Exhibit 10.3
AMENDED AND RESTATED
SUBLICENSE AGREEMENT
This Amended
and Restated Sublicense Agreement (the “Agreement”) is
made by and between H2Diesel, Inc., a Delaware corporation
(hereinafter “Sublicensor”) and Xethanol Corporation, a
Delaware corporation (hereinafter “Sublicensee”), as of
the 15th day of June, 2006 (the “Effective
Date”).
WHEREAS, Sublicensor and Sublicensee are parties to a
Sublicense Agreement entered into as of the 14 th day of
April, 2006, pursuant to which Sublicensor granted a license to
Sublicensee with respect to intellectual property rights relating
to a certain chemical additive for use in making bio-fuel for
internal combustion engines (the “Additive”);
and
WHEREAS , the parties desire to amend and restate the
terms of said Sublicense Agreement effective retroactively as of
the date of said Sublicense Agreement on the terms and conditions
set forth herein.
NOW,
THEREFORE , in
consideration of the mutual covenants and terms expressed herein,
and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and
sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, Parties hereby agree,
covenant, and undertake as follows:
1.
DEFINITIONS . In addition to other capitalized terms
defined elsewhere herein, the following terms as used in this
Agreement shall have the meanings set forth below:
“ Actual Cost ”
shall be the price per applicable quantity unit of the Additive
which shall be equal to Sublicensor’s actual cost of raw
materials used in making that quantity of the Additive as
determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles (“GAAP”), plus ten percent (10%). As of the
date of this Agreement Sublicensor’s actual cost of the raw
materials for the Additive in solid form is not more than 10 cents
($0.10) per Gallon of biodiesel fuel producible in accordance with
the blending formulations currently forming part of the Know-How to
be provided to Sublicensee under this Agreement.
“ Affiliate ” shall
mean any person or entity directly or indirectly Controlling or
having the power to Control, or Controlled by or being under common
Control with another person or entity.
“ Consolidated Entity
” shall mean an entity the financial results of which are
consolidated with those of Sublicensor for financial accounting
purposes in accordance with GAAP.
“Control”
means the direct or indirect
possession of power to direct or cause the direction of the
management or policies of such party, whether through ownership of
stock or other securities, by contract or otherwise. Ownership of
more than fifty percent (50%) of the beneficial interest of an
entity shall be conclusive evidence that control exists.
“Exclusive License
Agreement” means the Exclusive License Agreement between
Ferdinando Petrucci as Licensor and Sublicensor as Licensee, dated
March 28, 2006.
“ Gallon” shall
mean a liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters.
“ Improvement ”
shall mean any enhancement, refinement, discovery, invention, trade
secret or additional technology, whether patentable or
non-patentable under the laws of any country (including, without
limitation, any test or other proprietary data, experience,
methods, processes, know-how, new apparatus, equipment, machinery,
Products, specifications, designs and information) of or related to
the
Know-How licensed hereunder, the Additive or any
Product developed, conceived or otherwise arising after the date
hereof.
“ Know-How ” shall
mean technical information, including without limitation trade
secrets, whether or not patentable, relating to, used in, or useful
in connection with, the use of the Additive for production of a
Product (as defined below) for internal combustion engines,
including, without limitation, suggested chemical plant
configurations, plans and formulation(s) for blending of the
Additive with other raw materials to create a
Product.
“
License ” shall mean the license granted in
Section 2 hereof.
“Licensor”
means Ferdinando
Petrucci.
“
Patent Rights ” shall mean all claims of
such patent applications and issued patents that are directed to
the Additive, production of the Additive, Know-How or Improvements
(each as defined herein) hereafter filed or issued to which
Sublicensor may acquire rights during the term of this
Agreement.
“
Product(s) ” shall mean any fuel or chemical
which is manufactured using the Additive.
“Specifications”
shall mean the specifications
applicable to the use of the Additive to produce Products and the
performance of those Products, as proposed by Sublicensor in good
faith and reasonably agreed to by Sublicensee from time to time.
The Specifications shall at all times reflect the best commercial
product being delivered by Sublicensor to Sublicensee or any other
party or being used by Sublicensor for its own account.
“ Territory
” shall mean the geographic areas defined in Annex
A.
2.
