EXHIBIT
10.7
SALE OF INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY AGREEMENT
This Sale of
Intellectual Property Agreement (“Agreement”) is made
this fifth day of April, 2002 (“Effective Date”),
between the University of Rochester, an educational institution
chartered by the State of New York with offices at 518 Hylan
Building, P.O. Box 271040, Rochester, New York 14627
(“Rochester”), and VirtualScopics, LLC, a for-profit
New York limited liability company with offices at 160 Office
Parkway, Pittsford, New York 14534
(“VirtualScopics”).
Rochester and
VirtualScopics are parties to a certain License Agreement, dated
December 13, 2000 and amended on May 18, 2001 (“License
Agreement”), pursuant to which Rochester licensed certain
intellectual property to VirtualScopics. In return for a portion of
the equity position in VirtualScopics held by the Research
Foundation of the University of Rochester, Rochester waived any
up-front license fees from VirtualScopics for the license rights
granted in the License Agreement.
In connection
with a proposed investment in VirtualScopics by Pfizer Corporation
(“Pfizer”), VirtualScopics has requested that Rochester
sell the IP (defined below) to VirtualScopics in accordance with
the terms of this Agreement, and Rochester is willing to do
so.
Therefore, in
consideration of the premises and promises in this Agreement, the
parties agree as follows:
Capitalized
terms not defined elsewhere herein or in the License Agreement will
have the meanings set forth below.
1.1
“ Domain Names ” means
“VirtualScopics.com” and
“VirtualScopic.com.”
1.2
“ Exhibit ” means an Exhibit further
identified by a Section number (e.g., Exhibit 1.6 for the Patent
Rights; Exhibit 2.2 for the form of Patent Assignment, Exhibit 2.3
for the form of Domain Name Assignment, etc.) which is attached to
this Agreement and is hereby incorporated by reference.
1.3
" Governmental Authority " means any government,
court, regulatory or administrative agency or commission, or other
governmental authority, agency or instrumentality, whether federal,
state or local (domestic or foreign), including, without
limitation, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (the
"PTO").
1.4
“ IP ” means the Patent Rights and Domain
Names.
1.5
“ Operating Agreement ” means the Second
Amended and Restated Operating Agreement of VirtualScopics, LLC,
which will be dated and executed on or before the closing of the
Pfizer Transaction.
1.6
“ Patent Rights ” means all issued
patents, United States provisional patent applications, United
States patent applications, and Patent Cooperation Treaty patent
applications listed in Exhibit 1.6 and inventions disclosed
therein and any divisions, continuations, continuations-in-part (to
the extent directed to subject matter specifically described in
their respective parent applications), reissues, reexaminations,
renewals and substitutions thereof (including, without limitation,
remedies against infringements thereof and rights of protection of
all interest therein under the law of all jurisdictions); and any
and all foreign patents and patent applications that claim priority
from any of the foregoing.
1.7
“ Pfizer Transaction ” means the execution
of the Securities Purchase Agreement, dated on or before 14 days
after the Effective Date, between VirtualScopics and Pfizer or an
affiliate of Pfizer, which, among other things, provides for the
payment by Pfizer of $2.5 Million to VirtualScopics for
Series B Preferred Units of VirtualScopics.
In this
Agreement, including any Exhibit, any reference to
“including” means “including but not limited
to,” and any reference to “and” means
“and/or” unless the context clearly means
otherwise.
2.1
In accordance with the terms of, and subject to the
conditions in, this Agreement, Rochester hereby sells, transfers,
and assigns all of its right, title and interest in the IP to
VirtualScopics, free and clear of all liens and
encumbrances.
2.2
Rochester will execute a Patent Assignment with respect to
the Patent Rights in substantially the form of Exhibit 2.2,
which VirtualScopics may record in the United States Patent and
Trademark Office, and Rochester will, at VirtualScopics’
expense, execute all such further documents and perform all such
other acts as may be reasonably requested by VirtualScopics to
effect the transfer of ownership in the Patent Rights to
VirtualScopics free and clear of all liens and encumbrances.
