Profitable Errors

Abstract

This study highlights the "Theory of Efficient Breach/Profitable Wrongs" as an urgent legal necessity driven by practical realities to address an inequitable phenomenon. This phenomenon manifests when certain parties exploit their own faults—whether intentional or unintentional—to reap substantial profits that vastly exceed the compensatory damages they might be ordered to pay. The research problem lies in the fact that this phenomenon poses a direct threat to the stability of transactions and the sustainability of contracts, in addition to causing a severe imbalance in the scales of justice within both the civil and economic spheres.

To achieve its objectives, this study analyzes the various forms and manifestations of this phenomenon. It categorizes them initially based on intent into "intentional profitable wrongs" and "unintentional profitable wrongs." Furthermore, the study examines the material aspect of profitable wrongs through its contractual applications, such as the "revocation of a promise to contract" and the "unilateral termination of a contract."

Conversely, the study transitions to diagnosing the moral (non-material) aspect of profitable wrongs by monitoring its diverse forms within commercial and social environments. This is particularly explored in the fields of "intellectual property and rights" and "unfair competition," as well as the "press, publishing, and infringement upon intellectual and literary rights" sector. The significance of this research lies in its attempt to establish a conceptual framework that defines the economic manifestations of committing a profitable wrong, thereby cataloging these forms to facilitate their remediation in the future. In this research, we adopted a two-part approach, dividing the study into two sections. The first section addresses forms of materially profitable error, and we have two subsections: the first being the breach of a promise to contract, and the second being the unilateral termination of a contract. The second section is dedicated to forms of morally profitable error, and we have three subsections: the first addressing error in the field of intellectual property and rights; the second addressing error in the field of unfair competition; and finally, the third addressing error in the field of journalism and publishing and the infringement of personal rights.