The Australian Federal Court has made orders relieving the administrators of retailer Colette from personal liability for rent in response to the COVID-19 crisis and the current uncertainty in respect of government policy about rent relief for tenants: see

What you need to know

We are in unprecedented times. The current COVID-19 pandemic will not only have an impact on the physical health of our country, but the economic health of our country as well. Increased bankruptcy filings are a virtually certainty and this raises concerns of many, including licensors and licensees of intellectual property. What should these parties be thinking about given the coming uptick in bankruptcies?

From the Licensee’s Perspective

Amendments to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act) to implement the measures announced by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Sunday, 22 March 2020 to provide temporary relief for financially distressed businesses due to COVID-19 have now come into effect.

The Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Act 2020 (Cth) (CERPO Act) amendments were passed by the Parliament on 2 March 2020. They will apply for a 6 month period, but may be extended or have impacts beyond that timeframe.

The Treasurer, the Honourable Josh Frydenberg MP, has today announced proposed temporary changes to Australian corporate insolvency laws which will vary the minimum requirements for statutory demands and provide some relief for directors from insolvent trading. These announcements form part of the Australian Government's measures to support otherwise profitable and viable businesses due to the economic impacts of COVID-19.

What a director wanting to enter the safe harbour must do

Directors in Australia have long had a statutory duty to prevent insolvent trading. The duty is engaged where:

Courts struggled last year to find a balance between state-licensed cannabis activity and the federal right to seek bankruptcy protection under the Bankruptcy Code. During 2019, we had the first circuit-level opinion in the bankruptcy/cannabis space that appeared to open the door to bankruptcy courts, albeit slightly. We also had lower court opinions slamming that door shut.

Below, we look at a few of the most important decisions issued throughout 2019 and analyze the current state of the law.

The Ninth Circuit's Garvin Decision

Courts struggled this year to find a balance between state-licensed cannabis activity and the federal right to seek bankruptcy protection under the Bankruptcy Code. During 2019, we had the first circuit-level opinion in the bankruptcy/cannabis space that appeared to open the door to bankruptcy courts, albeit slightly. We also had lower court opinions slamming that door shut. Below, we look at a few of the most important decisions issued throughout 2019 and analyze the current state of the law.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ Garvin Decision

In another loss for the cannabis industry, a district court recently affirmed the dismissal of chapter 11 petitions filed by companies that sold product used by both state-licensed marijuana growers and non-marijuana growers. The district court’s decision in Way to Grow, Inc. demonstrates that the door that was opened by the Ninth Circuit in Garvin v. Cook Invs.

We have written before about the virtual dead end faced by marijuana companies who try to seek protection in the bankruptcy courts. Almost uniformly, bankruptcy courts have shut their doors on marijuana companies, including their landlords and suppliers.

On May 30, 2019, Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, signed DIFC Insolvency Law, Law No. 1 of 2019 (the “New Insolvency Law”) into law, thereby repealing and replacing DIFC Law No. 3 of 2009. The New Insolvency Law, and supporting regulations (the “Regulations”), became effective on June 13, 2019, and govern companies operating in the Dubai International Financial Centre (the “DIFC”).