Mikes Bikes Marketing Plan Essay

Executive summary: M3p bikes corporation is a bicycle manufacturing company that provides products and services to the local community of Sydney NSW. Our production plant manufactures a variety of bicycles which we sell to customers through a variety of retailers & wholesalers including bike shops, sport shops & discount stores. The main idea of the strategy is to take the middle route in regards to marketing, operations & finance. This way, we would not be lagging in any sector, and thus no other firm can take advantage of us in any sector. By marketing sure we have reputable investments in advertisement, public relations, distribution and etc, we would be able to watch the market and pounce on opportunities that may rise, while not worrying about all of our other sectors of business, that s for the very early rollovers (The introduction of mountain bike). For the next coming years we will be introducing another 2 different types of bikes, Road bike, & youth bike. Each of the 2 bikes will have its own  strategy. Our road bike product strategy will be based on high pricing, lower volume and that for the reason Road bike segment are not sensitive to price as other segments some will pay up to 2500$ for the right bike, all what customers care about in this segment is the Quality of the bike. We will not be focusing too much on advertising since this segment focus more on the advice of a sales assistance, word of mouth & Friends past experience. The youth bike segment product strategy will be based on low price, higher volume. Product has to be durable, but also relatively inexpensive while having the best image on the block. Youth Bike segment is very large, the demand for a product is determined by many factors in addition to the product attributes. These also include a focus on Advertising and distribution. All we want to make sure is that we are not lagging extremely behind in any sector, but at the same time not spread our money out in too many sectors without a focus. While maintaining a small balance, we will spend the majority of our funds in a sector such quality, so that we know that we have a great competitive edge in one area. Thus, we will be able to focus our products, lines of bikes, marketing around that one area to reduce dispersed expense. Over all, our team will do well in the industry. We will be able to maintain high sales and revenue that kept our management and staff motivated. Teamwork and morale in our firm is outstanding and we will be giving shareholders and a customer continues support. Our company is operating in a western capitalist economy with a population of approximately 15 million people. Customers are having high income and want from a particular bike to suit their individual needs. Market is separated into the three sections. The low cost Youth Bike, mid-range Mountain Bike and the high end Road bikes. Due to the very competitive market, government is regulating and prohibiting competition from other countries. Only local manufactures are able to produce, at the beginning just Mountain Bike segment, later on the rest two also. Consumers are not limited to a single market, many of them will be  purchasing multiple bikes, but all of them have specific preferences. Successful company will meet customer’s needs and maximize sales by growing the potential market size as well as taking sales from competitors. Every segment has different expectations most important things are design or style and technical specification. All products are sensitive because of life cycle and therefore needs to be modified through the years. Demand for the product is determined by many factors, like pricing, quality, advertising and distribution.   Consumers are able to choose to buy from three categories of retailers. Bike shops, sports stores and discount stores. Proportion is different for every bike. Every retailer is different with some specifications. Everything has to be combine, all the customers, retailers but also production needs. The better we could deal with this problem, the more successful the M3P bikes could be. Distribution is specific because the number of channels will decide to stock the products or not. It depends on the retail price, margin, unit sales history and also extra support.   Media are also playing very crucial role. There are 3 basic choices to advertising a product and public relations campaigns. There are television, internet and magazines.   Advertising is about raising product awareness level by running advertising campaigns. Every kind of advertising is sensible on different things. More money we are able to afford more multiple media are reach effectively. In the case of public relations, some products are more sensitive and some less. It also very important step to brand advertising. Having high brand awareness makes consumers more aware of company and more likely to buy their product. Maintaining a constant expand of branding is important in a process of gaining a loyal customer. Swot Strengths: – Ability to maintain the middle route – creating a well known international brand. – predict and utilize different advertising tools to create good product awareness. – Very efficient with our product output. – forecast sales extremely accurately – Producing high products on an affordable level – we are revolve around making sure we are not lagging behind in any major sector of our business so that other firms would be able to take advantage of us. Weakness – very high expenses on advertising and promotion, distribution & quality – Limited budgets Opportunities – opportunities lie within the branding bracket – continue to create a brand that is well known for quality and price. – continue to grow rapidly as a competitive force within the cycling industry. – Following the best distribution channels for every bike. – Following the safe side trying our best for not putting any debts, so we keep in control of our expenses for a certain point. Threats – threats come from our main competitors. – must continue to compete with the firms in price, quality & distribution. Vision: M3p bikes are dedicated to providing quality products and services to our valued customers at affordable prices. Mission statement: Provide quality and affordable products, Put customers first, Increase profits, m3p bikes is a manufacturer committed to make FUN affordable for everyone. We are committed to not only the sport of cycling, but the Joy that a long ride bike can bring. We spark healthy living family bonds in our community by having the most affordable prices and ensuring top-notch customer satisfaction. We make certain that everyone who buys one of our cycles also receives a basic safety guide. Above all else we here at m3p bikes believe in good, clean active fun. Values: Focus on customers, Social responsibility, Integrity, Teamwork, Opportunity and issue analysis * Mantain a brand that is well known for quality and price: M3p Bikes has the increasingly developed infrastructure for bicycles. * Rapidly grown as a competitive force within the cycling industry: While the bicycle industry is affected to some degree by the circular nature of the economy, bicycle and accessory sales never fall completely flat since there are many people that ride bikes regardless if it is economic boom or bust. * Competitors: There are another 6 companies competing the market with M3p Bikes. Key of success: * Reliability. * Convenience. * Unbeatable selection of quality. * Outstanding customer service. Critical Issues: M3p Bikes is still in the speculative stages as a start-up organization. The critical issues that it faces are: * The need to take a conservative approach to expansion. Expansion must not occur for the sake of growth in itself, but should occur because the customers will be better served. * Continue to build brand awareness, driving customers to M3p Bikes. * Maintain good relationships with suppliers. Goals & objectives Goals are the milestones by which achievement of the purpose statement are measured. The Goals also represent the vision for the company system in the future. In order to implement the purpose of the M3p Bikes Plan, the following goals are/will be established: 1. Mantain the high quality of sales and services that M3p Bikes is known for. 2. Maintain a financially healthy business and validate the trust and advocacy of other people in support of this business purchase. 3. Develop bicyclist safety Achieve monthly and yearly sales better than the previous year under the former owner. Focus marketing on our high quality to maintain current growth in sales and service revenue. General information about, Segmentation, targeting, strategies & marketing mix: Marketing Strategy * Promotional campaign: M3P Bikes will be visible at the two major industry trade shows. 75% of the retail bicycle shops attend at least one trade show a year. The shows provide retailers an opportunity to view upcoming products and chat with representatives from the companies as well place pre-season orders. This  campaign will also encourage retailers to stock and promote our bikes. We will provide them a small percentage of profit for that. Extra support is useful to achieve short term boost in distribution coverage as our product is new in market. We are offering discounts, brochures, trials to attract customers. Target market Bikes are such kind of transport system that can be used by all kind of people. we got 3 different kinds of bikes. In 1st year we are only focusing on mountain bikes. After 2 or 3 years of our company we are going to launch bikes in the market such as, Road bikes and Youth bikes. We have different target markets for these different kinds of bikes.

