FOR SETTLEMENT PURPOSES ONLY SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
EXHIBIT
10.1
FOR
SETTLEMENT PURPOSES ONLY
This
Settlement Agreement (the “Agreement”) is made and entered into effective
September 21, 2005 (the “Effective Date”), by and among, Medinol Ltd.
(“Medinol”), Xxxxx Xxxxxxx and Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx (together with Medinol, the
“Medinol Parties”), Boston Scientific
Corporation (“BSC”), Boston Scientific Limited (“BSL”, formerly known as Boston
Scientific Ireland Limited), and Boston Scientific SciMed, Inc. (“BSSI”) (each a
“Party”, and collectively the “Parties”).
WHEREAS,
the Parties are the principal parties, in various combinations, to the following
actions (the “Actions”):
-
U.S.:
Medinol
Ltd. v. Boston Scientific Corporation, Docket Xx. 00 XXX. 0000 (XXX), filed
April 5, 2001 in the United States District Court for the Southern District
of
New York (the “U.S. Action”);
Opposition
No. 91157660 filed by Medinol Ltd. Against the SENTINOL Trademark (Application
No. 78/182,164) filed by Scimed Life Systems, Inc.
-
Israel:
Boston
Scientific Corporation and Boston Scientific Limited v. Xx. Xxxxx Xxxxxxx,
Xx.
Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx, Medinol Ltd. and Xxxx Xxxxxxxx, Xxxxx Xxxxxx Xx. 0000/00, filed
June 11, 2001 in the District Court of Jerusalem;
-
Netherlands:
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Medinol
Limited v. Boston Scientific International B.V., Boston Scientific B.V, Boston
Scientific Benelux B.V., Boston Scientific Benelux S.A., Boston Scientific
Ltd.,
Boston Scientific Ireland Ltd., Boston Scientific Namic, Boston Scientific
Cork
Ltd., Boston Scientific A.G., Boston Scientific Gesellschaft M.B.H. Boston
Scientific Scandinavia A.S., Boston Scientific Nordic A.B., Boston Scientific
Iberica, S.A. Boston Scientific International, S.A. Boston Scientific Iberica,
and Boston Scientific S.p.A. (EP 0 762 856 B1, EP 0 846 449
B1, EP 0 846 450 B1, EP 0 846 52 B1), Original
Cause
List 2003/477 filed 1/17/03, Appeal 2004/0223 filed 2/3/2004, Dispute
re
Press releases KG 04/26 filed 1/08/04, Appeal 2004/0375;
Medinol
Limited v. Boston Scientific International B.V., Boston Scientific B.V, Boston
Scientific Benelux B.V., Boston Scientific Benelux S.A., Boston Scientific
Ltd.,
Boston Scientific Ireland Ltd., Boston Scientific Namic, Boston Scientific
Cork
Ltd., Boston Scientific A.G., Boston Scientific Gesellschaft M.B.H. Boston
Scientific Scandanavia A.S., Boston Scientific Nordic A.B., Boston Scientific
Iberica, S.A. Boston Scientific International, S.A. Boston Scientific Iberica,
and Boston Scientific S.p.A., Kort Geding Action (EP 0 846 450 B1), Original
Complaint KG04/689 filed 6/9/04, Appeal 2004/1625A filed 9/1/04;
-
Other
Europe:
Medinol
Ltd. v. Boston Scientific Medizintechnik GmbH and Xx. Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx, Original
Complaint 4b O 119/02 (DE 201 09 764) filed 4/19/02;
Medinol
Ltd. v. Boston Scientific Medizintechnik GmbH and Xx. Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx, Original
Complaint 4 O 120/02 (DE 295 21 206) filed 4/19/02, BSC Appeal 1-2 U 73/03,
Coercive measures proceeding 4b O 120/02 ZV, Related damages case 4b O
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46/04,
Related injunction proceeding file 4b O 177/04 UM 4/30/04, Imposition of
contempt sanctions 4b O 120/02 ZVII, Appeal 2W 37/04.
Medinol
Ltd. v. Boston Scientific Medizintechnik GmbH and Xx. Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx, Original
Complaint 4 O 297/02 (EP 0 846 450) filed 4/19/02, Medinol Appeal 1-2 U
68/03;
Medinol
Ltd. v. Boston Scientific Medizintechnik GmbH and Xx. Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx, Original
Complaint 4 O 298/02 (EP 0 846 449) filed 4/19/02, Medinol Appeal 1-2 U
69/03;
Medinol
Ltd. v. Boston Scientific Medizintechnik GmbH and Xx. Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx, Original
Complaint 4 O 299/02 (EP 0 846 452) filed 4/19/02;
Medinol
Ltd. v. Boston Scientific Medizintechnik GmbH and Xx. Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx, Original
Complaint 4b O 469/04 (DE 195 49 477 B4) filed 4/19/02, New Action based on
Extension of Complaint, filed 12/6/04.
Medinol
Ltd. v. Boston Scientific Medizintechnik GmbH and Xx. Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx, Original
Complaint 4O 300/02 (DE 201 08 765) filed 4/19/02;
Medinol
Ltd. v. Boston Scientific Limited, Cordis Medizinische Apparate GmbH and Cordis
Europa N.V., Original Complaint 4b O 89/00 (DE 295 21 206) filed 3/30/00 by
Boston Scientific Ltd. (Licensee) v. Cordis Medizinische Apparate GmbH and
Cordis Europa N.V., Cordis Appeal 2 U 91/01, Medinol’s Interpleader Summons 4b O
398/04 filed 10/19/04;
SciMed
Life Systems Inc., Cordis Medizinische Apparate GmbH, Xxxxxxx Pharmaceutica
N.V.
(Intervener), BVBA Cordis Holding Belgium (Intervener) v. Medinol Ltd.,
Opposition Proceeding (EP 0 846 450 B1), Appeal T0 705/04-322;
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Cordis
Medizinische Apparate GmbH and Boston Scientific Medizintechnik GmbH v. Medinol
Ltd., Opposition Proceeding (EP 0 846 449 B1);
Xxxxxx
X.
Xxxxxxxxx, Cordis Medizinische Apparate GmbH, Boston Scientific Medizintechnik
GmbH, and Xxxxxxx Pharmaceutica N.V. (Intervener) v. Medinol Ltd., Opposition
Proceeding (EP 0 846 452 B1);
Terumo
Kabushiki Kaisha and SciMed Life Systems, Inc. v. Medinol Ltd., Opposition
Proceeding (EP 0 828 461 B1);
Cordis
Medizinische Apparate GmbH, Boston Scientific Medizintechnik GmbH (Intervener)
v. Medinol Ltd., Cancellation Xxxxxxxxxxx (XX 000 00 000), Xx I 165/01, Appeal
5W 401/04;
Boston
Scientific Medizintechnik GmbH v. Medinol Ltd., Cancellation Proceeding (DE
201
08 764 U1) Lö I 10/03 filed 1/10/03;
Boston
Scientific Medizintechnik GmbH v. Medinol Ltd., Cancellation Proceeding, (DE
201
08 765 U1) Lö I 9/03 filed 1/10/03; and
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Japan -
Terumo
Kabushiki Kaisha and Boston Scientific Japan X.X. x. Medinol Ltd. (JP
3,236,623), Demand for invalidation trial 2002-35316 filed 7/30/02; Boston
Scientific Japan K.K. Intervention filed 5/27/04, Appeal Heisei 17 nen (Gyo
Ke)
No. 10475, Correction Proceeding filed in Japanese Patent Office.
WHEREAS,
the Parties agree that BSC and BSL will cease to be equity holders of Medinol
immediately prior to the Effective Date;
WHEREAS,
the Parties desire to settle and compromise their claims, counterclaims,
differences, and causes of action including, but not limited to, those
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arising
out of the Actions, and to avoid the expense and inconvenience of further
litigation and disputes;
NOW,
THEREFORE, for and in consideration of the mutual promises, covenants, and
rights contained herein, the Parties agree as follows:
1. DEFINITIONS
As
used
in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth
below:
1.1 “Affiliate”
means
with respect to any specified person, any other person or entity that directly
or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by,
or
is under common control with such specified person or entity. For the purpose
of
this definition, “control”
(including the terms “controlled
by”
and
“under
common control with”),
with
respect to the relationship between or among two or more persons or entities,
means the possession, directly or indirectly or as trustee or executor, of
the
power to direct or cause the direction of the affairs or management of a person
or entity, whether through the ownership of voting securities, as trustee or
executor, by contract or otherwise, including, without limitation, the
ownership, directly or indirectly, or securities having the power to elect
a
majority of the board of directors or similar body governing the affairs of
such
person or entity.
