What is a “board interlock” among firms? Suppose you have a bipartite network structure with 5 firms and 20 managers. Draw a network that does NOT give way to a board interlock and briefly explain how it works.

Tasks:

1. This task has two parts with equal weights.

a. Using Google Patents database ( patents.google.com ) find a patent that has been filed with the European Patent Office (EPO) after 2000. Show the first page (also known as the cover page) where inventor, assignee, classification etc. information are displayed. (You must add your patent’s cover page as PDF or as screenshot to your coursework, and it MUST be clearly visible and READABLE). Based on the information you see on the cover page, answer the following: How many researchers were involved in the development of this patent? What are their affiliations (which institute or university or firm etc.)? In which countries exactly is this patent protected? What is this patent about (tell me this based on classification codes, not based on what you understand of it).

Extra Credit: Is your patent an environment-related (also called green) patent? Very briefly (in just one sentence) explain how to spot an environment-related patent. (NOTE: There are millions of patents in the EPO register post 2000, so the probability that any two of you picking the same patent by chance is almost zero. You should do your best to avoid picking the same patent as your classmates!).

b. Read the “Reading Material for CW2” that can be found under “Assessments and Support Materials” on this module’s Moodle page. On what grounds was Ed Sheeran taken to the court exactly? Explain this in relation to what we covered about different types of intellectual property rights (IPRs). What is the type of the IPR protection that enables such an action? What does the decision of the court for Ed Sheeran make you think about the implementation of IPRs?

Related to this discussion, there are many other cases that are brought to court within the frame of IPRs. In light of this, why is it, you think, that Seth Wheeler (or his descendants) are not suing major toilet roll companies such as Andrex?

(Hint: Think of the context we learnt about Mr. Seth Wheeler)

2. This task has two parts with equal weights.

a. What is a “board interlock” among firms? Suppose you have a bipartite network structure with 5 firms and 20 managers. Draw a network that does NOT give way to a board interlock and briefly explain how it works.

b. In social media, users with a lot of followers are labeled as influencers and many firms or interest groups aim to collaborate with these individuals to influence large groups of people (this may be simple advertisement or pushing some specific political or social agenda). Thinking of different ways to measure the network centrality, carefully and critically explain why the number of followers may be a misleading guide to identify influencers. Propose a centrality measure (one of those we covered) and briefly -but carefully- explain why this particular centrality measure will be a better one to identify influencers.

3. Mergers can be horizontal or vertical (also called vertical integration) or a mix of both.

Search for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) that can be classified as “vertical integration” or a mix of horizontal merger and vertical integration and took place after 2015. Your task is to briefly present the details of ONE such M&A referring to specific news or reports: Which firms were involved? Explain whether this M&A can be categorized as a vertical or mixed integration. What markets or sectors were targeted by participating firms? Which firm and sector is downstream, which is upstream? Be sure to refer to reliable news sources (e.g., FT, the Economist) or online sources (firms’ websites or research reports) throughout your discussion so that the case that you present can be checked and verified.