A
2.3
Rochester will execute a Domain Name Assignment with respect
to the Domain Names in substantially the form of Exhibit 2.3,
and Rochester will, at VirtualScopics’ expense, execute all
such further documents and perform all such other acts as may be
reasonably requested by VirtualScopics to effect the transfer of
ownership in the Domain Names to VirtualScopics free and clear of
all liens and encumbrances. Rochester will not register any domain
names including the mark “VirtualScopic” and, to the
extent it has or will register such domain names, hereby agrees to
the transfer of such registrations to VirtualScopics.
2.4
The sale of the IP is contingent upon VirtualScopics entering
into a Securities Purchase Agreement with Pfizer for the payment of
$2.5 Million to VirtualScopics for Series B Preferred Units of
VirtualScopics within fourteen (14) days of the Effective Date; (b)
agreement by the parties on the form of the Security Agreement
required under Section 4.7 below within fourteen (14) days of the
Effective Date; and (c) amendment and restatement of the Operating
Agreement to incorporate all rights of Rochester under this
Agreement to the satisfaction of Rochester within thirty (30) days
of the Effective Date. VirtualScopics may not file the Patent
Assignment described in Section 2.2 above until Rochester provides
written notice to VirtualScopics that Rochester is satisfied that
the conditions of this Section 2.4 have been met.
2.5
Upon fulfillment of the conditions set forth in Section 2.4
above, and execution and delivery of (a) this Agreement and (b) the
Assignment attached hereto as Exhibit 2.2, the Leased Employee
Agreements among Saara Totterman, M.D. and Kevin Parker, Ph.D. on
the one hand and VirtualScopics and Rochester on the other hand
effective as of December 12, 2000 will terminate and be of no
further force and effect, except for the provisions of Section 2 of
such Leased Employee Agreements with respect to the calculation and
payment of any remaining costs incurred by Rochester prior to the
termination of such Leased Employee Agreements and not yet paid by
VirtualScopics.
2.6
Upon fulfillment of the condition set forth in Section 2.4
above, and execution and delivery of (a) this Agreement, (b) the
Assignment attached hereto as Exhibit 2.2, (c) the Domain Name
Assignment attached hereto as Exhibit 2.3, (d) the Security
Agreement attached hereto as Exhibit 4.7, and (e) the Warrant to
Purchase attached hereto as Exhibit 4.8, the License Agreement will
terminate and be of no further force or effect except for costs
incurred pursuant to Section 5.2 of the License Agreement, if
any.
3.
License of Patent Rights; End of License Agreement; License
Back
3.1
VirtualScopics hereby grants to Rochester, subject to any rights
the United States Government may possess under 37 C.F.R. §401,
a limited non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free right
and license to use the Patent Rights solely for the purposes of
research and education.
3.2
(a)
If at any time VirtualScopics elects to phase-out its use of,
or not commercialize, the IP or any part thereof that can be
reasonably separated therefrom, VirtualScopics will promptly notify
Rochester. Upon request of Rochester, VirtualScopics will negotiate
with Rochester in good faith for Rochester’s repurchase or
license of any or all of such separable but non-commercialized
and/or phased out IP on reasonable terms.
(b)
Rochester acknowledges that upon payment in full of the
Preferred Amount by VirtualScopics or any of its affiliates,
members, shareholders or employees, Rochester shall have no rights
to the IP except for the limited, non-exclusive license set forth
in Section 3.1 above.
4.
Financial and Related Considerations
4.1
(a)
VirtualScopics will pay Rochester a liquidating preferred
amount of $1,500,000 ("Preferred Amount").
(b)
VirtualScopics will pay Rochester two and one-quarter percent
(02.25%) of VirtualScopics’ gross sales revenues (including
from any licenses) actually received from any source after the
Effective Date until Rochester has received the Preferred Amount
pursuant to such formula.
