and the public. Chapters consider principles of finance and decision-making in these organisations and provide a truly international perspective with case studies in Italy, France and Britain. This is a timely reissue in context of the current economic climate, which will be of great value to students and academics with an interest in the nationalisation of companies, international business and the relationship between governments and managers.

Mit Beginn der Wirtschafts- und Bankenkrise im Jahre 2007 wurde die Organ- und Managerhaftung zu einem zentralen aktienrechtlichen Thema. Seit der Krise ist das Rechtsinstitut des besonderen Vertreters gemass 147 AktG von zentraler Bedeutung. Der besondere Vertreter kann unter den Voraussetzungen des 147 AktG von den Aktionaren eingesetzt werden und kann Ersatzanspruche der Gesellschaft anstelle von Vorstand und Aufsichtsrat geltend machen. Auch kann er diese Forderungen gegenuber Vorstand und Aufsichtrat geltend machen. Das Buch untersucht und bewertet die Entwicklung des besonderen Vertreters, definiert seine Rechte und Pflichten sowie seine rechtliche Stellung im Lichte der wichtigsten Rechtsprechung. Auch werden Verbesserungs- und Reformvorschlage im Zusammenhang mit dem Rechtsinstitut vorgestellt.

The book is about the history of Natuzzi, Italy's largest furniture house. Founded back in 1959 by Pasquale Natuzzi - current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer - in a small village in the South of Italy, Natuzzi is today among the largest players in its sector, with seven manufacturing plants, twelve commercial offices and more than 1200 points of sale worldwide. This book tracks the history of the company, using stories and anecdotes collected through interviews and reading the house organ magazine and the press releases since 1990. The beauty of the company's history lies in putting its social ethical mission at its heart since the beginning while still adopting industrial techniques.

Founded in 1987 by a former engineer in China's People's Liberation Army (Ren Zhengfei), Huawei Technologies is today the world's largest telecoms equipment manufacturer and second behind Apple in smartphones. Its emergence into a multinational with over 175,000 employees all around the world is nothing short of extraordinary. This book gets to the heart of the pioneers within Huawei - the individuals who blazed a trail through unexplored and undeveloped territories, that enabled Huawei to expand globally in such impressive terms. Their personal stories tell us about the extraordinary commitment, determination, and ability required for companies to establish new ground in some of the most difficult parts of the world. This unconventional form of heroism remains a central part of Huawei's culture and makes it stand out in today's business world.

Das Buch "Marketing fur Handelsmarken. Leitfaden fur erfolgreiche Handelsmarkenentwicklung im Lebensmitteleinzelhandel" von Joachim Hurth und Hermann Sievers gibt den aktuellen Stand der Handelsmarkenforschung im deutschen Handel wieder. Die Autoren gehen nach den Grundlagen der Handelsmarkenpolitik auf die Marktbedeutung und auf die Perspektiven von Handel, Hersteller und Konsument ein. Die Konzepte, die von den Akteuren angewendet werden, bilden einen weiteren Schwerpunkt des Buches. Dabei geht es um vorhandene Marketing- und Markenkonzepte und um die Instrumente, mit denen man die Konzepte beurteilen kann. Den Schluss des Buches bildet ein Ausblick auf die kunftige Entwicklung der Handelsmarken.

A corporate history of the innovative Benetton Holding Company, Edizione follows the early days of the family-owned brand, through governance and structure changes, mass distribution, infrastructure and network growth, to wider views for the future. In the late 1980s, as a world-class, multi-national and family-run business, the Benetton brand was considered a symbol of Italian entrepreneurial creativity. While at the height of its success, the Benetton family set in motion a process of diversifying its core business, developing its interests in large-scale distribution, infrastructure and the real estate sector. This strategy was made possible by the creation of an independent family-management system: Edizione Srl, today one of Europe's major holding companies. Edizione Srl has investments in many sectors, ranging from motorway and airport catering, infrastructure and mobility, to real estate and agricultural services. 'A shining example of solid, innovative business.' - Ferruccio de Bortoli

