Business & Entrepreneurship

David Kilper / WUSTL PhotoThreat of injunctions can be beneficial in cases like eBay and BlackBerry, says WUSTL expert F. Scott Kieff.The threat of an injunction to protect patented technology, as seen in eBay v. MercExchange, is what drives infringers and patentees to strike deals — sometimes on the steps of the courthouse — because shutting down the business would lose money for both sides, says F. Scott Kieff, J.D., an associate professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. These deals, he points out, are what drive innovation. More…

Successful strategies are innovative. They combine resources or businesses in unique or complex ways that other firms may fail to recognize. Yet research from the Olin School of Business at Washington University finds that the market tends to undervalue companies with complex or unique strategies. The reason: they receive less analyst coverage. More…

Finalists for the inaugural Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation Competition have been selected after a half-year of preparation. The eight finalists include entirely new business proposals and existing non-profit organizations. The winners will be announced at a special presentation May 11.

In its fourth annual International Business Outlook Conference (IBOC), the Olin School of Business will once again provide the St. Louis business community with a chance to explore the most pressing challenges to conducting international business. The MBA student-organizers chose to highlight intellectual property rights and international finance for this year’s conference. IBOC takes place Friday, April 7, from 7:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. in the Knight Center on Washington University’s Hilltop Campus

African-American entrepreneur Earl G. “Butch” Graves, Jr. will deliver the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Lecture at 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 5th in Graham Chapel. The lecture, titled “The Media History and Portrayal of Black America,” is free and open to the public. Graves is the chief operating officer and president of the Earl G. Graves Publishing Company, publisher of Black Enterprise magazine.

Below is a link to the Washington University news release about the U.S. News & World Report undergraduate rankings for 2004-05: http://news-info.wustl.edu/news/page/normal/3627.html To view a full listing of U.S. News magazine, book and Web-only rankings for 2004-05, please visit the U.S. News & World Report site: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/rankindex_brief.php

He joined the magazine in 1988 as the vice president of advertising and marketing and has worked to transform the company into a multimedia conglomerate.

Thursday, March 30 at 5 p.m., the finalists will be selected and announced for the Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition, co-sponsored by Washington University and the YouthBridge Association. The event features Theresa Wilson, founder of The Blessing Basket, as a keynote speaker. Currently there are 14 semi-finalists. The finalists will be selected based on their two-minute presentations about their projects. The event takes place in May Auditorium in Simon Hall on the Washington University Hilltop Campus

BigelowLyda Bigelow, assistant professor of organization and strategy, has little sympathy for the difficulties American car makers are experiencing. She says that American car makers had a long time to work out the pension and benefits problems they’re now facing, but the companies failed to do so, even when they had the resources to do so.

Thursday, March 30 at 5 p.m., the finalists will be announced for the Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition, co-sponsored by Washington University and the YouthBridge Association. The event features Theresa Wilson, founder of The Blessing Basket, as a keynote speaker. Currently there are 14 semi-finalists. The finalists will be selected based on their two-minute presenations about their projects. The event takes place in May Auditorium in Simon Hall on the Washington University Hilltop Campus.