1.2 “BSC
Companies”
means
BSC, BSL, and BSSI.
1.3 “BSC
Equity Stake”
means
all equity securities of Medinol owned of record or beneficially by BSC and/or
its Affiliates immediately prior to the Effective Date.
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1.4 “BSC-Medinol
Agreements”
means
(a) the Supply Agreement, the Transaction Agreement and the Stockholder
Agreement, and all amendments, addenda and exhibits related thereto,
(b) the Confidentiality Agreement dated October 18, 1995, and (c) all
rights, obligations or arrangements between the Parties (or any of their
Affiliates, officers or directors) arising out of the BSC Equity Stake,
including all legal, fiduciary or other duties owed to or by the owners of
the
BSC Equity Stake in their capacity as such.
1.5 “Covered
Stents”
means
the Express/Taxus Express Stent, the Liberté/Taxus Liberté Stent, the Identified
Current Stents, the Other Current Stents and the Qualified Future Stents. In
no
event will an Other Current Stent or a Qualified Future Stent that is a
Knock-Off (as defined below) be considered a Covered Stent. For purposes of
this
definition, a “Knock-Off” is a product that (i) practices Medinol’s Patent
Rights or Proprietary Rights and (ii) has the same configuration as the Stent
currently promoted by Medinol under the name “NIRflex” (as shown on Exhibit
M
to this
Agreement).
1.6 “Express/Taxus
Express Stent”
means
the Stent commonly known as the Express ™ stent or the TAXUS™ Express™ stent as
shown on Exhibit
A
to this
Agreement.
1.7 “Identified
Current Stents”
means
the Stents set forth on Exhibit B
to this
Agreement.
1.8 “Liberté/Taxus
Liberté Stent”
means
the Stent commonly known as the Liberté™
stent
or the TAXUS™ Liberté
stent as
shown on Exhibit
C
to this
Agreement.
1.9 “Litigation
Costs and Liabilities”
means
(a) the out-of-pocket costs and expenses incurred by Medinol and BSC in
connection with the defense of certain actions
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brought
by Xxxxxxx & Xxxxxxx or Medtronic against the BSC Companies and their
Affiliates, relating to Stents subject to the Supply Agreement described in
Exhibit
D
to this
Agreement (“Covered Actions”) and (b) all liabilities, losses, damages, costs or
expenses resulting from any such Covered Actions.
1.10 “Medinol
Patents”
means
the Patent Rights owned by Medinol, including, but not limited to, the Patent
Rights set forth on Exhibit
E
to this
Agreement.
1.11 “Net
Sales”
means
the net revenues of BSC from the sale of Royalty-Bearing Stents and Stent
Systems that include Royalty-Bearing Stents to unaffiliated third parties as
reported in the consolidated financial statements of BSC in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. consistently
applied.
1.12 “Other
Current Stent”
means
any Stent or Stent System sold commercially by the BSC Companies prior to the
Effective Date, other than the Express/Taxus Express Stent, the Liberté/Taxus
Liberté Stent and the Identified Current Stents.
1.13 “Patent
Rights”
means
all patents, patent applications, utility models and rights to file patent
applications or utility models in the United States or in a foreign jurisdiction
relating to Stents, having a priority date prior to the Effective Date, and
including reissues or extensions thereof in any division, continuation, or
continuation-in-part of any applications or substitutes therefor, whether
initially filed before or after the Effective Date. This excludes claims of
patents where the patentable feature of the claim is directed to (a) methods
of
manufacture of Stents, (b) Nitinol alloys for Stents, (c) materials for the
construction of Stents if such materials are not, at the Effective Date,
used
in any
version of the Express/Taxus Express Stent, Liberte/Taxus Liberte Stent or
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Identified
Current Stent that is or has been sold commercially prior to the Effective
Date,
(d) the coating of Stents if such coating is not, at the Effective Date, used
on
any version of the Express/Taxus Express Stent, Liberte/Taxus Liberte Stent
or
Identified Current Stent that is or has been sold commercially prior to the
Effective Date,(e) drugs to be used on or in connection with Stents if such
drugs are not, at the Effective Date, used on or in connection with any version
of the Express/Taxus Express Stent, Liberte/Taxus Liberte Stent or Identified
Current Stent that is or has been sold commercially prior to the Effective
Date,
(f) delivery systems for Stents if such delivery systems are not, at the
Effective Date, used in any Stent System that includes the Express/Taxus Express
Stent, Liberte/Taxus Liberte Stent or Identified Current Stent that that is
or
has been sold commercially prior to the Effective Date or (g) the shape of
the
wall of the Stent itself (as opposed to the design pattern for the wall) if
such
shape is not, at the Effective Date, used by any version of the Express/Taxus
Express Stent, Liberte/Taxus Liberte Stent or Identified Current Stent that
is
or has been sold commercially prior to the Effective Date.
1.14 “Proprietary
Rights”
means
all proprietary rights and interests of every nature in, to or relating to
Stents, including, but not limited to, inventions, ideas, know-how, trade
secrets and technology, that were provided by Medinol to the BSC Companies
during the term of the BSC-Medinol Agreements. This excludes all proprietary
rights and interests that are directed at (a) methods of manufacture of Stents,
(b) Nitinol alloys for Stents, (c) materials for the construction of Stents
if
such materials are not, at the Effective Date, used in any version of the
Express/Taxus Express Stent, Liberte/Taxus Liberte Stent or Identified Current
Stent that is or has been sold commercially prior to the Effective Date, (d)
the
coating of Stents if such coating is not, at the Effective Date,
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used
on
any version of the Express/Taxus Express Stent, Liberte/Taxus Liberte Stent
or
Identified Current Stent that is or has been sold commercially prior to the
Effective Date, (e) drugs to be used on or in connection with Stents if such
drugs are not, at the Effective Date, used on or in connection with any version
of the Express/Taxus Express Stent, Liberte/Taxus Liberte Stent or Identified
Current Stent that is or has been sold commercially prior to the Effective
Date,
(f) delivery systems for Stents if such delivery systems are not, at the
Effective Date, used in any Stent System that includes the Express/Taxus Express
Stent, Liberte/Taxus Liberte Stent or Identified Current Stent and that is
or
has been sold commercially prior to the Effective Date or (g) the shape of
the
wall of the Stent itself (as opposed to the design pattern for the wall) if
such
shape is not, at the Effective Date, used by any version of the Express/Taxus
Express Stent or Liberte/Taxus Liberte Stent or Identified Current Stent that
is
or has been sold commercially prior to the Effective Date.
1.15 “Qualified
Future Stent”
means
any Stent or Stent System that is first sold commercially on or after the
Effective Date and such first commercial sale is a bona fide sale by BSC or
a
BSC Subsidiary (as defined in Section 5.1(c)), for its own account and not
as a
distributor, marketing agent or contract manufacturer. Stents first sold
commercially, after the Effective Date, by an entity that is at the time of
first commercial sale not a BSC Subsidiary but that becomes a BSC Subsidiary
after the date of first commercial sale, shall be considered to be Qualified
Future Stents from the date such entity becomes a BSC Subsidiary (a Stent which
is a Qualified Future Stent under this sentence is a “Full Price Qualified
Future Stent”). For purposes of clarity, Qualified Future Stents include Stents
the first commercial sale of which occurs after the Effective
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Date
and
is a bona fide sale by an entity (for its own account and not as a distributor,
marketing agent or contract manufacturer) that at the time of such sale is
a BSC
Subsidiary but is not at the Effective Date a BSC Subsidiary.