SUPPLY OF THE ADDITIVE
FOR USE IN PRODUCTION OF PRODUCTS; GRANT OF
SUBLICENSE
2.1
Sublicensor agrees to supply the
Additive to Sublicensee for use solely in manufacturing Products
made with the Additive blended therein while this Agreement is in
effect. The parties acknowledge and agree that the Additive as well
as Products utilizing the Additive have not yet been mass produced
by either party and that therefore the parties will work
cooperatively so that as Sublicensee’s capacity to produce
Products is established and increases over time, Sublicensor can
increase its capacity to produce sufficient quantities of the
Additive to supply Sublicensee’s requirements for same. In
furtherance thereof, Sublicensee shall inform Sublicensor when
Sublicensee commences construction of manufacturing facilities for
Products as well as the timeframe for such facilities to commence
production of Products and will notify Sublicensor reasonably in
advance of such facilities actually commencing production of
Products to enable Sublicensor to coordinate its production
capacity for the Additive accordingly to meet Sublicensee’s
supply needs for same. Additionally, Sublicensee shall thereafter
notify Sublicensor reasonably in advance of any increases in its
Product production capacity to enable Sublicensor to increase its
Additive production capacity such that Sublicensor can maintain a
level of Additive production capacity sufficient to supply one
hundred ten percent (110%) of Sublicensee’s needs for supply
of the Additive. Subject to such cooperation, Sublicensor agrees to
supply all of the Additive required to fill all of
Sublicensee’s orders for same; provided, however, that,
unless Sublicensor determines otherwise, in no event shall orders
for the Additive be made or accepted until Sublicensor (or its
designated supplier) has commenced manufacturing of the Additive
and all required regulatory and other legal approvals and
requirements have been obtained and/or satisfied. Quantities
of
the Additive to
be supplied to Sublicensee shall be confirmed to Sublicensee after
the receipt by Sublicensor of a purchase order for same from
Sublicensor shall undertake commercially reasonable efforts to fill
orders within the timeframe specified in such order; provided,
however, that Sublicensor shall not have any liability for failure
to ship orders for the Additive within such timeframe due to
circumstances beyond its control. The purchase price for the
Additive to be paid by Sublicensee shall be equal to the lesser of
(a) Sublicensor’s then current Actual Cost or (b) the lowest
price charged by Sublicensor to any other third party purchaser of
Additive which is not an affiliate of Sublicensor, unless (c)
another price is determined by mutual agreement of Sublicensor and
Sublicensee. In addition to the applicable purchase price,
Sublicensor shall be entitled to separately invoice for, and
Sublicensee shall pay, all sales, use, excise, value added, gross
receipts, turnover and other taxes and charges imposed by law or
required to be paid or collected by Sublicensor in connection with
the purchase, delivery, sale or use of the Additive pursuant to
this Agreement, excluding taxes based on Sublicensor’s net
income. All payments relating to purchases of the Additive shall be
due to Sublicensor from Sublicensee within thirty (30) days after
the date on which the ordered Additive is shipped to Sublicensee.
Payments shall be made by check or wire transfer or as otherwise
specified by Sublicensor in the invoice for the applicable
shipment. Each order shall constitute an independent transaction
and Sublicensee shall pay the invoice for each such transaction
strictly in accordance with these payment terms. All orders for the
Additive shall be deemed to incorporate the warranty disclaimers,
limitations of liability and other applicable terms of this
Agreement, and shall be nonreturnable and the price paid
nonrefundable unless the Additive does not meet the Specifications
for the Additive in effect at the time of order. Sublicensee shall
designate the shipping method and pay all costs incurred in
connection with shipment of the Additive to Sublicensee’s
designated destination, including the cost of the shipper and any
in transit insurance (which shipping costs shall be paid directly
by Sublicensee and not as reimbursement to Sublicensor). Risk of
loss with respect to orders of the Additive purchased and sold
hereunder shall pass to Sublicensee at the time that the order is
deposited with Sublicensee’s designated shipper. No less
often than every calendar quarter while this Agreement is in
effect, Sublicensee shall provide to Sublicensor forecasts of
Sublicensee’s anticipated Additive purchase requirements.
Without Sublicensor’s prior written consent or unless
Sublicensor fails to fulfill its obligations to provide Additive
pursuant to this Agreement, Sublicensee may not procure the
Additive from any third party other than Sublicensor or a
Sublicensor designated supplier or produce the Additive.
2.2
Subject to the terms and conditions
of this Agreement, Sublicensor hereby grants to Sublicensee while
this Agreement in effect, a non-transferable, exclusive license,
with no right to grant sub-sublicenses other than to (a) any
holding company formed to hold all of the equity interests in
Sublicensor and any wholly owned subsidiaries of Sublicensee or
such holding company and (b) entities in which it has an equity
interest (determined in accordance with GAAP) of not less than
twenty percent (20%) and which are not competitors of Sublicensor
(it being understood that an entity that produces Product using the
Additive and sells such Product shall not be deemed by reason
thereof to be a competitor of Sublicensor),
provided that any such holding company, subsidiary or other entity
agrees in writing to observe all of the obligations and limitations
set forth under this Agreement, including the payment of Royalties,
and Sublicensee guarantees performance of such obligations by such
other party, under the Patent Rights and under the Know-How to
make, cause to be made, use and sell any Product in the Territory
and the non-exclusive right to sell any Product anywhere else
within North America, namely, the United States of America, its
possessions and territories, Canada and Mexico), Central America
(namely, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras,
Nicaragua, Panama), and Caribbean countries (namely, Antigua &
Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Cuba (currently subject to
U.S. embargo), Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe,
Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St.
Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks &
Caicos Islands, and Virgin Islands). Sublicensee shall not engage
any third party to make any Product without the prior written
approval of Sublicensor, which approval shall not be withheld or
delayed unreasonably, and shall not directly or indirectly re-sell
the Additive or any Product which has the
Additive as a
component outside the Territory. In the event that Sublicensor
acquires rights in South America under Section 1(c) of the License,
the permitted non-exclusive resale territory shall be expanded to
include South America (namely, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile,
Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay
and Venezuela), but specifically excluding Paraguay.
Sublicensee
shall undertake reasonable efforts to ensure compliance with the
foregoing restrictions, including, without limitation, imposing
contractual restrictions in connection with its sale of Products to
third parties. Sublicensee shall handle and treat all Know-How
provided hereunder with the highest degree of secrecy and care in
accordance with the requirements of Section 18.8 hereof.
Sublicensee shall not reproduce or provide access to any of the
Know-How to any person except as necessary to perform its
obligations hereunder, or in the exercise of its right to engage
others to make the Product if approved by Sublicensor as provided
above, and any such person receiving disclosure of any Know-How
pursuant hereto shall be required to comply with the
confidentiality obligations imposed herein with respect to same,
with Sublicensee remaining fully responsible for such compliance.
Sublicensee shall not directly or indirectly reverse engineer,
attempt to reverse engineer or otherwise attempt to derive the
formula or other trade secrets with respect to the Additive, or
assist or permit others to do so.
2.3
Sublicensor shall use its
commercially reasonable efforts on a continual basis throughout the
term of this Agreement to make Improvements to the Additive and
shall use all such improvements that result in an improvement in
the Additive or the performance of the Product in the production of
the Additive.
2.4
Sublicensee shall be jointly and
severally obligated with Sublicensor and liable to Licensor for all
of the obligations of Sublicensor to pay royalties under the
Exclusive License Agreement, to the extent that such obligations
arise from the exercise by Sublicensee of the rights granted to it
in this Agreement; provided, however, that Sublicensee shall have
no obligation to make any payments to Licensor in excess of the
unpaid Royalty payments due from Sublicensee to Sublicensor at the
relevant time.
2.5
This Agreement creates no
relationship of partnership, joint venture, employment, franchise,
or agency between the parties. This Agreement shall not constitute
the designation of either party as the representative or agent of
the other, nor shall either party to this Agreement have the right
or authority to make any promise, guarantee, warranty, or
representation, or to assume, create, or incur any liability or
other obligation of any kind, express or implied, against or in the
name of, or on behalf of, the other party, without the other
party’s prior written consent and approval.
2.6
Sublicensee agrees not to contest,
challenge or attack the ownership of the intellectual property
rights relating to the Additive, the Know-How or anything else
provided by Sublicensor hereunder, or Sublicensor's right to grant
licenses or sublicenses to use same on whatever terms and
conditions acceptable to Sublicensor in its sole and absolute
discretion, or assist others in doing any of same.
3.1
In consideration of the grant of
license hereunder, Sublicensee agrees to pay to Sublicensor a
royalty per Gallon of Product sold directly or indirectly by or
through Sublicensee, its agents, affiliates, subsidiaries and
permitted sub-sublicensees, equal to the lesser of (a) ten U.S.
cents ($0.10) and (b) the lowest royalty per Gallon of Product that
is charged as a royalty to any other third party that is not a
Consolidated Entity, which third party is licensed or otherwise
authorized to make or sell any fuel or chemical using the Additive
(the “Royalties”).
3.2
In the first twelve (12) months
from the date on which (a) Sublicensor notifies Sublicensee that it
is able to produce and deliver to Sublicensee Additive conforming
to the Specifications in quantities that are necessary to meet
Sublicensee’s requirements (and provided that Sublicensor is
in fact then able to do so), and (b) Sublicensor provides
Sublicensee with the necessary technical and engineering
specifications for a process plant to produce the Products (the
“Trigger Date”), Sublicensee shall be obligated to pay
Royalties with respect to at least twenty million (20,000,000)
Gallons of Products (the “Initial Mandatory Minimum
Sales”). The mandatory minimum sales with respect to which
Royalties are required to be paid shall increase by ten million
(10,000,000) Gallons of Products for each subsequent twelve (12)
month period following the first anniversary of the Trigger Date
while this Agreement is in effect as compared to the mandatory
minimum for the immediately prior twelve (12) month period (the
“Follow-On Mandatory Minimum Sales”). For example, the
Follow-On Mandatory Minimum Sales for the twelve (12) month period
commencing twelve (12) months after the Trigger Date shall be
thirty million (30,000,000) Gallons of Products, and so on.
