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ROGER RABBIT AND CITY OF HOPE.
ON LICENSEE’S FIDUCIARY DUTIES

S.L. BUDYLIN,
Legal Advisor, Bartolius Law Office

DOI: 10.24031/1992-2043-2019-19-5-230-242

If an author of another rightholder grants an exclusive license to someone or assigns
his rights in exchange for a part of income from the use of the IP object, does it result in
creation of fiduciary duties of the counterparty in relation to the original rightholder?
The issue is far from being purely academic. In case of the “incorrect” usage of the
object, i.e. in case of a breach of the fiduciary duties, multimillion-dollar sanctions may
be imposed. This article considers two U.S. cases related to the topic.


Keywords: intellectual property; exclusive license; fiduciary duties.

References

Будылин С.Л. Разум и добрая совесть: обязанности директора в США, Вели-
кобритании, России [Budylin S.L. Reason and Good Faith: The Duties of the Director
in the USA, Great Britain, Russia] (in Russian) // Bulletin of the Supreme Commercial
Court of the Russian Federation. 2013. No. 2.
Будылин С.Л. Штрафные убытки. Теперь и в России? [Budylin S.L. Penalties.
Now in Russia?] (in Russian) // Civil Law Review. 2013. No. 4.
Карапетов А. Новое постановление Пленума ВС РФ по интеллектуальной
собственности в разрезе проблем договорного права [Karapetov A. New Resolution
of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on Intellectual
Property in View of the Problems of Contract Law] (in Russian) // https://zakon.
ru/blog/2019/4/23/novoe_postanovlenie_plenuma_vs_rf_po_intellektualnoj_
sobstvennosti_v_razreze_problem_dogovornogo_pra.
Hoffman I. Fiduciary Relationships in Contractual Dealings // http://www.
ivanhoffman.com/fiduciary.html.
McBride R.C. City of Hope v. Genentech: Keeping Fiduciary Duties Where They
Belong // Berkeley Technology Law Journal. 2009. Vol. 24. Iss. 1.


Information about the author

Budylin S.L. (Moscow, Russia) – Legal Advisor, Bartolius Law Office (36 Stremyanniy
Lane, Moscow, 115054, Russia; e-mail: sergey.budylin@bartolius.com).

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