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Offices in Corpus Christi and Austin
Business Reorganization And Chapter 11/Intellectual Property Services
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What most often provides a business its edge in a competitive market is the confidential, proprietary and intellectual property it owns. For this reason, there are understandable concerns about ownership of this intellectual property when business reorganization occurs during a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, whether the intellectual property is owned by a licensor or licensee in a Chapter 11 case.
At Jordan & Ortiz, P.C., we know how to protect your proprietary and intellectual property and property rights. Our Texas attorneys document the intellectual property your company owns and make certain it's consistently identified throughout the bankruptcy petition and supporting paperwork. Frequently when disputes arise, we will participate in bankruptcy court litigation, if necessary, to establish your rights regarding the intellectual property in the bankruptcy arena.
What Intellectual Property Rights Does The Bankruptcy Process Impact?
Intellectual property includes a company's patents, copyrights, trademarks, domain names and trade secrets, and even as important to many enterprise, customer lists, email accounts and other digital proprietary information. Frequently a Chapter 11 debtor is a licensee or licensor of intellectual property and there are specific rules and regulations on handling each of these relationships set out in the bankruptcy code and case law. The exclusive right to market, sell or utilize the intellectual property in a manner the company sees fit prevents other companies from benefiting from your ideas and protecting those rights both in and out of bankruptcy proceedings takes experience and timing. Outside a bankruptcy, the documents and preparation for protecting both the licensee and licensor in the event of insolvency proceedings is critical. If a bankruptcy is filed, protecting the rights of the licensee or licensor likely is immediately critical.
Likewise, during bankruptcy proceedings, the role that intellectual property plays becomes more complicated and certainly its value-preservation is critical to an effective reorganization. During Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and although federal provisions of the bankruptcy code govern the use and continued use of your intellectual property, the code also governs consideration of the purchase and sale of intellectual property. As these laws are constantly evolving, compliance with these provisions sometimes is difficult and must be implemented carefully.
It's important to have skilled legal representation ready to take on such challenging matters. Our lawyers have been involved in the reorganization of several prestigious intellectual property enterprises including solar and grid-related IP and solar-storage IP. We understand the intellectual property license issues you face while your business goes through the Chapter 11 process as a licensee or licensor and will work to preserve those rights and the value of those rights.