IP Asset Co. Seeks Ch. 11 With Up To $100M In Liabilities

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Law360, Los Angeles (March 21, 2013, 9:36 PM ET) -- Cupertino, Calif.-based Technology Properties Ltd. LLC on Wednesday filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in California federal court, listing liabilities up to $100 million — including a nearly $1.5 million debt to a Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP predecessorTPL, which develops and commercializes intellectual property assets and leverages them to drive product development, reported between $500,000 and $1 million in assets and $50 million to $100 million in liabilities. Its 100 to 199 creditors include Kilpatrick Townsend predecessor Townsend & Townsend & Crew LLP, to which it owes almost $1.5 million.

The voluntary petition filed Wednesday by TPL manager and chairman Daniel E. Leckrone estimates that funds will be available for distribution to unsecured creditors.

TPL engages in development of IP assets and their associated patents, including multicore microprocessors, memory management and control devices, advanced hearing and listening enhancement products, energy-efficient computing architectures, and encryption storage products.

Other creditors include GCA Law Partners LLP, which it owes more than $10 million; OnSpec Electronic Inc., which it owes more than $5 million; and Patriot Scientific Corp., which it owes roughly $1 million.

Law firms listed as creditors include Townsend & Townsend, GCA Law Partners, Farella Braun & Martel LLP, Nixon Peabody LLP and Agility IP Law, according to court filings.

In April 2012, the U.S. International Trade Commission said it would formally investigate claims that Canon Inc., Samsung Inc., Hewlett-Packard Inc. and others imported printers, laptops and card readers that infringed TPL’s patents.

TPL had asked the commission to investigate a number of companies — also including Acer Inc., Dell Inc. and Seiko Epson Corp. — to find out whether or not they had violated Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 by shipping products that ripped off TPL’s flash memory card interface patents.

On Dec. 13, 2012, the ITC refused to dismiss the companies from the investigation, saying it was too early to declare that no industry exists for TPL’s flash patents.

A meeting of creditors will be held April 24, and the deadline to file a proof of claim for nongovernmental units is July 23, according to court filings.

A status conference before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stephen L. Johnson is scheduled for May 2, at which the court may set a deadline for the filing of TPL’s plan and disclosure statement.

Representatives for TPL, including Leckrone, didn’t immediately return requests for comment Thursday.

TPL is represented by David B. Rao, Heinz Binder, Robert G. Harris, Roya Shakoori and Wendy W. Smith of Binder & Malter LLP.

The case is In re: Technology Properties Limited LLC, case number 5:13-bk-51589, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California.

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