Emily: A Case Study in Adolescent Development Essay

Abstract This case study details the developmental milestones of an adolescent girl named Emily. Emily is 12 years old and lives with her mother who is a single parent. According to many theorists and researches, because she is being raised by a single mother, Emily is an at-risk adolescent who may have trouble properly hitting developmental milestones along with her peers. After observing Emily in her natural environment, then spending time interacting with Emily and interviewing her mother Elizabeth, I found that Emily is a typically developing adolescent. Emily has developed before or along with her peers physically, cognitively, and psychosocially. Emily appears to be developing a healthy sense of independence and self concept. Finally, Emily is healthy and appears to be progressing through puberty at a normal rate. Emily: A Case Study In Adolescent Development Emily is a 12-year-old girl. Since birth she has lived with her mother Elizabeth in a small South Carolina town – population 60,000. She was an only child until three years ago when her brother Wade was born. Emily’s mother Elizabeth is a single mother. Emily has never met her own father but had grown close to Wade’s father, her step dad, when he died nine months ago from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Emily’s mother According to Milstead and Perkins (2010), a child’s family is central to their successful development. Their research suggests that children who are raised in non-traditional families are at a disadvantage is all areas of development as well as socioeconomically. This case study will examine typical physical, cognitive, and psychosocial milestone of adolescent children and if 12-year-old Emily has been negatively affected in these areas as a result of her living in a single parent home. LITERATURE REVIEW At 12 years old Emily is entering adolescence. It is during adolescence that puberty begins. The time of adolescence is a time of rapid changes and physical growth in children. Rapid growth occurs in the bones and muscles, changes in body shape and size occur, and sexual maturation begins, essentially ending childhood. Beginning with hormonal changes, including an increase in estrogen and progesterone, girls typically begin experiencing pubescent changes at the approximate age of eight. Soon after, the uterus and vagina begin to grow larger and girls begin to develop breast buds. Around the age of eleven, girls begin to develop pubic hair. Girls can expect their weight and height to increase during this time as well. As girls a girl’s body begins to prepare for menarche, their hips will become wider. The first menstrual period typically occurs around the age of twelve; however, this can happen earlier for some girls and much later for others. Puberty continues through the age of 18 as girls breasts fully develop and their first ovulation occurs (Berger, 2011). In addition to sexual development during puberty, adolescents develop physically as well. A growth spurt occurs during adolescence where nearly every body part grows, most notably at different and uneven rates. According to Berger (2011), the fingers and toes of an adolescent grow longer before the hands and feet. The hands and feet grow longer before the arms and legs, and the arms and legs grow longer before the torso. It is not uncommon for an adolescent’s body to appear unsymmetrical. â€Å"One foot, one breast, or even one ear may grow later than the other,† (Berger, 2011, p. 393). The hormones responsible for puberty and growth spurts in adolescent girls are also responsible for emotional changes. It is not uncommon for girls experiencing these hormone changes to have sudden outbursts of anger, sadness, or even lust. Neurological changes occur as the â€Å"limbic system, responsible for intense fear and excitement from the amygdale, matures before the prefrontal cortex, where planning ahead, emotional regulation, and impulse control occur,† (Berger, 2011, p 400). These neurological changes often lead adolescents to throw caution to the wind, especially in social situations. Adolescents are more likely to act impulsively. Their impulsive behaviors coupled with their increase in hormones and interest in  sexual activities puts adolescents at risk for sexual abuse and early pregnancy (Berger, 2011). During adolescence, physical and hormonal changes aren’t the only changes occurring. Brain maturation also occurs and cognitive growth increases. Adolescent children will experience increased independence, a heightened sense of self-consciousness, the ability to think more abstractly. According to Swiss developmental psychologist and philosopher, Jean Piaget, adolescents develop the ability to use abstract logic, in contrast to children in early and middle childhood who primarily only have the ability to think in concrete terms (Goncu, & Abel, 2011). In addition, during adolescence, identity struggles often begin. Developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst, Erik Erickson, described this stage of development as identity versus role confusion. According to Erickson, an adolescent’s mission during this state is to unearth who they are as individuals, apart from their families and as members of society at large. Futile navigation of this stage, according to Erickson, results in role confusion and upheaval. Adolescents develop a sense of personal identity through many avenues including religion, politics, natural abilities, and gender. Merging childhood events, social ideals, and their distinctive ambitions, identity is developed. However, according to Erickson, adolescents seldom reach identity and role confusion is more probable (Boddington, 2009). OBSERVATION AND INTERACTION Emily is attending a birthday party for one of her peers at school. The party is being held at a local church, in the church’s social hall. According to Emily’s mother this is not the first birthday party that Emily had attended where both boys and girls are present; however, it is the first co-ed party that she has attended since she began showing an interest in boys. Most of the girls are wearing dresses and shoes with modest heels; their hair perfectly tended to with hints of gloss on their lips and blush on their cheeks. Emily wears blue jeans, a blue and white stripped long sleeved shirt and boat shoes. Her normal blond curls have been flattened with a straightening iron, according to her mother. Emily likes her hair better  straight and she hates dresses. Emily is tall, standing at 5 feet 6 inches tall. She weighs 150 pounds. Her body is well proportioned and she does not appear to be overweight. Emily has developed breasts and she has the appearance of some acne on her chin and forehead. The overhead fluorescent lights are dimmed in the social hall but the area is lit well with blue, red, and green lights which flash in sync with the music playing over a pair of large speakers. A DJ encourages the 28 eleven and twelve year olds to join the only two boys on the dance floor. The room is divided. Girls stand near a row of metal folding chairs lining a wall. The boys gather near a stage on the far end of the room. Emily’s mother Elizabeth is also attending the party as a chaperone. Elizabeth motions for Emily to come to her three times during a thirty minute period in an effort to encourage Emily to join the others on the dance floor. Each time Emily ignores her mother’s encouragements. The third time Emily’s eyes grow wide and from across the room she mouths the word â€Å"stop† to Elizabeth. Nearly an hour into the party, the girls scream with delight when a popular song begins to play and several rush to the dance floor. Emily rushes to the dance floor with a number of other girls and they begin to dance to the music. Song after song, Emily and her group of friends stay on the dance floor. They stop occasionally to chat with one another but never leave the dance floor. Emily dances and laughs with her female friends for nearly an hour before the group is called to have birthday cake and watch as the birthday girl opens presents. While the children are eating Emily socializes with both her female and male friends. She is particularly friendly with a male named Dawson. The two stand beside one another and talk while their friend opens her birthday presents. She playfully hits him on the arm six times during their exchange. She blushes as he playfully hit her back. Soon the group of adolescents is back on the dance floor for another half hour of dancing before the party is over. This time both the boys and girls are on  the dance floor together. Emily dances alongside both her female and male friends for the remainder of the party. As the party comes to close, Emily hugs each one of her female friends’ goodbye as they leave. When Elizabeth summons Emily to leave the party, Emily shouts out to Dawson, telling him goodbye. On Sunday afternoon, Elizabeth welcomes me to spend time with Emily in the family’s home. Emily’s family lives in a modest three bedroom, two bath house in a popular neighborhood on the North side of town. Their large fenced in back yard is filled with bright colored, plastic play-things belonging to Emily’s younger brother Wade. Emily’s purple Next bicycle leans against a wall in the home’s garage. The bicycle is much too small for her growing stature and Emily readily admits that she hasn’t ridden the bike in at least a year. Nothing else in the yard or garage suggests that a young girl live there but inside the home tells a different story. On the kitchen counter lays a knotted green ribbon with long blonde hairs tangled within the knot. Emily explains that she wore the ribbon on St. Patrick’s Day this year because she had no other green in her wardrobe. Lying on the family couch is a blue and purple fleece blanket and a fuzzy heart -shaped fuchsia pillow donning the words â€Å"Drama Queen.† It’s Emily’s favorite pillow. The floor in the living area is scattered with green toy tractors and an incomplete train set. Leaving the living area and entering the long narrow hallway, Emily’s bedroom is the first room on the left. Her doorway stands open but a handmade foam door hanger hangs from the door knob reading â€Å"Do Not Enter.† Emily’s room is pink and while with accents of black and grey. Her hot pink sheets peek out from under the wrinkled black and white polka dot comforter on her bed. Her bedroom walls are adorned with pictures of her favorite singers, Cody Simpson and Selena Gomez. A large bean bag chair takes up much of the floor space in her bedroom. A large bookcase runs nearly the length of one wall while a keyboard and microphone stand sit against the opposite wall. Emily loves to sing and often spends a great deal of her time singing along with her favorite musicians on her karaoke machine. A framed piece of child-drawn art hangs to the right of her bed. Emily says she completed the work in third grade. It depicts a boy who is seemingly stuck inside of a glass bottom room. Emily explains the technique  she used is called foreshadowing. When asked if it has an underlying leans, Emily whips her hair and nonchalantly replies that it does not. Emily is welcoming and excited to show off her space and her things, including her three dance trophies and her second place youth photography ribbon she won at last year’s South Carolina Festival of Flowers. Emily is creative and has an artistic side through her love of music, photography, drawing and painting, and dance. I inquire more about Emily’s art work and she pulls from her closet several pieces of art work sandwiched between two pieces of cardboard. She carefully pulls out several pieces of art and tells me how old she was when she completed it. Before we can finish, Emily’s phone alerts her that she has a text message. For the next 15 minutes Emily sends and receives text messages from her cell phone. She tells me that she is discussing an upcoming school trip to Philadelphia with her friend Jenny. They are discussing room arrangements. After texting with Jenny, Emily shows me information she has printed from the internet pertaining to her trip to Philadelphia. Emily says she is excited about the trip as she has never been away from home for more than two or three days at a time. She will be in Philadelphia for six days. Emily says she cannot wait to go and excitedly explains how she will be staying in a hotel room with three of her female friends, without an adult. Emily explains that the girls will stay on the third floor of the hotel while the boys will stay on the second floor. Emily receives another text message just as I am leaving. She says goodbye without looking up from her cell phone. INTERVIEW Elizabeth is a thirty-two year old mother of two. She gave birth to Emily at the age of nineteen. Emily was born December 10, 1999 by cesarean section after a full term pregnancy. Emily’s mother Elizabeth reports no prenatal problems and no complications during labor. At birth Emily weighed seven pounds and eleven ounces. She was twenty one inches long. According to the Centers for Disease Control (2000) Emily’s weight put her in the thirty sixth percentile for newborns and her height put her in the ninety third percentile for newborns. As an infant, Emily was breast fed for seven months, according to Elizabeth. Elizabeth explains that as an infant, a  toddler, and a young child, Emily hit all of her developmental milestones early, including puberty which began for Emily around age nine. Emily’s father is not active in Elizabeth and Emily’s lives. Emily has never met her father. Elizabeth explains that Emily’s father attended college with her. They were casually dating when Elizabeth became pregnant. Emily’s father did not want anything to do with Elizabeth after she told him she was pregnant. After finding out that she was pregnant, Elizabeth quit school until she gave birth to Emily then quickly returned to finish her degree. Elizabeth obtained a four year degree in marketing from a local college when Emily was three. She now works for a major hotel chain as their director of communications. Elizabeth earns $43,000 annually. She has no other income. Elizabeth grew up in the Catholic Church but left the church as a teen. Today she is a member of a local Presbyterian church. Elizabeth considers herself an authoritative parent. She says that while she has great deal of expectations for her children, she also has a close and warm relationship with each of them. She says her relationship with Emily has become closer since Emily has begun middle school. Elizabeth believes that it is most important that her children trust her. She explains that she wants her children to feel as if they can talk to her about anything. Elizabeth expects Emily to perform well in school and says Emily has not ever been in trouble at school because Elizabeth does not tolerate disobedience, especially in school. Elizabeth believes she holds the three traits that she says make a great parent: she commands respect; she works constantly to ensure good communication with her children so that they trust her, and she has clear expectations of her children. Elizabeth says that if she were to give new parents three pieces of advice she would impress upon them how quickly time passes. â€Å"Enjoy every minute, and don’t take one second for granted,† she says. Elizabeth says she would also tell new parents to make sure they make time for themselves. Finally, Elizabeth says she would tell them to be honest with their children. â€Å"Share your life experiences with them. Tell them the things you did right and the things you did wrong. Tell them about the lessons you’ve learned. Children learn to respect you and trust you in that sense.† FINDINGS Emily is nine months shy of her thirteenth birthday. Emily is five feet, six inches tall. She weighs one hundred and fifty pounds. According to the Centers for Disease Control (2000), Emily’s height is greater than the ninety seventh percentile for height. Emily is at the ninety seventh percentile for weight. Although Emily is taller and heavier than more than ninety five percent of her peers, according to her mother, Emily has hit developmental milestones earlier than her peers since she was an infant. Furthermore, Emily is currently experiencing puberty, an expected occurrence at her age. She has developed breasts and she has had her first menstrual period. Emily is not sexually active, according to her mother and therefore she is currently not at risk for early pregnancy. Cognitively, Emily is progressing as a typical 12 year old girl. She displays eagerness to establish a sense of independence from her mother with her upcoming school trip to Philadelphia. She looks forward to being away from her mother, and proving to both her mother and herself that she is maturing in the ability to make her own choices. Emily’s cognitive development is also apparent in the choices she made when dressing and styling her hair for the birthday party she attended. Emily’s mother explained that Emily used a straightening iron on her hair because she was not fond of her naturally curly hair. This demonstrates that Emily has developed a sense of self-consciousness. Lastly, Emily’s psychosocial development is apparent in that Emily is working to develop her own identity. Although Emily’s friends wore dresses to the birthday party, Emily opted for blue jeans and boat shoes. Emily chose to wear what she was comfortable wearing instead of what social norms would have her wear. In addition, Emily knows what she loves. She immerses herself in her art, her music, and her photography. While her friends are participating in sports and trying out for cheerleading, Emily is comfortable in her own vocation and does not seem eager to change. SUMMARY Emily is a typically developing 12 year old girl. It does not appear that her physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development has been negatively affected by her growing up in a single parent home. While Emily’s development is far from over, for now she appears to be progressing well, and developing into a healthy, secure and socially responsible young woman. REFERENCES Berger, K. (2011). The Developing Person Through the Life Span, eighth ed. New York, NY: Worth Publishers. Boddington, E. N. (2009). _Cognitive Process of Development in Children_. Online Submission. Goncu, A., & Abel, B. (2011). The child’s conception of the world: A 20th-century classic of child psychology, Second Edition. Edited by Jean Piaget, Forward by Jacques Voneche. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc, Lanham, MD, 2007. pp. 432. Price:  £19.99, â‚ ¬31.48†¦ Infant & Child Development, 20(2), 246-248. doi:10.1002/icd.719 Milstead, K., & Perkins, G. (2010). Family Structure Characteristics and Academic Success: Supporting the Work of School Counselors. Academic Leadership (15337812), 8(4), 19. National Center for Desease Control and Prevention (May 30, 2000). CDC growth charts. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/data/set1clinical/cj41c022.pdf.

