IP-Rechte unterliegen teilweise anderen Spielregeln als die übrigen Vermögenswerte eines Unternehmens. Gerade in wirtschaftlich schwierigen Zeiten ist wichtig, hier den Überblick zu behalten. Dies gilt in besonderem Maß, wenn IP-Rechte Gegenstand von Lizenzen sind und einer der beiden Vertragspartner insolvent wird.

Last year saw a wave of insolvency-related legislation introduced which was largely in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic but which also saw permanent reforms which have, and will continue to have, an impact on the logistics industry as well as supply-chains generally.

Commercial aviation has been one of the sectors most heavily impacted by COVID-19, but thanks to the strong controlling measures to weather the impact of the pandemic, the People’s Republic of China (the “PRC”) has been a market in which some form of aviation recovery is happening. Unfortunately, the recovery has not come soon enough for the Chinese conglomerate HNA.

In spring 2020, the Czech Republic, like the rest of the world, was severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The spread of COVID-19 outbreaks led to drastic shutdowns and reduced operations in almost all sectors of the economy. The loss of income and suspension of payments threatened to lead to the insolvency of thousands of businesses. So in spring 2020 the Czech Parliament approved temporary statutory measures to prevent the collapse of the business sector due to formal insolvency proceedings (the so-called Lex COVID).

We discussed in the March 2020 edition of the Texas Bar Journal¹ the bankruptcy court ruling by Judge Craig A. Gargotta of San Antonio in In Re First River Energy LLC that oil and gas producers in Texas do not hold perfected security interests in oil and gas well proceeds, notwithstanding the Texas Legislature’s efforts to protect producers and royalty owners following the downturn in the 1980s. The Fifth Circuit recently reaffirmed Judge Gargotta’s decision.

This article sets out some reflections on the decision of the Supreme Court in Sevilleja v Marex Financial Limited [2020] UKSC 31 from July 2020 which clarifies the scope of the so-called ‘reflective loss’ rule. The first instance judgment raised some comment-worthy issues regarding the economic torts which were not the subject of any appeal.

Was bringt 2021 aus arbeitsrechtlicher Sicht? Wir fassen die arbeitsrechtlichen Neuerungen in 2021 für Sie zusammen:

Erhöhung des Mindestlohns

Der Mindestlohn beträgt ab dem 1. Januar 2021 9,50 Euro brutto je Stunde. Ab dem 1. Juli 2021 steigt er weiter auf 9,60 Euro, ab dem 1. Januar 2022 beträgt er 9,82 Euro und ab dem 1. Juli 2022 10,45 Euro; jeweils brutto je Stunde. Die Minijob-Grenze bleibt jedoch bei 450 Euro im Monatbestehen.

Verlängerung des Corona-Bonus

On 3 December 2020, the UK Government (HM Treasury) issued a consultation paper (the Consultation) setting out a proposal to implement a new “special administration regime” (the SAR) which it is proposed would apply to any insolvency of an authorised payment institution (a PI) or electronic money institution (an EMI).

On 3 December 2020, HM Treasury published the Government's proposal to implement a new special administration regime for PIs and EMIs (PI and EMI SAR), a copy of which can be seen here.

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (“CIGA”), which came into force on 26 June 2020, introduced a series of new “debtor friendly” procedures and measures to give companies the breathing space and tools required to maximize their chance of survival. The main insolvency related reforms in CIGA (which incorporates both permanent and temporary changes to the UK’s laws) include:

1. New moratorium to give companies breathing space from their creditors

2. Prohibition on termination of contracts for the supply of goods and services by reason of insolvency