Extension and Withdrawal. If one Joint Owner decides (a) not to extend, (b) to abandon, and/or (c) not to continue a granting procedure relating to IPR in any Foreground Information (or part thereof) in any country or other region (hereinafter the “Abandoning Joint Owner”), the Abandoning Joint Owner shall notify the other Joint Owner through the IP Committee no later than three (3) months prior to the date of extension, the date of renewal of the IPR, or the date of the next step of the granting procedure. The Abandoning Joint Owner shall further provide such other Joint Owner the right and option to extend or maintain the IPR to be abandoned or continue the procedure on its own behalf and at its own IPR Registration Costs. If, within thirty (30) business days following the receipt of such notice, the other Joint Owner elects to exercise such right, the Abandoning Joint Owner agrees to assign, free of charge, to the other Joint Owner all right, title, and interest in and to the specific IPR at issue but solely within the country or region that is the subject of the Abandoning Joint Owner’s decision. The Abandoning Joint Owner thereafter cannot claim any right in the specific IPR in the Foreground Information that has been disclaimed in such country or region. If the other Joint Owner chooses to extend, renew, or continue the granting procedure without the Abandoning Joint Owner, the other Joint Owner shall be responsible for all IPR Registration Costs incurred in connection therewith after the date of the Abandoning Joint Owner’s notice. If within thirty (30) business days following the receipt of the notice, the other Joint Owner does not exercise its right to the assignment of the IPR to be abandoned, the Abandoning Joint Owner is free not to extend, not to continue the pending procedure, or to abandon, as applicable, without further obligation to the other Joint Owner and to instruct the IP Committee to do so.
