International Marketing – MAR 6158

Fall 2018

Countries like India, UK, and USA are known to use common law while code law is

applied in nations such as Germany, Spain, Japan, and Brazil. This blog discusses some

differences which exist in the legal environments of a nation implementing common law and one

which embraces code law. In terms of definition, common law is enacted dependent on court

rulings. In other words, they are results of rulings that have been made in older court cases.

According to Hill (2013), these laws are based on customs, traditions, and precedent. On the

other hand, code law refers to an organized and broad written statement of laws of a specific

region when the code was passed and codified. The other difference between common and code

law is explained by laws governing intellectual property. In USA, which uses common law,

ownership is instituted by use. On the other hand, in countries like Brazil and Germany, where

code law is implemented, some agreements may not be implemented except if suitably notarized

or registered in a country which embraces common law. Moreover, the same agreement can be

binding provided that proof of the accord can be ascertained. The last difference between the two

systems regards disparities in interpretation of sales agreements. A striking example in this case

is the case between Nike and Cidesport of Spain (Williams, 2017). Nike los its right o use the

brand name “Nike” in Spain for sportswear. Since 1932, Cidesport of Spain had used Nike for

sportswear so it went to court to stop Nike (US) from selling sportswear in Spain. The court

battle ended by allowing Nike (US) to sell its brand of sports shoes since Cidesport did no use

the Nike label in its sales.

 References

Hill, W. L. C. (2013). International Business: Competing in the global marketplace (9th Ed.).

New York: McGraw-Hill, pg. 54.

Williams, R. J. (2017). Common law versus code law in business interactions. Retrieved from

http://thevincentian.com/common-law-versus-code-law-in-business-interactions-p14127-

1.htm