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LICENSE AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT made and effective as of the date
of last signing (herein the "Effective Date") by and between
Nanosenors, Inc. (herein "Company"), having a principal place of
business at 1800 Wyatt Drive, Suite 2, Santa Clara, CA 95054, and
Michigan State University (herein "MSU"), having a principal place
of business in East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA. Company and MSU
are each a "party", and may collectively be referred to as the
"parties."
INTRODUCTION
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1.
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WHEREAS, MSU has developed and is continuing
research in the area of the Technology, as defined in Paragraph 1.1
of this Agreement; and
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2.
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WHEREAS, Company desires to obtain certain rights
in and to the Technology; and
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3.
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WHEREAS, Company and MSU mutually desire to
formalize an agreement which delineates their respective rights and
obligations with respect to the Technology.
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NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual
covenants and promises contained in this Agreement and other good
and valuable consideration, MSU and Company agree as
follows:
ARTICLE 1 - DEFINITIONS
In the terms defined and used herein, the
singular shall include the plural and vice versa. Terms in this
Agreement (other than names of parties and Article headings) which
are set forth in upper case letters have the meanings established
for such terms in this Article 1.
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1.1
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"Technology" means MSU Invention Disclosure No.
05068 "Nanoporous Silicon-Based Electrochemical DNA
Biosensor".
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1.2
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"Know-how" means the data and information
embodied in or required to enable the Technology.
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1.3
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"Patents" means any and all patent applications
(including any amendments or extensions to the initial
applications) filed in any country of the world by or on behalf of
MSU claiming the Technology and/or any patents maturing from such
patent applications. Patents and patent applications claiming the
technology at the time of execution of this Agreement include,
without limitation, United States provisional patent application
60/704,550 titled "Nanoporous Silicon-Based Electrochemical DNA
Biosensor", filed August 2, 2005.
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1.5
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"Adjusted Gross Sales" means the aggregate gross
revenues derived by Company and its Affiliates from the sale of
Products and Services to, and practice of Processes for, an
unaffiliated third party in an arms length commercial transaction,
less credits granted on account of price adjustments, recalls,
rejection or return of items previously sold.
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1.6
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"Product" means any and all products sublicensed,
offered or sold by or on behalf of the Company embodying or
practicing the Technology, Know-how and/or the Patents.
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1.7
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"Process" means any and all processes embodying
or practicing the Technology, Know-how and/or the
Patents.
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1.8
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"Service" means any and all services sublicensed,
offered or sold by or on behalf of the Company embodying or
practicing the Technology, Know-how and/or the Patents.
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1.9
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"Term" means the period beginning on the
Effective Date and extending to the expiration of the last to
expire of the Patents, or until Fifteen (15) years after the
Effective Date, whichever is longer.
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1.10
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"Field" means use of the Technology (and
Know-how) limited to detection of Escherichia
and Salmonella bacteria.
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1.11
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"Territory" means worldwide.
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1.12
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"Improvement" means (a) divisionals of the
Patents, (b) any continuations of the Patents deriving from
inventions made within the Term (i) in the course of research at
MSU supported by Company hereunder, or (ii) conceived or first
reduced to practice by MSU employees while conducting work for the
Company under a private agreement that is disclosed to and approved
by MSU consistent with the then current MSU policy on outside work
for pay.
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1.13
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"Affiliate" means any company, corporation or
business which is at least fifty percent owned or controlled by
Company, or which owns or controls at least fifty percent of
Company, or which together with Company is commonly owned or
controlled by a third party who owns or controls at least fifty
percent of each.
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1.14
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"Government" means the United States
Government.
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1.17
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"Sublicensing Revenues" means any and all
payments, royalties and other consideration collected by Company
from its sublicensees in connection with the sale, license or other
commercial disposition of Products, Processes or Services by such
sublicensees.
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ARTICLE 2 - LICENSES GRANTED AND RIGHTS
RETAINED
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2.1
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MSU hereby grants to Company during the Term of
this Agreement an exclusive license within the Territory, limited
to the Field, with the right to sublicense, to make, modify,
reproduce, have made, lease, use, distribute, market, promote,
sell, offer for sale, license and otherwise dispose of and exploit
the Products, practice the Processes, and offer the Services under
the Technology, the Know-how and/or the Patents and
Improvements.
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2
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2.2
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The exclusive license specified in Paragraphs 2.1
is subject to a reserved right of MSU to utilize the Technology,
Know-how, and/or the Patents solely for the non-commercial research
and educational purposes of MSU.
