post Thursday November 8, 2012
If you’ve visited London, even just once, you will likely be familiar with the London cabs. Their renown can be regarded as intellectual property for which the rights rest with ownership. The manufacturer of the iconic London taxi, Manganeze Bronze, is facing financial difficulties. After failed talks about a 15 million pound loan from main Chinese car maker Geely, Manganeze has laid off 156 staff members, asked for an extension in its debt obligations and is now filing for bankruptcy. The troubles escalated after discovering a series of accounting issues and a recall of about 400 manufactured cabs due to steering box failure.
In the case of bankruptcy, what would happen to intellectual property rights? No doubt that there is substantial value to be found in their intellectual property, which would play a crucial role in their bankruptcy.
IP is often included as an asset in the balance sheet of a company. The trustee will manage the intellectual property rights and will determine if and how the existing intellectual property rights can be realized. What’s important to know is under whose name the author rights rest and whether these rights are transferable. Back in 2006, Manganeze Bronze licensed out its intellectual property to Geely for 5.6 million pounds. Some believe that the UK government should bail out the company as it has significant historical value and cannot be left to vanish. Talks with PriceWaterhouseCoopers on how to proceed next are still ongoing.
Source: Manganeze Bronze, Dailymail, Guardian
Image source: Free Digital Photos