1.16 “Royalty-Bearing
Stent”
has the
meaning set forth in Section 5.8.
1.17 “Stockholder
Agreement”
means
the Stockholder Agreement by and among Medinol, Xx. Xxxxx Xxxxxxx,
Xx. Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx and BSC dated October 25, 1995.
1.18 “Stent”
means a
metallic medical device to be placed into a natural or artificial lumen in
a
body, whether vascular or nonvascular, to maintain patency by supporting the
lumen against closure or reclosure, or to mechanically support or expand the
lumen thereby serving as a scaffold or matrix to present a material to the
wall
of such lumen.
1.19 “Stent
System”
means
any system that includes a Stent, the combined intended function of which is
to
deliver, deploy or use a Stent.
1.20 “Supply
Agreement”
means
the Supply Agreement between BSC and Medinol dated October 25,
1995.
1.21 “Transaction
Agreement”
means
the Transaction Agreement between Medinol and BSC dated October 25, 1995.
2. FORFEITURE
AND CANCELLATION OF BSC EQUITY STAKE
2.1 Without
admitting any wrongdoing or conceding any Party’s positions, the Parties have
agreed to the surrender and forfeiture and/or cancellation of the BSC Equity
Stake, as a result of Medinol’s claims that, in light of the Actions and related
allegations, (a) Medinol (or its shareholders other than BSC and BSL)
was
entitled to cancel the BSC
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Equity
Stake for no consideration, and (b) the BSC Equity Stake should not
entitle
BSC to any participation, directly or indirectly, in any benefit received by
the
Medinol Parties from this Agreement. Accordingly, prior to the making of the
Settlement Payment (as defined below), BSC shall surrender and forfeit to
Medinol the BSC Equity Stake for cancellation, and shall execute such further
instruments as may be necessary under applicable law to convey to Medinol the
BSC Equity Stake for forfeiture and/or cancellation, including the document
attached hereto as Exhibit K. In consideration for the surrender and forfeiture
and/or cancellation of the BSC Equity Stake, Medinol shall reimburse to BSC
and
BSL an aggregate amount equal to (i) $25,000,000 less (ii) the aggregate
dividends paid with respect to the BSC Equity Stake during the period of its
ownership by BSC (but in no event shall this payment be less than zero). This
will be the sole consideration for the surrender of the BSC Equity
Stake.
3. SETTLEMENT
PAYMENT
3.1 Within
seven (7) days of the Effective Date, BSC shall pay or cause to be paid to
Medinol the amount of seven hundred and fifty million dollars ($750,000,000)
by
wire transfer to an account directed by Medinol (the “Settlement Payment”) for
the settlement of the U.S. Action. The Settlement Payment represents
remuneration for lost commercial profits claimed by Medinol under
Section 3.02(a) of the Supply Agreement relating to the alleged breaches
of
the Supply Agreement.
3.2 Effective
upon Medinol’s receipt of the full amount of the Settlement Payment into the
account specified by Medinol and the surrender and forfeiture of the BSC Equity
Stake pursuant to Section 2.1, (a) the releases pursuant to Article 9 of this
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Agreement
shall take effect, (b) the BSC-Medinol Agreements shall be canceled and
terminated, to the extent not previously canceled and terminated, and (c) the
Actions shall be dismissed with prejudice pursuant to Section 8.1.
3.3 The
Parties agree that, upon Medinol’s receipt of the Settlement Payment, the BSC
Companies have satisfied any monetary obligations arising out of the Supply
Agreement and each of the other BSC-Medinol Agreements up to the Effective
Date
and that the Settlement Payment is in full and complete satisfaction of all
monetary and other claims made or which could have been made by the Medinol
Parties against the BSC Companies and its officers, directors and Affiliates
prior to and through the Effective Date, stemming from the Supply Agreement
and
each of the other BSC-Medinol Agreements or the Express/Taxus Express
Stents.
3.4 The
Parties agree that, effective upon Medinol’s receipt of the Settlement Payment,
Medinol and its officers, directors and Affiliates have no remaining monetary
or
other obligations to the BSC Companies arising out of the BSC-Medinol
Agreements, except as contemplated in Article 4 of this
Agreement.
3.5 The
Parties agree that the Settlement Payment made pursuant to this Article does
not
cover any future infringement claims that may be made by Medinol. Such potential
future claims are addressed in Article 5.
4. LITIGATION
COSTS AND LIABILITIES
4.1 BSC
and
Medinol acknowledge that each has incurred Litigation Costs and Liabilities
and
that the provisions of Section 9.03 of the Supply Agreement may provide for
the
sharing of such Litigation Costs and Liabilities by Medinol and BSC. The Parties
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agree
to
resolve all issues relating to the application of Section 9.03 of the
Supply Agreement to the Covered Actions in accordance with the provisions of
Article 4 of this Agreement.
4.2 Within
ninety (90) days after the final resolution by final judgment or settlement
of
any Covered Action, BSC shall initiate an arbitration proceeding in New York,
New York administered by the American Arbitration Association under its
Commercial Arbitration Rules to resolve the issues described in Section 4.1.
Judgment on any award rendered by the arbitrators may be entered in any court
having jurisdiction thereof. BSC and Medinol shall select three neutral
arbitrators from a panel of neutral arbitrators designated by the AAA having
experience hearing and evaluating patent disputes. The arbitration panel shall
establish rules for the arbitration proceeding designed to result in a final
decision by the panel within one hundred and eighty (180) days after the
commencement of the arbitration proceedings. The arbitration panel shall
determine if and when Section 9.03 of the Supply Agreement terminated, if
Medinol has any monetary obligation under Section 9.03 of the Supply
Agreement with respect to the Covered Action, the amount of any such obligation
under Section 9.03 with respect to any Covered Action, including the value
of an
adverse judgment as a stand alone action, net of contribution from BSC under
Section 9.03. In any arbitration proceeding under this Article 4, Medinol
shall have the right to review, on a confidential basis, the terms of any
settlement of a Covered Action and the terms of any related settlement or
agreement with the same party for purposes of verifying the allocation of
amounts paid in such settlement to the Covered Action.
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4.3 Eighty
percent (80%) of the amount determined by arbitration pursuant to Section 4.2
to
be the obligation of Medinol under Section 9.03 of the Supply Agreement (the
“Medinol Payment”) must be paid to BSC by Medinol within thirty (30) days after
receipt of the arbitrator’s determination. Should Medinol fail to pay such
amount when it is due, as BSC’s sole remedy, BSC shall be relieved of all
obligations to make any payments with respect to alleged infringement of the
Medinol Patents pursuant to Article 5 of this Agreement.
4.4 Nothing
in Section 3.2, this Article 4 or any other provision of this
Agreement shall create any implication as to the timing of cancellation or
termination of Section 9.03 of the Supply Agreement, as applied to any Covered
Action.
5. PROCEDURE
FOR FUTURE INFRINGEMENT CLAIMS
5.1 Effective
upon the granting of the releases in Article 9, the Medinol Parties
covenant (i) not to xxx, other than in any arbitration contemplated
by
Article 5 of this Agreement, BSC or the BSC Subsidiaries from time to time
or
any of their officers, directors or employees for direct, induced, indirect
or
contributory infringement under any of the Medinol Patents or Proprietary Rights
with respect to the making, having made, importing, use, sale, offering for
sale, distribution or other disposal by BSC or any BSC Subsidiary of any Covered
Stent, other than any claim contemplated by Article 5 of this Agreement; or
(ii)
not to xxx customers, distributors, sales agents and/or end users for direct,
induced, indirect or contributory infringement under any of the Medinol Patents
or Proprietary Rights with respect to the use of any Covered Stent directly
or
indirectly purchased from BSC or a BSC Subsidiary.
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5.2 (a)
The
covenant granted pursuant to Section 5.1 shall be royalty-free and
irrevocable with respect to the Express/Taxus Express Stents. With respect
to
all other Covered Stents, the covenant granted pursuant to Section 5.1
shall be irrevocable, and consideration for such covenant consists solely of
the
royalty payments, if any, awarded pursuant to this Article 5.