Analytical Report on a Marketing Communications Approach Assignment

Analytical Report on a Marketing Communications Approach - Assignment Example The second option seemed more favorable to Samsung because it is most profitable and because of the trend that is presently associated with mobile phones as more people differentiate themselves by the type of mobile phones they use ("Adweek." Adweek. N.p., n.d.) The success of Samsung Galaxy S3 required a well-balanced market mix. Any electronic device requires calculated marketing mix ingredients; otherwise the product might be too good for its value or not good at all (Fill, 2011, pg 23-26). Samsung Galaxy S3 required a good marketing mix for it to attain the anticipated success during the final sale of the product ("Adweek." Adweek. N.P., n.d.) This paper will discuss Samsung Galaxy S3 marketing mix as depicted from the ad and further discuss the implication of the four P’s of Samsung Galaxy S3 marketing mix and show the relations of Samsung’s products marketing mix. The launch of Samsung Galaxy S3 came at the right time when people were waiting for a smart phone tha t could provide more than what other mobile phones were providing, with its functionality surpassing customer expectations. The current Samsung’s image is that it provides reliable phones, however, Samsung Galaxy S3 was initially perceived as a phone like any other. The difficulty faced by customers is that they did not know that Samsung had introduced a phone with Samsung Galaxy S3 capabilities. The main strategy of overcoming the marketing communication barrier was for Samsung to create a stronger image for Samsung Galaxy S3, by creating public awareness, and putting Samsung Galaxy S3 at the top of consumers’ minds in the target group, with the objective being achievable through marketing communication (Laudon & Traver, 2010, pg 45-50). For Samsung to implement this marketing plan in their Samsung Galaxy S3 product, and achieve the objective, Samsung had to place the Samsung Galaxy S3’s price at a mid range of the market, with the gadget’s price being s lightly lower than that of its competitors. This clearly showed that Samsung aimed at selling Galaxy S3 to young people within the market segment. MARKET MIX According to the ad, the new Samsung Galaxy S3 had the following specifications; concerning networks the gadget had the capability of running 3G (HSPDA/CDMA), 4G (LTE/HSPA+) and Edge/2G (GSM/GPRS) using Android operating system version 4.1. The product used TouchWiz user interface and retailed at a price of $99 with contract and $549 without contract (Stuart, www.cim.co.uk). The Samsung’s software featured in Galaxy S3 aimed at impressing users with several great displays, though most of them suffered from poor executions; however, a customer can still skip the complicated part of the software and enjoy the hardware. With the Galaxy S3, Samsung managed to offer top-line performance with the product being more capable than any other phone (Gay & Charlesworth, 2007). With a great phone, a question at hand would have been t he right marketing formula for the Galaxy S3 (Strauss & Frost, 2011, pg 67-70). The marketing formula is like a recipe, that much for A and that much for B and in the end is a combination that tells a success story or a complete failure of a product, the combination constitutes a marketing mix. Prior to developing Galaxy S3, the company needed to consider the quality of the product required, in order to determine

"Financing, Valuation, and Rating Agencies" Coursework

"Financing, Valuation, and Rating Agencies" - Coursework Example Equity financing involves the sale of ownership right to interested partners. The money raised through equity financing is much higher than any other form of funding and is not limited or regulated (Williams, 2012). Investors can pump in money that the convenience store can overcome startup hurdles and grow in a very short period. The money contributed by investors is not returnable; thus the store will run till it breaks even so as to start the cash recovery. Shareholders bring along valuable skills and information to the convenience store. It is easier to achieve a target when different people are working towards the goal than when alone (Chandra, 2010). There are high expectations of success and responsibility as compared to debt financing. Capital raised from debt financing is limited and returnable. Expectations are low for debt financing as compared to equity funding, and collateral may limit finance required. Convenience stores are excellent avenues for revenue generation. Capital required is high as the risk of running it also stands high. With equity financing, enough money can be raised to steer off high growth and develop a consumer-oriented

The English Legal System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The English Legal System - Essay Example The UK parliament is the sovereign authority of legislation i.e. is responsible for the creation of Acts of Parliament. Before enactment, an Act is referred to as a Bill, both Houses of Parliament have to consider Bills and finally receive the Royal Assent. The most importantly is delegated legislation that is considered as a source of law.The next source of law is case law, the effective creation and refinement of law during judicial decisions: The judiciary main function is interpreting the actual meaning of legislation providing it with further creativity. The final source of law is custom. The common law represents a crystallization of common customs, distilled by the judiciary in the course of its travels round the land. A second possible customary source of law its rules are derived form specific local customs. In the English legal system restraints on judges are that the Judicial decisions are subject to modification by legislation; And the final authority to dismiss a judge r esides in Parliament but this can only be done by the consent of both Houses. However jurisdiction of courts supervises the use of statutory and prerogative powers by government ministers. Moreover "The validity of actions and decisions for which there is no legal authority or source or which are taken in flagrant abuse of the requirements of procedural fairness (natural justice) may be challenged through an application for judicial review." Carroll, a. 2007. In addition There are rules that underpinning judicial independence: By convention ministers do not criticize judges or their decisions - although in recent times some see it can't be applied on parliamentary questions relating to controversial cases. According to the rules of the House of Commons it is forbidden to criticize a judge unless pursuant to a substantive motion for dismissal. It is permitted to propose adverse comment on judicial decisions providing this does not reflect on a judge's character or competence. For explaining the power of precedent Judicial precedent means that judges must follow the rule of law established in the previous decided cases of the court of equal status or higher, if they are of the same legal principle and facts. Judicial precedent is a system of law-making by judges rather than by parliament. The decisions made by the judges, called precedents, are used as models for future cases. This causes certainty due to the prediction of outcome of a case on which applied previous rules of a similar case however due to discretion of judges to make law and over rule precedents and conflicting rules may also produce uncertainty. The precedents of the Higher courts are binding on lower courts and the court structure is hierarchical and the House of Lords is the highest court. With R v R - rape within marriages - wife no longer a property of husband. A court higher up in the hierarchy in a different later case can set aside a legal ruling established in a previous case. Overruling refers to the ratio of a case and not its decision. It has to be emphasized the

Who are you Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Who are you - Essay Example The Canoe restaurant has to a great extent complied with the laid down regulations on food handling and storage. Referring to the Los Angeles county regulations, to evade food contamination, all frozen food should be prepared in a frozen state or refrigerated at a temperature of less than 38 degrees. From the assessment findings, it was noted that, staffs in the restaurant were reluctant in complying with the directives. The temperature in the kitchen was at 73 degrees which was far beyond the stipulated temperature. the kitchen staffs were extremely clean and had spotless and bright uniforms as required for by the Los Angeles county regulations. According to the existing regulations, potentially harmful foods such as fish, beef, and raw pottery ought to be prepared with sanitized and cleaned equipment. However, the inspection confirmed that, the kitchen staffs failed to act in accordance with the existing regulations. During the investigation, it was noted that, the chief assistant used one instrument to chop different meat without cleaning or sterilizing it. To ensure adequate hygiene in foo d preparation, the Los Angeles county regulations emphasizes on the significance of wearing a clean uniform, gloves, and hair nets. After investigation, it was observed that, the chef and its assistant wore gloves but they lacked a hair net. On the other hand, the restaurants did not comply with the regulations which define how foods should be handled when preparing them. At around one, the investigator noted a less frozen turkey on the counter. All foodstuffs are required by the law to be well wrapped and stored in a clean dry. During the investigation, the freezers and refrigerators were all well organized and spotlessly clean as required for in the regulations. The foods in the refrigerator were stored in sealed containers. However, it was impossible to recognize the stored food since the wrapped foods were neither dated nor labeled as specified by the

Ang Lees Eat Drink Man Woman and Cultural Values of Contemporary Chin Essay

Ang Lees Eat Drink Man Woman and Cultural Values of Contemporary China - Essay Example The inclusion of the fast food restaurant demonstrates the film’s thematic concern with Western influence in Eastern culture, as fast food has primary been identified as a Western entity. This theme is also developed with the inclusion of the Christian sermon. The film explores the Eastern/Western dichotomy through the perspectives of two of the sisters. The more liberal sister is more accepting of Western values and perspectives and has a relationship with a man who had lived in the United States. The conservative sister, by contrast, refused to follow her love interest after graduation to the United States and her life has been lived in opposition to this decision since. Food is a central concern of the film and is used for a number of symbolic purposes. Indeed, director Lee himself even indicated that he incorporated food as a central metaphor (Berry 2005). In one scene the father encounters the young girl while jogging and asks her why she is eating breakfast at the bus stop and she tells him she doesn’t have time for breakfast. As she enters the bus one sees the distress in the father’s eyes as a result of the conflicting new world values embodied in the time constraints of a modern society that eliminate the opportunity to sit and eat breakfast. Another significant thematic concern is the nature of love and social relations. The film explores an old world vs. new world dichotomy. These contrasting values are embodied in the perspectives of the sisters. One sister who is moving out has embraced a more liberal sensibility that understands relations to be based on a more open, and ever-changing foundation where being with multiple partners is permitted and leaving someone when the relationship has soured is acceptable. The other sister embraces a conservative sensibility and believes that a relationship should be long term. They two differ on the  nature of their parent's relationship, with their argument indicating the clash of these value systems.  

