Asset Backed Securitization(ABS) can offer a variety of financing and economic opportunities to firms, university laboratory and individuals, etc. It converts subprime assets or cash flows into marketable securities and especially increases liquidity...
Asset Backed Securitization(ABS) can offer a variety of financing and economic opportunities to firms, university laboratory and individuals, etc. It converts subprime assets or cash flows into marketable securities and especially increases liquidity.
Since the law concerning the Asset-Backed Securitization(ABS Act) was enacted on September 16, 1998, for a period of over 4 years until year 2002, Asset-Backed Securities market grew explosively to the point where the aggregate amount of the issued asset-backed securities reached the surprising amount of 146.9 trillion won. Such growth made a great contribution to Korea overcoming of IMF financial crisis.
However, there are still inadequate factors in Korean legal system with respect to implementation of the asset backed securitization systems as it has been developed under Anglo-American jurisdiction. Therefore, domestic asset-backed securitization could have been enacted only by using the special benefit granted under the ABS Act. However, both the contents of the existing ABS Act and the attitude of the regulatory authorities, which are responsible for the application of ABS Act, places certain restrictions that prevents domestic financial industry from handling all of the various asset-backed securitization practices that are carried out in developed countries.
In a securitization transaction, a low quality firms is able to issue high quality securities because securitization serves as a bankruptcy remote vehicle. The transaction can make the overall cost of financing reduced. In addition, it is recorded as an off balance sheet transaction which is considered an important indirect benefits to originators.
The total known volume of intellectual property securitization in recent years has increased in U.S, Japan and other advanced nations. However, intellectual property securitization has not been used as a method of financing as yet in Korea. In Korea, intellectual property-backed securitization can present significant difficulties beyond securitization occurred in mortgage industry.
Securitization is the packaging of designated pools of receivables with an appropriate level of credit enhancement and the redistribution of these packages to investors. Investors buy the repackaged assets in the form of securities which are collateralized on the underlying pool and its associated income stream. Securitization thereby converts illiquid assets into liquid assets. In securitization, the corporation pools assets together for purchase by a bankruptcy-remote special purpose vehicle(SPV) or trust company; purchase is effected by issuing multiple tranches of securities based on the cash flow generating capacity of the asset pool.
As the importance of intellectual property right has been emphasized, it appeared as one of pending questions how to manage and utilize intellectual property right. This thesis overviews trust system and securitization of intellectual property right for its management and utilization.
In Japan, the Trust Business Act was established in 1922. The first revision of the Act was made in 82 years. In 2004, Japan made several fundamental changes to the Trust Business Act in an effort to respond to a changing business environment and thus the amendments to the Act give more flexibility to trusts businesses. The main features of the amendments are as follows: Firstly, the restrictive scope of entrustable assets is lifted, and any and all property rights are included as assets for entrustment to trustee. Secondly, types of trust business are diversified, trust licenses are granted to a broader range of entities, and minimum standards of capital and man power requirements are relaxed. Thirdly, detailed regulations and guidance with respect to the duties and liabilities of trustees are provided. Fourthly, the door to the business of selling beneficial interests of trusts is widely opened. Finally, foreign corporations can be engaged in trust business. The Japanese amendments draws admirable attention from Korean legal scholars in the following contexts. Under the Trust Business Act of Japan, as trusts become more flexible instrument to commodate a variety of purposes, they will be used with even greater frequency compared to other types of structured finance vehicle. The Act is survived in a very rapidly changing financial environment. The introduction of the business of selling beneficial interests of trusts into Japan will promote the liquidity of the beneficial interests and thus the interests will be a good object of investment.
In Korea, Trust Business Act revised in 2005 defines that intangible property right including intellectual property right can be deposited, laying the legal foundation of beneficiary certificate issuance while trusting knowledge-based property. Nevertheless, it needs further research as it has complicated legal structure for securitization as well as trust of intellectual property right due to its distinctive features.
Until the end of 2003, asset management activities in Korea in sectors such as stock brokerage, trust funds, and insurance were in general regulated through the internal rules set by the industrial associations of each of these sectors, thereby ruling out any possibility of government intervention.
It turned out, however, that this free market approach resulted in the issue of unfairness among different financial industries and also was cited as one of the major elements discouraging foreign investment in Korea financial industry. This was because the system was not able to embrace the new investment opportunities or sectors that were emerging with the development of Korea financial industry.
It was within this context that the Indirect Investment Asset Management Business Act was legislated and became effective as of January 2004. The intent of the law is to regulate the various business activities of different sectors of Korea financial industry in a more coordinated and equal way by placing numerous indirect investment firms under the single legal concept of an indirect investment organization. Also by integrating all related laws and rules into a single law so that those different sectors are all treated equally by the law it is hoped that confidence and trust will eventually be regained from foreign and domestic investors.
In this regard, the law reinforced a number of safety devices for investors and also improved greatly the issue of asset management regulation by widening the concept of asset management to include more investment asset items. It is hoped that the law will reinvigorate the entire asset management industry in Korea.
This thesis suggest the major points of the new law as a functional law that integrates all the previous related laws and examines a number of possible implementation and legal issues for the securitization of intellectual property right.
Intellectual property right requires professional and complex knowledge for valuation, it is more economical and efficient to depute to specialized trustee institutions. Therefore, each company including group-based or venture capital needs to manage their intellectual property right by trusting to specialized depository companies. While trusting intellectual property right, companies are able to securitize by issuing beneficiary certificate for funding purpose. As a funding unit is small sum, it can be privately equitized and protection measures for investors should be put in place. When knowledge-based property is securitized, substantial right should be given to trustee for management and operation of trusted property. Secondly, both impartiality and loyalty duty are required to avoid conflicts regarding profit between dual trusts. Thirdly, disclosure requirement should be imposed to intellectual property backed securities.
This dispelled disputes over whether a trust company can engage in self-dealing under the Trust Business Act, the commercial Act and the Civil Act, and makes it possible for an originator engaged in trust business to perform ABS in two ways: the trust company can entrust the securitization asset which it already possesses to its trust account or it can also purchase the securitization assets into its trust account with trust funds from investors. A trust is a relationship in which a person or the trustee holds legal title to the trust property or trust corpus, but is bound by a fiduciary duty to exercise that legal control for the benefit of one or more individuals or the beneficiary, who hold "beneficial" or "equitable" title. The trust is governed by the terms of the usually written trust agreement and local law. The entity(one or more individuals, a partnership, or a corporation) that creates the trust is called the settlor. However, the present trust act and trust business act are not sufficient to securitize trust property including the intellectual property right. Therefore, both acts require considerable revision and improvement.
This thesis is suggesting a way to improve both trust act and trust business act by presenting a system that will settle the trust act into the form of general law.
Lastly, This thesis especially is emphasized on the legislative suggestion of related Act for the purpose of securitization of intellectual property right in korea.