Company: GE
Filing Date: 2025-02-03
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000040545-25-000015
Chunk: 74

Company: GENERAL ELECTRIC CO
Filing Date: 2025-02-03
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 74
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 become taxable and the new 

28 2024 FORM 10-K

independent companies might incur income tax liabilities. In addition, the Company may not achieve the anticipated benefits of the GE Vernova and GE HealthCare separations and may be exposed to additional risks, including potential liabilities pursuant to agreements entered into in connection with the spin-offs, the credit support provided to GE Vernova (see the Other Items – GE Vernova Parent Company Guarantees section within MD&A) and the various restructuring and business transformation actions that have brought changes across the Company’s organizational structure, senior leadership, functional alignment, outsourcing and other areas. Any of these risks could result in a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, reputation, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Intellectual property - Our intellectual property portfolio may not prevent others from independently developing products and services comparable or competitive to ours, and we may be negatively impacted by intellectual property enforcement or external dependencies. Our patents and other intellectual property may not prevent others from independently developing or selling products and services comparable or competitive to ours, and there can be no assurance that the resources invested by us to protect our intellectual property will be sufficient to adequately deter infringement, misappropriation or other improper use of our technology, particularly in certain markets outside the U.S. where strong intellectual property protection mechanisms are lacking. Trademark licenses of the GE brand in connection with dispositions, including in connection with the separations of GE HealthCare and GE Vernova into independent companies, may negatively impact the overall value of the brand in the future. We also face potential competition in countries where we have not invested in a patent portfolio. If we are not able to protect our intellectual property, the value of our brand and other intangible assets may be diminished, and our business may be adversely affected. We also face attempts, both internally from insider threats and externally from cyber-attacks, to gain unauthorized access to our IT systems or products for the purpose of improperly acquiring our trade secrets or confidential business information. In addition, we have observed an increase in the use of social engineering tactics by bad actors attempting to access systems storing certain of our trade secrets and other confidential business information. The theft or unauthorized use or publication of our trade secrets or other confidential business information as a result of such incidents could adversely affect our competitive position and the value of certain of our investments in research and development. In addition, we are subject to the enforcement of patents and other apparent intellectual property rights by third parties, including aggressive and opportunistic enforcement claims by non