My concept of leadership and how community service eperiences have Essay

My concept of leadership and how community service eperiences have impacted my life - Essay Example My first leadership experience took place when I was a child. I was the oldest of four children and as the first child I had to take care of my siblings, make sure that they went to school, prepared their homework and of course resolved their conflicts. At the same time, I had to make them respect and trust me. So, I discovered and did instinctively everything that a leader does i.e. being responsible for the group (my siblings), motivate them (to go to school and prepare their homework), influence and control them. Later on, following a strong internal lead I became a member of the National Charity League. Now, I am a Vice President of the League and in general I have accomplished 200 hours of community service. The mission of National Charity League is  to foster mother-daughter relationships in a philanthropic organization committed to community service, leadership development and cultural experiences.(http://www.nationalcharityleague.org/). The National Charity League is based mostly on volunteers i.e. people join without expecting any financial returns, they just do it because they feel they want to offer their services to other people. This makes the work of the leader easy and difficult at the same time. It is easy because people share the vision of the leader and have common goals but on the other hand it is difficult because they are not employees so it is difficult to coordinate and â€Å"oblige† them to act professionally. So,in this case the leader has to adapt his/her leadership style accordingly. This means that the leader in this case cannot be authoritative or coercive since the human factor comes first. S/he cannot be democratic since this is a style that a leader can implement when s/he is not sure about the direction that needs to be taken. The style of leadership that is most suitable for community service is the affiliative. Here, the leader focuses on strong emotional relations and then he

Marketing Internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing Internet - Essay Example eBay has gained the reputation for serving the kind of services they offer online for millions of clients worldwide. Millions of collectibles, appliances, computers, furniture, equipment, vehicles, and other miscellaneous items are listed, bought, and sold daily (eBay, Wikipedia). eBay business approach comprises mounting profits by increasing international traffic contained by the eBay structure. eBay is continually trying to reach different countries outside the USA, which includes market deals in Asia Pacific and Europe. The company also does acquisition of related business online companies to integrate in their current systems. This strategic approach enables eBay to expand not online in the previous services and business they handle but enlarging its business scale. Consumers and analyst view eBay as a successful business venture with over $4.55 billion total revenues in 2005. Successful as it may seem, why eBay not explore the venture of becoming a brick and mortar industry This may be an issue or another area where eBay may win in the competition though they are already a winner. In a continuing development, large businesses that existed before the invention of the Web (and were therefore bricks and mortar businesses) are becoming clicks and mortar businesses. Companies like eBay.com and others that have never owned a bricks and mortar storefront are usually known as dotcom companies. Considering the brick and mortar business, with having the physical and online business presence, eBay has a lot of opportunities to explore and take into their serious business plan in the future. Like Target Corporation (www.target.com), has practicing this kind of business enterprise as e-commerce since 1999. The corporation started as a specialty discount store and now boomed and became one of a leading merchant store. In United States, there have 1,447 stores. It now has different subsidiaries and planning to expand abroad to reach greater number of consumers. The first few Target stores included leased supermarkets in addition to general merchandise, which during the time was a common practice by discount retailers as they attempted to offer a one-stop shopping experience to customers. As a result, Target stores tend to attract younger and more educated and affluent customers than its competitors. Currently, the median Target shopper is 41 years old, which is the youngest of al l major discount retailers that Target competes directly against (Target Corporation, Wikipedia). eBay may have a behind the scene approach in the e-commerce business and Target Corporation has its own. Ebay started business online while Target Corporation has been on the business since 1960s and just recently moved online to cater consumers who cannot drop by their store outlets across the country. Differentiating their nature may see some advantages and disadvantages of practicing such business. Will one be of gain by practicing the brick and mortar business This engages systematize shipment, access into shops, handling money, signing credit card, selecting/seeing the product, carrying the product and finding the right aisle to get out. Today there are many online stores selling products from books, CD's, flowers, groceries, services, software and more.

A Discussion of Obamacare Essay Example for Free

A Discussion of Obamacare Essay Over the course of my paper I shall discuss the piece of legislation known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, more informally known as Obamacare. The issue currently debated with this piece of legislature focuses on its constitutionality, its purpose as a tax hike, and whether or not it should be passed. Is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act unconstitutional? From what I have studied in the article â€Å"Is Obamacare unconstitutional? †, at debatetopics. net, and from what I know of the act, I would say that it is certainly unconstitutional. Does the act serve as a tax hike? According to â€Å"Voters consider ObamaCare a tax hike, poll shows† at foxnews. com, it does. Should the Patient Protection and Affordable Care act be passed? From everything I have learned of the act and from what knowledge I have gained from â€Å"Patterson: State leaders should refuse to allow Obamacare to localize† at masnbc. com, I personally would not allow the act to pass. The act is unconstitutional as it was passed under a false premise. It was upheld as constitutional by justifying the individual mandate as a tax. However, it would never have been passed if it had been upfront in regards to creating a new personal tax. The means used to justify the act as constitutional are inconsistent with the original wording of the bill and therefore unconstitutional. The act is also passed under a false premise as it creates a new tax and is therefore a tax bill. Those living in the country illegally are exempt from buying health insurance and get it for free. Those individuals who are currently considered â€Å"entitled† and receive government aid are also exempt. These illegal immigrants and entitled persons will receive free healthcare and the rest of the country will have to pay for it. The act is also unconstitutional in regards to the individual mandate itself. It is not up to the government to make its citizens purchase health insurance, nor should they pay for the health insurance of others. It is up to no other person to give a given individual anything. There should never a case in which one group of people is forced to care for others because those others refuse to do anything with themselves and their lives. The act is clearly unconstitutional as it forces the average United States citizen to purchase a service from a private firm or be penalized for not doing so. The fine attached to not purchasing health insurance is also only considered constitutional under Congress power to tax. A main way of denying Obamacare is to refuse to establish state-level health exchanges. Exchanges are basically government sanctioned cartels where only a few government approved insurers can sell government approved health insurance, including all subsidies, exemptions and mandates that they apply. When agreeing to establish an exchange, a given state agrees to operate a massive government program which would be run according to federal rules and mandates. The federal government would control the doctors and providers allowed, the health insurance plans and benefits, the subsidies and exemptions. The state would do the work of the federal government and bear the cost of the program and would also act as an IRS enforcer as it would be required to give the names and taxpayer identification numbers of people who have changed employers and lost coverage as well as those who have terminated their coverage or simply choose not to purchase insurance. On top of all of this, the state would be responsible for enforcing the individual mandate. Overall, the Patient Protection and affordable care act is unconstitutional, serves a tax hike and should not be passed under any circumstance. Bibliography: â€Å"Is Obamacare Unconstitutional? †,2012, â€Å"Voters consider ObamaCare a tax hike, poll shows†,2012, â€Å" Patterson: State leaders should refuse to allow Obamacare to localize†,2012,

