Provision Language
Definitions
“Data” means recorded information, regardless of form or the media on which it may be recorded. The term includes technical data and Computer Software. The term does not include information incidental to contract administration, such as financial, administrative, cost or pricing, or management information.
7.0 Patent Rights; Data Rights; PREP Act and Transparency
Article X, (“PATENT RIGHTS”) and Article XI. (“DATA RIGHTS”) of Other Transaction Agreement number W15QKN–16–9–1002 shall not apply to this Project Agreement and are hereby replaced for the purpose of this Project Agreement, with this Section 7.0 (including Sections 7.1–7.4 and the Definitions Appendix).
Definitions: Capitalized terms used in this Section 7.0 (including Sections 7.1–7.4) shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the Definitions Appendix to this Project Agreement.
For purposes of this Project Agreement, all rights of the Government in and to Data or Subject Inventions are granted solely to The United States of America, as represented by the Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness & Response (“ASPR”), Office of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development (“BARDA”) (represented by Office of Acquisition Management, Contracts and Grants (AMCG)) and to no other agency of the United States of America (including JPEO) or representative of any such other agency (including the CMF). The parties acknowledge that Regeneron is permitted to communicate solely with BARDA regarding the matters described in this Section 7.0 (including Sections 7.1–7.4) and is not obligated to communicate with any other Government agency or representative regarding such matters.
7.1 Background Intellectual Property
Each party acknowledges that it has no rights to the other party’s inventions, discoveries, know–how, Data, technology or intellectual property generated, discovered, conceived or reduced to practice prior to or otherwise outside of this Statement of Work (also referred to herein as, this “Project Agreement” or this “Agreement”), and any improvements or modifications thereto, including, without limitation, the background intellectual property (and improvements/modifications) for the Government and Regeneron described below, as follows:
Government Background Intellectual Property. None.
Contractor Background Intellectual Property: [* * *]
- 63/004,312, filed April 2, 2020 “Anti–SARS–CoV–2–Spike Glycoprotein Antibodies and Antigen–Binding Fragments”
- [* * *]
- 63/014,687, filed April 23, 2020 “Anti–SARS–CoV–2–Spike Glycoprotein Antibodies and Antigen–Binding Fragments”
- [* * *]
- 63/025,949, filed May 15, 2020 “Anti–SARS–CoV–2–Spike Glycoprotein Antibodies and Antigen–Binding Fragments”
- [* * *]
- 63/034,865, filed June 4, 2020 “Anti–SARS–CoV–2–Spike Glycoprotein Antibodies and Antigen–Binding Fragments”
- [* * *]
No party relinquishes rights in any of its background intellectual property to any other party under this contract.
Either Party may update its disclosure of background intellectual property under this Section 7.1 upon written notice to the other Party.
7.2 Patent Rights
a. Allocation of Principal Rights
The parties agree that the Bayh–Dole statute does not apply to this Project Agreement. Ownership of inventions Made in the performance of this Project Agreement shall follow inventorship, and inventorship shall be determined in accordance with United States patent laws. With respect to any Subject Invention Made (in whole or in part) by or on behalf of Regeneron, unless Regeneron shall have notified the Government (in accordance with Subparagraph b. below) that Regeneron does not intend to properly disclose and elect title to a Subject Invention, Regeneron shall retain the entire right, title, and interest throughout the world to such Subject Invention, and the Government shall have a nonexclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable, paid–up license to practice or have practiced on behalf of the United States the Subject Invention throughout the world. This license does not include the right to use or allow others to use the Subject Invention for commercial purposes. If Regeneron does not properly disclose and elect title to any such Subject Invention (in accordance with Subparagraph b. below), then the Government may exercise its rights to seek ownership of such Subject Invention, pursuant to clause 7.2.c. below.
b. Invention Disclosure, Election of Title, and Filing of Patent Application
i. Regeneron shall disclose in writing each Subject Invention to the OTTR within 12 months after the inventor discloses it in writing to Regeneron personnel responsible for patent matters. The disclosure shall identify the inventor(s) and this Project Agreement under which the Subject Invention was made. It shall be sufficiently complete in technical detail to convey a clear understanding of the Subject Invention. The disclosure shall also identify any publication, on sale (i.e., sale or offer for sale), or public use of the Subject Invention, or whether a manuscript describing the Subject Invention has been submitted for publication and, if so, whether it has been accepted for publication. In addition, after disclosure to the Government funding agency (HHS/BARDA), Regeneron shall promptly notify the OTTR of the acceptance of any manuscript describing the Subject Invention for publication and any on sale or public use.