Die Arbeit beschaftigt sich mit der Frage, unter welchen Voraussetzungen ein Bieter, der die UEbernahme eines anderen Unternehmens angekundigt oder gar schon ein konkretes UEbernahmeangebot abgegeben hat, sich von den dadurch ausgeloesten Rechtsfolgen wieder befreien kann, etwa mittels Widerrufs, Anfechtung oder Rucktritts. Das WpUEG beantwortet diese Frage nur dahingehend, dass der Bieter das Angebot jedenfalls nicht unter eine Bedingung stellen darf, deren Eintritt er selbst herbeifuhren kann. Ob sich der Bieter von etwaigen, durch die blosse Ankundigung des Angebots ausgeloesten Rechtsfolgen wieder befreien kann, lasst das Gesetz sogar ganzlich offen. Neben der aus wissenschaftlicher Sicht notwendigen dogmatischen Analyse hat die Klarung der aufgeworfenen Fragestellungen auch eine erhebliche Relevanz fur die Praxis. Denn mangels eindeutiger Rechtslage und hoechstrichterlicher Rechtsprechung besteht insoweit eine kaum zumutbare Rechtsunsicherheit, die vor allem fur den Bieter auch erhebliche finanzielle Risiken in sich birgt.

MG was a home-grown concept that became an international success, bringing the small market town of Abingdon onto the global map. MG - Made in Abingdon recounts the inside story of the famous factory, recognising that the most important aspect of MG's success was its team - the tea-boys and girls, the shop floor workers, the engineers and racers, the apprentices and management. From memories of the production line to recollections of racing incidents, the untold story of MG from the men and women who worked in the Abingdon factory is revealed for the first time in a book that is both nostalgic and historically important.

Der Autor untersucht den Problemkreis der Liquiditatszusage in Abgrenzung zu anderen Kreditsicherungsmitteln, insbesondere zur Patronatserklarung. Es wird der Frage nachgegangen, ob und wie eine einmal erteilte Zusage wieder ruckgangig gemacht werden kann und inwieweit dies von der wirtschaftlichen Situation der unterstutzten Gesellschaft abhangig ist. Den Abschluss bildet die Untersuchung des rechtlichen Schicksals der Zusage im Falle der Insolvenz der Gesellschaft. Dieser Problemkreis ist nicht zuletzt durch die jungst ergangene "Sportgate-Entscheidung" des BGH in den Fokus der OEffentlichkeit geruckt.

Dieses Buch wendet sich gleichermassen an Studierende und Praktiker der Betriebs- und Volkswirtschaft, der Wirtschaftsinformatik sowie an Wirtschaftsingenieure in allen Studienformen. Die Inhalte orientieren sich an der Nutzung mathematischer Sachverhalte und Methoden in den modernen Wirtschaftswissenschaften. In den Beispielen wird bewusst die breite Palette der praktischen Anwendungsfalle bedient. Die zahlreichen Bilder erleichtern den Zugang zu den mathematischen Modellen in der Wirtschaft. Der Abschnitt UEbungsaufgaben am Ende des Buches gibt dem Leser die Moeglichkeit, die erlernten Kenntnisse und Fertigkeiten zur Loesung von mathematisch-oekonomischen Modellen zu kontrollieren und zu festigen.

Gentlemen Bankers investigates the social and economic circles of one of America's most renowned and influential financiers to uncover how the Morgan family's power and prestige stemmed from its unique position within a network of local and international relationships. At the turn of the twentieth century, private banking was a personal enterprise in which business relationships were a statement of identity and reputation. In an era when ethnic and religious differences were pronounced and anti-Semitism was prevalent, Anglo-American and German-Jewish elite bankers lived in their respective cordoned communities, seldom interacting with one another outside the business realm. Ironically, the tacit agreement to maintain separate social spheres made it easier to cooperate in purely financial matters on Wall Street. But as Susie Pak demonstrates, the Morgans' exceptional relationship with the German-Jewish investment bank Kuhn, Loeb & Co., their strongest competitor and also an important collaborator, was entangled in ways that went far beyond the pursuit of mutual profitability. Delving into the archives of many Morgan partners and legacies, Gentlemen Bankers draws on never-before published letters and testimony to tell a closely focused story of how economic and political interests intersected with personal rivalries and friendships among the Wall Street aristocracy during the first half of the twentieth century.

In 1998, and following 17 years in the army, Jianlin Wang formed a property company in the north-eastern Chinese city of Dalian using a loan of $80,000. Today, Dalian Wanda is China's largest private property developer, generating revenues of $40 billion globally, and owning some 9-million square metres of investment property. In 2012, Wanda became the world's largest theatre owner when it acquired AMC Theatres, with a view to becoming a global entertainment colossus. Wang himself has become Asia's richest man. This book, by its founder and Chairman, provides unprecedented insight into the ethos and activities that have created the extraordinary business success that is the Wanda empire. Wang describes his managerial philosophy and the essence of his business ideas to "make Wanda a brand like Walmart or IBM or Google - a brand known by everyone in the world", and that led The Economist to call him "a man of Napoleonic ambition". As China's influence in the world economy grows led by companies such as Wanda, this book is both timely and relevant.