Islamic Law And Its Impact On Arbitration Of Ip Cases

Islamic Law And Its Impact On Arbitration Of Ip Cases Islamic Law And Its Impact On Arbitration Of Ip Cases In Middle East With Special Reference To Jordan Introduction The law of intellectual property is one of the areas of law that has emerged in Jordan relatively recently. The reasons for such late emergence of intellectual property law in Jordan are that there were no sufficient conditions for development of this area of law in this jurisdiction. Due to this fact, courts in Jordan were hardly able to decide such cases because of their complexity and lack of necessary skills and knowledge of judges in respected area of law. It is for this reason it seems that Jordanian legal practitioners saw the necessity of establishing courts which would adjudicate such cases. The law of intellectual property is one of the areas that pose several challenges to trade area, where sellers of unauthorized products or products which breach intellectual property rights are widespread. It is inevitable truth of most Arab countries and in this respect it seems that position of intellectual property legislation saw its goal. Some would ask: Why would Jordan need intellectual property law at all? It does not have such potential in order to enforce such complicated legislation and procedures. The answer lies in increasing importance of Jordan as a financial and trade center of Middle East, which would compete and challenge such centers as U.A.E. and Qatar. In order to ensure such position in market, Jordan, first, has to ensure that legislation is in harmony with international trade and financial legislation. Amidst them, intellectual property law, if not most important, but occupies significant place to such an extent that it has to increase awareness and skills in this area. Simultaneously, one of the important and flexible methods of alternative dispute resolution as arbitration has to play here crucial role. Arbitration is one of the areas of alternative dispute resolution, necessity of which has increased along with globalization of international trade. It has been seen as one of the areas which can significantly simplify international trade procedure without bringing unsolvable complexities into the business which has already gone into complexities. The arbitration of cases related to intellectual property is different and complicated matter, which cannot be explained with reference to arbitration of normal and common cases that emerge in the course of international or local trade. It requires lawyers which are not only fluent but also skilled in matters of IP law and practice. Such lawyers, the amount of which is few in Jordan, can be and should be trained in this area in order to ensure the integrity of arbitration procedures in IP cases. As a rule, majority of companies and lawyers cannot trust to state courts, which would consider intellectual property cases along with ordinary cases and are subject to inevitable error by doing incorrect analogies in decision of such cases. Usually parties which address their cases to state courts are usually unsatisfied not only with level of knowledge of judges in intellectual property cases but also with complexity of procedure. In this sense, one should realize the importance of arbitration methods for adjudication of intellectual property cases. Jordan, it seems, have realized the serious threat posed by this problem and have taken number of measures in order to respond to this challenges. One of the notable measures is certainly sending law students abroad in order to prepare future judges specialized on intellectual property disputes. This has been done effectively and majority of students are in prominent institutions which are really strong in this area of law. Second is creation of respective legislation in this area, yet there are some gaps which are inevitable and these gaps should be filled in order to harmonize Jordanian legislation in the field of arbitration and IP law. Jordan has examples to learn from and it is its closest neighbors such as U.A.E., Qatar and Bahrain. These countries have foremost skills and experience in these fields of law. It is not only explained by abundance of their experts but also rapid expansion of their economies and integration into the world economy. In this respect, Jordan is in more convenient position than other countries since even the culture of its neighbors is identical to Jordan. The similarity in culture and tradition is one of the factors that make harmonization of Jordanian IP legislation much easier and painless. Besides, the lack of experience and knowledge not only in IP law, but also in arbitration process in IP case makes Jordan vulnerable to the challenge posed by the legal world of these neighbors. It is for this reason; the necessity of this dissertation is realized. There is also Islamic factor that raises issue. Since Jordanian constitution recognizes Islam as a religion of state and due to historical circumstances when Islamic law dominated Jordan for centuries, it raises question: Has Islamic law influenced emergence and development of arbitration in Jordan as well as of intellectual property law? In this respect, Akhtar remarked: â€Å"there exist considerable variations in the Middle East on the incorporation and application of arbitration laws and the practice and procedure in enforcing arbitral awards, which are complicated further by the differing interaction between Sharia law and Western systems of law in each country†. Therefore, the major goal of this dissertation is to examine whether Islamic legal principles in fact had an impact on development of arbitration and intellectual property law in Jordan. It will be tested on the basis of case related to IP law decided in arbitration courts of Jordan. The importance of this topic is realized in the context of rising importance of Jordan as emerging economic and financial leader in Middle East. It is also realized due to the fact that Islamic law is a dominant system in contemporary Middle East. This dissertation consists of four parts: (i) first chapter briefly examines the basic tenets of Islamic law; (ii) second chapter briefly examines arbitration system in Jordan; (iii) third chapter briefly analyses intellectual property law in Jordan; and (iv) final chapter, an important one scrutinizes Jordanian intellectual property disputes arbitration for compliance with Islamic law. Overview Of Jordanian And Islamic Law Jordan is one of the countries in the world that inherited several features of different legislations at a time. One of the major influences was Ottoman legislation, since Jordan was under their dominancy for almost 700 years. In this respect, it can be said that it has been influence not only by Islamic law, which was the law of Ottoman empire but also by features of unique Ottoman law, which coexisted in one line with Islamic law. Legislation And Judicial System In Jordan Once Jordan became a subject of European colonization in 19 century, it inevitably embraced some features of European legislation. Yet, at present time, Jordanian legislation is surprising mixture of European and Islamic elements. The system of government in Jordan is parliamentary monarchy. Yet, it should be noted that monarchy in Jordan is almost absolute since all powers are vested in the King of Jordan who is considered to be direct descendant of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.V.) As in other countries of the world, the power in Jordan is divided into three branches, namely, legislative, executive and judicial. However, unlike other countries King may interfere within functioning of legislative power or other in order to ensure his absolute status. The constitution of Jordan openly declares Islam as the religion of state. However, upon the close examination of Jordanian legislation, one cannot call it Islamic state since it contains elements which are contrary to Islamic legal principles. Unlike Saudi constitution which declares Islam as a source of law, Jordan constitution declares Islam only as a religion of state. It is, however, not clear what it implies. Nonetheless, one can see the consequences of Islam being declared as a religion of state, in the legal system, where there is duality of courts. Jordanian courts are divided into secular and religious courts. While religious courts are not only Islamic but also ecclesial or Christian courts, which are free to decide family matters of their respective religious communities. The competence of religious courts, including Islamic, are not extended to the matters of commercial and administrative law. Therefore, matters pertaining to commercial or administrative law are decided in secular courts. Officially, Jordanian constitution declares that there are three types of courts: (i) civil courts; (ii) religious courts; and (iii) special courts. Yet, civil courts also hear criminal cases along with civil cases and cases of administrative field. Religious courts are divided into Islamic and courts of other non-Muslim communities. Both of them hear cases within scope of their competence. It is interesting that Sharia courts also hear cases which are related to the compensation of blood money where one of the parties are not Muslims. Compensation of blood-money, otherwise called diya, is one of the old features of Islamic criminal law and it is surprising that it is not in competence of secular courts but religious. The constitution does not define how special courts function, leaving this matter to the law. Yet, there are tribunals which are designed to interpret law and one of them is High Tribunal, the purpose of which to interpret constitution when required by government. It is also necessary to provide brief overview about Shari ‘a, which occupies significant position in Jordanian legislation. Sharia, otherwise called Islamic law, is one of the ancient systems of law that has been preserved since 7 century A.D. with some modifications. The sources of Sharia, according to Muslim belief, are Quran and Sunna. First being Holy Book of Islamic religion and second are traditions or precedents of Prophet of Islam. Besides, official Islamic dogma declares that Islamic jurisprudence functions according to four sources of law, Quran, Sunna, ijma and qiyas. Ijma, otherwise called consensus is being interpreted differently by four schools of Islamic law and same goes with qiyas, which is otherwise called analogy. Four schools of Islamic law that has emerged at different periods of time during first century of Islam, mainly diverge upon interpretation of major or secondary sources of Islamic law. Islamic law does not recognize freedom of contract and prohibits such elements of trade and economy as charging interest, fortuity and gambling. In order to comply with these principles, Islamic lawyers has developed certain methods and forms which would allow Muslim to operate in one or another way in business world. One of the remarkable features of new Islamic jurisprudence is creation of Islamic banking, which replaces interest with profit-and-loss sharing concept, Islamic insurance that operates in almost similar fashion and other new concepts as Islamic bonds, otherwise called sukkuk. As far as intellectual property concerned, Islamic law protects inviolability of property as well as its manifestations in different forms. The same applies to any form of intellectual property, be it trademark or invention. Arbitration in Islamic law is unique, since arbitration has been inherent to Arab culture and was called hakama. Hakams were arbitrators in ancient Arabia and judged according to Arab customs and traditions. Therefore, there is nothing new in arbitration which is not familiar to Islamic lawyers. In last century, the position of Islamic law in disputes that were decided in arbitration courts was widely ignored. It is evident from several cases. In Petroleum Development (Trucial Coasts) Ltd. V. Shaikh of Abu Dhabi, Lord Asquith, the arbitrator ironically observed: â€Å"†¦it would be fanciful to suggest that in this very primitive region there is any settled body of legal principles applicable to the construction of modern commercial instruments†. Another remark, done by arbitrator in Ruler of Qatar v. International Marine Oil Company Ltd., was bitterer and arrogant: â€Å"†¦I am satisfied that the [Islamic] law does not contain any principles which would be sufficient to interpret this particular contract†. Such excesses and bitter remarks were summed up and characterized in the following terms: â€Å"In general, the legal community throughout the Arab world is still manifesting its hostility to transnational arbitration mainly as a result of the great publicity devoted to the criticism of certain unfortunate arbitral awards rendered as of 1951 by western arbitrators who excluded, with terms of a humiliating nature, the application of the national applicable legal systems of countries like Abu Dhabi or Qatar†. It should be also noted that Jordanian legislation does not fully implement precepts of Islamic law such as prohibition of interest or insurance. There are banks and insurance companies in Jordan which operate according to Western principles of banking and insurance. The companies and banks in Jordan are free to operate in the mode they choose to be most efficient for them. There is no hindrance on the part of Jordanian government in this sense. Defining Islamic Law There is no single or unified definition of Islamic law. Various scholars offer various definitions. I shall not go into each definition offered but shall arbitrarily explicate some of them. One of the famous scholars of Islamic law, Joseph Schacht offered an interesting definition for Islamic law: â€Å"Islamic law is the epitome of the Islamic spirit, the most typical manifestation of the Islamic way of life, the kernel of Islam itself†. Goitein, it seems, offered more precise and comprehensive definition: â€Å"Islamic religion is characterised by the prominence of legal conceptions in its systems: The Sharia, or holy law, is its very essence and Fiqh, or religious jurisprudence, is its science (‘ilm) par excellence. The minute observation of many commandments is its most conspicuous practical aspect; the free fellowship of religious scholars, who do not need authorisation by any government to interpret, develop and apply its law, is its most representative body, and even purely legal sections of the Fiqh are studied as an act of worship†. These two definitions are not exhaustive but reflect true essence of Islamic law. Schachts ‘way of life and Goiteins ‘religious jurisprudence constitute what is called Shariah in Arabic. Moreover, Islamic law cannot be compared with common or continental legal systems. It is because latter do deal and embrace all areas of law, whereas Islamic law mostly deal with private law, leaving aside public law. Therefore, the claim of some countries that since their legislation is based on Shariah, their law is being regulated by divine law is not correct. The Shariah only applies to matters of private law in these countries and the public law has been imported from Western models. The majority of scholars have long been recognizing Quran as a major source of Islamic law, sometimes without examining what it stands for. It was Schacht who first suggested that Shafii, prominent Islamic jurist, paid merely lip-service to Quran as a source of law in his jurisprudential theory. Certainly, major principles of Islamic law has been deducted from Quran but it is only a major and in a number of cases, we discover that Muslim jurists are dependant or totally reliant on other sources rather than Quran without hesitation. The holy book of Islam or Muslims all over the world, Quran is believed by Muslims to have been