(c) In addition
to amounts due under Section 4.1(b), if VirtualScopics licenses any
of the IP to a third party, VirtualScopics will pay Rochester 25%
of the amount of any “License Fee(s)” actually received
from such third party(ies) by VirtualScopics until Rochester has
been paid the Preferred Amount, except that the 25% payment will
not apply to image-analysis software or software tools sold or
licensed by VirtualScopics as is to its customers without granting
them the right to make modifications thereto. For purposes of this
Section 4.1(c), a “License Fee” means any payment(s),
e.g., upfront or installment payments, from any such third party
licensee(s) which is not based on revenues or sales and is not due
on at least a quarterly basis.
4.2
Installments of the Preferred Amount due pursuant to Sections
4.1(b) and (c) will be due at the end of each calendar quarter and
will be paid within 30 days after the end of each such quarter to
an account identified by Rochester. Each such installment payment
will be accompanied by a report setting forth in reasonable detail
and in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, as
applicable (i) the amount of VirtualScopics’ gross sales
revenues for the preceding quarter and/or the basis of the
calculation of any License Fees, and the sources of any such
revenues or License Fees, and (ii) the calculation of the
installment amount due. The report due by January 30 th
of each year will also show an annual history of the previous four
quarters.
4.3
If substantially all of the assets of or ownership interests
in VirtualScopics are sold, or if VirtualScopics sells the IP, in
whole or in part, the Preferred Amount will immediately become due
and payable to the extent VirtualScopics or its owners receive any
consideration for such sale.
4.4
VirtualScopics may prepay the Preferred Amount at any time
without prepayment penalty.
4.5
The Preferred Amount due Rochester will be preferred to all
other amounts paid by or disbursed from VirtualScopics except
taxes, and the Operating Agreement will be amended to provide that
the Preferred Amount is prior and preferred to any other
distribution or payment (except taxes) from VirtualScopics,
including the dividend rights of Preferred Units described in
Article X of the Operating Agreement.
4.6
Provided Rochester first executes a reasonable Non-Disclosure
Agreement, Rochester will have the right to have its representative
annually audit all books and records of VirtualScopics (and to make
copies thereof) during normal business hours and upon reasonable
notice to verify the amounts due Rochester. To the extent Rochester
receives or learns of such accounting information pursuant to this
Agreement, Rochester will treat such information as confidential
information of VirtualScopics and use it solely to verify and, if
necessary, to enforce its right to receive the Preferred Amount. If
any amount is not paid when due, it will be subject to a late
charge equal to one percent (1%) per month until paid. The presence
or payment of any late charge will not prevent Rochester from
exercising any other rights it may be entitled to as a result of
any late payment, all of which rights are cumulative. Furthermore,
if any audit reveals an underpayment (excluding any late payment
charges) of more than ten percent (10%) of the amount otherwise
due, in addition to any late payment charge, VirtualScopics will
also pay Rochester’s reasonable costs incurred in connection
with the audit.
4.7
VirtualScopics will grant Rochester a security interest,
substantially in the form of the Security Agreement that shall be
attached to this Agreement as Exhibit 4.7, within fourteen (14)
calendar days of execution of this Agreement, in the Patent Rights
for the payment of the Preferred Amount. Upon payment of the
Preferred Amount, Rochester's security interest shall
terminate.
4.8
VirtualScopics will also grant Rochester a warrant to
purchase 375,000 of the Common Units of VirtualScopics. The warrant
will be substantially in the form of Exhibit 4.8. The exercise
price for the Units will be $0.70 per Unit, subject to such
adjustments of such price or other terms of the warrant as may be
set forth in the warrant; provided, however (a) the warrant
will be effective as of the Effective Date and will terminate ten
years thereafter; and (b) the warrant may be assigned by
Rochester to any corporation or other legal entity of which
Rochester is the sole shareholder or sole member.
5.
