EX-10.12 4 techagreemazzanti1012.htm EXHIBIT 10.12
Technology Assignment Agreement
T hi s T e chn o l ogy Assignme n t Agre emen t ("Agreement") is e x ec u ted on th is the 30th day o f J un e, 2011 b y and be t wee n E vo l ut i o n Petro l e u m Corpora t i on, a N e v a d a corpo r a ti on w hos e addre ss is 25 00 City W e st Bl v d, Sui te 13 00, H o u sto n, T e xas 77 0 42 (h e r e i naft e r r e fe r r ed t o as "E PC") a nd D ar yl M a zz an ti, who s e a dd ress i s 184 3 4 Bive n s Bend Spring, T e xas 7 7 379 (h er e i n aft e r r e f e r r ed to a s "Maz z anti"). E PC a nd M a zzan ti may b e re f e r r e d t o c oll e cti v e l y i n t hi s Agree m en t as "P a rti es," or indi v idu a ll y as a "P arty."
WHEREAS, M az z anti, prior to hi s e mpl oy me nt with E PC (fo rme r l y kn o wn as Natura l Gas Sys t ems, In c.) and i nd ep e nd e n t o f a n y pri or emp l oyer, d e v e lo p ed ce rt ain techno l og y and proc e dur es t o e nh a n ce o il an d ga s p rodu ction in h or iz o n ta l we ll b ore s;
WHEREAS, as p ar t o f M az z an ti's e mplo y m e nt ag r e e m en t wi t h E P C, EPC ag r e e d to field te s t and potenti a lly c omm erci a li z e th e te c hnol ogy an d p ro ced ur es s o dev el o p e d b y Mazzanti;
WHEREAS, EPC desires to a cquir e a ll o f Ma zzan ti's r i g h t, titl e and i n t ere s t i n, to an d under the technology and proced ur e s, and Ma zza nti de s i r es t o s ell, ass i g n, t ra nsfer a n d c on v e y the same to EPC pursuant to the t erms a nd condition s s et forth h e r ei n;
NOW, THEREFORE, for and in con s ideration o f the m utua l c ov e n an t s conta i n ed herein, and for other good and v a l ua b le consideration, the re c e i pt a nd suf ficien cy of whi ch a r e hereby acknowledged by all Part i e s, E PC and Mazz anti h er e b y a gr ee a s fo ll ows:
1. Assignment of the Technology. Up o n the e x ecu ti o n o f t hi s A g r e e m ent b y th e P a rtie s, Mazzanti does hereby assi g n, t ransfe r a nd c o n v e y unto EP C all o f M a zz a n ti's ri g h t, ti t l e an d interest in and to that c e r t a in te chnol ogy, in v e n t ion, desig n, i m p rove m en t, or any r e l at e d intellectual property kn ow n a s th e G as A ss i s t e d Downhole Pump, whi ch i s m or e fu lly de s crib e d on E xhibit A, whi c h i s attac h ed h e r eto and inc orp o rated h e rein by refe r ence (he r ei naft e r r efe rre d to a s the "Technology").
2. Potential Patents of Technology. E P C sh all, a t i t s s o l e c o s t a n d e x pe n s e, u n der t a k e t h e n ec e s sar y l e ga l an d te ch n i c a l r eview of th e Te chnol ogy t o d e t ermine i f t h e T echno l ogy i s p atenta bl e. In t h e e v e nt t h at E P C d ete r mine s, in it s so l e an d u nfett e red di s c r et i o n, t h at t he Techn o lo gy is d eeme d patent a b l e and in i t s b usine ss jud g m e nt i s c o mmerc i a ll y v i a ble, E P C s h a ll in itia t e an d carry through a ctio n s commerci a ll y a n d re a so nabl y ne c e s s ary t o pa te n t th e Te c hno l ogy i n th e U n i t ed S t ate s and s uc h othe r fo r eig n cou n tri es t h at E P C dee m s a p p r op ri a te. The Parties s tipul ate and agre e t ha t th e Tec hn o l o g y s h a ll b e d ee m e d a t ra d e s ecre t of E P C an d M azzanti s h a ll ass i g n s uc h p ate n t s t o E PC w h e n received.
