As intellectual property becomes a more important part of commerce, the question of how IP licenses are treated in bankruptcy is of more interest to companies negotiating such licenses. When a Chapter 11 bankruptcy is...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has already caused numerous companies to file for bankruptcy relief and will likely cause many more to do so. In this environment, it is particularly important for both licensees and licensors of...more
During periods of widespread economic disruption such as the present, operating businesses must be able to identify and respond to threats to the financial health of their contracting counterparts in order to protect key...more
In 2018, the First Circuit in Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology, LLC, 879 F.3d 389 (1st Cir. 2018) (the Tempnology Decision) decided that trademark licensees lost their rights under a trademark license when the...more
Oral argument before the Supreme Court was held on February 20 in the much-watched and even more intensely discussed trademark dispute Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology, LLC....more
The Big Question. What is the effect of rejection of a trademark license by a debtor-licensor? Over the past few years, this blog has followed the Tempnology case out of New Hampshire raising just that issue. The case has...more
Our January 22, May 23, June 28, July 13, August 3, September 11 and October 29, 2018 posts discussed the First Circuit’s January 12, 2018 decision in Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology, LLC and the pending appeal...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently reminded bankruptcy trustees, creditors and asset buyers that patent licenses have a limited “shelf life” in Chapter 7 liquidations. When the Chapter 7 trustee did not...more
On Friday, October 26, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in what could be a landmark decision concerning trademark issues in bankruptcy. In Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology LLC, the Court will...more
On October 26, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a petition for a writ of certiorari in the case of Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology, LLC, to decide the issue of whether a debtor-licensor’s rejection of a...more
As I previously blogged about, there is a circuit split as to whether, when a trademark owner/licensor files for bankruptcy, the licensee of the trademark can legally continue use of the mark or whether the trademark...more
In In re SIMA Int'l, Inc., 2018 WL 2293705 (Bankr. D. Conn. May 17, 2018), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut ruled that a chapter 7 trustee's rejection of an intellectual property license agreement did...more
Our June 28 post discussed the petition for certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of the First Circuit’s January 12 decision in Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology, LLC. We noted that the respondent’s...more
Our January 22 post discussed “a long-running issue concerning the treatment of trademark licenses in bankruptcy” and its resolution in the January 12 decision of the First Circuit in Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v....more
• Considered without reference to a corresponding definition, Section 365(n) of the Bankruptcy Code seems clear. If the trustee or debtor-in-possession, as licensor, rejects an executory intellectual property license, the...more
In Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology, LLC (In re Tempnology, LLC), 879 F.3d 389 (1st Cir. 2018), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled that the rejection of a trademark license in bankruptcy means...more
As intellectual property becomes a more important part of commerce, the question of how IP licenses are treated in bankruptcy is of more interest to companies negotiating such licenses....more
In the recently decided case, Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology, LLC, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit took a hardline position that trademark license rights are not protected in bankruptcy....more
If you are a licensee under a trademark license, what happens to your license if the licensor winds up in the Bankruptcy Court? A recent United States Circuit Court case demonstrates how uncertain the answer is at this time....more
A long-running issue concerning the treatment of trademark licenses in bankruptcy has seen a new milestone with the January 12 decision of the First Circuit in Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology, LLC. The issue was...more
Kilpatrick Townsend partner David Posner spoke at a recent New York State Bar Association event where he and other panelists discussed the topic “Around the Edges of IP: Complexities of IP in Bankruptcy.” Mr. Posner...more
The In re Tempnology LLC bankruptcy case in New Hampshire has produced yet another important decision involving trademarks and Section 365(n) of the Bankruptcy Code. This time the decision is from the United States Bankruptcy...more
Bankruptcy presents risks for, among many others, intellectual property (“IP”) licensees. Fortunately, there is a provision in the federal bankruptcy law that is designed to protect IP licensees when a licensor becomes...more
A legitimate fear among companies negotiating license agreements exists, and that is the fear of the license counterparty filing for bankruptcy. Given the business interruption that ultimately could occur as a result of a...more
A decision last month by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Hampshire serves as a good reminder that, although helpful, Bankruptcy Code Section 365(n)’s protection for intellectual property licensees definitely...more