On May 17, 2018, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut held that a trademark licensee retains the right to use licensed trademarks following a debtor-licensor’s rejection of the license. See In re SIMA Int’l, Inc Debtor, No. 17-21761, 2018 WL 2293705 (Bankr. D. Conn. May 17, 2018). This decision, the most recent in a series of cases addressing the treatment of trademark licenses in bankruptcy proceedings, is consistent (in result though not necessarily in reasoning) with court decisions in the Third and Seventh Circuits, but directly conflicts with case law from the Fourth Circuit and with a recent First Circuit decision, which will likely be appealed to the Supreme Court on Monday, June 11, 2018. Click here for more.
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