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After the former front man for late-60s and 70s supergroup Sly and the Family Stone sued his former manager for tricking him into signing away his royalty rights, the manager is now putting Stone’s production companies into...more
As the American economy continues to slog through the ongoing Great Recession, even financially sound companies face challenges due to the continued economic malaise. In particular, a company that works with suppliers,...more
Generally, license agreements are “executory contracts” in bankruptcy. Executory means performance is due from both sides. When a party to an executory contract becomes a debtor in bankruptcy, it may either reject or assume...more
The new year is off to a pretty big start. We've already seen significant decisions from federal appellate courts on criminal trade secrets prosecutions and the epic Mattel/MGA "Bratz" dolls dispute. We have a looming debate...more
In This Issue: - The Innovative Design Protection Act: Bound for Success or Doomed to Fail? - Strategic Licensing Considerations - New Faces - Points from the President - Think Again Before Walking Away from...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently ruled that a perpetual, royalty-free, and exclusive trademark licensing agreement qualified as an executory contract subject to assumption or rejection under...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago has issued a decision with significant implications for licensees of trademarks whose licensors become debtors in bankruptcy. In Sunbeam Products, Inc. v. Chicago...more
Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook of the Seventh Circuit recently created a split of authority regarding the rejection intellectual property licenses in bankruptcy by upholding a decision protecting a trademark licensee’s ability...more
Originally published in the October 2012 issue of The Bankruptcy Strategist. Much has been written over the past 20-plus years, in court decisions and scholarly articles, about the omission of “trademarks” from the...more
The U.S. Bankruptcy Code generally limits a Chapter 11 debtor-licensor’s ability to reject intellectual property licenses, but trademark licenses are not subject to such limitations. Trademark license agreements that are...more
Acquirors of branded businesses often acquire prepaid, perpetual, exclusive trademark licenses to use the business’s trademarks. On August 30, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that a bankrupt...more
In This Issue: Patents: Prometheus Rising: In Bancorp, the Battle Between “Claim” and “Inventive Concept” Continues; Prior Art Publications Entitled to Presumption of Enablement; Statements Made During...more
In Sunbeam Products, Inc. v. Chicago American Manufacturing, LLC, Case No. 11-3920, 2012 WL 2687939 (7th Cir. July 9, 2012) (“Sunbeam”), the Seventh Circuit split with the Fourth Circuit by issuing a decision that could have...more
Licensees of intellectual property, especially trademarks, may breathe easier thanks to a Circuit-splitting decision authored by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month. In Sunbeam Products, Inc. v. Chicago...more
Trademark licensees can continue using licensed trademarks after their licenses are rejected in bankruptcy, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled on July 9, 2012, in Sunbeam Products, Inc. v. Chicago...more
The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in Sunbeam Products, Inc. v. Chicago American Manufacturing, LLC, recently issued a decision that holds contrary to the only other court of appeals that has addressed the issue —...more
In reaction to a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Lubrizol Enterprises, Inc. v. Richmond Metal Finishers, Inc., 756 F.2d 1043 (4th Cir. 1985), in which the court held that a licensee of patents,...more
On July 9, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit significantly strengthened the potential ability of licensees to trademarks, international intellectual property, and other rights to continue to...more
On July 9, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a decision in Sunbeam Products, Inc. v. Chicago American Mfg., LLC (No. 11-3920), a case that addresses the effect of a bankruptcy trustee's...more
A recent decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals contains two important lessons for anyone drafting documents which contain a trademark license. In In re XMH Corporation, the Seventh Circuit held that a licensee...more
Post-Industrial: Of or relating to a society or economy marked by a lessened importance of manufacturing and an increase of services, information, and research; "post- industrial countries." The year was 1967. The...more
In a case of first impression, In re Qimonda AG, the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (the “Bankruptcy Court”) found that the protections of section 365(n) of the Bankruptcy Code are available to...more
There’s been a lot of ink spilled on Duets Blog about the long saga of the Tavern on the Green, here, here and here. The last we heard, back in March of 2010, was that a judge had ordered the cancellation of the trademark...more
In this Issue: CRAB Bites – Bad Boy Guaranties; CR&B Alert Case Update – Seventh Circuit Upholds Lenders’ Credit Bidding Rights in River Road Decision; Shareholders Permitted to Retain Ownership Under ‘New Value Exception’ to...more
This two-part article provides an overview of the main issues faced and decisions to be made by a trademark licensor whose licensee has filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. It covers the following four scenarios: (i) if the...more
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