This book focuses on the business story of Walt Disney and the company he built. Combining a unique blend of entrepreneurship, creativity, innovation, and a relentless drive to bring out the best in his teams, Walt Disney created one of the most successful ventures in business history. Outlining the specific processes of the company, Goldsby and Mathews provide the reader with the tools they need to embrace their own entrepreneurial leadership style, to lead effectively, to be more innovative, and to build a successful organization. Through the lens of Disney, the reader learns the fundamentals of entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership. Beginning with a general introduction to the concepts relevant to the entrepreneurial organization today, the book examines how Disney built his empire and how the company remains an industry leader. The book also provides the opportunity to take the Entrepreneurial Leadership Instrument, which measures one's style in leading entrepreneurial ventures. The book is divided into two parts: * Part I provides an overview of Disney's entrepreneurial journey, including the topics of vision, risk-taking, financing, and human resource management; * Part II examines the company's transition from a family business into a global operation, including topics such as succession planning and strategy. Part II also explores Disney Parks and Resorts, the part of the company that interacts directly with customers, including topics such as culture, employee engagement, customer service, and customer experience. Entrepreneurship the Disney Way brings entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership to life through the compelling story of one of the most recognizable businessmen and companies of our time. The authors' interviews with high-level executives provides the reader with a rare inside look into the way his company functions. Disney fans, executives, and students of entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership will find it a delightful and informing read.

Thirty years ago when Sir Richard Branson called up Boeing and asked if they had a spare 747, few would have predicted the brash entrepreneur would so radically transform the placid business of air travel. But today, Branson flies airlines on six continents, employs hundreds of jets and, in 2014, was predicting that his spaceship company - Virgin Galactic - would soon open the space frontier to commercial astronauts, payload specialists, scientists and space tourists. With more than 600 seats sold at $250,000 each, what started off as a dream to send people just for the excitement to look back and marvel at Earth, was on the cusp of finally being turned into a business. Then, on October 21, 2014, tragedy struck. SpaceShipTwo was on its most ambitious test flight to date. Seconds after firing its engine, Virgin Galactic's spaceship was breaking through the sound barrier. In just the three seconds that it took for the vehicle to climb from Mach 0.94 to Mach 1.02, co-pilot Mike Alsbury made what many close to the event believe was a fatal mistake that led to his death and the disintegration of SpaceShipTwo. Miraculously, the pilot, Peter Siebold, survived the 16-km fall back to Earth. Soon after the event Branson vowed to continue his space tourism venture in spite of this. Already a second SpaceShipTwo is being built, and ticket-holders eagerly await the day when Virgin Galactic offers quick, routine and affordable access to the edge of space. This book explains the hurdles Virgin Galactic had and still has to overcome en route to developing suborbital space travel as a profitable economic entity, and describes the missions that will be flown on board SpaceShipTwo Mk II, including high-altitude science studies, astronomy, life sciences, and microgravity physics.

Das Schriftformgebot des 550 BGB war seit jeher ein Schlupfloch fur die Vertragsreue. Sowohl Mieter wie auch Vermieter befurchten in der Praxis regelmassig die Entfristung ihrer langfristigen Mietvertrage. Nachdem der Bundesgerichtshof die Schriftformheilungsklausel 2017 fur unwirksam erklart hat, herrscht Ratlosigkeit, wie dem Missbrauch des Formgebots in Zukunft begegnet werden kann. Dies ist der Anlass, aus dem sich die Autorin mit der Wirksamkeit der Schriftformheilungsklausel und vor allem den Konsequenzen ihrer Ungultigkeit beschaftigt. Sie untersucht, ob und wie der Formzwang durchbrochen werden kann und gibt in diesem Zusammenhang eine Gestaltungsempfehlung ab. De lege lata sieht die Autorin die einzige effektive Moeglichkeit in der Vereinbarung einer konkreten Schriftformheilungsklausel. De lege ferenda empfiehlt sie die UEberarbeitung des Gesetzes und postuliert insofern einen eigenen Reformvorschlag.

