Five Appellate Cases Fashion Attorneys Are Watching

Mission Product Holdings Inc. v. Tempnology LLC (Supreme Court) What it’s about: What happens to licensing rights during a bankruptcy?  The bankruptcy code offers protections for licensees of patents, copyrights and trade secrets, but trademark licensees haven’t quite been included in that group, said attorneys. The bankruptcy code currently doesn’t specifically include any special protections for trademark licensees when the trademark owner goes into bankruptcy. That means companies who buy licenses to use trademarks could find themselves in the lurch if the company that sold them the rights to use those trademarks ever goes bankrupt and chooses to stop the licensing agreement. That exposes licensees to some risk when negotiating these agreements, and it may even scare them away from dealing with less-established or smaller companies, attorneys said.   “You may see companies seeking to take a security interest in the trademarks that are licensed to it, so that it’s in a better position,” said Karen Artz Ash, the national co-chair of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP’s intellectual property department. “Or they may just simply not pursue agreements with small brand owners, or those that appear more vulnerable.” Case background: The current dispute between apparel company Mission and textile company Tempnology, which made “chemical-free

Follow WWD on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Read More...

from WWDWWD http://bit.ly/2IW5tGa