Company: BLLN
Filing Date: 2025-06-20
Form Type: DRS
Source: 0000950123-25-006095
Chunk: 61

Company: BillionToOne, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-06-20
Form: DRS
Chunk 61
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 proprietor can request unitary effect, thereby getting a European patent with unitary
effect (a Unitary Patent). The Unitary Patent will make it possible for a patentee to obtain patent protection in numerous European Union member states in a single patent as an alternative to the current, more expensive system of selecting and
paying for validation of a patent in each specific European Union state of interest. Each Unitary Patent is subject to the jurisdiction of the Unitary Patent Court (UPC). As the UPC is a new court system, there is limited precedent for the court,
increasing the uncertainty of any litigation. It is not yet known if the UPC will be more or less favorable to patentees than the national courts for each individual European Union state that have historically heard patent litigations in that
corresponding state. Patentees having patents granted before the implementation of the UPC will have the option of opting out of the jurisdiction of the UPC and having their patents remain as national patents in the UPC countries. Patents that
remain under the jurisdiction of the UPC may be potentially vulnerable to a single UPC-based revocation challenge that, if successful, could invalidate the patent in all countries that are signatories to the
UPC. We cannot predict with certainty the long-term effects of the new unitary patent system. Upon each grant of a European patent, we will have to make the decision as to whether to proceed with national patents or a Unitary Patent based. Since the
unitary patent system is continuing to develop and we have limited information, we may make a choice that results in some

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patents being invalidated. In addition, the European Patent Office (the EPO) patent system is relatively stringent in the type of amendments that are allowed during prosecution. These limitations
and requirements could adversely affect our ability to obtain new patents in the future that may be important for our business. The EPO also has an opposition procedure in which third parties, such as competitors, can file an opposition against one
of our European patents for a period of nine months after grant of the patent. If the opposition is successful, it can result in invalidation of the patent, which could mean that the product covered by that patent is not protected in Europe.

The patent positions of companies engaged in the development and commercialization of molecular laboratory products are particularly uncertain. Court rulings may narrow
the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances and weaken the rights of patent owners in certain situations. We cannot predict how decisions by the courts, the U.S.