@SeriouslyNow: I'm a former employee who is owed a decent amount of money, that's all I really care to divulge. Your statement is not strictly correct. If an Administrator were appointed tomorrow, they could/would seize the IP - that's the main reason why these guys are down in Australia trying to beat the ATO to the punch. Individuals can also file for a legal injunction to place the IP in the hands of a court until resolved legally. I guess the thing is I and all the other employees have heard and considered pretty much every legal and administrative option available to us (including your suggestion), and pretty much all of the ones involving siezing IP are a legal minefield, and involve individuals exposing themselves to an awesome amount of liability. This is more specifically the case because the American management have (whether deliberately or by accident) made the actual status of the IP ownership so muddy that only court action would probably resolve the issue - which since we haven't been PAID, we can't afford (conservative estimates range around AU$50,000 for a basic injunction - and that's not including the fact that to file for an injunction, you have to insure the person you're bringing to court against the value of the IP - so if they say it's worth 50 million dollars, you have to pay that up front - just in case you lose). But believe it or not, that's not the end of the line. There will be more to this story in the days to come, I'm sure.
@SeriouslyNow: They still have to deal with the debt though. "in lieu of lost wages" doesn't just wave a magic wand and make it go away. Who in their right mind would take on the directorship of a company with 1.7 million $ of debt, and no income? Who in their right mind would work there?
@DCFGS3: The ATO has known about this for a very long time, and continued to be strung along. I know everyone's taught to believe that the ATO will "tear apart" anyone who so much as farts incorrectly on their tax statement, but the reality is they are just as slow and bureaucratic as any other government agency. The only reason this whole story has exploded is because the ATO -finally- decided to take action, which has motivated the American management to get the hell outta dodge just in the nick of time.
@SeriouslyNow: Anyone who signs on as a local director would inherit the IP, yes, but they would also inherit the outstanding debts, and once they looked at the books they'd be legally obliged to wind the (insolvent) company up, or face prosecution. Who's going to sign up for that job?
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