Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Trademark Licensees May Be Able to Have Their (Cup)Cake and Eat It, Too
Following a recent line of high-profile and notable decisions that have sought to protect the rights of trademark licensees in a trademark licensor's bankruptcy, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey has issued a significant decision that, for the first time, extends the protections of Section 365(n) of the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. ' 365(n), to trademark licensees on equitable grounds. In re Crumbs Bake Shop, Inc., No. 14-24287 (Bankr. D.N.J. Oct. 31, 2014) (Crumbs).
Given that intellectual property licenses are generally considered to be executory contracts that may be rejected pursuant to Section 365(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, Section 365(n) serves to mitigate an intellectual property licensee's exposure to the risk of the licensor's bankruptcy by allowing the licensee to treat a rejected license as terminated or to elect to retain certain of its rights under the license. If the licensee accepts termination of its license, it can file a claim in the bankruptcy case, which would typically be treated as a pre-petition general unsecured claim. If the licensee makes an election under Section 365(n) to retain its rights, the debtor-licensor must comply with the confidentiality and exclusivity provisions of the license agreement and continue to provide access to the licensed intellectual property as it existed immediately before the bankruptcy filing.
This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only
ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCESS TO THE SINGLE SOURCE OF OBJECTIVE LEGAL ANALYSIS, PRACTICAL INSIGHTS, AND NEWS IN ENTERTAINMENT LAW.
- Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
- Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
- Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts
Already a have an account? Sign In Now Log In Now
For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
Judge Rules Shaquille O'Neal Will Face Securities Lawsuit for Promotion, Sale of NFTs
A federal district court in Miami, FL, has ruled that former National Basketball Association star Shaquille O'Neal will have to face a lawsuit over his promotion of unregistered securities in the form of cryptocurrency tokens and that he was a "seller" of these unregistered securities.
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.
Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners
Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.