ii. Regeneron shall elect in writing whether or not to retain ownership of any Subject Invention by notifying the OTTR within 2 years of disclosure to the Government funding agency. However, in any case where publication, on sale, or public use has initiated the 1–year statutory period during which valid patent protection can be obtained in the United States, the period for election of title may be shortened by the agency to a date that is no more than 60 calendar days prior to the end of the statutory period.
iii. Regeneron shall file either a provisional or a non–provisional patent application for an elected Subject Invention within 1 year after election of title. However, in any case where a publication, on sale, or public use has initiated the 1–year statutory period during which valid patent protection can be obtained in the United States, Regeneron shall file the application prior to the end of that statutory period. If Regeneron files an initial provisional application, it shall file a non–provisional application within 10 months of the filing of the initial provisional application. Regeneron shall include a Government Support Clause (GSC) within the specification of any United States patent applications and any patent issuing thereon covering a subject invention.
iv. Regeneron may request extensions of time for disclosure, election, or filing under subparagraphs (b)(i), (b)(ii) and (b)(iii) of this clause. An extension of time for each deadline, may be granted at the discretion of the Government funding agency.
v. If Regeneron determines that it does not intend to elect to retain title to any such Subject Invention, Regeneron shall notify the Government, in writing, within two (2) years of disclosure to the Government. However, in any case where publication, sale, or public use has initiated the one (1)-year statutory period wherein valid patent protection can still be obtained in the United States, the period for such notice may be shortened by the Government to a date that is no more than sixty (60) calendar days prior to the end of the statutory period.
c. Conditions When the Government May Obtain Title
Upon the Government’s written request, Regeneron shall convey title to any Subject Invention to the Government funding agency if Regeneron fails to disclose the Subject Invention or elects not to retain title to the Subject Invention within the times specified in Subparagraph b of Section 7.2. The Government may request title after learning of the failure of Regeneron to disclose or elect within the specified times for an unlimited time. The Government funding agency may request title upon Regeneron’s omission to timely file patent applications in any country. The Government funding agency may request title in any country in which Regeneron decides to discontinue prosecution.
d. Rights to Regeneron and Protection of Regeneron’s Right to File
Regeneron shall retain a fully paid up, sub-licensable, nonexclusive, royalty–free license throughout the world in each Subject Invention to which the Government obtains title. Regeneron license extends to Regeneron’s subsidiaries and other affiliates (outside this Agreement), if any, within the corporate structure of which Regeneron is a party and includes the right to grant licenses of the same scope to the extent that Regeneron was legally obligated or permitted to do so at the time the Project Agreement was executed. The license is otherwise transferable only with the approval of the Government, except when transferred to an Affiliate or successor of that part of Regeneron’s business to which the Subject Invention pertains. The Government approval for license transfer shall be provided on a timely basis (and in no event later than 90 calendar days following Regeneron’s request) and shall not be unreasonably withheld.
i. The Regeneron license may be revoked or modified by the Government to the extent necessary to achieve expeditious Practical Application of the Subject Invention pursuant to an application for an exclusive or nonexclusive license submitted consistent with appropriate provisions at 37 CFR Part 404. Regeneron’s license shall not be revoked in that field of use or the geographical areas in which Regeneron has achieved Practical Application of the Subject Invention and continues to make the benefits of the Subject Invention accessible to the public.
ii. Before revocation or modification of Regeneron’s license, the Government shall furnish Regeneron with a written notice of its intention to revoke or modify the license, which notice shall include a detailed explanation of the reasons for such revocation or modification, and Regeneron shall be allowed thirty (30) calendar days (or such other time as may be authorized for good cause shown) after the notice to show cause why the license should not be revoked or modified.
e. Action to Protect the Government’s Interest
Regeneron agrees to execute or to have executed and promptly deliver to the Government all instruments necessary to (i) establish or confirm the rights the Government has throughout the world in those Subject Inventions to which Regeneron elects to retain title, and (ii) convey title to the Government when requested under Subparagraph c of this Section 7.2 and to enable the Government to obtain patent protection throughout the world in that Subject Invention.
