Provision Language
9. Intellectual Property Rights
E. Patent Prosecution. Awardee agrees to take responsibility for the preparation, filing, prosecution, and maintenance of any and all patents and patent applications listed as Awardee Background IP that are relevant to work performed under this Agreement. Awardee shall keep the Government reasonably advised on the status of Awardee Background IP by providing an annual report on the status of Awardee Background IP. Prior to acting on a decision by Awardee to abandon or not file in any country a patent or patent application covering an Agreement Invention, which is defined below, Awardee shall so inform the Government in a timely manner to allow Awardee to thoughtfully consider the Government’s comments regarding such a proposed decision. Nothing in this Article 10 shall restrict the Government in its preparation, filing, prosecution and maintenance of a patent or patent application covering an Agreement Invention.
F. Patent Enforcement. Awardee will have the first option to enforce any patent rights covering an Agreement Invention owned jointly by the Parties or solely by Awardee, at Awardee’s expense. If Awardee chooses not to exercise this option, the Government may enforce patent rights covering a joint Agreement Invention only with Awardee’s prior written approval.
H. Patent Applications. The Parties will respectively have the option to file a patent application claiming any Agreement Invention made solely by their respective employees. The Parties will consult with each other regarding the options for filing a patent application claiming a joint Agreement Invention. Within thirty (30) calendar days of being notified of the discovery of an Agreement Invention or filing a patent application covering an Agreement Invention, each Party will provide notice of such discovery or filing to the other Party. The Parties will reasonably cooperate with each other in the preparation, filing, and prosecution of any patent application claiming an Agreement Invention. Any Party filing a patent application will bear expenses associated with filing and prosecuting the application, as well as maintaining any patents that issue from the application, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties.
14. Miscellaneous Clauses
B. Patent Infringement. Each Party will advise the other Party promptly and in reasonable written detail, of each claim or lawsuit of patent infringement based on the performance of this Agreement. When requested by either Party, all evidence and information in possession of the Party pertaining to such claim or lawsuit will be provided to the other at no cost to the requesting Party.