I'm sorry, this is hilarious. Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton summarized a recent copyright dispute with a flair for the dramatic. A musician had not paid his attorneys, and was ordered to transfer the rights to collect royalties to a receiver, which would apply royalties towards the legal bills. Simple enough, right? This works much like a lien on real property or a wage garnishment.
The musician, however, disputed the court's ability to force him to transfer his copyrights, relying on a Cold War era provision that governments cannot seize copyrights from authors, presumably intending to prevent books from being banned in the case of... what, I don't know. The court did not find this persuasive and ordered the copyrights transferred to receivership.
The important takeaways for you are that virtually any IP rights can be transferred, leveraged, sold, or commandeered (unless you're a Communist), and that you should pay your legal bills.
The musician, however, disputed the court's ability to force him to transfer his copyrights, relying on a Cold War era provision that governments cannot seize copyrights from authors, presumably intending to prevent books from being banned in the case of... what, I don't know. The court did not find this persuasive and ordered the copyrights transferred to receivership.
The important takeaways for you are that virtually any IP rights can be transferred, leveraged, sold, or commandeered (unless you're a Communist), and that you should pay your legal bills.
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