Rochester's Representations and
Warranties
5.1
Rochester represents and warrants to VirtualScopics the
following:
(a)
that before the closing of the sale of the IP hereunder
Rochester is the sole owner of the IP, particularly including the
Patent Rights, but excluding those inventions not included within
the scope of valid claims ultimately issued on the Patent
Rights;
(b) that to the
best of Rochester’s knowledge, no third party has any rights
to the IP except those of VirtualScopics as set forth in the
License Agreement and those of the inventors of the applicable IP
who were employees of Rochester at the time of such inventions,
provided, however, that all such rights shall terminate upon the
sale of the IP to VirtualScopics hereunder;
(c) that this
Agreement, the Patent Assignment and the Domain Name Assignment
(together with all other documents executed and delivered herewith
and therewith) are within Rochester’s legal powers, have been
duly executed and delivered and constitute the valid and binding
agreements of Rochester;
(d) that the
execution, delivery and performance by Rochester of this Agreement,
the Patent Assignment, Domain Name Assignment (together with all
other documents executed and delivered herewith and therewith) do
not require any notice to, action or consent by or in respect of,
or filing with, any Governmental Authority (other than the filing
of the Patent Assignments with the PTO and any other applicable
Governmental Authority, and the filing of the Domain Name
Assignment with Network Solutions, Inc.);
(e) that there
is no action, suit, investigation or proceeding (or any basis
thereof), of which Rochester has received written notice, pending
or, to the knowledge of Rochester, threatened, before any
Governmental Authority or arbitrator that has or could materially
affect the IP; Rochester has not received written notice of any
claims made by any person or entity with respect to, or any
actions, suits or other proceedings relating to, the IP which would
have a material adverse effect on the proposed or intended use of
the IP;
(f) that except
for the License Agreement and the Leased Employee Agreements
referenced in Section 2.5 above, Rochester has not granted any
licenses, sublicenses or other rights relating to the IP, and that,
prior to the date of this Agreement, Rochester has not granted any
license or covenant not to sue with respect to the IP to any third
party; and
(g) that to its
knowledge Rochester and each inventor listed in any patent or
patent application and the attorneys of record thereto have
complied with the PTO duty of candor and good faith in dealing with
the PTO, including the duty to disclose to the PTO all information
known to be material to the patentability of each of the patent
applications.
In Sections
5.1(b), 5.1(e), and 5.1(g) of this Agreement and Section 1.3 of
Exhibit 2.3 to this Agreement only, for the purposes of
Rochester’s “knowledge,”“Rochester”
shall mean the University of Rochester Office of Technology
Transfer and Office of Counsel to the Medical Center, University of
Rochester and Strong Health.
The
representation and warranty set forth in Section 5.1(a) shall
survive the closing of the sale of IP.
5.2
EXCEPT AS SET FORTH IN SECTION 5.1 ABOVE, ROCHESTER MAKES NO
REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY WITH
RESPECT TO THE IP, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS
FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND THE VALIDITY OF ANY PART OF THE IP,
INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ISSUED OR PENDING CLAIMS OF THE PATENT
RIGHTS AND THE ABSENCE OF LATENT OR OTHER DEFECTS, WHETHER OR NOT
DISCOVERED OR DISCOVERABLE. NOTHING IN THIS AGREEMENT OR ANY OTHER
AGREEMENT TO WHICH ROCHESTER AND VIRTUALSCOPICS ARE PARTIES WILL BE
CONSTRUED AS A REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY THAT THE PRACTICE OF THE
PATENT RIGHTS OR ANY OTHER USE OF THE IP WILL NOT INFRINGE UPON AN
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHT OF ANY OTHER PERSON.
