CLE: The Law and Economics of Aftermarkets with Dr. Bruce Abramson
When: Jan 31, 2012 12:00 PM to Jan 31, 2012 1:30 PM PST
Where: Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA
Rimon Law, Bank Leumi, and the Harvard Club of Silicon Valley are proud to present Dr. Bruce Amramson and the Law and Economics of Aftermarkets. This presentation is approved for 1 hour of California CLE Credit. The event will be simulcast online.
This one-hour course will introduce participants to the basic concepts of aftermarkets, and survey both the state of the law and some open legal questions surrounding survival as an aftermarket player in the modern economy.
The presentation will be of special interest to:
- Developers of Facebook, Android and iPhone Apps
- Other developers of apps and add-ons
- Manufacturers of devices with embedded software
- Investors and analysts interested in these types of companies
- Attorneys representing any of the above
Presented by Dr. Bruce Abramson. Aftermarket businesses rest their success on top of someone else’s platform. Until fairly recently, most such businesses clustered in the customization or repair sectors, but software platforms and embedded chips have spread aftermarkets throughout the economy. Today, iPhone apps, Facebook games, universal remote controllers, replacement toner cartridges, and their like all define aftermarkets. From an economic perspective, aftermarket businesses are at the mercy of their platform providers. While some platform providers may prove sympathetic to the needs of their aftermarkets, others may be indifferent, or even antagonistic. What’s worse, platform providers may shift from one posture to another with little advanced notice. The laws governing relationships among platform providers, aftermarket players, and their shared customers are complex, drawing (at a bare minimum) from patent, copyright, antitrust, and contract law. This one-hour course will introduce participants to the basic concepts of aftermarkets, and survey both the state of the law and some open legal questions surrounding survival as an aftermarket player in the modern economy.