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2.3
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Company is hereby granted by MSU a right of first
refusal applicable to any exclusive option or exclusive license
that MSU elects to offer with respect to the Technology, Know-how
and/or the Patents in connection with any products, practice of the
processes, and offer of the services under the Technology, the
Know-how and/or the Patents outside of the licensed Field. With
respect to any such option or license offered by MSU, the
Company’s right of first refusal shall expire sixty days
after the Company receives the offered terms from MSU. During
reasonable business hours, MSU shall provide the Company with any
requested information that MSU is legally permitted to provide,
including access to personnel, in connection with the
Company’s due diligence investigation in deciding whether to
exercise any such right of first refusal hereunder. In addition,
any commercial non-exclusive option or license that MSU elects to
offer with respect to the Technology, Know-how and/or the Patents
in connection with any such products, practice of the processes,
and offer of the services under the Technology, the Know-how and/or
the Patents outside the licensed Field shall be offered to Company
simultaneously and under identical terms with the offer to any
third party.
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2.4
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The exclusive licenses specified in Paragraphs
2.1 and 2.3 may be subject to certain rights of the Government if
the Technology, Know-how, and/or the Patents were created or
invented in the course of Government-funded research. Such rights
may include for example a royalty-free license to the Government
and the requirement that any Product produced for sale in the
United States will be manufactured substantially in the United
States. In the event that the Government exercises its march-in
rights to the Technology to the substantial detriment of
Company’s business, then Company and MSU may negotiate a
reduced royalty rate.
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2.5
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This Agreement shall not be construed as implying
that either Party hereto shall have the right to use Background
Intellectual Property of the other in connection with this
Agreement or otherwise, except as expressly stated herein.
"Background Intellectual Property" means property and the legal
right therein of either or both parties developed a) before or b)
independent of but during Term of this Agreement, including
inventions, patent applications, patents, copyrights, trademarks,
mask works, trade secrets and any information embodying proprietary
data such as technical data and computer software and all
derivatives thereof (other than Project Intellectual Property, as
defined below). Except for the rights expressly granted by one
Party to the other hereunder, no license, interest or right in, or
title to, a Party’s Background Intellectual Property, or any
intellectual property rights therein or associated therewith, shall
be deemed to have been granted, vested in or transferred to the
other Party under the terms of the Agreement and no such rights
shall be construed by estoppel. All title to and ownership of a
Party’s Background Intellectual Property (and the
intellectual property rights therein or associated therewith)
remain with such Party.
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3
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2.6
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For clarity, inventions made by Company relating
to the Technology and without an MSU inventor are the sole property
of Company. Company shall have no obligation to MSU for such
inventions, except as may be provided in Article 13.4
herein.
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ARTICLE 3 - R&D PERFORMANCE &
MARKETING
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3.1
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Company shall use reasonable efforts to introduce
Products and Processes into the commercial market as soon as
practicable, consistent with sound and reasonable business
practices and judgment. Thereafter, Company shall endeavor to keep
Products and Processes reasonably available to the public during
the remainder of the Term.
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3.2
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MSU shall have the right to terminate or render
this license nonexclusive at any time after three (3) years from
the Effective Date if Company: (a) has not put the Technology into
commercial use in the Territory, directly or through a sublicense
or (b) is not demonstrably engaged in a research, development,
manufacturing, marketing or sublicensing program, as appropriate,
directed toward this end. MSU shall, prior to exercising any right
under this Section 3.2, provide the Company with at least thirty
(30) days written notice of its intention to exercise any rights
hereunder, and shall notify Company in writing after the expiration
of such thirty (30) day notice period to confirm that MSU is in
fact exercising its rights hereunder.
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ARTICLE 4 - PATENTS AND PATENT
COSTS
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4.1
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MSU shall retain title to the Technology,
Know-how, and the Patents.
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4.2
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MSU shall file, prosecute, and maintain Patents
in the United States and in any other countries designated by
Company at Company’s expense. Company may later approach MSU
to add non-designated countries for which MSU has pending
applications or patents. Any such later addition shall be at
MSU’s discretion.
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4.3
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Company agrees promptly to reimburse MSU for its
outside legal costs incurred under Paragraph 4.2 within thirty (30)
days after the receipt of invoices from MSU. Late payment shall be
subject to interest charges of one and one-half percent (1½ %)
per month. Such reimbursement payments by Company of costs incurred
by MSU under Paragraph 4.2 shall be creditable against up to 50% of
the royalties that are due from Company to MSU under Article 6
during the same calendar year in which such reimbursements are
due.
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4.4
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Failure of Company to pay the amounts required
under Paragraph 4.3 within ninety (90) days after the receipt of
invoices from MSU shall constitute a default by Company under this
Agreement, and entitle MSU to exercise its rights to terminate this
Agreement, including the provision of notice and the
Company’s right to cure, under Article 13.
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4
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4.5
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Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent MSU from
seeking patents on the Technology in countries other than those
designated by Company. Such patent applications shall be filed,
prosecuted and maintained at MSU’s expense, and shall be free
of any obligations to Company under this Agreement.
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ARTICLE 5 - PUBLICATION
RIGHTS
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5.1
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MSU reserves the right to publish or present the
results of its research on the Technology.
