Features
The Metamorphosis of Assignment Clauses in Bankruptcy
How is this scenario for a debtor's nightmare? You negotiate a license agreement that provides for the assignment of the agreement to successors in interest so long as they agree to be bound by the terms of the agreement. You then file a Chapter 11 bankruptcy and as a debtor in possession, seek to assume that license agreement. The other party to the contract objects to such assumption and the Bankruptcy Court says that in light of such objection you cannot assume the license agreement. You cannot reorganize without the license. You are dead.
Features
The Debtor's 'Insolvency' for Avoidance Actions
This article focuses on the uses of the term "insolvency" in the avoidance context, including the impact of the 2004 case, <i>Heilig-Meyers Co. v. Wachovia Bank N.A. (In re Heilig-Meyers Co.)</i>, 319 B.R. 447 (Bankr. E.D. Va. 2004), which, while limiting its analysis to a preference context, sheds some light on judicial gloss on the term "insolvency" as it is used both explicitly and implicitly throughout the Code. In addition, it examines definitions of "insolvent" and the presumption of insolvency in preference actions, discusses fair valuation and going-concern valuation methodology, and looks at the standard of proof and types of evidence to establish insolvency (including retrojection and projection).
Features
Lease Termination Agreements: Get Out Quickly, But Carefully
Regardless of the route a landlord and tenant take to arrive at the mutual decision to terminate a lease, the final steps will require execution of a lease termination agreement. Sometimes, in their haste to get out quickly, landlords and tenants overlook many issues they should consider before signing. This article will help landlords and tenants continue to get out quickly, while preventing them from overlooking issues they should consider before executing such an agreement.
IP News
Highlights of the latest intellectual property news from around the country.
Recent Federal Circuit Opinion Highlights Risks of IP Rights in Government Contracts
In a case that should serve as a warning to firms with active intellectual property development programs and that have, or aspire to have, the federal government as a customer, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently ruled that a government contractor that failed to properly disclose an invention developed pursuant to a government contract forfeited title and all rights to the invention and its related patent. <i>See Campbell Plastics Eng'g & Mfg., Inc. v. Brownlee</i>, No. 03-1512, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 23502 (Fed. Cir. Nov. 10, 2004). The case demonstrated the government's willingness to seek, and ability to obtain, the particularly harsh remedy of forfeiture.
Features
The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003:The Effect on Entry of Generic Drugs into the Marketplace
The Hatch-Waxman Act, enacted in 1984, first permitted the marketing of generic pharmaceuticals based on a showing of bioequivalence, not safety and efficacy, through the use of an Abbreviated New Drug Application ("ANDA"). By significantly lowering the barrier to entry for generics, this change provided the impetus for rapid growth of the generic pharmaceutical industry in the United States. In exchange for this barrier lowering, Congress provided the holder of the previously approved new drug application ("NDA") with patent term extensions based on FDA regulatory delay.
Features
Extraterritorial Application of U.S. Patent Laws: NTP, Inc. v. Research in Motion
Members of Congress rely on them, and many lawyers compulsively check them, but until recently, most users did not realize that every e-mail message sent to or from their BlackBerry handheld device is routed through a Relay station in Canada, which Research in Motion, Ltd. ("RIM"), the maker of the BlackBerry, calls home. The location of this Relay was a central issue in a patent infringement dispute between NTP, Inc., the holder of patents related to mobile electronic e-mail, and RIM, with RIM claiming it did not infringe NTP's patents because a key component of its BlackBerry system, and a necessary element of NTP's patent claims, resides outside the United States. But the courts have sided with NTP. (Editor's note: The case was recently settled. See IP News for details.)
Need Help?
- Prefer an IP authenticated environment? Request a transition or call 800-756-8993.
- Need other assistance? email Customer Service or call 1-877-256-2472.
MOST POPULAR STORIES
- Removing Restrictive Covenants In New YorkIn Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?Read More ›
- Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the RoughThere 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.Read More ›
- The Brave New World of Cybersecurity Due Diligence in Mergers and Acquisitions: Pitfalls and OpportunitiesLike poorly-behaved school children, new technologies and intellectual property (IP) are increasingly disrupting the M&A establishment. Cybersecurity has become the latest disruptive newcomer to the M&A party.Read More ›
- A Lawyer's System for Active ReadingActive 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.Read More ›
- Digital Dibs: Rival Views of Generative AI CopyrightsGAI platforms like ChatGPT and OpenAI often require very little human input, shattering this legal landscape's framework by posing a simple question: Who authored the material? We'll explore how two countries are answering this question in different ways.Read More ›