Sublicensee’s obligation to pay Royalties on the Initial
Mandatory Minimum Sales is irrevocable, whether or not Sublicensee
actually achieves such Initial Mandatory Minimum Sales. In the
event that Sublicensee fails to achieve the Initial Mandatory
Minimum Sales requirement or the Follow-On Mandatory Minimum Sales
requirements in any period during the first two (2) twelve (12)
month periods after the first anniversary of the Trigger Date,
Sublicensor shall have the right, at its option, to either
terminate this Agreement and Sublicensee’s rights hereunder
or convert Sublicensee’s exclusive rights hereunder to
non-exclusive rights (in addition to its right to payment of the
Royalties payable on the Initial Mandatory Minimum Sales) unless
Sublicensee shall pay the difference between the amount of
Royalties actually due for such period under this Agreement and the
amount of Royalties that would have been due had Sublicensee sold
the minimum amounts required as set forth above during such period,
within the time provided herein for payment of Royalties for such
period (the “Cure Right”). In the event that
Sublicensee fails to achieve the Follow-On Mandatory Minimum Sales
for the fourth twelve (12) month period after the Trigger Date or
any subsequent twelve (12) month period while this Agreement is in
effect, Sublicensee’s exclusive rights shall automatically be
converted to non-exclusive, unless Sublicensee exercises the Cure
Right with respect thereto. If Sublicensee shall elect, in its sole
discretion, not to exercise the Cure Right with respect to a
failure to achieve the Follow-On Mandatory Minimum Sales for any
twelve (12) month period after the first two (2) twelve (12) month
periods after the first anniversary of the Trigger Date, then the
obligation of Sublicensee to pay Royalties based upon Follow-On
Mandatory Minimum Sales for any subsequent period, commencing with
the period as to which the Cure Right was not exercised, shall also
terminate.
3.3
All Royalties shall be paid by
Sublicensee to Sublicensor on a quarterly basis, with all Royalties
payable with respect to sales of Products in a particular calendar
quarter due within thirty (30) days after the end of the calendar
quarter in which sales of Products caused such Royalties to be
accrued. Royalty amounts not paid when due shall accrue interest at
the rate of one and one-half percent (1 1/2%) per month or the
highest rate permitted by law, whichever is less, until paid in
full. Each such payment shall be accompanied by an accounting
statement, which shall include:
(i) the quantity of Products sold;
and
(ii) the total of all Royalties
payable to Sublicensor.
3.4
Sublicensee shall keep proper books
of account showing sales of Products. Sublicensor's designated
auditing firm shall have access to the books and records of
Sublicensee once per twelve (12) month period to independently
determine the amount of Royalties payable hereunder, but for no
other purpose. All information obtained by Sublicensor and its
auditing firm shall be kept strictly confidential by Sublicensor
and its auditing firm; provided that such information may be used
by
Sublicensor and
its counsel in enforcing its rights under this Agreement. In the
event that an underpayment of Royalties in excess of five percent
(5%) of the total Royalties that should have been paid is
determined to have occurred, Sublicensee shall promptly pay to
Sublicensor the amount of the deficiency together with interest
accrued thereon, as well as the expenses incurred by Sublicensor in
connection with verifying Royalty payments pursuant
hereto.
4.
RETENTION OF
RIGHTS .
Notwithstanding any other provisions herein, Licensor, Sublicensor
and Sublicensor's other sublicensees will have the absolute, right
to use the technology covered by the Patent Rights and Know-How and
all Improvements thereof, for conducting research and for any other
purposes permitted pursuant to the Exclusive License Agreement or
any valid sublicense agreements.
5.
OWNERSHIP OF
IMPROVEMENTS; PATENT
PROSECUTION . Sublicensee acknowledges and agrees that,
except as otherwise expressly provided below, Sublicensor shall own
the intellectual property rights with respect to any Improvements
that are developed by or for Sublicensee. In the event that
Sublicensee, or any person employed or engaged by Sublicensee
(including any person employed or engaged by any entity engaged by
Sublicensee), develops or creates Improvements, Sublicensee
promptly shall offer to, and upon Sublicensor’s acceptance,
shall assign, or shall cause any and all such persons to grant back
and assign, to Sublicensor or Sublicensor’s designated
Affiliate, free of charge, all rights of ownership in such
Improvements, whether such Improvements are patentable or
non-patentable under the laws of any country. Sublicensee shall
retain a right to use such Improvements solely in accordance with
the license and other terms of this Agreement, provided that
Sublicensee treats the Improvements with the same obligations of
secrecy and care
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