The purpose of this note is to provide a brief non-technical introduction to the field of patents and their commercial implications. The note takes the perspective of the investor (entrepreneur) by describing the process of registering patents, the potential pitfalls and the possible economic benefits of having a patent.

A firm that designed, manufactured and marketed power supplies that received A.C. power as input and provided D.C. power as output was anticipating rapid growth and faced two alternatives: sell the firm now or continue to operate the firm with the assistance of mezzanine financing. The firm's shareholders must determine which alternative is likely to be most attractive to current owners. (A related case is available, entitled Xantrex Technology .....more

The owners of the Lakeview Inn want to raise $500,000 in the form of a private placement of equity in order to cover the costs of an expansion program. They require assistance to design the terms of the issue and create an offering memorandum aimed at prospective investors.

The purpose of this technical note is to provide an introductory overview of the legal environment surrounding the private and public placement of security issues.

The owners of Xantrex Technology Inc. are negotiating an injection of equity capital of $3 million. Students are asked to design a deal which is acceptable to both the venture capitalists and the owners. They must also design an appropriate shareholders' agreement. This case should be used in conjunction with Xantrex Technology Inc., case 9A96B051.

When two or more parties establish a relationship or structure a deal, one of the key issues that arises is the nature of the agency relationship between them. This technical note explains the concept of agency, outlines some of the typical agency relationships that exist in businesses, the agency problems that can arise between people and organizations and the tools that are employed to address these agency problems.