(b)
The
covenant granted pursuant to Section 5.1 shall be without the right
to
assign, except that BSC may assign the covenant to any of its Affiliates that
is
a consolidated subsidiary of BSC under United States generally accepted
accounting principles (a “BSC Subsidiary”). Any assignment to a BSC Subsidiary
and the covenant granted to each BSC Company (other than BSC) under Section
5.1
shall automatically terminate upon such an entity ceasing to be a BSC
Subsidiary.
(c)
In
the event Medinol assigns, sells, transfers or otherwise grants an exclusive
license to any Medinol Patent to a third party, (i) the covenant granted in
Section 5.1 shall automatically be binding upon any assignee, purchaser,
transferee or licensee of such Medinol Patent, and (ii) Medinol shall provide
notice of such covenant to the assignee, purchaser, transferee or
licensee.
(d)
The
Medinol Parties agree to indemnify the BSC Companies, the BSC Subsidiaries,
any
of their respective directors, officer, or employees and/or any customers,
distributors, sales agents, and end users of Covered Stents directly or
indirectly purchased from BSC or a BSC Subsidiary from and against any and
all
losses, costs, damages, fees or expenses (including attorney’s fees and costs)
arising out of any action, suit or proceeding brought by any assignee,
purchaser, transferee or licensee of Medinol (including X.X. Xxxx &
Associates and its affiliates) against the BSC
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Companies,
the BSC Subsidiaries, any of their respective directors, officers or employees,
and/or any customers, distributors, sales agents and end users of Covered Stents
directly or indirectly purchased from BSC or a BSC Subsidiary, under the Medinol
Patents. BSC agrees to seek any judgment for indemnification set forth in this
Section 5.2(d) against Medinol in the first instance. If, but only if, BSC
obtains such a judgment for indemnification against Medinol that Medinol fails
to satisfy, BSC may bring an action in the United States District Court for
the
Southern District of New York to enforce such judgment directly against the
Medinol Parties other than Medinol (as if those Parties had been parties to
the
action against Medinol) to the extent that Medinol has failed to satisfy such
judgment. In the event of any action, suit or proceeding by any assignee,
purchaser, transferee or licensee of Medinol under the Medinol Patents, BSC
may
contest the validity, enforceability and/or scope of the Medinol Patents at
issue in that action, suit or proceeding.
(e)
Medinol shall have the right, at its sole option, to convert the covenant
granted in Section 5.1 to a non-exclusive license on the same terms and of
the
same scope as such covenant, subject to the terms of this Agreement including
Article 5. Such option may be exercised by provision of written notice to BSC
by
Medinol. Upon exercise of such option, the indemnity set forth in Section 5.2(d)
shall terminate, and all references in this Agreement to the covenant will
be
deemed a reference to such license.
5.3 The
Parties have not resolved the issue of whether the BSC Companies are obligated
to make any payments to the Medinol Parties with respect to the Liberte/Taxus
Liberte Stents and the Identified Current Stents by reason of the Medinol
Patents. For
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purpose
of clarity, the Parties have agreed that BSC has no obligation to make any
royalty payments to the Medinol Parties with respect to (i) the
Express/Taxus Express Stents and (ii) the Stents identified on Exhibit
B
as the
“Nir” Stents, in either case by reason of the Medinol Patents or the Proprietary
Rights of Medinol. The Parties have agreed to resolve all issues relating to
BSC
obligations, if any, with respect to any alleged infringement of the Medinol
Patents by any Covered Stent (other than (i) the Express/Taxus Express
Stents and (ii) the Stents identified on Exhibit
B
as the
“Nir” Stents) in accordance with the arbitration provisions of this Article 5.
The Parties have further agreed that the sole basis for any claim that BSC
is
obligated to make any payments to the Medinol Parties with respect to the
Liberte/Taxus Liberte Stent and the Identified Current Stents shall be that
the
making, having made, importing, selling, offering for sale, distribution or
other disposal of the Liberte/Taxus Liberte Stent or any Identified Current
Stent infringe a claim of the Medinol Patents determined in the arbitration
pursuant to this Article 5 to be valid and enforceable between the parties
in
the jurisdiction in which the infringing actions are performed; provided,
however, that, if after the Effective Date, BSC changes the manner in which
it
makes, has made, sells, offers for sale, distributes or otherwise disposes
of
the Liberte/Taxus Liberte or any Identified Current Stent, then the Medinol
Parties shall not be precluded from asserting that such changed manner of
making, having made, selling, offering for sale, distributing or otherwise
disposing of the Liberte/Taxus Liberte or any Identified Current Stent violates
an enforceable right of the Medinol Parties.
5.4 Within
six (6) months after the Effective Date, Medinol may commence arbitration
against BSC and/or its Affiliates with respect to the Liberte/Taxus Liberte
-17-
Stent
or
any Identified Current Stent alleging that such Stent infringes a valid and
enforceable claim of the Medinol Patents. BSC shall, within one month after
the
Effective Date, provide Medinol with (a) a list of the jurisdictions in which
BSC or a subsidiary has manufactured or sold each such Stent, and (b) sales
volume over the twelve most recently completed fiscal quarters for each such
Stent. If Medinol asserts infringement only of United States patents, there
shall be a sole arbitrator with expertise in U.S. patent law (the “US
Arbitrator”); if Medinol asserts infringement only of non-United States patents,
there shall be a sole arbitrator with expertise in European patent law (the
“EU
Arbitrator”); and if Medinol wishes to assert that a particular Stent infringes
both United States and non-United States patents, there shall be an arbitration
tribunal consisting of a US Arbitrator and an EU Arbitrator, and the arbitration
tribunal shall be presented with the information and arguments specified below
in a single arbitration proceeding for the Stent at issue, provided that the
US
Arbitrator shall make the determination set forth in Section 5.6 with respect
to
the United States, and the EU Arbitrator shall make such determination with
respect to all other countries of the world. For purposes of clarity, Medinol
shall make an election as to whether it wishes to assert infringement of United
States patents, non-United States patents, or both, and will be entitled to
initiate a single arbitration proceeding with respect to each Stent covered
by
this Section 5.4. If Medinol does not commence such action within such time
period, Medinol shall be deemed to have waived any claims to future payments
under this Article 5 from BSC and the BSC Subsidiaries with respect to such
Stent.
5.5 Medinol
may also commence arbitration against BSC and/or the BSC Subsidiaries with
respect to any Other Current Stent or Qualified Future Stent, alleging
-18-
that
such
Other Current Stent or Qualified Future Stent infringes a valid and enforceable
claim of the Medinol Patents. Such action shall be commenced within six (6)
months after BSC provides to Medinol (a) written notice of the fact of prior
commercial sale by BSC or any BSC Subsidiary (in the case of any Other Current
Stent) or of first commercial sale by BSC or any BSC Subsidiary (in the case
of
a Qualified Future Stent), (b) a list of the jurisdictions in which BSC or
a BSC
Subsidiary has manufactured or sold, or intends to manufacture or sell, such
Stent and (c) information on the Stent design, comprising either a sample or
a
drawing in a form comparable to the drawings on Exhibits
A
and
C,
in
either case reasonably sufficient to enable Medinol to make a determination
concerning whether it believes such Stent is so infringing. Such
arbitration shall be held before a tribunal of a single arbitrator with
expertise in the patent law of the jurisdictions relevant to the arbitration,
provided that if the laws of both the U.S. and any European country are relevant
to the arbitration, the arbitration tribunal shall consist of both a US
Arbitrator and an EU Arbitrator and the US Arbitrator shall make the
determinations set forth in Section 5.6 for the United States-related issues
and
the EU Arbitrator shall make such determinations for all other relevant
countries. If Medinol does not commence such action within the applicable six
(6) month period, Medinol shall be deemed to have waived any claims by reason
of
the Medinol Patents to future payments from BSC and the BSC Subsidiaries with
respect to such Stent in each jurisdiction identified in the notice pursuant
to
clause (b). For purposes of clarity, the Parties agree that Medinol shall not
be
entitled to bring an action, under this Article 5 or otherwise, claiming that
the Qualified Future Stents violated the Proprietary Rights of
Medinol.