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ARTICLE 6 - PAYMENTS AND
ROYALTIES
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6.1
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Company agrees to pay to MSU a non-refundable
initial fee of Twenty Thousand United States Dollars ($20,000.00)
within ten business days from the execution of this License
Agreement.
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6.2
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(a)
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During the Term of this Agreement, the Company
shall pay to MSU a royalty of five percent (5.0 %) of Adjusted
Gross Sales. Where a Product or Process is not sold, but is
otherwise disposed of for commercial value, Adjusted Gross Sales
for the purpose of computing royalties shall be the Adjusted Gross
Sales price at which Products or Processes of similar kind and
quality, sold in similar quantities, are currently being offered
for sale by Company. Where such Products and Processes are not
currently being separately offered for sale by Company, but are
offered in connection with other products or processes, Adjusted
Gross Sales shall be Company’s cost of manufacture,
determined by Company’s customary accounting procedures,
increased by 100 %.
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(b)
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During the Term, Company shall pay to MSU a
royalty of five percent (5.0%) of Adjusted Gross Sales of any
Sublicensee.
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6.3
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Beginning in calendar year 2008, Company agrees
to pay MSU an annual minimum payment as shown in the table below.
Should the actual royalties paid under Paragraph 6.2 fall short of
this minimum amount, Company shall pay MSU the difference when the
royalty payment for the last calendar quarter of such calendar year
is due in accordance with Paragraph 6.4.
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Year
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Minimum Payment
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2008-2012
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$10,000.00
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2013-2017
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$20,000.00
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2018-2022
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$25,000.00
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2023-termination
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$30,000.00
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5
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6.4
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During each fiscal year during the Term, Company
shall deliver to MSU within forty-five (45) days after the end of
each of its first three fiscal quarters and within ninety (90) days
following the end of its fiscal year:
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(a)
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A written report showing all figures necessary to
compute Adjusted Gross Sales and Company’s computation of all
remuneration to MSU due under this Agreement for such calendar
quarter, accompanied by a check in full payment of the remuneration
due. Adjusted Gross Sales shall be segmented in each such report on
a country-by-country basis, including the rates of exchange used
for conversion to USA Dollars from the currency in which such sales
were made.
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(b)
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For any Adjusted Gross Sales which are made in a
currency other than U.S. dollars, the amount of such sales shall be
converted to U.S. Dollars using the currency exchange rates set
forth in The Wall Street Journal on the last day of the
calendar quarter.
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(c)
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All payments due shall be made in U.S. dollars
without deduction for taxes, assessments, or other charges of any
kind which may be imposed on Company by the government of the
country where the transactions occur or any political subdivision
thereof with respect to any amounts payable to MSU pursuant to this
Agreement, and such taxes, assessments, or other charges shall be
assumed by Company.
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(d)
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Late payments shall be subject to an interest
charge of one and one-half percent (1½%) per month.
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6.5
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Company shall keep for a period of three (3)
years following the year to which such records relate, full, true
and accurate books of accounts and other records containing all
information and data which may be necessary to ascertain and verify
the remuneration payable to MSU hereunder. During the Term and for
a period of two (2) years following its termination or expiration,
MSU shall have the right, upon reasonable prior written notice, to
audit, or have an agent, accountant or other representative, audit
such books, records and supporting data upon fifteen (15) days
notice. All information subject to such audit shall be deemed
Confidential Information and treated in accordance with the
provisions of Section 10. Any audit shall be at MSU’s
expense, except that Company shall reimburse MSU for the cost of
the audit in the event that the audit establishes an underpayment
of ten percent (10%) or more of the amount due.
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ARTICLE 7 - RESERVED
ARTICLE 8 - DILIGENCE
6
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8.1
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Company shall deliver to MSU within one hundred
twenty (120) days after the end of fiscal 2007 and 2008, a report
describing Company’s progress toward meeting its objectives
together with an updated version of its business plan.
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ARTICLE 9 - INFRINGEMENT
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9.1
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Each party shall promptly report in writing to
the other party during the Term any infringement or suspected
infringement of any Patent, or unauthorized use or misappropriation
of the Technology or Know-how by a third party of which it becomes
aware, and shall provide the other party with all available
evidence supporting said infringement, suspected infringement or
unauthorized use or misappropriation.
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9.2
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Company shall have the right to initiate an
infringement suit or other appropriate action against any third
party who at any time has infringed or is suspected of infringing
any of the Patents or of using without proper authorization all or
any portion of the Technology or Know-how. Company shall give MSU
sufficient advance written notice of its intent to initiate such
action and the reasons therefor, and shall provide MSU with an
opportunity to make suggestions and comments regarding such action.
Company shall keep MSU promptly informed of the status of any such
action. Company shall pay all expenses of such action. MSU shall
offer reasonable assistance to Company in con
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