3. Field Testing of Technology. E P C s h a ll, a t i t s so l e cos t a nd e xp ens e, make commercially r ea s on ab l e e f forts to fie ld t e s t th e T ec h nol o g y. All asp e cts (i nc l u d i ng w i t hout limiting the generality of t h e forego i ng, dir ect i o n, c ont ro l, nu m b er of t es t s, durati on, l oca ti on an d cos t) of any such fie l d testing of the T ec hn ol og y s h a ll be at the so l e an d unfette r e d di s cr e ti o n o f EPC.

4. Assistance by Mazzant i. M a zz an t i s h a ll fu ll y c o o p era t e and ass i s t E PC in t h e prosec u tion o f any p a t ent app li cat i on o f t he T ec h n o logy by EPC. Ad d itio n al l y, M azz a n ti ag r ee s to pro v ide EPC with a ll th e n ecessary t ec hni ca l s upport fo r th e fie ld te s tin g o f the T ec hn o l o g y. The coope rat io n and as si stan c e o f M a zz anti in th e p a t en t ap p l i c at i on proc e s s an d in the fi e l d t es ting o f th e Te chnol o g y s h al l i n no ma nn e r a d v e r se ly effec t hi s em p loymen t o b liga ti o n s wi t h EPC, wi th o u t t he e x p r e ss writt en c ons e n t o f E P C.
5. Com p ensa t io n. EPC s h a ll p ay t o M azz anti th e a mo u n t o f $5,00 0.00 per w ell fo r eve r y s u c c e s sfu l a pplication o f th e T echn olog y b y E PC or th ro ug h E P C's c o nt ro l (the "T e chnol ogy F e e"). Amounts s o paid s hall b e l ess an y app l ic a bl e r e qu ire d t a x. H ow e ve r, no T ec hn o l o gy Fee shall b e du e to Ma z zan t i for i n s tall a tion s o f t h e Te c hn o l o gy t h at are p r i mari l y for r e a s o nab l e fi e l d t e st s o f th e T e chno l o gy in E PC owned we ll s, or fo r u p t o t wo d e m ons tra ti on s o f the Te c hno l ogy for a third party in whi c h, a s an indu ce m e nt t o t h at t h i r d party t o fi e l d t es t th e Technology in con s ideratio n o f commerciall y appl yi ng t h e T e chno l o g y t o a p ort fo l i o o f we ll s, EPC does no t rece i ve a n y revenue, n e t of insta ll at i on co st o f t he Techno l ogy and well operatin g c os t. M azzan ti shal l h ave t h e right, but not t h e ob li gation, t o h av e an indepe n d ent ce rt ified p ubl i c ac coun tan t in spect an d a u d i t the rele v ant books a nd r eco r d s of E PC to ver i fy t he s t a t emen t s a nd payment s requir ed t o be made pursuan t to t h i s Agreement. An y such i nspecti o n a n d/or a udi t shall be conduct ed duri ng t he n ormal business hours of E P C a nd i n s u ch a mann er tha t w ill r esu lt in m i nimum inc o n v en ience to E P C. The cos t and e x p ense o f an y s u c h i n s pe c ti o n an d/o r a u dit shall be home b y Mazza n ti An y such i nspectio n and/or aud i t s h al l be c o n d u ct ed no more t h an once a y ear wi th out t h e express wr i tte n consent of EPC.
6. Sale or Tr a n s fe r of Techno lo gy. In the e v ent th a t EPC se ll s, t ransfe rs or conve ys t he Techn o l ogy, r i ghts to the Techno l ogy o r an y patent s de r ived from t h e Te chno l o g y (collect i vely referre d to hereinafter as the "R e l ate d T ec hn o l ogy") to a ny P e r s o n or Entity, other t h a n an Affil i ate of EPC, such sa l e s hall be subject to the b u y er a ss umi n g t h e o bli ga ti ons o f E PC und er this Agreement. For the purpo s e s of t he Agr ee ment, "Af fili a t e" me a n s an y p e r s o n, c om pa ny o r entity controlling, controll e d b y or unde r c o mmon contro l w ith an y ot her p e rs on, c om pan y or entity. F or purpo s e s o f thi s d efini ti on, "co nt rol" (i nclu d ing "c on tro ll e d b y" an d "un der c o m mon con tr ol with") m e ans the p o ssess i o n, dir ec tl y or indirec t l y, o f t he p owe r to d i r e ct o r c a u s e t h e directio n o f the mana ge m ent an d p o l i cie s o f s u c h p ers on, comp an y o r en ti t y, whe t he r t h ro ug h the own ers h i p o f vo t ing s ec u r i t ie s or ot h erw i s e.
