{"id":1166,"date":"2026-08-15T20:53:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T20:53:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sustainspace.com\/?p=1166"},"modified":"2026-08-16T02:15:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T02:15:42","slug":"special-report-international-space-university-case-developments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sustainspace.com\/?p=1166","title":{"rendered":"Special Report: International Space University case developments"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"ISU

ISU main building side view (credit Mark Ciotola)<\/p><\/div>\n

(This is a story in progress.)<\/p>\n

Background<\/h3>\n

Recent developments with the International Space University will be of great interest to some SustainSpace readers. Therefore we have endeavored to investigate and document some of the developments in this case.<\/p>\n

International Space University was founded as a nonprofit corporation, holding its first public event at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1987. It was a nonprofit corporation registered in the State of Massachusetts in the United States. The current iteration of this organization is called “International Space University, Inc.” (hereinafter ISU Org<\/em>).<\/p>\n

It first grew into a summer-long program, then it established a masters degree program and central campus at\u00a0illkirch-Graffentaden\u00a0in Strasbourg, France. The central campus was held under a different entity, also called the “International Space University”, but as a French association (hereinafter ISU Association<\/em>).\u00a0ISU Association became insolvent. It not longer exists, and its assets are in liquidation proceedings. There is a struggle over who will control the remaining assets, especially the “International Space University” trademark and name.<\/p>\n

The Liquidation Case<\/h3>\n

By Olivia Mah.<\/em><\/p>\n

This section discusses major events and documents in the liquidation and related cases.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Prior to liquidation, ISU Association was ordered a safeguard procedure by the Court on June 10 2026. (1)<\/p>\n

Legal notices searching for investors\/buyers were published on various French websites. (For example, reprise-entreprise.lesechos.fr<\/a> and\u00a0 <\/span>actulegales.fr<\/a> on June 19 and 21, 2026). The deadline for submission of offers was July 1, 2026. (2,3)<\/span><\/p>\n

The Court ordered a conversion of the safeguard proceedings into judicial liquidation proceedings on July 7, 2026. Cessation of payments and business operations started on that date. (4)<\/p>\n

A court hearing was scheduled to be held on Aug 10, 2026.(5) <\/span>At the time of the publication of this article, no official judgements have been made available to the public.<\/p>\n

What comes next?<\/h5>\n

In a typical judicial liquidation, the court-appointed liquidator may receive or invite offers to purchase a debtor\u2019s assets<\/a>.\u00a0 (6,7)<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the WIPO database, the trademark \u201cISU International Space University\u201d was registered in France (Number: 899645) has an expiration date on July 28, 2026.\u00a0 <\/span>At the time of the publication of this article, it appears that there is a grace period on that trademark.\u00a0(8)<\/span><\/p>\n

So the question is, will the trademark be part of the assets available for sale or auction? This is yet to be resolved and settled.<\/p>\n

Since the news of liquidation reached the wider ISU community, discussions about the liquidation (what\/how\/why) have surfaced in various social medial platforms among the ISU community. At the time of the publication of this article, there appears to be two groups of people who have laid out the vision of a future ISU:\u00a0 <\/span>one group led by the former staff and faculty of the ISU Association (French campus), the other group led by the founders of ISU, Inc.<\/p>\n

Stay tuned.<\/p>\n

Further Reading<\/h3>\n

To get a better idea of the French law on insolvency and liquidation, see the links below:<\/p>\n