Although Switzerland recently decided to facilitate the financing activities of groups operating in or out of Switzerland by easing some restrictions under the Withholding Tax Ordinance, the rather stringent requirements regarding group financings according to corporate law, as well as the rules under banking law and bankruptcy law, remain the same.
Licences – whether relating to technologies, trademarks, images, audiovisual materials or software – are increasingly important corporate assets. The insolvency of a licensor or licensee can have diverse implications for the fate of those assets, depending on factors such as place of jurisdiction, applicable law, the insolvency mechanisms available and their effect on such agreements.
What effect does a licensor filing for insolvency have on a licence?
On October 14 2015 the Federal Council published a revision project for the Private International Law Act regarding the recognition and coordination of foreign bankruptcy proceedings in Switzerland.
A foreign insolvency decree can be recognised in Switzerland, at request of the foreign liquidator or a creditor, only if:
Introduction
The insolvency proceedings for the Swissair companies have yet again proved to be one of the biggest and most important cases in the history of Swiss insolvency law. The Federal Supreme Court recently rendered a groundbreaking decision in the liquidation proceedings for SAirGroup and changed its jurisprudence regarding the legitimacy of an insolvent company's estate to claim for damages incurred by company creditors.
Introduction
Since January 22 2015 the Swiss National Bank has charged a negative interest rate (currently 0.75%) for sight deposit account balances that Swiss banks hold with the Swiss National Bank, provided that the sight deposit account balance exceeds a given exemption threshold.(1)
A creditor of a debt in Switzerland can file a debt collection request against the debtor to enforce its claim. The debt collection proceedings will eventually lead to the seizure of the debtor's assets. If the enforcement proceedings are unsuccessful and the debtor's assets are insufficient to cover the creditor's claim, the debt collection authorities will issue a loss certificate confirming the part of the claim which was not covered by the proceeds.
Stilli Park declares bankruptcy
Recent case law
Stilli Park declares bankruptcy
On June 2 2014 Stilli Park AG, the leaseholder of the Intercontinental Davos – a hotel with the singular shape of a golden egg – declared bankruptcy.
Introduction
Due to the prevalence of the territoriality principle in Swiss bankruptcy law, a foreign bankruptcy trustee's powers to act in Switzerland are limited. In general, a foreign trustee is not allowed to collect assets located in Switzerland, even if it is competent to act under the applicable foreign law. A foreign bankruptcy trustee may, in principle, only apply for recognition of the foreign bankruptcy decree and request protective measures.