Grant and Intellectual Property Agreement

Entered into force on February 21, 2026.

On-chain voting result: association.dao.eth/transaction-hash

1. Subject of the Agreement

1.1. Subject: This Grant and Intellectual Property Agreement (hereinafter the “Agreement”) governs the interaction between the New Epoch Association (hereinafter the “Association”), a decentralized autonomous association, and any person (hereinafter the “Participant”) acting on behalf of a scientific, research, or technical team (hereinafter the “Team”) that has accepted this Agreement by registering to participate in the implementation of a special project (hereinafter the “Project”).

1.2. Acceptance: Completing and submitting the registration form to participate in the implementation of the Association’s Project constitutes unconditional acceptance of this Agreement.

1.3. Subject: The Association grants the Participant a financial Grant in the form of Formation Tokens (hereinafter “FT”) or the fiat currency equivalent (at the exchange rate on the transaction date) for the first successful implementation of the Project (research or development detailed in the technical assignment on the Association’s website) with immediate and irrevocable transfer of all rights to the created Intellectual Property (hereinafter “IP”) into the public domain.

1.4. Hierarchy: This Agreement is subordinate to the Association’s Governance Resolution. In case of contradictions between this Agreement and any other Association document, the Governance Resolution and the Anti-Money Laundering, Counter-Terrorism Financing, and International Sanctions Policy prevail.

1.5. Applicable Law: This Agreement is governed by substantive Swiss law. Lex Cryptographica (protocol code) is applied subsidiarily.

2. Grant Terms

2.1. Grant: The Grant is targeted funding representing the transfer of the amount specified in the Project description in Formation Tokens or fiat equivalent (at transaction date exchange rate) to the Participant.

2.2. Project: The name, goals, technical requirements, deadlines, milestones, as well as the size, procedure, and timing of Grant tranche payments are defined in the technical assignment on the Project page on the Association’s website.

2.3. Initial Grant Tranche: Provided for Participant Team preparation. Issuance condition: Issued based on the Association’s decision (Voting with Qualified Confirmation) confirming successful evaluation of the Participant Team, its resources, and action plan exceeding the Project’s technical assignment requirements.

2.4. Intermediate Grant Tranche: Provided to incentivize demonstration of interim results. Issuance condition: Issued based on the Association’s decision (Voting with Qualified Confirmation) confirming successful demonstration of results by the Participant Team exceeding Project technical assignment requirements.

2.5. Final Grant Tranche: Provided for final and confirmed achievement of the required Project outcome. Issuance condition: Issued based on the Association’s decision (Voting with Qualified Confirmation) and only to the first Participant (Team) publicly confirming achievement of the required result as per Project technical assignment.

2.6. Issuance: All Grant tranches are issued from the Special Development Fund via on-chain transaction in accordance with the Asset Reserving and Risk Management Policy.

2.7. Ceremony: The Participant awarded the Final Grant Tranche shall participate in a public award ceremony organized by the Association to communicate the Association’s Mission to the public. The Final Grant Tranche is issued during or after this ceremony.

3. Limitation of Liability

3.1. Acknowledgment: The Participant acknowledges that the Association’s Tokens (FT and GT) are not securities, investment contracts, or equity shares.

3.2. Limitation: The Association’s financial liability under this Agreement is strictly limited to assets controlled by the Association’s smart contracts. The Association is not liable for indirect losses or lost profits of the Participant.

4. Intellectual Property

4.1. Transfer to Public Domain

4.1.1. Irrevocable Transfer: As a mandatory condition for receiving any Grant under this Agreement, the Participant irrevocably and immediately transfers all Intellectual Property (including but not limited to inventions, patents, source code, scientific articles, data, drawings) created within or as a result of the Project (hereinafter “Results”) into the public domain upon publication or transfer to the Association.

4.1.2. Waiver of Rights: The Participant agrees not to claim any copyrights, patent rights, or other exclusive rights relating to IP created within the Project and undertakes all necessary actions (including transferring Results to the Association for Creative Commons Zero licensing and open repository publication) to secure its public domain status.

4.1.3. Breach: Breach of this obligation by the Participant (e.g., attempting to patent Project IP) entails an obligation to immediately return all received Grants and reimburse all related legal expenses.

4.2. Participant Warranties

4.2.1. Right to Transfer: The Participant guarantees sole and full ownership of all Results and full right to transfer them into the public domain.

4.2.2. No Infringement: The Participant guarantees that Results do not infringe third-party copyrights, patents, or other rights.

4.2.3. Team Agreement: The Participant undertakes to ensure each Team member involved in the Project signs an agreement confirming immediate transfer of all their rights to created IP within the Results and thereby to the public domain.

5. Compliance, Audit, and Sanctions

5.1. KYC/KYB: The Participant agrees to undergo risk-oriented KYC (“Know Your Client”) or KYB (“Know Your Business”) procedures required by the Association’s Anti-Money Laundering, Counter-Terrorism Financing, and International Sanctions Policy.

5.2. Sanction Regime: The Participant confirms that neither it nor its beneficiaries or key Team members are listed in current sanctions lists including but not limited to OFAC, UN, EU, or SECO.

5.3. Refusal of Issuance: The Association reserves the right to immediately and unilaterally terminate this Agreement and refuse issuance of any undisbursed Grant if:

5.3.1. Violation of KYC/KYB or sanction requirements is detected;

5.3.2. Knowingly false or incomplete information is provided.

5.4. Tax Liability: The Participant acknowledges sole and exclusive responsibility for payment of all taxes, duties, and fees applicable to the received Grant in any jurisdiction. The Participant agrees to independently consult its tax advisor. The Association does not act as the Participant’s tax agent.

6. Dispute Resolution

6.1. Mandatory Arbitration: All disputes, disagreements, or claims arising out of or in connection with this Agreement are subject to final resolution by mandatory arbitration according to the Arbitration Rules incorporated herein by reference and forming an integral part of this Agreement.

6.2. Jurisdiction Exclusion: The Parties exclude the jurisdiction of state courts for disputes arising out of this Agreement.

6.3. Costs: In event of litigation or arbitration, the Association is not obliged to reimburse the Participant’s legal defense costs or litigation expenses. The provisions of the Indemnity Agreement do not apply to the Participant.

7. Entry into Force and Termination

7.1. Entry into Force: This Agreement enters into force upon the date of Acceptance by the Participant and remains effective until full performance of obligations by the Parties, including Grant payment and IP transfer to the public domain.

7.2. Amendments: Any amendments to this Agreement may only be made by Voting with Qualified Confirmation in accordance with provisions established in the Governance Resolution.

7.3. Unilateral Termination by the Association: The Association may unilaterally terminate this Agreement in case of:

7.3.1. Participant’s failure to meet Project deadlines set in the Project’s technical assignment;

7.3.2. Material breach of IP warranties;

7.3.3. Violation of compliance and sanction requirements.

7.4. Consequences of Termination: In case of termination due to Participant fault, the Association retains rights to all created Results and is not obliged to pay any remaining Grant portion.

7.5. Notice: Termination notice shall be sent to the Participant’s email address provided upon registration.