revealed via Archangel Gabriel to Muhammad, who is regarded by Muslims as both Prophet and Messenger of God. Quran is law but law in a spiritual sense. If you ask a Muslim: What is your law (Sharia)? He or she would respond: â€Å"Quran† without realizing whether it is spiritual or actual law. For the purposes of present study, Quran is a source of law but to a limited extent since a major proportion of rules and judgments is being extracted from other sources of law and via different methods of legal reasoning. It is not however realized by ordinary Muslim as such, and even by Muslim jurist, who would suggest that sources for such rulings is Sharia and all rules, embodied in Sharia are immutable and should not be a subject of any challenge by anyone. Before turning to critical points, it is crucial to explore basics of Quran. Quran is the holy book of Islamic religion. It is said to have been revealed during 23 years, once Prophet Muhammed started his mission among Arab people. The Quran derives from the word ‘qara which denotes in Arabic, reciting or reading. It is also asserted that with a same meaning it is cited in Old Testament in Hebrew language. There are other names which are designed for Quran, such as ‘Quran al-Majid or ‘al-Quran ash-Sharif or ‘Furqan, etc. For the purpose of present study, it shall be called Quran, which is rather easy to refer and this way we shall avoid confusion. The divine legislation is said to have been established through revelation of Quran in stages as I have mentioned earlier. The modern scholars as well as classic jurists were still unsure about precise role of Quran as a source of legislation. It is not clear whether the role of Quran corresponds to the hierarchy where it has been hoisted to the primary position. In fact, Quran has never been a primary source as we understand a primacy in modern jurisprudence. Muslim jurists would often rule according to verse of Quran but not a principle or spirit that it implies. They would pay a lip-service to Quran as a source of all legislation, but in fact they would disregard those rules of Quran that should have been regarded in specific occasion. The precise role of Quran is difficult to define; it is because the primacy of Quran has been overshadowed by other sources and methods of law. Quran has always been mentioned along with Sunna, second sources of Islamic law which we shall have occasion to discuss in the next paragraph. In order to demonstrate the position of Quran as a source of law, let us look at some examples of utilization of Quran in classic Islamic jurisprudence. The Prophetic Traditions or hadith as called in Arabic form a second source of law in hierarchy of sources of Islamic law and jurisprudence. It does not only occupy this position indeed but sometimes shares dominancy with Quran. The difference that emerged between Muslim jurists and later led to establishment of schools of law was caused by diverging interpretation of Prophetic Tradition. From liberal approach of Hanafis to strict compliance of Zahiris, they all dispute on nature of Prophetic Traditions as a source of law. Sometimes their conflict went as far as one realise that it is rather absurdity than logical argument. The word ‘ijma, which is basically translated as ‘collecting or ‘assembling, in a legal sense has caused a lot of debates over its validity. It is sometimes viewed as a consensus of either jurists or Muslims in general. Some assert that it is consensus of early Muslims Companions over common postulates of faith and religion. The consensus might be reached if it is unanimously adopted in practice or ‘custom as in the case of international law. Second, consensus might be uttered in respect of certain ruling by majority of either scholars or jurists. Finally, it can be ‘e silentio support for certain opinion by majority of jurists that have the right to adjudicate their independent opinion. It is not clear from Islamic jurisprudential theory when ijma should be employed and what certain conditions are. Some jurists, Hanafi, for instance, usually in their judgments, say ‘there has been consensus on this issue or ‘question but they never clarified how and why such consensus has been reached among them. We also do not know whether we may employ ijma concept in modern context and whether it shall be binding on all Muslims or adopted by them as a constituent part of Islamic law. In Sunni jurisprudence, we know that by way of ijma, certain jurists united into groups affiliated with dominating opinion of single jurist, which later became known as ‘schools of law or ‘madhahib. It has also been asserted that ijma on common legal issues has been reached in eighth century by respective founders of ‘madhahib; there is no way to re-visit these concepts or judgments. When speaking of analogy principle in Islamic law, it is not clear whether it is absolute or not or whether it is logically applicable to all cases. The word ‘qiyas itself means ‘to compare and it is regarded as one of the major sources of Islamic law. Islamic jurists themselves stipulate four predominant conditions of analogy: The precept or practice upon which it is founded must be of common (amm) and not of special (khass) application; The cause (‘illa) of the injunction must be known and understood; The decision must be based upon either the Quran, the Sunna, or the Ijma; The decision arrived at must not be contrary to anything declared elsewhere in the Quran and Sunna. The fourth stipulation raises some concerns. As we have discussed earlier, there are a lot of contradictions between Quran and Sunna, and even within Quran and within Sunna. The jurists attempted to decide such contradictions by asserting that there cannot be hypothetically any conflicts between these sources and even within these sources; they exist and it is reality. This factor also serves as a great hindrance in deriving rules or judgments from primary sources of Islamic law. Even though these rules has been developed and elaborated by jurists; there are still a lot of controversies with application of this principle. It is caused by a different degree of application in schools of law and conflict between jurists whether such analogy might be applied when the necessity in such application is clear. Thus, for instance, it is not clear why principle of justice embodied in Quran might not be equally applied to all subjects of Islamic state, be it Muslim or non-Muslim. Normally, Islamic jurist would object saying that since Quran is only for Muslims, its injunctions are only applicable to Muslims. There is no logic which might be applied but incoherence in reasoning, sometimes leading to absurd conclusions. Concluding Remarks In present chapter, we have discussed general legal conceptions that exist in Jordanian and Islamic law. There is a big difference between them because of the nature of legislation. Islamic law is mainly religious, whereas Jordanian is secular; even though Constitution claims that Islamic is a state religion. In majority of Islamic countries, a fact that Islamic is a religion of state is merely lip-service to Islamic as a religion of people. It does not go further than that, except some countries as Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. But even legislation of these countries demonstrates how secular they are in their nature. It does not however mean that Jordan lack of Islamic legal taste; there are some aspects of Islamic law in Jordanian legislation, as we have seen previously. The matters of marriage, divorce, inheritance and religious endowment are mainly under realms of Islamic law. Yet, on the other hands, similar matters that arise with other religious communities are decided based on their respective religious law. However, the matters which are related to arbitration and intellectual property are mainly based on secular, precisely on European model based laws. Therefore, purpose of forthcoming chapters will be to examine whether they comply with Islamic law in general. Arbitration System In Jordan And Compliance With Islamic Law And Its Implications For Intellectual Property Law This chapter summarizes the current state of arbitration system in Jordan and issue of its compliance with Islamic law. It is done with purpose to acquaint readers with main aspects of these systems and legislation, so he or she has full understanding when looking through forthcoming chapters. Arbitration In Jordan The arbitration process in Jordan is being regulated by special law Law No. 31 of 2001 otherwise called Jordan Arbitration Law. It is not unique; neither has it been adopted from international law, but from Egyptian Arbitration Act No. 27 of 1994, which in turn has been adopted from UNCITRAL Model Law 1985. The law consists of 7 parts and 56 articles. It can be structured thus: (1) General provisions (Articles 1-8); (2) Arbitration agreement (Articles 9-13); (3) Arbitration tribunal (Articles 14-23); (4) Arbitration proceedings (Articles 24-35); (5) Arbitral award and termination proceedings (Articles 36-47); (6) Nullity of arbitral award (Articles 48-51); (7) Enforcement of awards (Articles 52-56). The Art. 3 makes the scope of law absolute; it extends to any arbitration proceedings in Jordan and to any cases whether they derive from contractual dispute or not. Neither does it differentiate between commercial or civil disputes; both of them are within scope of this law. The Art. 5 allows not only contracting parties to choose the arbitration procedure but also a third party which shall be able to choose such procedure. The Art. 8 explicitly prohibits the intervention by state courts; yet, it stipulates that the arbitration tribunal may ask the intervention of state courts where former needs the participation of experts, witnesses, etc. As far as arbitration agreement is concerned, Art. 9 allows only those persons, be it physical or legal, which has legal capacity, to conclude such agreement. It does not allow arbitration on matters which are on â€Å"amiable compositeaur† basis. The arbitration agreement is valid only if in writing, according to Art. 10a, yet, the form of written agreement is flexible. It can be contained in exchange of letters, faxes, etc. It has been also reaffirmed by Jordanian Court of Cassation which stated: â€Å"the arbitration clause as established should be written, clear and explicit as well, by virtue of Article 10/A of the Arbitration Law No. 31of 2001†. The law also allows parties to render their dispute to arbitration whilst in state court, in which case state court has the right to refer to arbitration tribunal and its reference shall be viewed as arbitration agreement in writing. As far as arbitration tribunal concerned, Art. 14a and b, establishes that number of arbitrators shall be odd, otherwise it is void. If there is a disagreement between parties then number of arbitrators is three. Noteworthy, the law reaffirms the independence of arbitration clause, which is according to Art. 22, is not dependent on other clause of underlying contract. The language of arbitration proceedings is Arabic but law allows the use of another language or other languages upon consent of parties, according to Art. 28a. Most importantly, Art. 17 upheld the principle of impartiality and independence of arbitrators and in elaboration of this provision Court of Cassation further held: â€Å"all arbitral procedures, in which the challenged arbitrator has participated, including the arbitral award, shall be deemed void†. These are the major aspects of arbitration law in Jordan. Besides, Jordan has also ratified the New York Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards by the virtue of Jordanian Court of Cassation, where it was remarked: â€Å"It is understood from the Article (2) of Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Law No. 8 of 1952 that the foreign arbitral award which has been enforced and ratified by the forum court , shall be enforceable in Jordan in accordance with all the clauses and requirements, and does not conflict with any of the stipulated provisions of Article (7) of the said law†. The ratification of New York Convention by Jordan should be viewed as positive development and attractive for the foreign companies who wish to deal with Jordanian companies or invest in Jordan. The same applies to IP disputes; any company which would challenge Jordanian company with the claim of breach of copyright or violation of other forms of intellectual property, are in convenience in the view of ratification of New York Convention. However, in his study of issues pertaining enforcement, Haddad critically commented: â€Å"Turning again to Jordanian Law which provides, as has just been seen, that a foreign award must be enforceable in the place in which it was issued, which means that the award should have been reduced to a judgment in the foreign country†. It implies that Jordanian legislation does not recognise validity of foreign judgement as enforceable in Jordan. But he noted that â€Å"this approach may be criticized since it may be difficult in practice or even impossible to achieve this goal in certain circumstances, particularly in institutional arbitration. In this type of arbitration, it may happen that the parties involved in the proceedings including the arbitrators, and all other relevant factors have no relation whatsoever with the place of arbitration except that the proceedings were conducted there. In such a case, the foreign court may reasonably reject to enforce the award rendered in its country, and that means that the award may not be enforced in Jordan either†. In such dubious situation, it is unclear how Jordanian legislation on arbitration would cope with this kind of problem. It seems to be paradoxical situation because award cannot be enforced either domestically or locally. It will also have some implication for enforcement of foreign arbitral awards on intellectual property rights since majority of arbitral awards may not be enforced in foreign country since its enforcement should be accomplished in Jordan because of object of dispute. In such case, it is difficult to predict how arbitration courts and moreover state courts would deal with it. Enforcement Of Foreign Arbitration Awards In Jordan One of the problems that foreign company may encounter in Jordan is the problem of enforcement of award related to IP cases in Jordan. It is clear that certain IP cases may intervene with public policy and in this regard it is nearly impossible to assert such possibility may not arise. IP legislation in Jordan being in immature position sometimes may not offer effective solutions for parties which are from different countries. In this regard, one should closely take a look at public policy issues in Jordan. According to IP legislation, certain names cannot be registered as trademarks in Jordan. However: what if the name of foreign company or brand coincides with the name trademark registration of which is illegal in Jordan? The company in this case would face difficulties in carrying out business and moreover it would face difficulties in enforcing award that has been rendered in foreign or international arbitration court. The case of Mitsubishi in U.S. showed how difficult it is to determine whether one case is subject to public policy or not. It has changed the contours of arbitrability in U.S. but the question arises: can such case have implication for Jordanian arbitration system? One can answer positively, but one would be confused when it comes to IP arbitration. IP arbitration, as it has been seen, is a difficult and complex matter. It cannot be simply adjusted as in the case of ordinary commercial arbitration. The IP legislation is diverse and this diversity may imply negative consequences for arbitration, since arbitrators should be expertise in all areas