Abstract
11 U.S.C. § 365(a) provides that a bankruptcy trustee, subject to the court’s approval, may assume or reject any executory contract. What section § 365 does not provide is a clear definition for the term “executory contract.” This thesis covers the different definitions of executory contracts proposed by courts and scholars and common grounds for assumption and rejection by the trustee. The author in particular analyzes how § 365 interacts with licensing agreements. If a licensor files for bankruptcy and the license agreement is rejected, the licensee’s rights to use the licensed intellectual property are in jeopardy. This situation is analyzed under both former law and the 1988 amendment found in § 365(n), which provides greater protection to the licensee. Conversely when a licensee files for bankruptcy, assumption of the license agreement by the trustee would be cause for concern for the licensor. These concerns are highlighted as well as various methods for the licensor to avoid the licensing agreement.
Repository Citation
Baumgartner, Alexandra, "The Effect of Bankruptcy on Executory Contracts in General and on Licensing Agreements of Intellectual Property in Particular" (1996). LLM Theses and Essays. 148.
https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/stu_llm/148