The DeepSnow group licensing framework.

Once DeepSnow Srl is incorporated in Italy, it will hold the cross-vertical polymer IP and license it (a) to SnowLabs Limited for snowmaking and (b) to third-party operators in ice rinks, food, biologic cold chain, and cryopreservation. The framework below is the standard form; deal-by-deal negotiation moves the parameters within published bands.

Standard licence parameters

Parameter	Band	Notes
Royalty rate (running)	3 % – 8 %	On net sales of the licensed product, calculated quarterly. Rate set within the band based on exclusivity, territory, and minimum guarantees.
Up-front fee	€100k – €2.5M	Non-refundable, creditable against running royalties up to 50% in first two years.
Minimum annual royalty	Set per deal at 60% of forecast year-3 royalty.	Triggers exclusivity loss or licence reversion if missed for two consecutive years.
Term	Per-patent: life of the last-to-expire claim. Know-how: 10 years renewable.	Standard early-termination triggers: insolvency, change of control without consent, material uncured breach.
Exclusivity	Territory + field-of-use specific. Global exclusivity in a single field of use only by negotiated exception.	Snowmaking is exclusively granted to SnowLabs Limited.
Sublicensing	Permitted with prior written consent; sublicensee assumes audit obligations.	Royalty on sublicensee net sales flows up to the DeepSnow group at the head rate.

Technology transfer

Each licence deal includes a technology-transfer package tailored to the vertical:

Polymer specification: SMILES, MW range, dispersity envelope, residual monomer thresholds.
Synthesis process: reactor configuration, monomer ratios, initiator system, post-polymerisation purification.
Characterisation protocols: AF4-MALS molecular-weight verification, DSC, splat-IRI assay, ice-binding affinity test.
Regulatory dossier: EU polymer-exemption pathway documentation; US TSCA inventory or Premanufacture Notice support; equivalent national filings as required.

Compliance and audit

Licensees report royalty calculations quarterly with supporting volume and net-sales reconciliations. DeepSnow retains the right to commission an independent audit of any licensee’s royalty workings once per twelve-month period at its own cost, escalating to licensee-paid in the event of a discovered underpayment of more than 5%. All audits are conducted by a Big-4 firm or a member firm of an internationally recognised network nominated by DeepSnow.