7. Re p rese n tati on s a n d Warranties by Mazzant i. M azz a n t i r e p resen t s, warr ant s an d co vena nt s t o EPC th at n o ass i g nm e n t, gra nt, mort gage, li cense o r any o t her c o n tr a c t ual a g ree m ent affe ct i ng th e r i gh ts t o t he T ec hn o lo gy ha s b ee n m ad e t o an y o th e r pe r so n or e n ti t y, a nd th a t the full ri g h t t o se ll, assign, trans fer a nd co nv ey th e Techno l og y as d e s cri bed h e r e i n i s p oss e ss ed s ol e l y by M azz an ti; and, w h e n r equ este d t o carry o u t i n go od fa i t h t he inte n t an d purpose of t h i s Agreem ent, M azz an t i s hall full y a ssist a nd c oopera t e w ith E P C in o bt a ini ng pat e nts on t h e Technology in t he Unit e d St a t es and an y for e i g n co unt ry, a nd s ha ll execu te all documents and do all thing s nece ss ar y t o o b tain l e tte rs p a t e nt, t o ves t EP C w i t h ful l an d e x clu s ive titl e to th e T ec hn ology an d a n y su ch pat ent s, an d t o p ro tect an y such paten t s fr om infringemen t b y a n y p erson or en t it y.

8. Term of Agreem e nt. T he t erm of thi s Ag r e eme nt shall e x t e n d fo r a pe ri od o f t wen ty (20) years or for t he life of any patents o n the T ec hn o l ogy (and any re i s s ues, c o n t i nu a t i o n s, divisions an d c o nt i n u ations-in-part of any p ate n ts o f th e Te c hn o l ogy), w hiche v e r i s t he l ast to occ ur.
9. Licen s e. In the even t t h a t Ma z zanti is no long e r an e mp l oyee o f EPC (or it s affiliates), M a z z anti shal l h ave the r ight t o licens e t he Tec hn o l ogy for h i s own u se b y p a yi n g EPC's cust o mary l icensing fee per a pp l ica t ion of t h e Techno l ogy unde r th e t e rms o f this agre e ment.
1 0. MISCELLANEOUS
10.1 Assignments. This Agreeme n t sh all not be ass i gne d in who l e or i n pa r t b y M a zzan ti wi t hout t he ex p ress w ri tte n co n sent of E P C, s u c h co n se nt sha ll not be u nre a so n a b l y w i thhe l d Notw i th s t an d i ng a nythi ng to th e contrary c ontain ed h ere in, E P C s ti p u l at es and ag r ees t ha t Mazzanti is gr an ted the one-ti m e r i g ht to ass ign hi s r i g h ts on l y as to P ar a gra p h s 4 an d 5 of this Agreement to an en t ity own ed by M azz an t i or hi s imm ed ia te fa m i l y, wh i c h shall occur within One (1) year of the date o f th is A g r ee m e nt, o th e r wise thi s o n e-tim e gran t sh all t ermi na t e.
10.2 Notices. All notice s made by on e P arty t o o ne o r m or e o t he r Partie s s h a ll be i n w riti ng and delivered in person, b y emai l, or b y United Sta tes mail, co uri er s e rvi ce, t e l e co p y, p os ta ge or charges prepaid and add r e ss e d t o such P ar tie s a t the addr e s s e s spec ifi e d ab ov e o r t he me mber s listed below. Notice g ive n und e r any pro v i s ion h e r eof s h all b e dee med de l i v ered o n l y w h en received by the Party to w ho m su c h n otic e is d irec t e d, and the tim e fo r suc h Par ty t o d e l i ve r an y notice in response thereto s h all ru n fr o m th e d ate th e or i g i na ti ng no t ice i s rece i ve d. All originating email or t ele co p y n ot ic es s hall b e c onfirmed b y ma il ing s u ch n o ti ce by Un it ed S ta tes mail, but the da t e of r e c ei p t sha ll b e t h e d ate suc h e mail o r t e l eco p y was d e li ve r e d to t h e compute r or teleco p y m ac h i n e of t h e re c ipient. T h e r espo n s i ve no ti ce sh all be d eem ed d elivered wh e n d ep o s ited in t h e Unite d Sta t es ma il or a t t he office of t h e c o urier o r u p on transmitta l b y te lec o p y or e mail, t o th e Party a s follows:
EPC:
25 00 C i ty W est Blvd
S u ite 13 0 0
Ho u s t on, Texas 7704 2
Att ention: M r. Robert S. Herlin
Te l ep h o n e: (7 13) 93 5-01 22
Facsimi l e: (713) 93 5-01 99
E-M a il: bh erlin@evolutionpetroleum.com
Mazzanti:
18434 Bivens Bend
Spr in g, Texas 77379
Telep h one: (281) 796-6132
E-M a il: dm azzanti@evolutionpetroleum.com

A Party m a y chan g e i ts ad dr ess or ot h e r c o nta c t i n form a t io n by g ivi ng n o tice t o t he o t he r Partie s, in t he m a nn e r pro vi d e d in this s e c ti o n, a t le as t t e n (1 0) d ays pri or t o th e e ff ec t i v e d a t e o f such change.