-19-
5.6 In
any
arbitration commenced by Medinol pursuant to Section 5.4 or 5.5, the Parties
agree that:
(a) except
as
explicitly provided in this Agreement, the arbitration shall be pursuant to
the
Arbitration Rules (the “WIPO Arbitration Rules”) of the World Intellectual
Property Organization (hereinafter "Trial Tribunal").
(b) Medinol
will not seek any relief or remedy other than the royalty described in
subsection (c) below (including, but not limited to, a preliminary or permanent
injunction).
(c) the
Trial
Tribunal shall be asked to determine (i) whether the applicable Stents infringe
a valid and enforceable claim of the Medinol Patents, and (ii) if such Stents
infringe a valid and enforceable claim of the Medinol Patents, an arm’s length,
market royalty rate that is reasonable in light of all applicable circumstances
including but not limited to, (A) court-imposed royalty rates for technologies
of similar scope and quality, (B) the relative contribution of the infringing
portion of the Stent, (C) whether any component of a Stent System should be
excluded from the royalty rate base, (D)
the
terms of comparable bona fide licenses granted by Medinol to unaffiliated third
parties that were negotiated at arm’s length taking into account whether Medinol
was also being compensated for supplying Stents, and (E) relevant prior case
law
relating to remedies for patent infringement by Stents and Stent Systems (the
“Market Royalty Rate”). The
Parties acknowledge that the Market Royalty Rate shall be composed of (i) a
percentage rate and (ii) a revenue base to which that percentage must be applied
(which revenue base need not be “Net Sales” in accordance with the definition
thereof in this Agreement), each of which shall be set by the Trial Tribunal.
Except with respect to sales
-20-
of
Full
Price Qualified Future Stents for which sales the full Market Royalty Rate
shall
apply, the
actual royalty rate payable shall be determined by multiplying the Market
Royalty Rate by 0.8. Alternatively, the Trial Tribunal may award a lump sum
royalty if it determines that the foregoing royalty can be determined as a
lump
sum with reasonable certainty. The written decision by the Trial Tribunal shall
be the “Award of First Instance.”
(d) BSC
shall
not be entitled to challenge the timeliness of any such Arbitration other than
pursuant to Section 5.4 or 5.5; and
(e) For
purposes of any arbitration under this Article 5, in any proceeding before
the
Trial Tribunal or Appellate Panel:
(1) |
There
shall be no presumption of validity between the Parties as to patents
held
by Medinol (including the Medinol Patents) or by BSC by reason of
the
issuance of such patent.
|
(2) |
By
reason of the prior issuance of the Xxxxx patent (U.S. Patent 6,776,793),
there shall be no inference drawn as to the authorship of the inventions
claimed in the Xxxxx patent.
|
(3) |
With
respect to any patent that may be granted with respect to the following
patent applications, there shall be no inference drawn as to the
authorship of the inventions claimed: U.S. Patents 6,042,597; 6,488,703,
and 6,896,696; and U.S. Patent Applications 2002/0055770; 2002/0116049;
and 2002/0095208.
|
5.7 The
Award
of First Instance shall only be subject to review through an appeal to an
Appellate Panel consisting of three arbitrators appointed pursuant to Article
17
of
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the
WIPO
Arbitration Rules. No arbitrator in the Trial Tribunal may be an arbitrator
on
the Appellate Panel. Such an appeal must be initiated within thirty (30) days
of
the Trial Tribunal Award of First Instance or the Award of First Instance shall
otherwise become a Final Award pursuant to the WIPO Arbitration Rules. If an
appeal is sought, the Appellate Panel shall conduct a de novo review of the
legal determinations of the Trial Tribunal and shall determine whether there
is
a reasonable basis for all factual determinations. If the Award of First
Instance is affirmed, that Award of First Instance shall become the Final Award
and the Appellate Panel shall require the party that appealed to pay the full
costs of the appellate proceeding including the counsel fees of the prevailing
party. If the Appellate Panel determines the Award of First Instance is legally
in error or lacks a reasonable factual basis,
the
Appellate Panel shall render a written decision and its decision shall be the
Final Award. In this event the Appellate Panel shall have the discretion to
allocate the costs of the proceedings, including counsel fees, between the
parties.
5.8 Any
Covered Stent determined by the Final Award under this Article to infringe
a
valid and enforceable claim of the Medinol Patents, is referred to as a
“Royalty-Bearing Stent” from the later of (i) the first commercial sale thereof,
and (ii) the issuance of the earliest applicable Medinol Patent which such
Royalty-Bearing Stent is found to have infringed in the Final Award. Royalties
shall be payable on any Royalty Bearing Stent until the expiration, cancellation
or termination of the applicable Medinol Patent(s).
5.9 Any
arbitration pursuant to this Section 5 shall take place in New York City, New
York and shall be conducted in English.
-22-
5.10 Any
Party
may bring an action in any court of competent jurisdiction to enforce a Final
Award, including an action by Medinol to enforce payment of any royalty pursuant
to a Final Award under this Article 5.
5.11
BSC
shall give Medinol the written notice contemplated by Section 5.5 at or about
the time of the first commercial sale by BSC or any of its Affiliates of any
Qualified Future Stent in each applicable jurisdiction. If BSC fails to give
such notice at or about the time of first commercial sale in any jurisdiction,
any royalties ultimately established pursuant to this Article 5 with respect
to
any sale of such Qualified Future Stent in such jurisdiction in the period
between such first commercial sale and the notice pursuant to Section 5.5 (when
ultimately given) shall bear interest at the rate of 10% per annum, compounding
annually, from the end of the fiscal quarter of such sale to the actual date
of
payment.
6. PAYMENTS
AND REPORTS
6.1 Beginning
with the first fiscal quarter following the first determination under Article
5
of this Agreement that a Royalty-Bearing Stent exists, within sixty (60) days
of
the close of each fiscal quarter of BSC, BSC shall deliver a written report
to
Medinol specifying the applicable royalty rate revenue base for such
Royalty-Bearing Stent for such quarter, accompanied by payment of the applicable
royalty thereon (and any interest thereon pursuant to Section 5.11).
With
respect to any Royalty-Bearing Stent, the first such report shall include a
statement as to the cumulative applicable royalty rate revenue base for such
Royalty-Bearing Stent from the first commercial sale thereof through the
-23-
beginning
of such first fiscal quarter, accompanied by payment of the applicable royalty
thereon (and any interest thereon pursuant to Section 5.11).
6.2 This
reporting obligation shall cease after the last royalty payment for a
Royalty-Bearing Stent due under this Agreement has been paid.
6.3 Payments
shall be made in United States currency and shall be calculated, with respect
to
foreign currency exchange calculations, in a manner substantially similar to
the
methodologies utilized by the BSC Companies for their other foreign currency
exchange calculations during the relevant reporting period. In addition to
any
interest pursuant to Section 5.11, if BSC fails to pay royalties when due as
provided in Section 6.1, any such overdue amount shall bear interest at the
rate
of 10% per annum, compounding annually, from the due date of such payment to
the
actual date of payment.
6.4 With
respect to the royalty and reporting set forth in this Article 6, the BSC
Companies and their Affiliates shall keep accurate records with respect to
all
Royalty-Bearing Stents. These records shall be retained until the later to
occur
of (i) the third anniversary of delivery to Medinol of the report under
Section 6.1 for the period to which they relate and (ii) three
(3)
months following completion of any examination and audit thereof pursuant to
the
next sentence that is commenced prior to such third anniversary. Medinol shall
have the right through a mutually agreed upon independent certified public
accountant and at its expense, to examine and audit, not more than once a year,
and during normal business hours, all such records and such other records and
accounts as may under recognized accounting practices contain information
bearing upon the amount of royalty payable to Medinol under this Agreement.
