Financing Intellectual Property under Revised Article 9: National and International Conflicts

The policies underlying the creation and exploitation of intangible intellectual property differ sharply from those for manufacture and sale of tangible goods. Intellectual property law seeks to protect the creditor's ability to benefit by his endeavors; in contrast, laws governing tangible goods are concerned with the transferability and availability of such goods in the interest of efficiency. This paper argues that current laws, such as the recent revision of Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code ("Revised 9"), ignores the concept that effective financing of intellectual property could and should operate in conjunction with state personal property financing laws. The author discusses the radical policies adopted in Revised 9 and their impact on a typical information financing transaction.

The author focuses on provisions of Revision 9 that are incompatible with current intellectual property law. The author asserts that correcting the havoc caused by Revised 9 requires immediate and comprehensive federal intervention.