Licences and Insolvency: A Practical Global Guide to the Effects of Insolvency on IP Licence Agreements

The number of insolvencies is increasing by the day, while insolvencies are becoming more and more complex and international. Licences represent an increasingly important part of a company's assets - be they technology licences, name or trademark licences or licences with regard to text, photo or audiovisual material or software. While insolvency proceedings of licensors or licensees can pose material threats to the prospects of the business concerned, there are still many uncertainties as to the fate of a licence, applicable law, place of jurisdiction in such proceedings and so on. This practical handbook provides an overview of the most relevant legal issues in 30 of the most important business nations around the globe. It provides guidance to licensors, licensees, insolvency practitioners and their attorneys to promote a better understanding of the insolvency mechanisms in these countries and the effect that such proceedings may have upon licence agreements with an insolvent entity.Whether you are an IP lawyer in private practice, an insolvency practitioner or general counsel in an international business, this commercially focused guide will provide you with practical insight into the relevant legal issues.

Preface 5 Marcel Willems Kennedy Van der Laan Matthias Nordmann Ulrich Reber SKW Schwarz Australia 7 Christopher Brown Lonsdale Chambers Timothy Creek Rodney De Boos Davies Collison Cave Law Austria 19 Axel Anderl Felix Horlsberger Dorda Brugger Jordis Belgium 31 Yves Lenders Annick Mottet Haugaard Lydian Canada 45 Craig J Hill Borden Ladner Gervais LLP China 51 Brian Sullivan Yin Zhengyou W&H Law Firm Denmark 61 Arly Carlquist Carsten Ceutz Bech-Bruun England and Wales 71 Peter Armstrong Rhys Llewellyn Harbottle & Lewis LLP Finland 83 Pekka Jaatinen Elina Pesonen Castren & Snellman Attorneys Ltd France 91 Amelie Dorst Anja Droege Gagnier BMH AVOCATS Germany 107 Matthias Nordmann Ulrich Reber SKW Schwarz Hong Kong 115 Mark Bedford Kevin Lee Boughton Peterson Yang Anderson in association with Zhong Lun Law Firm Hungary 127 Gusztav Bacher Gabor Faludi David Kerpel Szecskay Attorneys at Law India 137 Rahul Goel Sandeep Kumar Gupta Anu Monga Nilesh Sharma Dhir & Dhir Associates Ireland 151 Martin Kelleher Mason Hayes & Curran Israel 163 Yuval Horn Keren Kanir Horn & Co Italy 177 Pietro Masi Davide Petris Portolano Cavallo Studio Legale Japan 187 Shinnosuke Fukuoka Toshihide Haruyama Nishimura & Asahi Mexico 201 Gustavo A Alcocer Olivares Netherlands 211 Marcel Willems Kennedy Van der Laan Russia 219 Yulia Litovtseva Valentina Orlova Pepeliaev Group South Africa 235 Hans Klopper Independent Advisory Spain 247 Agustin Bou JAUSAS Sweden 261 Jennie Klingberg Odd Swarting Setterwalls Switzerland 273 David Jenny Christian Wyss VISCHER AG Turkey 285 Orcun Cetinkaya F Mujgan Gungor Merve Karaduman Asena A Keser GUN & PARTNERS United States 295 John W Holcomb Lynda Zadra-Symes Knobbe Martens About the authors 315