Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology, LLC

This case asked whether a company in bankruptcy can reject a license contract and thereby end the other side's rights. The Supreme Court said rejection counts as a breach, not a cancellation, so it did not automatically strip Mission of rights that would survive an ordinary breach outside bankruptcy.

The Court decided the case on May 20, 2019, after argument on February 20, 2019, but the prompt does not provide the vote count or opinion lineup.

The decision matters for businesses that keep using licensed products or trademarks after the other side files for bankruptcy. For example, a distributor with a license may still keep rights that would survive a normal contract breach.

The Supreme Court has finished this case. Practically, the bankruptcy proceedings and any remaining disputes would continue under the rule that rejection is treated as a breach, not automatic termination.

The dispute was over whether Tempnology's bankruptcy rejection of a license ended Mission's rights to use rights granted by the agreement. The Court said rejection is a breach, not automatic cancellation.

It gives more protection to licensees when a licensor enters bankruptcy. A company selling licensed products may keep rights that would survive a normal breach outside bankruptcy.

The Supreme Court finished its work on this docket on May 20, 2019. Any remaining issues would return to the lower courts or bankruptcy process under the Court's rule.