Adjustment shall be made by the BSC Companies promptly (and in any event within
sixty (60) days) to compensate for
-24-
any
errors and/or omissions disclosed by such examination or audit. If such error
and/or omission results in an underpayment exceeding five percent of the
royalties due and owing, the BSC Companies shall pay Medinol for the reasonable
costs of the audit. If Medinol fails to invoke its audit rights within three
(3)
years following the end of any calendar year covered in a report or reports
under Section 6.1, the calculation of the applicable royalty rate revenue
base and royalties for such calendar year in such report or reports shall be
final, binding and conclusive. BSC acknowledges that this Section 6.4
may
require BSC to maintain records with respect to sales of Stents for periods
before such Stents are identified as Royalty-Bearing Stents, for periods prior
to any notice pursuant to Section 5.5 and for periods prior to the
Effective Date.
6.5 Medinol
shall treat any information that it obtains from the BSC Companies pursuant
to
this Article 6, through reports, audits, or otherwise, confidentially in
accordance with Article 10 of this Agreement and use such information
solely for purposes of calculating the royalties on Royalty-Bearing Stents
or
for enforcing its rights under this Agreement.
7. REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES
7.1 The
Medinol Parties hereby represent and warrant that as of the Effective Date
and
as of the Dismissal Date:
(a) Medinol
is a corporation duly organized, validly existing, and in good standing and
has
corporate power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement, to own
the
Medinol Patents, and to perform its obligations hereunder, including but not
-25-
limited
to, the grant of the covenant in Article 5 of this Agreement, and all such
action has been duly and validly authorized by all necessary corporate
proceedings on its part.
(b) This
Agreement and all agreements relating hereto have been duly and validly executed
and delivered by the Medinol Parties and constitute legal, valid, and binding
obligations enforceable in accordance with their respective terms, except as
may
be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, or other similar laws of general
application affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights or by general
principles of equity limiting the availability of equitable
remedies.
(c) Neither
the execution and delivery of this Agreement nor any documents relating hereto,
nor the consummation of the transactions herein contemplated, nor the
performance of or compliance with the terms and conditions hereof or thereof,
will (i) violate any material law, (ii) conflict with or result in a breach
of
or a default under the certificate of incorporation or bylaws of Medinol or
any
material agreement or instrument to which any of the Medinol Parties is a party
or by which it or any of its properties may be subject or bound, or (iii) result
in the creation or imposition of any material lien, charge, security interest,
encumbrance or interest of any third party of any kind upon any property of
the
Medinol Parties, in any such case that would have an adverse effect on the
ability of the Medinol Parties to perform their obligations hereunder.
(d) The
Medinol Patents listed on Exhibit
E
to this
Agreement constitute all Patent Rights in the United States owned by Medinol
as
of the Effective Date. There are no Patent Rights licensed to Medinol as of
the
Effective Date that would be infringed
-26-
by
the
manufacture, use or sale of the Express/Taxus Express Stent, Liberté/Taxus
Liberté Stent or the Identified Current Stents.
7.2 The
BSC
Companies hereby represent and warrant that as of the Effective Date and the
Dismissal Date:
(a) Each
BSC
Company is a corporation duly organized, validly existing and in good standing
and has corporate power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement
and
to perform its obligations hereunder, and all such action has been duly and
validly authorized by all necessary corporate proceedings on its
part.
(b) This
Agreement and all agreements relating thereto have been duly and validly
executed and delivered by each BSC Company and constitute legal, valid and
binding obligations thereof enforceable in accordance with their respective
terms, except as may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency or other similar
laws
of general application affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights or by
general principles of equity limiting the availability of equitable
remedies.
(c) Neither
the execution and delivery of this Agreement nor any documents relating hereto,
nor the consummation of the transactions herein contemplated, nor the
performance of or compliance with the terms and conditions hereof or thereof,
will (i) violate any material law, (ii) conflict with or result in a breach
of
or a default under the certificate of incorporation or bylaws of the BSC
Companies or any material agreement or instrument to which any of the BSC
Companies is a party or by which it or any of its properties may be subject
or
bound, or (iii) result in the creation or imposition of any material lien,
charge, security interest, encumbrance or interest of any third party of any
kind upon any property of any of the BSC Companies.
-27-
(d) The
Stents set forth on Exhibits A,
B and C
to this
Agreement constitute all of the Stents which are being manufactured or sold
by
BSC or any of its Affiliates as of, or at any time prior to, the Effective
Date.
(e) The
BSC
Equity Stake is owned by BSC and BSL, free and clear of any lien, charge,
security interest, encumbrance or interest of any third party of any
kind.
(f) BSC
is
not currently prosecuting any action pursuant to Section 9.04(a) or
9.04(b)
of the Supply Agreement, except for an action in Germany against Xxxxxxx &
Xxxxxxx. BSC agrees that, within fourteen (14) days after the Effective Date,
it
will transfer to Medinol any assignable rights in such action and withdraw
from
such action or take such other action (at the expense of Medinol) as shall
be
reasonably requested by Medinol to convey to Medinol the benefits of such
action. Attached as Exhibit F
to this
Agreement is a true and complete list of all actions prosecuted by BSC, and
all
settlements, license agreements and similar agreements entered into by BSC,
pursuant to Section 9.03, 9.04(a) or 9.04(b) of the Supply
Agreement.
7.3 Nothing
in this Agreement shall be construed as:
(a) restricting
the right of any Party or any of its Affiliates to make, use, sell, lease or
otherwise dispose of any particular product or products not subject to a
covenant herein; or
(b) an
admission by the BSC Companies of, or a warranty or representation by the
Medinol Parties as to, the validity and/or scope of any of the Medinol Patents
or a limitation on the BSC Companies to contest, in any proceeding initiated
pursuant to Article 5 of this Agreement, the validity, enforceability and/or
scope
-28-
thereof
(and in no event shall any payment under this Agreement be refundable in the
event of any invalidity of any Medinol Patent); provided,
however,
that
the BSC Companies may not, except as provided in Section 5.2 (d), contest the
validity, enforceability and/or scope of any Medinol Patent other than in a
proceeding under Article 5 of this Agreement; or
(c) conferring
any license or other right, by implication, estoppel or otherwise, under any
patents except as herein expressly granted; or
(d) a
warranty or representation by any Party that any manufacture, use, sale, lease
or other disposition of any product will be free from infringement of any patent
other than the patents that are the subject of a covenant herein, and (other
than with respect to the Covered Actions, as contemplated in Article 4 of this
Agreement) none of the Parties or their Affiliates shall have any obligation
to
defend, indemnify or hold harmless any other Party or any of its Affiliates
from
any suits, actions or claims alleging infringement of any third party’s patent
and none of the Parties or their Affiliates shall have any liability therefor;
or
(e) other
than as specified in Article 5 or Article 6 of this Agreement, a right
for
any Party to request or receive, or an obligation on any Party to furnish,
discuss, or exchange information relative to their specific customers, marketing
policies or activities, product design plans or techniques, manufacturing plans,
processes or yield, or pricing plans or practices under this Agreement;
or
(f) an
obligation to xxxx any products that are the subject of a covenant herein
“patent pending” or with the patent numbers of any of the relevant Patents under
this Agreement in any country whatsoever; or
-29-
(g) an
obligation on any Party to enforce its patents against third
parties.
8. DISMISSALS
OF PENDING ACTIONS
8.1 As
soon
as practicable after payment of the Settlement Payment and delivery of executed
documents sufficient to transfer the BSC Equity Stake, and in any event no
later
than twenty-four (24) hours thereafter, the Parties shall execute and file
a
Stipulation of Dismissal in the form of Exhibit G
with
respect to the U.S. Action. Thereafter, Stipulations of Dismissals of all other
Actions shall be executed and filed no later than fourteen (14) days after
payment of the Settlement Payment and delivery of executed documents sufficient
to transfer the BSC Equity Stake. Affiliates of the BSC Companies and Medinol
are named in one or more of the Actions. Such Affiliates shall be named on
each
appropriate Stipulation of Dismissal and shall execute each such dismissal
as
appropriate. The effective date of each such dismissal is referred to herein
as
a “Dismissal Date.”
8.2 Each
Party shall pay its own expenses relating to the dismissals of the Actions,
including attorneys’ fees and costs.
