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Ohio State Business Law Journal

Most Recent Print Issues
2021
Volume 15, Issues 1 and 2
Article
Rado Bohinc and Jeff Schwartz
Social Enterprise Law: A Theoretical and Comparative Perspective

The traditional US conception of business entities is that they exist to 
earn profits for their equity owners. Well-developed legal doctrines support this corporate purpose. But emergent companies seek to earn profits while pursuing a social mission One of the many examples is 4ocean, which sells bracelets made from recycled materials and uses a portion of the profits to remove one pound of ocean plastic pollution for every bracelet sold . . . 

Article
Stewart L. Brown and Steven Pomerantz
Mutual Fund Advisory Fees: Sponsors Game The System as Watchdogs Slumber

Mutual funds are captives of the investment management firms, also known as fund sponsors, that bring them into existence and provide for their day-to-day operations. Because fund sponsors exercise complete control over the operations of their funds, the possibility arises that a fund sponsor will use its position of control to obtain advisory fees that are greater than those that would have been established by arm’s-length bargaining . . . 

Article
Lawrence A. Cunningham
Cultivating Quality: Time to Revise and Update the Shareholder Cultivation Literature

A robust literature addresses tools that a corporation may use to shape its shareholder base. The motivation for most such research is how to promote long investor time horizons, presumed to be a valuable but rare appetite among many shareholders. While still useful and valuable, this literature requires substantial revision and updating which this Article accomplishes in three ways . . .

Article
Akio Otsuka
ESG Investment and Reforming the Fiduciary Duty

The ESG-based investment is becoming an integral part of financial accounting in the corporate world, fueled by concerns over climate change, oil spills, and corporate misconducts. ESG investment is an umbrella term for an investment strategy that emphasizes the corporate governance structure or the environmental or social impact of a company's products and practices . . . 

Article
Marcelo M. Prates
Money in the Twenty-First Century: From Rusty Coins to Digital Currencies

After the Global Financial Crisis, central banks became identified as banks’ closest allies, rescuing them from failure when things go wrong. Banks, in turn, emerged as complex and unstable institutions that privatize profits and socialize losses, to the despair of taxpayers. And regulation and regulators were seen as incapable of curbing financial excess. The coronavirus pandemic only exacerbated the generally negative sentiment . . . 

 

Article
Hala Abdel-Jaber
The Devil Wears Zara: Why the Lanham Act Must Be Amended in the Era of Fast Fashion

In the age of cameras living in our pockets, it seems as though every moment demands us to be “picture-perfect.” This demanded perfection has greatly benefited the fashion industry, especially the niche industry of “fast fashion.” From t-shirts and shoes to accessories, high-end companies have been known to set the trend for the season, and as of late, fast fashion companies have emerged as the low-budget stepsister . . . 

Article
Joan Colleran
Multiplayer Mode: How Balancing the Rights of Video Game Developers and Intellectual Property Owners Will Lead to Growth of the Video Game Industry

From Pac-Man arcade to Fortnite, video games have been a significant part American pop culture for generations, bringing feelings of nostalgia and thrill to all ages. But what is it that continues to drive America’s love of video games? The revenue produced by the video game industry has surpassed that generated by Hollywood in recent years. In fact, the “most profitable entertainment product of all time,” Grand Theft Auto V, is a video game . . . 

Article
Loni Sammons
Protecting Consumers in an Age of Amazon: Amending the Hague Service Convention to Meet the Needs of the Virtual Consumer

Imagine, someone is listening to their new favorite album when, suddenly, their Bluetooth earbuds stop working. They consider heading to the department store, but quickly remember that they can probably get a better deal, plus free two-day shipping, with their Amazon Prime account. Within minutes they have explored several options and chosen a pair at a bargain price—but just to be careful, they made sure to check for positive reviews . . . 

Article
Wan Q. Zhang
Claims Against Phamaceutical Manufacturers Under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO): Establishing Proximate Causation

The U.S. is a world leader in biopharmaceutical research and development. The biopharmaceutical industry in the U.S. accounts for approximately one third of the global market, making it the largest market in the world. Accordingly, the economic power of the biopharmaceutical industry within the U.S. is significant, and this economic aspect of the industry has generated substantial profits for U.S. pharmaceutical companies . . .