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Summary

In the first appeal of a restructuring plan under Part 26A Companies Act 2006, the English Court of Appeal unanimously set aside the first instance decision sanctioning the plan proposed by AGPS BondCo PLC, part of the Adler real estate group1.

此前我们在《从“License-in”转型“License-out”——你的“自主知识产权”成色几何?》中对企业在开展License-out过程中涉及的知识产权侵权问题进行了梳理,并提出了实操建议供企业参考。此外,在技术许可交易中,还有一个此前常被中国企业在技术交易中忽略的问题,即技术许可方破产对技术许可的影响。随着中国技术类企业正逐步从技术引进(“License-in”)转向技术输出(“License-out”),中国企业也时常碰到境外被许可方提出的“破产保护”诉求。我们将在本文中对该问题进行探讨,并对国外常见的应对方案“技术托管”进行较为详细的介绍。

一、许可方破产对技术许可合同的影响

Summary

Trustees and officeholders (such as administrators, receivers and liquidators) can ask the Court to approve steps that they propose to take in the administration of their estate (such as the sale of an asset or settlement of a claim).

The Court1 exercised its discretion to sanction a restructuring plan proposed by AGPS BondCo PLC (the Company) (part of the Adler real estate group) to amend indebtedness arising under six series of senior unsecured notes governed by German law, which matured on different dates through to 2029.

In vielen Branchen kann die Lieferkette eine Vielzahl von Unternehmen und Jurisdiktionen umfassen. Im derzeitigen Wirtschaftsklima ist es nicht ungewöhnlich, dass einzelne Lieferanten innerhalb dieser Lieferkette in finanzielle   Schwierigkeiten   geraten   oder ein Insolvenzverfahren beantragen.

In many industries, the supply chain can involve multiple suppliers and jurisdictions. In the current economic climate, it is not unusual for a supplier within the supply chain to encounter financial distress or even to enter into formal insolvency proceedings. This can have a significant impact on a company if its business depends on a distressed supplier and an alternative or additional supplier cannot be found (and production cannot be brought in house) or an alternative sourcing is not possible for other reasons, like part/raw material approval process, testing, customs etc.

This article first appeared in Accountancy Daily on 20 January 2023.

With supply chain problems, war in Europe and other issues leading to higher inflation and an increasingly uncertain economic outlook, this article explores the options available to companies experiencing financial distress.