1 0.3 Governing Law. T H I S AGREEMENT SHALL, WI TH O UT REGARD T O PRIN C IPLES O F CO N F LIC T S O F LA W WHI C H WOU LD RES U L T IN T HE AP P LI CATI ON O F T H E LA W O F A D IFF ERE NT JUR I SDICTI O N, BE CONSTRUE D AND E NF OR CE D IN A CC ORDA NCE W I T H AN D G OVERNED B Y THE LAWS OF T H E S T A T E OF T E XAS. TH E P ART I ES F URTH E R STIPUL AT E A ND AG RE E T HA T V E NU E F OR AN Y C LAl M O R CAUSE OF ACTI O N ARISING OUT OF O R IN ANY MANN E R REL A TE D T O THIS AGRE E MENT SH ALL B E H OUSTO N, HARRIS C O UNTY, T E XAS.
1 0.4 Entirety of Agreem e nt. Th is A gr ee m e nt, i n cl u d ing i t s Ex h i b i t s, all of w hi ch ar e in c or p orat e d her e in by reference, s uper s e des a n y and a ll o th e r ag r eemen ts, e i t h er ve r bal o r in writing, b et w ee n th e P ar ti es h er e to wit h re s p e ct to t h e subj e ct ma tt e r h e r e o f an d c on t a i n s a ll o f the coven an t s and agre e m e n t s b etw e en t he Parti es with r es p ec t t o sa i d s ubj e ct matt er. Eac h P a rt y to this Agreement a c kn o w l edg e s t h a t n o induc e m e nt s, p ro m i s es or ag r e em en t s, v e r b al l y o r otherwise, have been rel i e d upon o r m ad e b y an y Party, or an yo ne ac ti ng o n b e h a l f o f a n y P arty, which are not embodied h e rein and t hat an y other a g re e men t, s ta t eme nt, or promise not contained in this Agreemen t sh a ll not b e v alid o r b indin g.
10.5 Amendment. This Ag r eemen t ma y onl y be a mend ed or m odi fi e d b y a n i n s t ru m en t i n writing signed by all Parties.
10.6 Construction. The Pa rt ie s a ckno w led g e th a t t h ey an d t h e i r r esp e c ti ve coun se l ha ve negotiated and drafted this A g re e m e n t j o intl y an d ag re e t hat the ru l e o f cons tructi on t h at ambiguities are to be r e s o lv e d ag ain st the d ra fti ng P arty s h a ll n o t be e mp l oye d i n the interpretation or construc t i on o f t h is A g r ee m e nt.
10.7 Cost of Litigation. If any Pa rty h ere to should h erea ft e r ins ti tu t e l i ti ga t i on a gains t t he other Part y hereto a lle g i ng that s uch other Pat ty h as br e a ched th i s Ag r eemen t or a lle ges an y oth er claim s or ca u s e s of a cti o n ar i s in g o ut of thi s Agr e eme nt, t h e non-pr e v a ili n g Party (whethe r pl a intiff or d e f en d ant) in such ac ti o n s h al l r e imbur s e the pre v a ili ng Party for the prevai l i ng P art y's reaso nabl e a tt orney's fee s, w i tness fee s, c o urt c o sts, an d al l o t h er r easona b l e co s ts i n conne ct ion w i th su c h l i tigat i on.
10.8 No Third Party Ben e ficiarie s. Nothing i n t h i s A g r e e m en t (e xpr es s or i mp l ie d) i s inte nd e d or s ha ll b e con s t ru e d t o confe r up o n a n y per s on or e n tity n ot a P ar ty an y r i g h t, r emed y or claim under or b y r e a s on of thi s Ag r ee m ent.