Islamic Law And Its Impact On Arbitration Of Ip Cases Islamic Law And Its Impact On Arbitration Of Ip Cases Islamic Law And Its Impact On Arbitration Of Ip Cases In Middle East With Special Reference To Jordan Introduction The law of intellectual property is one of the areas of law that has emerged in Jordan relatively recently. The reasons for such late emergence of intellectual property law in Jordan are that there were no sufficient conditions for development of this area of law in this jurisdiction. Due to this fact, courts in Jordan were hardly able to decide such cases because of their complexity and lack of necessary skills and knowledge of judges in respected area of law. It is for this reason it seems that Jordanian legal practitioners saw the necessity of establishing courts which would adjudicate such cases. The law of intellectual property is one of the areas that pose several challenges to trade area, where sellers of unauthorized products or products which breach intellectual property rights are widespread. It is inevitable truth of most Arab countries and in this respect it seems that position of intellectual property legislation saw its goal. Some would ask: Why would Jordan need intellectual property law at all? It does not have such potential in order to enforce such complicated legislation and procedures. The answer lies in increasing importance of Jordan as a financial and trade center of Middle East, which would compete and challenge such centers as U.A.E. and Qatar. In order to ensure such position in market, Jordan, first, has to ensure that legislation is in harmony with international trade and financial legislation. Amidst them, intellectual property law, if not most important, but occupies significant place to such an extent that it has to increase awareness and skills in this area. Simultaneously, one of the important and flexible methods of alternative dispute resolution as arbitration has to play here crucial role. Arbitration is one of the areas of alternative dispute resolution, necessity of which has increased along with globalization of international trade. It has been seen as one of the areas which can significantly simplify international trade procedure without bringing unsolvable complexities into the business which has already gone into complexities. The arbitration of cases related to intellectual property is different and complicated matter, which cannot be explained with reference to arbitration of normal and common cases that emerge in the course of international or local trade. It requires lawyers which are not only fluent but also skilled in matters of IP law and practice. Such lawyers, the amount of which is few in Jordan, can be and should be trained in this area in order to ensure the integrity of arbitration procedures in IP cases. As a rule, majority of companies and lawyers cannot trust to state courts, which would consider intellectual property cases along with ordinary cases and are subject to inevitable error by doing incorrect analogies in decision of such cases. Usually parties which address their cases to state courts are usually unsatisfied not only with level of knowledge of judges in intellectual property cases but also with complexity of procedure. In this sense, one should realize the importance of arbitration methods for adjudication of intellectual property cases. Jordan, it seems, have realized the serious threat posed by this problem and have taken number of measures in order to respond to this challenges. One of the notable measures is certainly sending law students abroad in order to prepare future judges specialized on intellectual property disputes. This has been done effectively and majority of students are in prominent institutions which are really strong in this area of law. Second is creation of respective legislation in this area, yet there are some gaps which are inevitable and these gaps should be filled in order to harmonize Jordanian legislation in the field of arbitration and IP law. Jordan has examples to learn from and it is its closest neighbors such as U.A.E., Qatar and Bahrain. These countries have foremost skills and experience in these fields of law. It is not only explained by abundance of their experts but also rapid expansion of their economies and integration into the world economy. In this respect, Jordan is in more convenient position than other countries since even the culture of its neighbors is identical to Jordan. The similarity in culture and tradition is one of the factors that make harmonization of Jordanian IP legislation much easier and painless. Besides, the lack of experience and knowledge not only in IP law, but also in arbitration process in IP case makes Jordan vulnerable to the challenge posed by the legal world of these neighbors. It is for this reason; the necessity of this dissertation is realized. There is also Islamic factor that raises issue. Since Jordanian constitution recognizes Islam as a religion of state and due to historical circumstances when Islamic law dominated Jordan for centuries, it raises question: Has Islamic law influenced emergence and development of arbitration in Jordan as well as of intellectual property law? In this respect, Akhtar remarked: â€Å"there exist considerable variations in the Middle East on the incorporation and application of arbitration laws and the practice and procedure in enforcing arbitral awards, which are complicated further by the differing interaction between Sharia law and Western systems of law in each country†. Therefore, the major goal of this dissertation is to examine whether Islamic legal principles in fact had an impact on development of arbitration and intellectual property law in Jordan. It will be tested on the basis of case related to IP law decided in arbitration courts of Jordan. The importance of this topic is realized in the context of rising importance of Jordan as emerging economic and financial leader in Middle East. It is also realized due to the fact that Islamic law is a dominant system in contemporary Middle East. This dissertation consists of four parts: (i) first chapter briefly examines the basic tenets of Islamic law; (ii) second chapter briefly examines arbitration system in Jordan; (iii) third chapter briefly analyses intellectual property law in Jordan; and (iv) final chapter, an important one scrutinizes Jordanian intellectual property disputes arbitration for compliance with Islamic law. Overview Of Jordanian And Islamic Law Jordan is one of the countries in the world that inherited several features of different legislations at a time. One of the major influences was Ottoman legislation, since Jordan was under their dominancy for almost 700 years. In this respect, it can be said that it has been influence not only by Islamic law, which was the law of Ottoman empire but also by features of unique Ottoman law, which coexisted in one line with Islamic law. Legislation And Judicial System In Jordan Once Jordan became a subject of European colonization in 19 century, it inevitably embraced some features of European legislation. Yet, at present time, Jordanian legislation is surprising mixture of European and Islamic elements. The system of government in Jordan is parliamentary monarchy. Yet, it should be noted that monarchy in Jordan is almost absolute since all powers are vested in the King of Jordan who is considered to be direct descendant of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.V.) As in other countries of the world, the power in Jordan is divided into three branches, namely, legislative, executive and judicial. However, unlike other countries King may interfere within functioning of legislative power or other in order to ensure his absolute status. The constitution of Jordan openly declares Islam as the religion of state. However, upon the close examination of Jordanian legislation, one cannot call it Islamic state since it contains elements which are contrary to Islamic legal principles. Unlike Saudi constitution which declares Islam as a source of law, Jordan constitution declares Islam only as a religion of state. It is, however, not clear what it implies. Nonetheless, one can see the consequences of Islam being declared as a religion of state, in the legal system, where there is duality of courts. Jordanian courts are divided into secular and religious courts. While religious courts are not only Islamic but also ecclesial or Christian courts, which are free to decide family matters of their respective religious communities. The competence of religious courts, including Islamic, are not extended to the matters of commercial and administrative law. Therefore, matters pertaining to commercial or administrative law are decided in secular courts. Officially, Jordanian constitution declares that there are three types of courts: (i) civil courts; (ii) religious courts; and (iii) special courts. Yet, civil courts also hear criminal cases along with civil cases and cases of administrative field. Religious courts are divided into Islamic and courts of other non-Muslim communities. Both of them hear cases within scope of their competence. It is interesting that Sharia courts also hear cases which are related to the compensation of blood money where one of the parties are not Muslims. Compensation of blood-money, otherwise called diya, is one of the old features of Islamic criminal law and it is surprising that it is not in competence of secular courts but religious. The constitution does not define how special courts function, leaving this matter to the law. Yet, there are tribunals which are designed to interpret law and one of them is High Tribunal, the purpose of which to interpret constitution when required by government. It is also necessary to provide brief overview about Shari ‘a, which occupies significant position in Jordanian legislation. Sharia, otherwise called Islamic law, is one of the ancient systems of law that has been preserved since 7 century A.D. with some modifications. The sources of Sharia, according to Muslim belief, are Quran and Sunna. First being Holy Book of Islamic religion and second are traditions or precedents of Prophet of Islam. Besides, official Islamic dogma declares that Islamic jurisprudence functions according to four sources of law, Quran, Sunna, ijma and qiyas. Ijma, otherwise called consensus is being interpreted differently by four schools of Islamic law and same goes with qiyas, which is otherwise called analogy. Four schools of Islamic law that has emerged at different periods of time during first century of Islam, mainly diverge upon interpretation of major or secondary sources of Islamic law. Islamic law does not recognize freedom of contract and prohibits such elements of trade and economy as charging interest, fortuity and gambling. In order to comply with these principles, Islamic lawyers has developed certain methods and forms which would allow Muslim to operate in one or another way in business world. One of the remarkable features of new Islamic jurisprudence is creation of Islamic banking, which replaces interest with profit-and-loss sharing concept, Islamic insurance that operates in almost similar fashion and other new concepts as Islamic bonds, otherwise called sukkuk. As far as intellectual property concerned, Islamic law protects inviolability of property as well as its manifestations in different forms. The same applies to any form of intellectual property, be it trademark or invention. Arbitration in Islamic law is unique, since arbitration has been inherent to Arab culture and was called hakama. Hakams were arbitrators in ancient Arabia and judged according to Arab customs and traditions. Therefore, there is nothing new in arbitration which is not familiar to Islamic lawyers. In last century, the position of Islamic law in disputes that were decided in arbitration courts was widely ignored. It is evident from several cases. In Petroleum Development (Trucial Coasts) Ltd. V. Shaikh of Abu Dhabi, Lord Asquith, the arbitrator ironically observed: â€Å"†¦it would be fanciful to suggest that in this very primitive region there is any settled body of legal principles applicable to the construction of modern commercial instruments†. Another remark, done by arbitrator in Ruler of Qatar v. International Marine Oil Company Ltd., was bitterer and arrogant: â€Å"†¦I am satisfied that the [Islamic] law does not contain any principles which would be sufficient to interpret this particular contract†. Such excesses and bitter remarks were summed up and characterized in the following terms: â€Å"In general, the legal community throughout the Arab world is still manifesting its hostility to transnational arbitration mainly as a result of the great publicity devoted to the criticism of certain unfortunate arbitral awards rendered as of 1951 by western arbitrators who excluded, with terms of a humiliating nature, the application of the national applicable legal systems of countries like Abu Dhabi or Qatar†. It should be also noted that Jordanian legislation does not fully implement precepts of Islamic law such as prohibition of interest or insurance. There are banks and insurance companies in Jordan which operate according to Western principles of banking and insurance. The companies and banks in Jordan are free to operate in the mode they choose to be most efficient for them. There is no hindrance on the part of Jordanian government in this sense. Defining Islamic Law There is no single or unified definition of Islamic law. Various scholars offer various definitions. I shall not go into each definition offered but shall arbitrarily explicate some of them. One of the famous scholars of Islamic law, Joseph Schacht offered an interesting definition for Islamic law: â€Å"Islamic law is the epitome of the Islamic spirit, the most typical manifestation of the Islamic way of life, the kernel of Islam itself†. Goitein, it seems, offered more precise and comprehensive definition: â€Å"Islamic religion is characterised by the prominence of legal conceptions in its systems: The Sharia, or holy law, is its very essence and Fiqh, or religious jurisprudence, is its science (‘ilm) par excellence. The minute observation of many commandments is its most conspicuous practical aspect; the free fellowship of religious scholars, who do not need authorisation by any government to interpret, develop and apply its law, is its most representative body, and even purely legal sections of the Fiqh are studied as an act of worship†. These two definitions are not exhaustive but reflect true essence of Islamic law. Schachts ‘way of life and Goiteins ‘religious jurisprudence constitute what is called Shariah in Arabic. Moreover, Islamic law cannot be compared with common or continental legal systems. It is because latter do deal and embrace all areas of law, whereas Islamic law mostly deal with private law, leaving aside public law. Therefore, the claim of some countries that since their legislation is based on Shariah, their law is being regulated by divine law is not correct. The Shariah only applies to matters of private law in these countries and the public law has been imported from Western models. The majority of scholars have long been recognizing Quran as a major source of Islamic law, sometimes without examining what it stands for. It was Schacht who first suggested that Shafii, prominent Islamic jurist, paid merely lip-service to Quran as a source of law in his jurisprudential theory. Certainly, major principles of Islamic law has been deducted from Quran but it is only a major and in a number of cases, we discover that Muslim jurists are dependant or totally reliant on other sources rather than Quran without hesitation. The holy book of Islam or Muslims all over the world, Quran is believed by Muslims to have been