The German Federal Court of Justice was recently asked to decide whether a waiver in favour of company director had been validated by the preliminary insolvency administrator's consent.
Background
The COVID-19 crisis has pushed intellectual property holders and implementers into a distressed situation. In this webinar, we explore what happens if a party to an IP licence becomes insolvent, and discuss practical tips for the non-insolvent party to protect its position.
As a rule, Belgian insolvency law does not tackle the issue of IP rights or licensing agreements in the event of insolvency proceedings. Their fate will therefore be subject to the general provisions of Belgian insolvency law, which vary depending of the type of insolvency proceedings concerned.
(German federal high court – decision of September 24th, 2015 – IX ZR 272/13)
Legal background
In accordance with sec. 166 para 1 German Insolvency Code (“InsO”) an insolvency administrator is entitled to utilise tangible assets in his possession, even where the assets are encumbered.
Although the German Insolvency Code regulates the disposal and utilization of tangible assets and claims encumbered in favour of a creditor no regulation exists for rights such as shares, trademarks or intellectual property rights.