The Business Bankruptcy Blog
Executory contracts present a host of interesting issues in bankruptcy cases. This is especially true when the executory contract involves a license of intellectual property (or "IP"). In the past I’ve devoted several posts to the topic, including how IP licenses are treated in bankruptcy and the unique issues presented when a trademark licensee or trademark licensor files bankruptcy.
In…
Peter S. Menell, a Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Boalt Hall) and the Director of the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, is a highly regarded expert on intellectual property law. I wanted to let you know that he’s just posted a very interesting and comprehensive article on…
I’ve posted in the past about bankruptcy asset sales and how parties with executory contracts need to keep track of bankruptcy cases to protect their rights. Steve Jakubowski of The Bankruptcy Litigation Blog has an entertaining and informative post about a recent Court of Appeals decision involving rappers, recording companies, copyrights, and bankruptcy that raises some…
In an earlier post I discussed how a recent district court case gave trademark owners a leg up when a licensee files for bankruptcy. This begs the question: Does the advantage switch back to the licensee if the trademark owner files for bankruptcy? The answer generally, and perhaps surprisingly, is no.
Limited protection of Section 365(n).
Defending intellectual property ("IP") litigation can be expensive and, if unsuccessful, often crippling for the defendant’s business. Sometimes an accused infringer facing IP litigation will seek bankruptcy protection to invoke the automatic stay. Unless lifted by the bankruptcy court, the automatic stay will prevent further litigation against the debtor, outside of the bankruptcy claims process, for…
Apparently, until last November, no court had been called upon to resolve whether a trademark licensee in bankruptcy can assume, or assume and assign, a non-exclusive trademark license without the trademark owner’s consent.
The decision. We got the first answer to that question in a case called In re: N.C.P. Marketing Group, Inc.…
The major role intellectual property, or "IP," plays in our economy makes intellectual property licenses an especially significant type of executory contract. Whether you are a licensor or licensee, it’s important to know what can happen to IP licenses when a bankruptcy is filed.
Licensor in bankruptcy. A licensor in bankruptcy (or its bankruptcy…