9. RELEASES
9.1 Apart
from the rights and obligations created by, referenced, acknowledged or arising
out of this Agreement, the Medinol Parties, on the one hand, and the BSC
Companies, on the other hand, on and as of the date of the payment of the
Settlement Payment, do hereby for themselves and their respective legal
successors and assigns, release and forever discharge each other and their
respective officers, directors, employees, agents, attorneys, Affiliates,
predecessors, successors, permitted assigns and
-30-
representatives
of and from any and all claims, demands, damages, debts, liabilities, accounts,
reckonings, obligations, costs, expenses, liens, actions and causes of action
of
any kind and nature whatsoever, whether now known or unknown, suspected or
unsuspected which either now has, owns or holds or at any time heretofore had
ever owned or held based on or arising from each Action, any of the facts or
alleged facts giving rise to any Action, each of the BSC-Medinol Agreements
and
any activities prior to the Effective Date relating to the development,
manufacture, distribution and/or sale of the Express/Taxus Express Stent, the
Liberté/Taxus Liberté Stent and the Identified Current Stents (collectively, the
“Released Matters”). For purposes of clarity, the Parties agree that any claim
by Medinol under Article 5 is not a Released Matter.
9.2 It
is the
intention of the Parties hereto in executing this Agreement and in paying and
receiving the consideration called for by this Agreement that this Agreement
shall comprise a full and final accord and mutual release of all the Released
Matters. Each of the Parties acknowledges that it is aware that it or its
attorneys or accountants may hereafter discover claims or facts in addition
to
or different from those which it now knows or believes to exist with respect
to
the Released Matters, but that it is its intention hereby to fully and finally
and forever settle and release all Released Matters, whether known or
unknown.
10. CONFIDENTIALITY
10.1 The
Parties shall not disclose any Confidential Information (defined below) of
another Party or any information with respect to the terms of this Agreement
(other than to acknowledge the existence of this Agreement or the fact that
a
Party has the
-31-
covenants
granted herein) without the prior written consent of the other Party or Parties,
as the case may be. Confidential Information is information that the disclosing
Party considers to be confidential or proprietary, whether disclosed to the
other Parties before or after the Effective Date, or that otherwise provides
it
with a competitive advantage, but does not include information which (1) is
or
becomes part of the public domain by any means other than the receiving party’s
breach of its obligations hereunder; (2) was known to the receiving party at
the
time of disclosure by the disclosing party; (3) is, at any time, disclosed
to the receiving party by any third party having the right to disclose the
same;
or (4) is developed by an employee(s) or agent/consultant of the receiving
party
without use of any Confidential Information disclosed by the disclosing party.
This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, press releases, education
and
scientific conferences, promotional materials, and discussions with the media.
The foregoing restrictions shall not apply to confidential discussions with
advisors, including lawyers, accountants, lenders, and investment bankers,
or in
the context of a customary due diligence investigation of any Party. If any
Party reasonably determines that a release of such information is required
by
law (including securities or tax law) or the Rules of the New York Stock
Exchange or any exchange on which the Parties’ securities are listed or on which
an application for listing is now or is at any time in the future pending
(“Stock Exchange Rules”) or other governmental body or by applicable accounting
requirements, or that a release of such information on a confidential basis
to a
relevant tax authority is reasonably appropriate in connection with a
governmental review of the transactions contemplated hereby, it shall promptly
notify the other Party or Parties in writing at or before the time of the
proposed release, if practicable. The notice shall include the exact
-32-
text
of
the proposed release and the time and manner of the release. At the other
Party’s request and before the release, the Party desiring to release the
information shall consult with the other Party on the necessity for the
disclosure and the text of the proposed release. Absent approval in advance
from
the other Party, in no event shall a release include information regarding
the
existence or terms of this Agreement that is not required by law (including
securities or tax law) or the Stock Exchange Rules or other governmental body
or
by applicable accounting requirements or reasonably appropriate for disclosure
on a confidential basis to a relevant tax authority in connection with a
governmental review of the transactions contemplated hereby. Any such release
shall be mutually reviewed and approved by the Parties. Should any third party
seek to obtain any information by legal process with respect to the existence
or
terms of this Agreement from any Party hereto, such Party to this Agreement
shall promptly notify the other Party or Parties hereto, who may then take
appropriate measures to avoid and minimize the release of such information.
An
initial Press Release to be issued jointly by the Parties is attached as
Exhibit
I.
10.2 Section 10.1
shall not apply to any disclosure in the context of any litigation among the
Parties. Each of the Protective Orders filed in the Actions by and among the
Parties hereto shall remain in force and effect, and documents produced in
discovery by any other Party and not introduced as evidence or an exhibit at
trial shall be returned or destroyed.
-33-
11. NO
ADMISSIBILITY
11.1 Each
Party acknowledges that the policies concerning settlement agreements limit
the
admissibility of this Agreement.
12. SUCCESSORS
AND ASSIGNS
12.1 Except
as
expressly provided herein, neither this Agreement nor any rights or obligations
hereunder may be transferred by any Party, in whole or in part, by operation
of
law or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the other Parties, such
consent to be granted or withheld in their sole discretion, and any attempted
transfer without such consent shall be of no force or effect. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, this Agreement can be transferred without such consent to the
successor entity or transferee in the event of a merger, consolidation or
liquidation of Medinol or BSC or the acquisition of all or substantially all
the
assets of Medinol or BSC or the acquisition of the entire Stent business of
Medinol or BSC; provided,
however,
that,
in the case of a transfer pursuant to this sentence by BSC to any entity that,
or to any entity any of whose Affiliates, carried on a Stent or Stent-related
business immediately prior to such transfer, then no Stent that was not a
Covered Stent immediately prior to such transfer shall ever become a Covered
Stent. If
a
transfer is made as permitted above, the permitted transferee shall be subject
to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and any transfer by the permitted
transferee shall be subject to the provisions of this paragraph.
13. COUNSEL
13.1 The
Parties acknowledge that they have been represented by counsel of their own
choice throughout all of the negotiations that preceded the execution of this
-34-
Agreement
and in connection with the preparation and execution of this Agreement. This
Agreement has been prepared with the participation of all Parties and their
counsel, and shall not be strictly construed against any Party.
14. ENTIRE
AGREEMENT
14.1 This
Agreement (which includes all exhibits attached hereto) contains the entire
and
only agreement among the Parties with respect to the subject matter of the
Agreement and supersedes all previous negotiations, discussions, and agreements.
This Agreement shall not be modified, amended, or otherwise changed except
by a
writing executed by the Parties.
15. GOVERNING
LAW
15.1 This
Agreement and performance hereunder, shall be governed by the laws of the State
of New York applicable to contracts executed in and to be performed in that
State.
16. NO
ASSIGNMENT
16.1 Each
of
the Parties represents and warrants that it is the sole and absolute owner
of
each and every claim that it has released herein, and that it has not sold,
assigned, transferred, conveyed, or otherwise disposed of any claim or demand,
or any portion of or interest in any claim or demand, relating to any matter
covered by the Agreement.
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17. COUNTERPARTS
17.1 This
Agreement may be executed in counterparts (each of which shall be deemed an
original), and receipt by facsimile transmission of executed copies shall be
legally binding.
18. ABSENCE
OF WAIVER
18.1 Except
as
provided herein, the failure of any Party to enforce at any time any of the
provisions of this Agreement shall in no way be construed as a waiver of such
provisions, nor in any way to affect the validity of this Agreement or any
part
thereof, or the right of any Party to later enforce each and every such
provision. No waiver of any breach of this Agreement shall be held to be a
waiver of any other or subsequent breach.
19. SEVERABILITY
19.1 In
the
event that any provision of this Agreement is found to be prohibited by law
and
invalid, or for any other reason such provision is held unenforceable, in whole
or in part, it shall be considered severable and shall be ineffective only
to
the extent of such prohibition, invalidity or unenforceability without
invalidating or having any other adverse effect upon any other provision of
the
Agreement.
