宾夕法尼亚大学起诉BioNTech，要求支付全额特许使用费
来源：广东中策知识产权研究院 发布日期：2024-08-14 阅读：25次
宾夕法尼亚大学因特许使用费争议对BioNTech提起诉讼，指控该公司未支付COVID-19疫苗应付的全部特许使用费。
8月5日，宾夕法尼亚大学在宾夕法尼亚州联邦法院对德国生物技术公司BioNTech提起诉讼，指控其在COVID-19疫苗的专利使用方面，未按约定支付特许使用费。
诉讼中提出了两项关于违反合同的指控：第一，BioNTech未按照合同条款支付授权产品的净销售特许使用费；第二，BioNTech擅自减少了应支付的特许使用费。
值得注意的是，辉瑞公司并未作为此次诉讼的被告。
宾夕法尼亚大学的一位发言人在接受《宾夕法尼亚日报》采访时表示：“我们正依据专利许可协议，寻求应得的全额特许使用费。这些协议为BioNTech的COVID疫苗研发和上市提供了支持。宾夕法尼亚大学将把这笔收入用于资助更多具有突破性研究，以推动新型的、拯救生命的疗法和技术。”
BioNTech在声明中回应道：“我们的合作是基于相互尊重和公平原则，因此我们与宾夕法尼亚大学就特许使用费问题已经讨论了一年多。我们不同意他们的主张，并将积极为自己辩护。”
（关联链接：Brandeis Center起诉美国教育部，因其驳回了关于宾夕法尼亚大学反犹太主义投诉的案件。
法院以缺乏法律依据为由，驳回了宾夕法尼亚大学教师团体有关“麦卡锡主义”的诉讼。)
根据宾夕法尼亚大学的说法，BioNTech在宾夕法尼亚大学拥有专利的国家生产并分销疫苗。因此，大学方面认为，BioNTech应该为其在全球销售的所有疫苗支付特许使用费，而不仅仅是针对“销售到宾夕法尼亚大学拥有专利的国家”的疫苗。路透社对此进行了报道。
此外，宾夕法尼亚大学还指控BioNTech在未达到合同规定的特许使用费支付上限之前，擅自减少了支付金额。
根据合同，BioNTech在向第三方公司支付的总特许使用费超过某个未公开的金额后，才可以减少对宾夕法尼亚大学的支付金额。然而，大学方面指控，BioNTech在未达到这一上限之前，就提前减少了支付金额。
据报道，宾夕法尼亚大学与BioNTech就这一特许使用费问题进行了长达一年多的谈判。根据《费城问询报》的分析，宾夕法尼亚大学从2021年到2023年共获得了近16亿美元的特许使用费收入。
此次诉讼涉及的专利是宾夕法尼亚大学研究人员Katalin Karikó和Drew Weissman开发的mRNA技术，他们因这项开创性研究在2023年10月获得了诺贝尔医学奖。在诺贝尔奖宣布后不久，《宾夕法尼亚日报》报道了Karikó曾在大学内遭遇不公正待遇的指控。
对于此事，Karikó拒绝发表评论，而截至发稿时，Weissman也未对此作出回应。
附新闻原文如下：
The University of Pennsylvania has sued BioNTech, alleging that the German biotechnology company has underpaid royalties owed to Penn for patents used in BioNTech’s and Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.
The lawsuit, filed in Pennsylvania federal court on Aug. 5, includes two breach of contract claims. The first accuses BioNTech of “failure to pay royalties on net sales of licensed product,” while the second alleges “improper royalty reduction” by the company.
“Penn is seeking full royalty payments under patent licensing agreements that enabled BioNTech to develop its marked COVID vaccine. Penn uses the revenue generated from these licenses to fund additional ground-breaking research that leads to the discovery of new, life-saving therapies and technologies,” a University spokesperson wrote to The Daily Pennsylvanian.
“BioNTech’s guiding principle in collaborations is generally driven by mutual respect and fairness, which is why we have been in discussions with the University of Pennsylvania regarding royalties for over a year,” a statement from BioNTech to the DP reads. “We disagree with the positions being taken by the University of Pennsylvania, and intend to vigorously defend ourselves against their allegations.”
According to the University, BioNTech manufactures its shots in countries where Penn has a patent on its technology. As a result, the University claims that BioNTech should be paying royalties for all of its shots distributed worldwide, not simply for “shots ‘sold into’ countries where [Penn] owns a patent,” as reported by Reuters.
Additionally, Penn claims that BioNTech has underpaid royalties, asserting that BioNTech reduced its payments before reaching the agreed-upon threshold specified in their contract.
The contract permits BioNTech to lower payments to Penn once BioNTech’s total royalty payments to third-party companies surpass a certain, undisclosed amount. However, the University alleges that BioNTech reduced its payments prematurely, before this cap was met.
Penn and BioNTech have reportedly been in conversations about these royalties for over a year. Penn has received almost $1.6 billion in those royalties from 2021 to 2023, according to an analysis conducted by The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The patent in discussion pertains to the COVID-19 vaccine’s use of mRNA technology developed by Penn researchers Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, who were awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine in October 2023 for their groundbreaking research. Shortly after the announcement, the DP reported allegations of mistreatment of Karikó by the University.
Karikó declined to comment. Weissman did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.