For almost a hundred years from the 1860s, the City of London's overseas banks financed the global trade that lay at the core of the British Empire. Foremost among them from the beginning were two start-up ventures: the Standard Bank of South Africa, which soon developed a powerful domestic franchise at the Cape, and the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China. This book traces their stories in the nineteenth century, their glory days before 1914 - and their remarkable survival in the face of global wars and the collapse of world trade in the first half of the twentieth century. The unravelling of the Empire after 1945 eventually forced Britain's overseas banks to confront a different future. The Standard and the Chartered, alarmed at the expansion of American banking, determined in 1969 on a merger as a way of sustaining the best of the City's overseas traditions. But from the start, Standard Chartered had to grapple with the fading fortunes of its own inherited franchise - badly dented in both Asia and Africa - and with radical changes in the nature of banking. Its British managers, steeped in the past, proved ill-suited to the challenge. By the late 1980s, efforts to expand in Europe and the USA had brought the merged Group to the brink of collapse. Yet it survived - and then pulled off a dramatic recovery. Standard Chartered realigned itself, just in time, with the phenomenal growth of Asia's 'emerging markets', many of them in countries where the Chartered had flourished a century earlier. In the process, the Group was transformed. Trebling its workforce, it brushed aside the global financial crisis of 2008 and by 2012 could look back on a decade of astonishing growth. Recent times have added an eventful postscript to a long and absorbing history. Crossing Continents recounts Standard Chartered's story with a wealth of detail from one of the richest archives available to any commercial bank. The book also affords a rare and compelling perspective on the evolution of international trade and finance, showing how Britain's commercial influence has actually worked in practice around the world over one hundred and fifty years.

This account of Swissair's day-by-day history will serve as the basis of any future exploration of Switzerland's former national carrier, from its founding right up to the grounding of the fleet and ultimate demise of the company. Documented here is every significant corporate decision, along with previously little-known background information, a comprehensive overview of operational incidents, the airline's route network over seven decades, the countries Swissair served and types of aircraft it operated. In short, this book covers everything that made the legendary airline distinctive, in unprecedented scope. This new standard reference work records in precise detail and in easily comprehensible English both the history of civil aviation in Switzerland and the qualities that Swissair deemed important over its 70 years in existence. Rather than judge or assign blame, this book sticks strictly to the facts and figures that reflect the dedication of Swissair employees - from those in the cockpit and the cabin to those in marketing and technical services, both at home and abroad - to "their" airline, from the very early days right up until the final flight by a Swissair aircraft. In the process, the book injects new life into one of the most exciting chapters in the history of Swiss commerce.

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE WEEK BY THE NEW YORK POST ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIOBOOK A from-the-trenches view of New York Daily News and New York Post runners and photographers as they stop at nothing to break the story and squash their tabloid arch-rivals. When author Mike Jaccarino was offered a job at the Daily News in 2006, he was asked a single question: "Kid, what are you going to do to help us beat the Post?" That was the year things went sideways at the News, when the New York Post surpassed its nemesis in circulation for the first time in the history of both papers. Tasked with one job-crush the Post-Jaccarino here provides the behind-the-scenes story of how the runners and shooters on both sides would do anything and everything to get the scoop before their opponents. The New York Daily News and the New York Post have long been the Hatfields and McCoys of American media: two warring tabloids in a town big enough for only one of them. As digital news rendered print journalism obsolete, the fight to survive in NYC became an epic, Darwinian battle. In America's Last Great Newspaper War, Jaccarino exposes the untold story of this tabloid death match of such ferocity and obsession its like has not occurred since Pulitzer- Hearst. Told through the eyes of hungry "runners" (field reporters) and "shooters" (photographers) who would employ phony police lights to overcome traffic, Mike Jaccarino's memoir unmasks the do-whatever-it-takes era of reporting-where the ends justified the means and nothing was off-limits. His no-holds-barred account describes sneaking into hospitals, months-long stakeouts, infiltrating John Gotti's crypt, bidding wars for scoops, high-speed car chases with Hillary Clinton, O.J. Simpson, and the baby mama of a philandering congressman-all to get that coveted front-page story. Today, few runners and shooters remain on the street. Their age and exploits are as bygone as the News-Post war and American newspapers, generally. Where armies once battled, often no one is covering the story at all. Funding for this book was provided by: Furthermore: a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund