In re AEG Acquisition Corp.
United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California
127 Bankr. 34 (1991)
- Written by Sarah Holley, JD
Facts
AEG Acquisition Corp. (AEG) (debtor) entered into an agreement with Zenith Productions, Ltd. (Zenith) pursuant to which AEG acquired the distribution rights to three films for $6 million: a domestic film, Patty Hearst, and the two foreign films, For Queen and Country and The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. AEG and Zenith also entered into a security agreement that granted Zenith a security interest in AEG’s distribution rights as collateral for the $6 million. Zenith thereafter filed a UCC-1 financing statement in the appropriate states and recorded a copyright mortgage for each of the three films with the United States Copyright Office. Zenith also filed an application of copyright registration with the same office with respect to Patty Hearst. Zenith believed it did not need to register the other two foreign films because the films were exempt from registration under the Berne Convention. AEG paid $2 million to Zenith but later filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and never paid the remaining $4 million to Zenith. AEG sought to recover the $2 million paid to Zenith and, in support of the relief sought, argued that Zenith’s security interests in the two foreign films were avoidable because those security interests were not perfected at the time AEG filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Bufford, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
