If PA were to go out of business . . .
This issue is a bit premature since PA is still very much in business, and contract law is not my field of specialty, but I will tell you what I can based on my Contracts class in law school and my other limited contracts knowledge.
First, paragraph 26 of my contract (and probably yours, too) specifically contemplates that PA's rights under the contract will pass to any "successors and assigns"--that is, to any company that PA devolves into or to anyone to whom PA sells or gives those rights. PA's contractual rights are potential assets, just like a computer or a desk, which can be sold to any willing buyer. If PA went bankrupt (liquidation, not reorganization), those assets would pass to the bankruptcy trustee, who could then sell them. If PA's owners simply closed up the business, those assets would belong to them, and they could sell them to any willing buyer.
While it is hard to conceive of anyone paying much for PA's contractual rights, I could easily see someone buying them at nominal cost--most likely hoping they could then sell those rights back to at least some of the authors for enough to make a tidy profit. On the other hand, if PA simply destroyed or discarded the contracts--either because no willing buyer came forward, or because the owners didn't consider the effort to sell them to be cost effective--then my contractual obligations, and yours, would disappear. And wouldn't that be nice?
Out of curiosity, what would happen to all the author contracts if PA were to close their doors? Would they automatically become null and void, or would PA still technically have to send official contract releases to their authors?
This issue is a bit premature since PA is still very much in business, and contract law is not my field of specialty, but I will tell you what I can based on my Contracts class in law school and my other limited contracts knowledge.
First, paragraph 26 of my contract (and probably yours, too) specifically contemplates that PA's rights under the contract will pass to any "successors and assigns"--that is, to any company that PA devolves into or to anyone to whom PA sells or gives those rights. PA's contractual rights are potential assets, just like a computer or a desk, which can be sold to any willing buyer. If PA went bankrupt (liquidation, not reorganization), those assets would pass to the bankruptcy trustee, who could then sell them. If PA's owners simply closed up the business, those assets would belong to them, and they could sell them to any willing buyer.
While it is hard to conceive of anyone paying much for PA's contractual rights, I could easily see someone buying them at nominal cost--most likely hoping they could then sell those rights back to at least some of the authors for enough to make a tidy profit. On the other hand, if PA simply destroyed or discarded the contracts--either because no willing buyer came forward, or because the owners didn't consider the effort to sell them to be cost effective--then my contractual obligations, and yours, would disappear. And wouldn't that be nice?