10.9 Subject Headings. Th e s u b j ect h ea din gs o f t h e art i cle s, s e ct i o n s an d s ub s ectio n s of t h i s A g r ee m e n t are in clud ed so l e l y for p ur poses o f conve ni ence an d r efe r enc e on l y, and s h all n o t be d ee med t o ex pl ain, m o d ify, l imi t, amp li fy or a id i n t h e me a ning, con s truc ti on o r i n t e r p r e t atio n of a ny of t h e provi s i o n s of t hi s A g r e e m en t.
10.10 Further Assurances. Each Party here t o s hall from t i me t o t im e do a n d pe rf orm such further acts and e x ec u te a nd d e li ver s u c h fu rther ins trum e nt s, a s s i g nm ent s an d d ocum ent s as may b e r e quired or r e ason ab l y r e que s t e d by the Parti es t o car r y ou t an d a ff ec t t he i nte n t i on s and pu r po s e s o f thi s A gr e eme n t.

10.11 No W a iver. Th e fa i lure of a n y Pat ty h e r e t o to in s i st up o n s tr i ct p e r fo r mance of any provisio n h e r e of sha ll n ot co ns titu te a wai v er of o r e s t o pp e l a ga i n s t assert in g, t he ri g h t t o re quir e s u ch p erforman c e in the fu t ure, no r s h a ll a wa iv e r or e s t o p p e l i n an y on e in s t anc e co ns t i tu te a wa iv e r o r estoppe l w i th re s pec t to a l a t e r b rea c h o f a s im i l ar n a ture or o th e rwi s e.
10.1 2 Unenforceable Provisions. If any part of thi s Ag r ee m ent i s i nva l id o r unen fo r ce ab l e, th e o th e r provis i ons o f this A greement s h a ll r e m ain i n fu ll fo r ce an d eff e c t and sh al l be l i b e r al l y constru ed t o e ffect u ate th e i nt e n t o f t hi s Agree m ent.
10.13 No Agency. No t hi n g c ontaine d in thi s Agree m en t s ha ll c r ea t e a join t v entur e, partne r ship or ag e nc y relat i ons h i p b e t ween th e p a rti e s h e r eto.
10.14 Successors and Assigns. Thi s A gre ement s h a ll be bi n d i n g up on an d i n ur e t o t h e b ene fit of the parties hereto and t heir re sp ec t i v e legal r e p res e n tati v e s, s uc ce ss or s and p e rm i tt e d a ss i g n s.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Partie s h e re t o have ex e c u t ed thi s Ag re em e n t as o f t he d a t e fir s t set forth above. Each person executing his Agreement repre s e n t s and w arr a n ts t ha t s uc h pe r s o n is fully authorized to execu t e and enter into thi s Agreement on be half of th e c omp a ny n amed above his or her signature.
EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORPORATION DARYLMAZZANTI
By: /s/ Robert Herlin /s/ Daryl Mazzanti
Robert Herlin Daryl Mazzanti Chief Executive Officer

EXHIBIT "A"
Attached to and made a part of
that certain Technolo gy Assignm e nt A greement b y a nd between
Ev olution P e troleum C orporation and
D ary l Mazza nti
Th e T e chnology is de fin ed as a n a rtificia l lift s ys t e m i n s t al l ed i n a w ell b o r e t ha t aids i n incre a s i ng production fr o m the w e ll b y th e remov a l of li q u i d s from t h e we ll b or e. The sy s t em may be utili ze d on a ho r izon tal or vertica l we ll and may incl u de ga s i n j ec t i on or uti lize fo rma ti on gas to remove these liquid s. F o r pur p o s e s of t hi s ag r ee m e n t, an y futur e ap p l icati ons a nd/o r i m provement s to th e Technol o g y a s d e fined herein w ill b e con s ider e d part o f t he T e chn o logy and Exhib it A w ill b e m o d ified t o incl u de th o s e ap p lic a t i o ns or i mpro vem e n t s. For furt h er clar i ficat i on, t h e T e c hn o l ogy i s furt h er define d by (but n ot nece s sari ly l i m i t ed t o) t he int e ll e ct u al
prop e rt y as l iste d be lo w:
List Patents, Revi s ion s, Co n ti nu at i ons, C on t inuati o n in Part s he r e: Ex:
Original Patent
CIP#l
CIP#2
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