Patent Prosecution 6.1 UNIVERSITY has or shall apply for and seek prompt issuance of and maintain during the term of this Agreement the PATENT RIGHTS in the United States and in such foreign countries as may be designated by LICENSEE in a written notice to UNIVERSITY within a reasonable time in advance of the required foreign filing dates. LICENSEE shall have the opportunity to advise and cooperate with UNIVERSITY in the prosecution, filing and maintenance of such patents. If UNIVERSITY decides to abandon the preparation, filing, prosecution or maintenance of any patent or patent application covered by the PATENT RIGHTS, then UNIVERSITY shall provide written notice to LICENSEE, and LICENSEE shall have the right at its sole expense to assume control of the preparation, filing, prosecution and maintenance of such patent application or patent. If LICENSEE no longer wishes to support the prosecution or maintenance of any patent or patent application covered by the PATENT RIGHTS, then LICENSEE shall provide written notice to UNIVERSITY, and LICENSEE shall not be responsible for such corresponding patent expenses that are incurred subsequent to the date of receipt by UNIVERSITY of such written notice by LICENSEE; such returned patent or patent application shall be excluded from the PATENT RIGHTS. LICENSEE shall notify UNIVERSITY immediately if, at any time during the term of this Agreement, LICENSEE or any of its sublicensees does not qualify as a “Small Entity” as provided by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
6.2 All fees and costs including attorneys’ fees relating to the filing, prosecution and maintenance of the PATENT RIGHTS whether incurred prior to or after the EFFECTIVE DATE of this Agreement shall be the responsibility of LICENSEE. LICENSEE shall not be required to reimburse the UNIVERSITY for any fees under this section that have been paid to the UNIVERSITY by prior licensees or any other third party. Fees and costs shall be paid by LICENSEE within thirty (30) days after receipt of UNIVERSITY’S invoice therefore. Payments pursuant to this Section 6.2 are not creditable against royalties.
6.3 LICENSEE shall own any new patent application, and any patent that issues therefrom, or new technology in the SLE FIELD developed independently of the UNIVERSITY and UNIVERSITY employees and shall not owe the UNIVERSITY any fee or royalty under section 4 relating to such a new patent application, and any patent that issues therefrom, or new technology.
Joint Patent Rights If not already established under the Research Collaboration Agreement, prior to either Party filing any Patent Right disclosing Joint Program Technology or Joint Probody Platform Improvements, the Parties shall establish a patent committee (the “Patent Committee”) comprised of at least one (1) representative of each Party for the purpose of facilitating the preparation, filing, prosecution, maintenance and defense of Joint Patent Rights. As agreed upon by the Parties, meetings of the Patent Committee may be face-to-face or may be conducted by teleconferences or videoconferences, from time to time as needed. The Patent Committee will be the forum through which the Parties coordinate their respective obligations to each other described in Sections 5.2.2 and 5.2.3 hereof and in this Section. In the event the Parties conceive or generate any Joint Program Technology or Joint Probody Platform Improvements, the Parties shall promptly meet to discuss and determine, based on mutual consent, whether to seek patent protection thereon, which Party will control filing, prosecution and maintenance of such patents and how to pay for the filing, prosecution and maintenance of such patents. It is presumed that ImmunoGen will control filing, prosecution and maintenance of Joint Patent Rights claiming Joint Program Technology or Joint Conjugation Probody Platform Improvements, and that CytomX will control filing, prosecution and maintenance of Joint Patent Rights claiming Joint Unconjugated Probody Platform Improvements. Neither Party will file any Joint Patent Right without the prior written consent of the other Party, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed. The Party controlling filing and prosecution of any such Joint Patent Right (a) shall keep the other Party informed regarding each Patent Right, (b) shall consider in good faith any recommendations made by the other Party in regard to the filing, prosecution or maintenance of any such Patent Right and (c) shall not unreasonably refuse to incorporate any recommendations made by the other Party in regard to such filing, prosecution or maintenance.
