Company: HCWB
Filing Date: 2025-05-09
Form Type: S-1
Source: 0001193125-25-116745
Chunk: 72

Company: HCW Biologics Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-05-09
Form: S-1
Chunk 72
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 Any
disclosure, either intentional or unintentional, by our employees or by other third parties of our trade secrets or proprietary information could enable competitors to duplicate or surpass our technological achievements, thus adversely eroding our
competitive position in our market. Further, monitoring unauthorized uses and disclosures is difficult, and we do not know whether the steps we have taken to protect our internally developed technology will be effective. Enforcing a claim that a
third party illegally obtained and is using trade secrets and/or confidential know-how is also expensive, time-consuming, and unpredictable.

The enforceability of confidentiality agreements may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The laws of some foreign countries do not protect
proprietary rights to the same extent or in the same manner as the laws of the United States. As a result, we may encounter significant problems in protecting and defending our intellectual property both in the United States and abroad. Furthermore,
if a competitor lawfully obtained or independently developed any of our trade secrets, we would have no right to prevent such competitor from using that technology or information to compete with us, which could harm our competitive position.
Additionally, if the steps taken to maintain our trade secrets are deemed inadequate, we may have insufficient recourse against third parties for misappropriating the trade secret. In addition, some courts inside and outside the United States are
less willing or are unwilling to protect trade secrets or other proprietary information.

Trade secrets can over time be disseminated
within the biopharmaceutical industry through independent development, the publication of journal articles, and the movement of personnel skilled in the art from company to company or academic to industry scientific positions. Though our agreements
with third parties typically restrict the ability of our employees, consultants, contractors, collaborators, advisors, and other third parties to publish data potentially relating to our trade secrets, our agreements may contain certain limited
publication rights. Because from time to time we expect to rely on third parties in the development, manufacture, and distribution of our product candidates and provision of our services, we must, at times, share trade secrets with them. Despite
employing the contractual and other security precautions described above, the need to share trade secrets increases the risk that such trade secrets become known by our competitors, are inadvertently incorporated into the technology of others, or
are disclosed or used in violation of these agreements. If any of our trade secrets were to be lawfully obtained or independently developed by a competitor or other third party, we would have no right to prevent them from using that technology or
information to compete with us. If