Two recent Supreme Court of Canada decisions demonstrate that the corporate attribution doctrine is not a one-size-fits-all approach.
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
Court approval of a sale process in receivership or Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (“BIA”) proposal proceedings is generally a procedural order and objectors do not have an appeal as of right; they must seek leave and meet a high test in order obtain it. However, in Peakhill Capital Inc. v.
Bed Bath & Beyond, the home goods retailer, has filed bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and plans to conduct liquidation sales and close all of its brick-and-mortar stores by June 30, as reported by The New York Times. The retailer points to an inability to adjust to the growth of online shopping as a reason for its downfall.
On February 13, 2023, Ultra Petroleum Corporation (“Ultra”) filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the US Supreme Court seeking review of the Fifth Circuit’s October 2022 ruling that, in solvent-debtor cases, debtors must pay unsecured creditors applicable contractual make-whole premiums and postpetition interest at contractual default rates in order for such unsecured creditors to be considered unimpaired.
In a January 2023 opinion,1 the Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Court overseeing the bankruptcy case of Latin American airline Avianca and certain of its affiliates sanctioned over 150 of the airline’s Brazilian and Columbian creditors who had filed proofs of claim in the bankruptcy case finding t
In a decision likely to have significant impact on certain types of bankruptcy filings going forward, this morning, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the dismissal of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case filed by Johnson & Johnson affiliate LTL Management LLC.
On October 19th, the Wall Street Journal reported that the electric vehicle startup Mullen Automotive Inc., gained court approval to buy an Indiana manufacturing plant and assets from Electric Last Mile Solutions for $92 million. Such deal, which boosted Mullen’s share prices by 64%, includes Electric Last Mile Solutions’ manufacturing plant in Mishawaka, Indiana and its inventory and intellectual property.
In its June 6, 2022 opinion in Siegel v. Fitzgerald, the United States Supreme Court resolved a circuit split and invalidated a 2017 statute that increased U.S. Trustee fees in 48 states—but not Alabama or North Carolina—as unconstitutional under the uniformity requirement of the Constitution’s Bankruptcy Clause. See Siegel v. Fitzgerald, 596 U.S. ___ (2022).
U.S. Trustee Fees, a History