Company: DHR
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000313616-25-000043
Chunk: 135

Company: DANAHER CORP /DE/
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 135
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.  There can be no assurance that these agreements adequately protect our trade secrets and other proprietary rights and will not be breached, that we will have adequate remedies for any breach, that others will not independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary information or that third-parties will not otherwise gain access to our trade secrets or other proprietary rights.  Our failure to obtain or maintain intellectual property rights that convey competitive advantage and adequately protect our intellectual property; our failure to detect or prevent circumvention or unauthorized use of such property; and the cost of enforcing our intellectual property rights each can adversely impact our business and financial statements.

These risks are particularly pronounced in countries in which we do business that do not have levels of protection of corporate proprietary information, intellectual property, technology and other assets comparable to the United States.  The risks we encounter in such countries include but are not limited to the following:

•Joint ventures that we participate in can include restrictions that could compromise our control over the intellectual property, technology and proprietary information of the joint venture;

•As we expand our operations globally, increasing amounts of our data, intellectual property and technology is used and stored in countries outside the United States, and regulations in certain countries require data to be stored locally.  These factors increase the risk that such data, intellectual property and technology could be stolen or otherwise compromised;

•Certain of our products have been counterfeited and we may encounter additional and/or increased levels of counterfeiting in the future;

•Governmental entities may adopt regulations or other requirements that give them rights to certain of our intellectual property, technology and/or proprietary information, such as through compulsory licensing or ownership restrictions or requirements;

•In certain countries, we do not have the same ability to enforce intellectual property rights as we do in the U.S.; 

•Governmental regulations relating to state secrecy or other topics limit our ability to transfer data or technology out of certain jurisdictions; and

•Risks, costs and challenges of operating in a particular jurisdiction can result in a decision to relocate or divert operations to a different jurisdiction, potentially at higher cost.

Any of these risks can adversely impact our business and financial statements.  Refer to “Business and Strategic Risks—Non-U.S. economic, political, legal, compliance, social and business factors can negatively affect our business and financial statements” for a discussion of additional risks relating to our international operations.

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Third-parties from time to time claim that we are infringing or misappropriating their intellectual property rights and we could suffer significant litigation expenses, losses or licensing expenses or be prevented