Licensed Patents Immune Design, at its expense, shall have the first right to file, prosecute and maintain all Licensed Patents for which Immune Design has any exclusive rights under this Agreement using patent counsel reasonably approved by IDRI, including conducting any interferences, reexaminations, reissues, oppositions, or request for patent term extension relating thereto. Immune Design shall conduct such filing, prosecution and maintenance in good faith, taking into consideration IDRI’s retained rights hereunder, and consistent with reasonable business judgment, provide IDRI with all relevant or material documentation and proposed filing in the Territory so that IDRI may be concurrently and promptly informed of the continuing prosecution, and consult with IDRI with regards to Immune Design’s patent strategy with the Licensed Patents for which Immune Design has any exclusive rights under this Agreement. Licensed Patents in the name of IDRI shall remain in the name of IDRI. Immune Design shall use commercially reasonable efforts to ***, as applicable. To the extent such ***, Immune Design shall provide IDRI reasonable opportunity to review and comment on such prosecution efforts regarding such Licensed Patents in the Territory, and any IDRI comments will be reasonably considered in such prosecution efforts, and included to the extent affecting the IDRI Exclusive Field or IDRI Territory, as the case may be. If Immune Design determines in its sole discretion to abandon or not maintain any Licensed Patent for which Immune Design has any exclusive rights under this Agreement in the Territory, then Immune Design shall promptly provide IDRI with written notice of such determination at least sixty (60) days before any deadline for taking action to avoid abandonment and shall provide IDRI with the right, opportunity and reasonable assistance to prepare, file, prosecute and maintain such Licensed Patent in the applicable jurisdiction in IDRI’s sole discretion and at IDRI’s expense, provided that Immune Design shall provide such reasonable assistance at its own costs and expenses. If IDRI elects to prepare, file, prosecute and maintain such Licensed Patent in such jurisdiction for which Immune Design has any exclusive rights, then Immune Design’s license rights to such Licensed Patent in such country will become nonexclusive in such country under such Licensed Patent (and/or patent application). If IDRI desires Immune Design to file, in a particular jurisdiction, a Licensed Patent for which Immune Design has any exclusive rights under this Agreement that claims priority to another Licensed Patent for which Immune Design has any exclusive rights under this Agreement, IDRI shall provide written notice to Immune Design requesting that Immune Design file such patent application in such jurisdiction. If IDRI provides such written notice to Immune Design, Immune Design shall either (i) file and prosecute such patent application and maintain any patent issuing thereon in such jurisdiction and the Parties shall share the related costs and expenses (A) in countries *** on the basis of *** percent (***%) Immune Design: *** percent (***%) IDRI or (B) in countries within the IDRI Territory equally; or (ii) notify IDRI that Immune Design does not desire to file such patent application in such jurisdiction and provide IDRI with the opportunity to file and prosecute such patent application, provided that if IDRI files and prosecutes such patent application in such jurisdiction, then Immune Design’s license rights to such License Patent in such country will become nonexclusive in such country under such Licensed GLA Patent (and/or patent application). Immune Design shall be responsible for the costs and expenses incurred in connection with its own activities for filing, prosecuting and maintaining the Licensed Patents; IDRI shall be responsible for monitoring of such activities by IDRI.
Joint Patents Neither Party shall have any obligation to file or prosecute any Joint Patent. To the extent a Party wishes to prosecute a Joint Patent, the Parties will mutually agree upon which Party will have the first right to prosecute such Joint Patent, based on the contribution of each Party to such invention and each Party’s potential interest in products based upon such invention. If the Party having such first right does not wish to prosecute such Joint Patent, it shall inform the other Party promptly, but in any event no later than [***] after the Parties have agreed upon which Party had the first right to prosecute such Joint Patent. If the Party having such first right does not wish to prosecute such Joint Patent, the other Party may, upon written notice to such Party, prosecute such Joint Patent. The Party that prosecutes a Joint Patent pursuant to this Section 5.2(b) (the “prosecuting Party”) will solely bear its own internal costs for such prosecution and will solely bear the external costs for such prosecution (e.g., outside counsel, filing fees, etc.). Licensee will have the first right, but not the obligation, to prosecute infringement of any Joint Patents that is related to the Exclusively Licensed Know-How or a product competitive, or potentially competitive, with a Licensed Product; and Licensor will have the first right, but not the obligation, to prosecute infringement of any Joint Patents in all other cases. The Parties shall first confer and mutually agree regarding any such prosecution of infringement; provided, however, that Licensee shall have the right, without the consent of Licensor, to assert a Joint Patent against a Third Party in a defense of or counterclaim to any claim or assertion of infringement of a Patent or misappropriation of Know-How Controlled by such Third Party.
INFRINGEMENT AND PATENT ENFORCEMENT 11.01 PHS and Licensee agree to notify each other promptly of each infringement or possible infringement of the Licensed Patent Rights, as well as any facts which may affect the validity, scope, or enforceability of the Licensed Patent Rights of which either Party becomes aware.
11.02 Pursuant to this Agreement and the provisions of Chapter 29 of title 35, United States Code, Licensee may: a) bring suit in its own name, at its own expense, and on its own behalf for infringement of presumably valid claims in the Licensed Patent Rights; b) in any such suit, enjoin infringement and collect for its use, damages, profits, and awards of whatever nature recoverable for such infringement; and c) settle any claim or suit for infringement of the Licensed Patent Rights provided, however, that PHS and appropriate Government authorities shall have the first right to take such actions. If Licensee desires to initiate a suit for patent infringement, Licensee shall notify PHS in writing. If PHS does not notify Licensee of its intent to pursue legal action within ninety (90) days, Licensee will be free to initiate suit. PHS shall have a continuing right to intervene in such suit. Licensee shall take no action to compel the Government either to initiate or to join in any such suit for patent infringement. Licensee may request the Government to initiate or join in any such suit if necessary to avoid dismissal of the suit. Should the Government be made a party to any such suit, Licensee shall reimburse the Government for any costs, expenses, or fees which the Government incurs as a result of such motion or other action, including any and all costs incurred by the Government in opposing any such motion or other action. In all cases, Licensee agrees to keep PHS reasonably apprised of the status and progress of any litigation. Before Licensee commences an infringement action, Licensee shall notify PHS and give careful consideration to the views of PHS and to any potential effects of the litigation on the public health in deciding whether to bring suit.