News Briefs
Highlights of the latest franchising news from around the country.
Features
Plan Ahead: Third Circuit Denies Tax Exemption for Asset Sales Made Before Chapter 11 Plan
It has been often said that Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code can be summarized as the "Three Rs," precisely "reorganize, restructure, and rehabilitate." In practicality, this includes steps such as "reducing headcount," (firing people, without the euphemism), streamlining operations, reordering debt, and so on. One of the most critical components of such lifesaving steps is the divestiture of assets, in plain English, selling off assets that are either unprofitable and unwanted burdens or those items that can fetch high prices that can add quickly to the cash reserves of a troubled company.
In the Marketplace
Highlights of the latest equipment leasing news from around the country.
Features
A Practical Guide to Software Leasing
Although the demand for software financing and leasing continues to grow at a tremendous rate, software financing and leasing remains one of the most challenging and least understood areas of leasing. The focus of this article is on the financing and leasing of 100% software, although there is some discussion of mixed leases of equipment and software. The goal is to provide lessors with a practical guide to the issues arising in a typical software financing or leasing transaction. The emphasis is on direct leases between a lessor and a lessee, as opposed to a vendor finance arrangement where the software licensor is also a party.
Uneven, But Positive Net Results for Leasing Industry at Midyear
Consistent with the turbulent and uneven economy as a whole, the up and down results contained in the Equipment Leasing Association's Quarterly Performance Indicators Report (PIR) for the second quarter of 2003 should not come as much of a surprise. In the final analysis, industry members should take solace in the fact that while it has been a fairly wild past 12 months, there has been a net gain in two of the most important indicators: Total Net Portfolio and Total New Business. Certain other indicators, however, produced more mixed results. Specifically, employment in the industry is down while charge-offs are up when compared with the figures from the second quarter of 2002.
Features
<b>Decision of Note</b> <b>Web Streaming of Film Clips Not Fair Use</b>
The U.S Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit decided that the unlicensed streaming on the Internet of two-minute clips from Walt Disney films didn't constitute fair use.
Courthouse Steps
Recently filed cases in entertainment law, straight from the steps of the Los Angeles Superior Court.
Features
<b><i>Clause & Effect</b></i>Challenges in Drafting Clauses to Arbitrate
Parties to entertainment industry agreements often include a provision for the arbitration of contract disputes. This may be motivated by the lower cost and less formality than court proceedings that arbitration can offer, as well as the ability to keep arbitrated disputes out of public view. But the simple language of an arbitration clause can lead to challenges over whether the arbitration process was proper.
Inside the Taco Bell Case
Competition in all aspects of the entertainment world - from television to movies, to the record industry, to the Internet, to the video game industry - has grown quite fierce over the past decade. The stakes are higher than ever. So is the demand for successful, breakthrough ideas. Consequently, cases alleging the theft of creative ideas are becoming more and more common. A recent case in which this writer served as plaintiffs' co-counsel demonstrates how substantial damages can be in lawsuits over ideas.
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
- Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult CoinWith each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.Read More ›
- The Article 8 Opt InThe Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.Read More ›
- Warehouse Liability: Know Before You Stow!As consumers continue to shift purchasing and consumption habits in the aftermath of the pandemic, manufacturers are increasingly reliant on third-party logistics and warehousing to ensure their products timely reach the market.Read More ›
- The Anti-Assignment Override ProvisionsUCC Sections 9406(d) and 9408(a) are one of the most powerful, yet least understood, sections of the Uniform Commercial Code. On their face, they appear to override anti-assignment provisions in agreements that would limit the grant of a security interest. But do these sections really work?Read More ›