In addition, we may be unable to obtain these licenses at a reasonable cost, if at all. We could therefore incur substantial costs related to royalty payments for licenses obtained from third parties, which could negatively affect our gross margins. Even if we were able to obtain a license, it could be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us. Ultimately, we could be prevented from commercializing a product, or be forced to cease some aspect of our business operations, if, as a result of actual or threatened patent infringement claims, we are unable to enter into licenses on acceptable terms. Moreover, we could encounter delays in product or service introductions while we attempt to develop alternative products or services. Defense of any lawsuit or failure to obtain any of these licenses on favorable terms could prevent us from commercializing products and services, and the prohibition of sale of any of our products and services would materially affect our ability to grow and maintain profitability and have a material adverse impact on our business. Defending ourselves in litigation is very expensive, particularly for a company of our size, and time-consuming. In addition to infringement claims against us, we may become a party to other patent litigation and other proceedings, including interference, derivation, or post-grant proceedings, such as, ex parte review, inter parties review, or post grant review, declared or granted by the USPTO and similar proceedings in foreign countries, regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our current or future products. The cost to us of any patent litigation or other proceeding, even if resolved in our favor, could be substantial. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of litigation or administrative proceedings more effectively than we can because of greater financial resources. Patent litigation and other proceedings may also absorb significant management time. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of patent litigation or other proceedings could impair our ability to compete in the marketplace. The occurrence of any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations. We may become involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents or other intellectual property, or the patents of our licensors, which could be expensive, time consuming and ultimately unsuccessful. Competitors may infringe or misappropriate our patents, trademarks, copyrights or other intellectual property, including our existing patents or patents that may issue to us in the future, or the patents of our licensors to which we have a license. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to file infringement or inventorship claims to stop third party infringement, unauthorized use, or to correct inventorship, which can be expensive and time consuming and divert the time and attention of our management and scientific personnel. Any claims that we assert against perceived infringers could provoke these parties to assert counterclaims against us alleging that we infringe their patents, in addition to counterclaims asserting that our patents are invalid or unenforceable, or both. These competitors may further challenge the scope, validity or enforceability of our licensors’ patents, requiring our licensors to engage in complex, lengthy and costly litigation or other proceedings. In any patent infringement proceeding, there is a risk that a court will decide that a patent of ours or of our licensors’ is invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part, and that we do not have the right to stop the other party from using the invention at issue. There is also a risk that, even if the validity of such patents is upheld, the court will construe the patent’s claims narrowly or decide that we do not have the right to stop the other party from using the invention at issue on the grounds that our patent claims do not cover the invention. An adverse outcome in a litigation or proceeding involving our patents could limit our ability to assert our patents against those parties or other competitors and may curtail or preclude our ability to exclude third parties from making and selling similar or competitive products. Any of these occurrences could adversely affect our competitive business position, business prospects and financial condition. Similarly, if we assert trademark infringement claims, a court may determine that the marks we have asserted are invalid or unenforceable, or that the party against whom we have asserted trademark infringement has superior rights to the marks in question. In this case, we could ultimately be forced to cease use of such trademarks. An adverse determination of any litigation or other proceedings could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated, held unenforceable or interpreted narrowly and could put our patent applications at risk of not issuing. Interference, derivation or other proceedings, brought at the USPTO or any foreign patent authority may be necessary to determine the priority or patentability of inventions with respect to our patent applications or those our collaborators. Litigation or USPTO proceedings brought by us may fail. An unfavorable outcome in any such proceeding could require us to cease using the related technology or to attempt to license rights to it from the prevailing party or could cause us to lose valuable intellectual property rights. Our business could be harmed if the prevailing party does not offer us a license on commercially reasonable terms, if any license is offered at all. Even if we are successful, domestic or foreign litigation, or USPTO or foreign patent office proceedings may result in substantial costs and distraction to our management. We may not be able, alone or with collaborators, to prevent misappropriation of our trade secrets, confidential information or proprietary rights, particularly in countries where the laws may not protect such rights as fully as in the United States. Even if we establish infringement, the court may decide not to grant an injunction against further infringing activity and instead award only monetary damages, which may or may not be an adequate remedy. Moreover, there can be no assurance that we will have sufficient financial or other resources to file and pursue such infringement claims, which often last for years before they are concluded. Even if we ultimately prevail in such claims, the monetary cost of such litigation and the diversion of the attention of our management and scientific personnel could outweigh any benefit we receive as a result of the proceedings. - 48 -
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