revealed via Archangel Gabriel to Muhammad, who is regarded by Muslims as both Prophet and Messenger of God. Quran is law but law in a spiritual sense. If you ask a Muslim: What is your law (Sharia)? He or she would respond: â€Å"Quran† without realizing whether it is spiritual or actual law. For the purposes of present study, Quran is a source of law but to a limited extent since a major proportion of rules and judgments is being extracted from other sources of law and via different methods of legal reasoning. It is not however realized by ordinary Muslim as such, and even by Muslim jurist, who would suggest that sources for such rulings is Sharia and all rules, embodied in Sharia are immutable and should not be a subject of any challenge by anyone. Before turning to critical points, it is crucial to explore basics of Quran. Quran is the holy book of Islamic religion. It is said to have been revealed during 23 years, once Prophet Muhammed started his mission among Arab people. The Quran derives from the word ‘qara which denotes in Arabic, reciting or reading. It is also asserted that with a same meaning it is cited in Old Testament in Hebrew language. There are other names which are designed for Quran, such as ‘Quran al-Majid or ‘al-Quran ash-Sharif or ‘Furqan, etc. For the purpose of present study, it shall be called Quran, which is rather easy to refer and this way we shall avoid confusion. The divine legislation is said to have been established through revelation of Quran in stages as I have mentioned earlier. The modern scholars as well as classic jurists were still unsure about precise role of Quran as a source of legislation. It is not clear whether the role of Quran corresponds to the hierarchy where it has been hoisted to the primary position. In fact, Quran has never been a primary source as we understand a primacy in modern jurisprudence. Muslim jurists would often rule according to verse of Quran but not a principle or spirit that it implies. They would pay a lip-service to Quran as a source of all legislation, but in fact they would disregard those rules of Quran that should have been regarded in specific occasion. The precise role of Quran is difficult to define; it is because the primacy of Quran has been overshadowed by other sources and methods of law. Quran has always been mentioned along with Sunna, second sources of Islamic law which we shall have occasion to discuss in the next paragraph. In order to demonstrate the position of Quran as a source of law, let us look at some examples of utilization of Quran in classic Islamic jurisprudence. The Prophetic Traditions or hadith as called in Arabic form a second source of law in hierarchy of sources of Islamic law and jurisprudence. It does not only occupy this position indeed but sometimes shares dominancy with Quran. The difference that emerged between Muslim jurists and later led to establishment of schools of law was caused by diverging interpretation of Prophetic Tradition. From liberal approach of Hanafis to strict compliance of Zahiris, they all dispute on nature of Prophetic Traditions as a source of law. Sometimes their conflict went as far as one realise that it is rather absurdity than logical argument. The word ‘ijma, which is basically translated as ‘collecting or ‘assembling, in a legal sense has caused a lot of debates over its validity. It is sometimes viewed as a consensus of either jurists or Muslims in general. Some assert that it is consensus of early Muslims Companions over common postulates of faith and religion. The consensus might be reached if it is unanimously adopted in practice or ‘custom as in the case of international law. Second, consensus might be uttered in respect of certain ruling by majority of either scholars or jurists. Finally, it can be ‘e silentio support for certain opinion by majority of jurists that have the right to adjudicate their independent opinion. It is not clear from Islamic jurisprudential theory when ijma should be employed and what certain conditions are. Some jurists, Hanafi, for instance, usually in their judgments, say ‘there has been consensus on this issue or ‘question but they never clarified how and why such consensus has been reached among them. We also do not know whether we may employ ijma concept in modern context and whether it shall be binding on all Muslims or adopted by them as a constituent part of Islamic law. In Sunni jurisprudence, we know that by way of ijma, certain jurists united into groups affiliated with dominating opinion of single jurist, which later became known as ‘schools of law or ‘madhahib. It has also been asserted that ijma on common legal issues has been reached in eighth century by respective founders of ‘madhahib; there is no way to re-visit these concepts or judgments. When speaking of analogy principle in Islamic law, it is not clear whether it is absolute or not or whether it is logically applicable to all cases. The word ‘qiyas itself means ‘to compare and it is regarded as one of the major sources of Islamic law. Islamic jurists themselves stipulate four predominant conditions of analogy: The precept or practice upon which it is founded must be of common (amm) and not of special (khass) application; The cause (‘illa) of the injunction must be known and understood; The decision must be based upon either the Quran, the Sunna, or the Ijma; The decision arrived at must not be contrary to anything declared elsewhere in the Quran and Sunna. The fourth stipulation raises some concerns. As we have discussed earlier, there are a lot of contradictions between Quran and Sunna, and even within Quran and within Sunna. The jurists attempted to decide such contradictions by asserting that there cannot be hypothetically any conflicts between these sources and even within these sources; they exist and it is reality. This factor also serves as a great hindrance in deriving rules or judgments from primary sources of Islamic law. Even though these rules has been developed and elaborated by jurists; there are still a lot of controversies with application of this principle. It is caused by a different degree of application in schools of law and conflict between jurists whether such analogy might be applied when the necessity in such application is clear. Thus, for instance, it is not clear why principle of justice embodied in Quran might not be equally applied to all subjects of Islamic state, be it Muslim or non-Muslim. Normally, Islamic jurist would object saying that since Quran is only for Muslims, its injunctions are only applicable to Muslims. There is no logic which might be applied but incoherence in reasoning, sometimes leading to absurd conclusions. Concluding Remarks In present chapter, we have discussed general legal conceptions that exist in Jordanian and Islamic law. There is a big difference between them because of the nature of legislation. Islamic law is mainly religious, whereas Jordanian is secular; even though Constitution claims that Islamic is a state religion. In majority of Islamic countries, a fact that Islamic is a religion of state is merely lip-service to Islamic as a religion of people. It does not go further than that, except some countries as Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. But even legislation of these countries demonstrates how secular they are in their nature. It does not however mean that Jordan lack of Islamic legal taste; there are some aspects of Islamic law in Jordanian legislation, as we have seen previously. The matters of marriage, divorce, inheritance and religious endowment are mainly under realms of Islamic law. Yet, on the other hands, similar matters that arise with other religious communities are decided based on their respective religious law. However, the matters which are related to arbitration and intellectual property are mainly based on secular, precisely on European model based laws. Therefore, purpose of forthcoming chapters will be to examine whether they comply with Islamic law in general. Arbitration System In Jordan And Compliance With Islamic Law And Its Implications For Intellectual Property Law This chapter summarizes the current state of arbitration system in Jordan and issue of its compliance with Islamic law. It is done with purpose to acquaint readers with main aspects of these systems and legislation, so he or she has full understanding when looking through forthcoming chapters. Arbitration In Jordan The arbitration process in Jordan is being regulated by special law Law No. 31 of 2001 otherwise called Jordan Arbitration Law. It is not unique; neither has it been adopted from international law, but from Egyptian Arbitration Act No. 27 of 1994, which in turn has been adopted from UNCITRAL Model Law 1985. The law consists of 7 parts and 56 articles. It can be structured thus: (1) General provisions (Articles 1-8); (2) Arbitration agreement (Articles 9-13); (3) Arbitration tribunal (Articles 14-23); (4) Arbitration proceedings (Articles 24-35); (5) Arbitral award and termination proceedings (Articles 36-47); (6) Nullity of arbitral award (Articles 48-51); (7) Enforcement of awards (Articles 52-56). The Art. 3 makes the scope of law absolute; it extends to any arbitration proceedings in Jordan and to any cases whether they derive from contractual dispute or not. Neither does it differentiate between commercial or civil disputes; both of them are within scope of this law. The Art. 5 allows not only contracting parties to choose the arbitration procedure but also a third party which shall be able to choose such procedure. The Art. 8 explicitly prohibits the intervention by state courts; yet, it stipulates that the arbitration tribunal may ask the intervention of state courts where former needs the participation of experts, witnesses, etc. As far as arbitration agreement is concerned, Art. 9 allows only those persons, be it physical or legal, which has legal capacity, to conclude such agreement. It does not allow arbitration on matters which are on â€Å"amiable compositeaur† basis. The arbitration agreement is valid only if in writing, according to Art. 10a, yet, the form of written agreement is flexible. It can be contained in exchange of letters, faxes, etc. It has been also reaffirmed by Jordanian Court of Cassation which stated: â€Å"the arbitration clause as established should be written, clear and explicit as well, by virtue of Article 10/A of the Arbitration Law No. 31of 2001†. The law also allows parties to render their dispute to arbitration whilst in state court, in which case state court has the right to refer to arbitration tribunal and its reference shall be viewed as arbitration agreement in writing. As far as arbitration tribunal concerned, Art. 14a and b, establishes that number of arbitrators shall be odd, otherwise it is void. If there is a disagreement between parties then number of arbitrators is three. Noteworthy, the law reaffirms the independence of arbitration clause, which is according to Art. 22, is not dependent on other clause of underlying contract. The language of arbitration proceedings is Arabic but law allows the use of another language or other languages upon consent of parties, according to Art. 28a. Most importantly, Art. 17 upheld the principle of impartiality and independence of arbitrators and in elaboration of this provision Court of Cassation further held: â€Å"all arbitral procedures, in which the challenged arbitrator has participated, including the arbitral award, shall be deemed void†. These are the major aspects of arbitration law in Jordan. Besides, Jordan has also ratified the New York Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards by the virtue of Jordanian Court of Cassation, where it was remarked: â€Å"It is understood from the Article (2) of Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Law No. 8 of 1952 that the foreign arbitral award which has been enforced and ratified by the forum court , shall be enforceable in Jordan in accordance with all the clauses and requirements, and does not conflict with any of the stipulated provisions of Article (7) of the said law†. The ratification of New York Convention by Jordan should be viewed as positive development and attractive for the foreign companies who wish to deal with Jordanian companies or invest in Jordan. The same applies to IP disputes; any company which would challenge Jordanian company with the claim of breach of copyright or violation of other forms of intellectual property, are in convenience in the view of ratification of New York Convention. However, in his study of issues pertaining enforcement, Haddad critically commented: â€Å"Turning again to Jordanian Law which provides, as has just been seen, that a foreign award must be enforceable in the place in which it was issued, which means that the award should have been reduced to a judgment in the foreign country†. It implies that Jordanian legislation does not recognise validity of foreign judgement as enforceable in Jordan. But he noted that â€Å"this approach may be criticized since it may be difficult in practice or even impossible to achieve this goal in certain circumstances, particularly in institutional arbitration. In this type of arbitration, it may happen that the parties involved in the proceedings including the arbitrators, and all other relevant factors have no relation whatsoever with the place of arbitration except that the proceedings were conducted there. In such a case, the foreign court may reasonably reject to enforce the award rendered in its country, and that means that the award may not be enforced in Jordan either†. In such dubious situation, it is unclear how Jordanian legislation on arbitration would cope with this kind of problem. It seems to be paradoxical situation because award cannot be enforced either domestically or locally. It will also have some implication for enforcement of foreign arbitral awards on intellectual property rights since majority of arbitral awards may not be enforced in foreign country since its enforcement should be accomplished in Jordan because of object of dispute. In such case, it is difficult to predict how arbitration courts and moreover state courts would deal with it. Enforcement Of Foreign Arbitration Awards In Jordan One of the problems that foreign company may encounter in Jordan is the problem of enforcement of award related to IP cases in Jordan. It is clear that certain IP cases may intervene with public policy and in this regard it is nearly impossible to assert such possibility may not arise. IP legislation in Jordan being in immature position sometimes may not offer effective solutions for parties which are from different countries. In this regard, one should closely take a look at public policy issues in Jordan. According to IP legislation, certain names cannot be registered as trademarks in Jordan. However: what if the name of foreign company or brand coincides with the name trademark registration of which is illegal in Jordan? The company in this case would face difficulties in carrying out business and moreover it would face difficulties in enforcing award that has been rendered in foreign or international arbitration court. The case of Mitsubishi in U.S. showed how difficult it is to determine whether one case is subject to public policy or not. It has changed the contours of arbitrability in U.S. but the question arises: can such case have implication for Jordanian arbitration system? One can answer positively, but one would be confused when it comes to IP arbitration. IP arbitration, as it has been seen, is a difficult and complex matter. It cannot be simply adjusted as in the case of ordinary commercial arbitration. The IP legislation is diverse and this diversity may imply negative consequences for arbitration, since arbitrators should be expertise in all areas