risks re: patents... "We may be unable to protect our intellectual property rights.
Our success in part depends on the ability to protect our intellectual property and proprietary technology. To do so, we will be required to prosecute patent applications and maintain patents, obtain new patents and pursue trade secret and other intellectual property protection. We were awarded two U.S. patents with respect to our munitions technology. We were also awarded a U.S. patent with respect to our IPQA® technology. In addition, we filed twenty four foreign and U.S. patent applications pertaining to our IPQA® technology and rapid qualification of additive manufacturing for metal parts. Also, we filed a PCT patent application pertaining to the advanced dental implant technology. However, the efforts we have taken to protect our proprietary rights may not be sufficient or effective. There can be no assurance that our program for protection of intellectual property and proprietary technology will be sufficient to protect our intellectual property and proprietary technology from competitors. Our business is also subject to the risk that our issued patents will not provide us with significant competitive advantages if, for example, a competitor were to independently develop or obtain similar or superior technologies. In addition, our issued patents may be challenged or infringed upon by third parties. The enforcement of intellectual property rights is subject to considerable uncertainty and can be expensive and time-consuming. Patent reform laws and court decisions interpreting such laws, may create additional uncertainty around our ability to obtain and enforce patent protection. Any significant impairment of our intellectual property rights could harm our business and our ability to compete. The unauthorized use of our intellectual property could make it more expensive to do business and harm our operating results. Proprietary trade secrets and unpatented know-how are also very important to our business, however, trade secrets are difficult to protect. Our employees, consultants, contractors, outside scientific collaborators and other advisors may unintentionally or willfully disclose our confidential information to competitors, and confidentiality agreements may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential or proprietary information.
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We may be sued by third parties who claim that we have infringed their intellectual property rights.
We may be exposed to future litigation by third parties based on claims that our research, development and commercialization activities infringe the intellectual property rights of third parties to which we do not hold licenses or other rights, or that we have misappropriated the trade secrets of others. Any litigation or claims against us, whether or not valid, could result in substantial costs, and could place a significant strain on our financial and human resources. In addition, if successful, such claims could cause us to pay substantial damages. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation.
AI