6.1
Confidentiality . Rochester will hold, and will use
reasonable commercial efforts to cause its officers, directors,
employees, accountants, counsel, consultants, advisors and agents
to hold, in confidence, all confidential documents and information
concerning the IP, and such information which is identified in
writing as confidential or, if delivered orally, if confirmed in
writing as confidential within 30 days after oral delivery. Such
obligation of confidentiality shall not apply to information that
(a) is publicly known as of the date of the disclosure; (b) becomes
publicly known after the date of disclosure through no fault of
Rochester or any person or entity to whom Rochester has disclosed
the information pursuant to the terms of this Section 6.1; (c) is
received after the date of this Agreement, from a third party who
is not known to Rochester to have any obligation of confidentiality
to VirtualScopics; (d) is disclosed by Rochester in accordance with
and subject to any limitations set forth in any written consent
granted by VirtualScopics; or (e) is requested to be disclosed by
Rochester pursuant to a judicial or administrative process,
provided that Rochester shall use its best efforts to minimize such
disclosure, and provided further that Rochester shall notify
VirtualScopics of the disclosure request or order and cooperate
with VirtualScopics in obtaining a protective order if
VirtualScopics opts to seek one, which efforts shall be
communicated to Rochester prior to the date the disclosure is due
and shall be at VirtualScopics’ sole expense.
6.2
Patent Documentation . Upon request of
VirtualScopics, Rochester shall promptly advise its patent counsel
of the existence of this Agreement and request that patent counsel
transfer the ownership of its files concerning the IP from
Rochester to VirtualScopics and, to the extent it has the authority
to do so, will provide VirtualScopics or its representative Power
to Inspect any pending U.S. or foreign patent application as set
forth in the Patent Rights.
7.
Indemnity; Limitation of Liability
7.1
VirtualScopics will at all times defend, indemnify and hold
harmless Rochester, its trustees, directors, officers, employees,
and affiliates from and against all claims, proceedings, demands,
losses, expenses (including attorney fees and expenses, whether
incurred as the result of a third party claim or a claim to enforce
this Agreement), liabilities, and damages (collectively,
“Claim”) to the extent arising out of the exercise of
VirtualScopics’ rights hereunder with respect to
VirtualScopics’ intellectual property, including the IP, or
any part thereof, including a Claim associated with injury or death
to any person(s), damage to property, and the research, production,
manufacture, testing, sale, use, marketing, consumption, and
advertising related to the exercise and exploitation of
VirtualScopics’ intellectual property in any form. Rochester
shall promptly notify VirtualScopics of any Claim of which it
becomes aware and, at VirtualScopics’ expense, will cooperate
in the defense and settlement thereof. Failure to provide such
notice will not absolve VirtualScopics from its indemnity
obligation except to the extent of actual prejudice and additional
expenses caused by such failure. Except at its own cost, Rochester
will not compromise or settle any Claim without the prior written
consent of VirtualScopics, which will not be unreasonably withheld
or delayed.
7.2
Rochester will at all times defend, indemnify and hold harmless
VirtualScopics, its trustees, directors, officers, employees and
affiliates from and against all claims, proceedings, demands,
losses, expenses (including attorneys' fees and expenses, whether
incurred as a result of a third-party claim or a claim to enforce
this Agreement), liabilities and damages (collectively, "Claim") to
the extent arising out of a breach of a representation, warranty or
covenant by Rochester hereunder or as a result of Rochester's use
or exploitation of the IP. VirtualScopics will endeavor to properly
notify Rochester of any Claim of which it becomes aware and, at
Rochester's expense, will cooperate in defense and settlement
thereof. Failure to provide such notice will absolve Rochester from
its indemnity obligation to the extent of actual prejudice and
additional expense caused by such failure. Except at its own cost,
VirtualScopics will not compromise or settle any Claim without the
prior written consent of Rochester, which will not be unreasonably
delayed or withheld.
7.3
Rochester’s sole liability, monetary or otherwise, to
VirtualScopics or anyone claiming under or through VirtualScopics
hereunder shall in no event exceed the amounts actually paid to
Rochester pursuant to Section 4.1(a). VirtualScopics shall
have no right to claim any such amount except solely as a result of
a successful Claim by VirtualScopics pursuant to Rochester’s
indemnity obligation under Section 7.2 above. These limitations
shall apply regardless whether such Claim is based in contract,
warranty, tort (including negligence), strict liability, or any
other legal theory, and, for the purposes of this Section, all
Claims will
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