Business Reorganization

Navigating The Intersection of Bankruptcy and Intellectual Property

Note to Committee
Beverly Berneman, Frank Oswald, and I (Summer Chandler) are working on the second edition of the ABI book, Choppy Waters: Navigating the Intersection of Bankruptcy and Intellectual Property. It should be ready to go to print by the end of this year. We would like very much to have the opportunity to present at the Spring Meeting on some of the issues we will be discussing in the book and that we have encountered in our practices or other work. Thank you for considering our proposal.

Panel Description:

Intellectual property is often critical to the financial stability and well-being of a company. When a debtor enters bankruptcy, the Bankruptcy Code contains several provisions that impact rights held by the debtor, or others, in intellectual property owned or used by the debtor. Given the important role that intellectual property often plays in the life of a business, disputes pertaining to intellectual property frequently surface in the context of the debtor's bankruptcy case. Unfortunately, significant uncertainty continues to surround many of the issues that exist at the intersection of bankruptcy law and intellectual property law.

This panel will explore the complex intersection of intellectual property and bankruptcy law, focusing on the important and unique challenges and opportunities that can arise when intellectual property rights are at issue in bankruptcy proceedings. The topics discussed will include, among others: the effect of the rejection of an intellectual property license agreement, the effect of the sale of a debtor’s intellectual property on the rights of non-debtor licensees, and the assignability of intellectual property license agreements (either standalone agreements or agreements contained within a more comprehensive agreement – such as a franchise agreement). Panelists will discuss and analyze several important and interesting disputes, including, among others, the tortured bankruptcy history of 2 Live Crew/Luther Campbell and Lil’ Joe Records. By the conclusion of the program, attendees should: (1) understand the legal framework governing the treatment of intellectual property assets in bankruptcy; (2) recognize risks and challenges related to intellectual property in bankruptcy, and (3) be able to assess the potential impact of bankruptcy on ongoing and future intellectual property transactions. Business Suggested Speakers Summer Chandler summerchandler@lsu.edu Paul M. Hebert Law Center, LSU

District Court Reverses Bankruptcy Court’s Holding that a Chapter 11 Equityholder Committee Is “Automatically Dissolved” upon Dismissal

District Court Judge Frank Geraci of the Western District of New York stirred the pot on what seemed like a settled chapter 11 issue by reversing the bankruptcy court and rejecting the majority view on the fate of official committees upon dismissal of a chapter 11 case.[1]

Will Your Client Get a Discharge? Surveying Recent Subchapter V Decisions on § 523(a)

Several debts are “excepted” from the bankruptcy discharge. [1] Corporate debtors can overcome some of these exceptions to the discharge through chapter 11. [2] But before a corporate debtor can get its discharge, it must confirm a plan, and only 20% of regular chapter 11 plans are confirmed. [3]