i. Regeneron agrees to require, by written agreement, its employees, other than clerical and non–technical employees, to disclose promptly in writing to personnel identified as responsible for the administration of patent matters and in a format suggested by Regeneron, each Subject Invention made under this Agreement so Regeneron can comply with the disclosure provisions of this Section 7.2. Regeneron shall use reasonable efforts to instruct employees, through employee agreements or other suitable educational programs, on the importance of reporting inventions in sufficient time to permit the filing of patent applications prior to U.S. or foreign statutory bars.
ii. Regeneron shall notify the Government of any decisions not to continue the prosecution of a patent application for a Subject Invention, pay maintenance fees, or defend in a reexamination or opposition proceedings on a patent of a Subject Invention, in any country, not less than thirty (30) calendar days before the expiration of the response period required by the relevant patent office.
Regeneron shall include, within the specification of any United States patent application and any patent issuing thereon covering a Subject Invention, the following statement: “This invention was made with Government support under Agreement MCDC2020–504, awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Government has certain rights in the invention.”
f. Lower Tier Agreements
Regeneron shall ensure that its Affiliate agreements and Sub–Recipient Agreements regardless of tier, for experimental, developmental, or research work entered into after the Effective Date and submitted for reimbursement under this Agreement, contain invention reporting and assignment requirements sufficient to permit Regeneron to comply with this Section 7.2.
[…]
7.3 Data Rights
a. Allocation of Principal Rights
i. For Data produced under this SOW including Computer Software, to the extent developed with Government funds provided under this SOW, except as expressly provided elsewhere in this Project Agreement (including Section 7.3.b.), Regeneron grants to the Government a paid–up, nonexclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable, worldwide license in such Data (a) to exercise Government Purpose Rights for a period of ten (10) years following the production of such Data, (b) to exercise Unlimited Rights following the expiration of such ten (10) year period. For Data produced under this Project Agreement, excluding Computer Software, to Regeneron as “Limited Rights Data”, Regeneron grants to the Government a paid–up, nonexclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable, worldwide license in such Data to exercise Limited Rights. The Government will not obtain any rights in Computer Software produced under this Project Agreement to the extent developed with private funds. For certificates of analysis and batch records pertaining to drug product purchased under this Project Agreement, the Government shall have Unlimited Rights.
ii. Regeneron agrees to retain and maintain in good condition all Data produced under this Project Agreement and necessary to achieve Practical Application of any Subject Invention in accordance with Regeneron’s established record retention practices. In the event of an exercise of the Government’s compulsory licensing rights as set forth under Section 7.2.h., Regeneron agrees, upon written request from the Government, to deliver at no additional cost to the Government, all existing Data produced under this Project Agreement necessary to achieve Practical Application of the relevant Subject Invention within sixty (60) calendar days from the date of the written request.
iii. Regeneron’s right to use Data is not restricted and includes the right under Regeneron’s established business policies to make public research Data (especially human research Data) by publication in the scientific literature, by making trial protocols, trial results summaries, and clinical studies reports publicly available, and by making trial patient–level data available for third–party analysis.
b. Proprietary Manufacturing Data
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Project Agreement, Regeneron retains all rights in and to Data relating to or comprising Regeneron’s proprietary manufacturing technology and processes, including any trade secrets, Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls information (CMC Data), and Data concerning or arising from test method development, device or delivery system development, assay development, formulation, quality assurance/quality control development, technology transfer, process development and scale–up and cell–line development, and the Government shall have no rights to use such Data independently from this Agreement or to disclose such Data to any third party. Regeneron may designate certain Data concerning its manufacturing activities as Limited Rights Data, in which case the Government shall have Limited Rights in and to such Data. Regeneron will use reasonable efforts to mark any Limited Rights Data delivered under this Project Agreement with appropriate Limited Rights markings.
c. Identification and Disposition of Data
Regeneron shall keep copies of all Data relevant to this Project Agreement as required by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the time specified by the FDA. The Government reserves the right to review any other data determined by the Government to be relevant to this Agreement. The Government further acknowledges that Regeneron holds the commercialization rights for all products developed under this Agreement in the U.S. and will be responsible for their registration with the FDA. This provision is subject to any applicable limitations on the Government’s rights under Article VIII.B. a–b of the BARDA OTA.