Trademarked for Death? A Licensee\u27s Trademark Rights After an Executory Contract Is Rejected in Bankruptcy

In 1872, a young man named Claudio Alvarez Lefebre began manufacturing and selling high-quality rum in Cuba under the brand name Ron Matusalem. In 1948, as the family-run business prospered, the company registered a trademark and corporate logo in the United States. Upon his death, Lefebre left the business-and the secret formulas for making his rum-to his wife and children. By the early 1960s, Lefebre\u27s wife and children had immigrated to the United States, and they split the rum-making business into two separate corporations. These two distinct entities negotiated an executory contract in the form of a franchise agreement with a trademark license . This agreement granted the franchisee corporation the right to sell Ron Matusalem rums worldwide under the Ron Matusalem trademark. The franchisor corporation retained the right to control the nature and quality of the rums sold and the right to terminate the agreement if the franchisee failed to meet its standards. For the next two decades, the two corporations operated as a cohesive family business, or, as a court described them, a loose knit strada of corporations. ... Part II of this Note examines relevant sections of 11 U.S.C. 365, subsequent amendments under the Intellectual Property Licenses in Bankruptcy Act ( IPLBA ), and theoretical interpretations and definitions of what rejection means within the context of bankruptcy law. Part III analyzes the circuit split, discussing the merits and weaknesses of each approach. Part IV suggests that the Supreme Court resolve the circuit split by adopting a modified version of the Seventh and Third Circuits\u27 approach, but adding the requirement that trademark licensees maintain the quality control standards initially contained in the parties\u27 original licensing agreement

Use and outcomes of targeted therapies in early and metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer in Australia: Protocol detailing observations in a whole of population cohort

Background: The management of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer (BC) has changed dramatically with the introduction and widespread use of HER2-targeted therapies. However, there is relatively limited real-world information on patterns of use, effectiveness and safety in whole of population cohorts. The research programme detailed in this protocol will generate evidence on the prescribing patterns, safety monitoring and outcomes of patients with BC treated with HER2- targeted therapies in Australia. Methods/design: Our ongoing research programme will involve a series of retrospective cohort studies that include every patient accessing Commonwealth-funded HER2-targeted therapies for the treatment of early BC and advanced BC in Australia. At the time of writing, our cohorts consist of 11 406 patients with early BC and 5631 with advanced BC who accessed trastuzumab and lapatinib between 2001 and 2014. Pertuzumab and trastuzumab emtansine were publicly funded for metastatic BC in 2015, and future data updates will include patients accessing these medicines. We will use dispensing claims for cancer and other medicines, medical service claims and demographics data for each patient accessing HER2- targeted therapies to undertake this research. Ethics and dissemination: Ethics approval has been granted by the Population Health Service Research Ethics Committee and data access approval has been granted by the Australian Department of Human Services (DHS) External Review Evaluation Committee. Our findings will be reported in peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations and policy forums. By providing detailed information on the use and outcomes associated with HER2-targeted therapies in a national cohort treated in routine clinical care, our research programme will better inform clinicians and patients about the real-world use of these treatments and will assist third-party payers to better understand the use and economic costs of these treatments

Surface electronic properties of undoped InAlN alloys

The variation in surface electronic properties of undoped c-plane InxAl1−xN alloys has been investigated across the composition range using a combination of high-resolution x-ray photoemission spectroscopy and single-field Hall effect measurements. For the In-rich alloys, electron accumulation layers, accompanied by a downward band bending, are present at the surface, with a decrease to approximately flatband conditions with increasing Al composition. However, for the Al-rich alloys, the undoped samples were found to be insulating with approximate midgap pinning of the surface Fermi level observed

Antimicrobial effects of free nitrous acid on Desulfovibrio vulgaris: Implications for sulfide-induced corrosion of concrete

Hydrogen sulfide produced by sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) in sewers causes odor problems and asset deterioration due to the sulfide induced concrete corrosion. Free nitrous acid (FNA) was recently demonstrated as a promising antimicrobial agent to alleviate hydrogen sulfide production in sewers. However, knowledge of the antimicrobial mechanisms of FNA is largely unknown. Here we report the multiple-targeted antimicrobial effects of FNA on the SRB Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough by determining growth, physiological and gene expression responses to FNA exposure. The activities of growth, respiration and ATP generation were inhibited when exposed to FNA. These changes were reflected in transcript levels detected during exposure. Removal of FNA was evident by nitrite reduction that likely involved nitrite reductase and the poorly characterised hybrid cluster protein, and the genes coding for these proteins were highly expressed. During FNA exposure lowered ribosome activity and protein production were detected. Additionally, conditions within the cells were more oxidising and there was evidence of oxidative stress. Based on interpretation of the measured responses we present a model depicting the antimicrobial effects of FNA on D. vulgaris. These findings provide new insight for understanding the responses of D. vulgaris to FNA and will provide foundation for optimal application of this antimicrobial agent for improved control of sewer corrosion and odor management

A Long Helix from the Central Region of Smooth Muscle Caldesmon

The central region of smooth muscle caldesmon is predicted to form α-helices on the basis of its primary structure. We have isolated a fragment (CT54) that contains this region. The hydrodynamic properties and the electron microscopic images suggest that CT54 is an elongated (35 nm), monomeric molecule. The circular dichroic spectrum yields an overall α-helical content of 55–58%. These results are consistent with the model that the middle portion of CT54 forms a long stretch of single-stranded α-helix. Such a structure, if it in fact exists, is thought to be stabilized by numerous salt bridges between charged residues at positions i and i+4. The structural characteristics of this fragment not only represent an unusual protein configuration but also provide information about the functional role of caldesmon in smooth muscle contraction. Originally published Journal of Biological Chemistry, Vol. 266, No. 21, July 199

Demonstration of coherent emission from high-β\beta photonic crystal nanolasers at room temperature

We report on lasing at room temperature and at telecommunications wavelength from photonic crystal nanocavities based on InAsP/InP quantum dots. Such laser cavities with a small modal volume and high quality factor display a high spontaneous emission coupling factor beta. Lasing is confirmed by measuring the second order autocorrelation function. A smooth transition from chaotic to coherent emission is observed, and coherent emission is obtained at 8 times the threshold power