20. NO
ADMISSION
20.1 Except
as
specifically set forth in this Agreement, neither the entering into this
Agreement, nor any provision hereof, shall be deemed an admission by any Party
of any wrongdoing, or of the validity or invalidity of any provision taken
or
proposed to be taken in the Actions or any other litigation.
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21. RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN THE PARTIES
21.1 Nothing
herein contained shall be deemed to create an agency, joint venture, or
partnership relation among the Parties. The BSC Parties and Medinol are
independent contractors and engaged in the conduct of their own respective
businesses. No BSC Party is considered the agent or employee of Medinol for
any
purpose, and no BSC Party has the right or authority to enter into any contract
or assume any obligation for Medinol or give any warranty or make any
representation on behalf of Medinol. Medinol is not considered the agent or
employee of any BSC Party for any purpose, and Medinol has no right or authority
to enter into any contract or assume any obligation for any BSC Party or give
any warranty or make any representation on behalf of any BSC Party.
22. NOTICE
22.1 Any
notice, report, written statement or payment to a party permitted or required
under this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be sent by certified mail,
return receipt requested, express delivery service, or hand delivered at the
respective addresses set forth below, or to such other addresses as the
respective parties may from time to time designate:
Medinol
LTD.
Xxxxx
Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxx
Building
7, Entrance A, Floor 5
Kiryat
Atidim
X.X.
Xxx
00000
Xxx
Xxxx
00000
Israel
With
a
copy to:
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Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxx & Xxxxx LLP
Worldwide
Plaza
000
Xxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx
Xxxx,
XX 00000-0000
Attn:
Xxxx X. Xxxxxxx, Esq.
BOSTON
SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION
General
Counsel
Xxx
Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxxx
Xxxxxx,
XX 00000-0000
BOSTON
SCIENTIFIC LIMITED
General
Counsel
Xxx
Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxxx
Xxxxxx,
XX 00000-0000
BOSTON
SCIENTIFIC SCIMED, INC.
General
Counsel
Xxx
XxxXxx Xxxxx
Xxxxx
Xxxxx, XX 00000-0000
22.2 Any
such
notice, report, statement or payment under this Agreement that is sent by
prepaid registered or certified mail, or by express delivery service, shall
be
deemed to have been duly made upon mailing, subject to proof of
receipt.
23. CAPTIONS
23.1 Captions
in this Agreement are inserted only as a matter of convenience and for
reference, and in no way define, limit or describe the scope of this Agreement
or the intent of any provision herein.
24. OTHER
DOCUMENTS
24.1 Each
Party agrees to execute such additional documents or instruments as are
specifically contemplated above or as otherwise may be reasonably required
to
carry out the intents and purposes of this Agreement.
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24.2 Each
of
BSC and BSL shall deliver to Medinol a copy of Form 1399, Capital Gain Notice
and Calculation of Tax Due with respect to the BSC Equity Stake, within seven
(7) business days after Medinol’s delivery of the information set forth in the
last sentence of this Section 24.2. A copy of Form 1399 (blank) is attached
as
Exhibit L
to this
Agreement, and such form shall be completed in a manner consistent with Section
2.1. BSC represents that the original cost of its Medinol shares is $40 million
and the original cost of the Medinol shares held by BSL is $9,746,195. To
facilitate such filings Medinol agrees to provide to BSC and BSL with the amount
of its distributable profits balances for Israeli book and tax purposes accrued
as of January 1, 1996, February 26, 1997, January 1, 2003 and the Settlement
Date.
25. EXPENSES;
TAXES
25.1 Each
Party shall pay its own expenses with respect to this Agreement and the
transactions contemplated hereby.
25.2 Each
Party shall pay its own taxes, whether imposed by the United States, Israel
or
any other government. For purposes of this Section 25.2, any tax obligation
imposed by the United States, Israel or any other government in connection
with
a transaction contemplated by this Agreement shall be borne by the entity
specified in this Agreement as the recipient of payment or
reimbursement.
25.3 (a)
On or
prior to the Effective Date, Medinol shall deliver to BSC Form W8BEN duly and
validly signed by an authorized officer of Medinol, including a valid U.S.
Taxpayer Identification Number, in the form of Exhibit
J
to this
Agreement supplied by Medinol.
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(b)
Each
Party agrees that no portion of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement
(other than any payments, if any, made pursuant to Article 5) are subject to
withholding under Sections 1441 or 1442 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
as
amended, or any comparable provision of state, local or foreign law. Without
limiting the generality of the foregoing, each Party agrees that, consistent
with Section 3.1, the Settlement Payment shall be remitted without withholding.
Each Party agrees that it will not take any position on any tax return or other
filing (including all correspondence with and written and oral submissions
to
and communications with taxing authorities), in any audit by or other tax
contest with the Internal Revenue Service or any other taxing authority, or
in
any other statement or public filing that is contrary to or inconsistent with
the provisions of Sections 2.1, 3.1, 24.2 or the foregoing
sentence.
25.4 Each
Party represents that it has not sought or requested a ruling, in writing or
otherwise (a “Tax Ruling”), from any taxing authority relating to any of the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement. No Party shall seek a Tax Ruling
from any taxing authority with respect to any of the transactions contemplated
by this Agreement which is inconsistent with the provisions of Sections 2.1,
3.1, 24.2 and 25.3. Furthermore, no Party shall seek any Tax Ruling from any
tax
authority with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement
without first providing, on a confidential basis, a copy of such request to
the
other Party prior to submission to such taxing authority.
25.5 In
the
event that:
(a) the
Internal Revenue Service or any other taxing authority (the “Applicable Tax
Authority”) asserts that any of the transactions contemplated by
this
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Agreement,
or any portion thereof (other than payments made pursuant to Article 5) is
subject to withholding under Sections 1441 or 1442 of the Internal Revenue
Code
of 1986, as amended, or any comparable provision of state, local or foreign
law
(a “Withholding Tax Issue”);
(b) either
Party reasonably believes that it may be entitled to relief from double
taxation, including from double taxation that would otherwise result from the
differing characterizations of any of the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement, or any portion thereof, by two or more taxing jurisdictions (a
“Double Taxation Issue”); or
(c) any
Applicable Tax Authority asserts that a Party may be liable for taxes imposed
in
connection with any transaction contemplated by this Agreement for which another
Party may also be directly or indirectly liable in whole in or in part (an
“Other Tax Issue”);
then
the
Affected Party (as defined below) shall provide written notice to the Other
Party of the applicable Withholding Tax Issue, Double Taxation Issue or Other
Tax Issue and shall use all reasonable efforts to contest such Withholding
Tax
Issue, Double Taxation Issue or Other Tax Issue. The Affected Party and the
Other Party shall cooperate in good faith to resolve any Withholding Tax Issue,
Double Taxation Issue or Other Tax Issue.
As
used
in this Article 25, the “Affected Party” means the Party to which the Applicable
Tax Authority asserts a position giving rise to a Withholding Tax Issue or
Other
Tax Issue or the Party which reasonably believes that a Double Taxation Issue
exists; and the “Other Party” means BSC, where Medinol is the Affected Party,
and Medinol where one or more of the BSC Companies is the Affected
Party.
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25.6 If
an
Affected Party breaches any of the provisions of Sections 24.2, 25.3,
25.4
or 25.5, and such breach has a material adverse effect on the Other Party,
then
it shall be prohibited from asserting any claim it might otherwise have had
against the Other Party with respect to (a) any tax liability giving
rise
to a Withholding Tax Issue, Double Taxation Issue or Other Tax Issue with
respect to which the breach or breaches related, or (b) any other tax
loss
(or denial of a tax benefit) related to the breach or breaches.
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IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have executed this Agreement as of the date set
forth below.
Dated: September __, 2005 |
MEDINOL LTD.
/s/
By:
Its:
|
Dated: September __, 2005 |
/s/
Xxxxx Xxxxxxx |
Dated: September __, 2005 |
/s/
Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx
|
Dated: September __, 0000 |
XXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX CORPORATION
/s/
By:
Its:
|
Dated: September __, 0000 |
XXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX LIMITED
/s/
By:
Its:
|
Dated: September __, 0000 |
XXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX SCIMED, INC.
/s/
By:
Its:
|
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