Company: BSX
Filing Date: 2025-02-18
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000885725-25-000011
Chunk: 10

Company: BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORP
Filing Date: 2025-02-18
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 10
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 and material shortages by identifying new vendors.

Predictability in the supply of certain raw materials and components used in the manufacturing of our products has improved but continues to be a risk for certain materials and vendors. While we continue to believe we will have access to the raw materials and components that we need, these supply chain dynamics could result in increased costs to us or an inability to fully meet customer demand for certain of our products. 

Proprietary Rights and Patent Litigation

We rely on a combination of patents, trademarks, trade secrets and other forms of intellectual property to protect our proprietary rights. We generally file patent applications in the U.S. and other countries where patent protection for our technology is appropriate and available. We hold patents worldwide that cover various aspects of our technology. In addition, we hold exclusive and non-exclusive licenses to a variety of third-party technologies covered by patents and patent applications. In the aggregate, these intellectual property assets and licenses are of material importance to our business; however, we believe that no single patent, trade secret, trademark, intellectual property asset or license is material in relation to our business as a whole.

We rely on non-disclosure and non-competition agreements with employees, consultants and other parties to protect, in part, trade secrets and other proprietary technology. There has been substantial litigation regarding patent and other intellectual property rights in the medical device industry, particularly in the areas in which we compete. We continue to defend ourselves against claims and legal actions alleging infringement of the patent rights of others. Additionally, we may find it necessary to initiate litigation to enforce our patent rights, to protect our trade secrets or know-how and to determine the scope and validity of the proprietary rights of others. Accordingly, we may seek to settle some or all of our pending litigation, particularly to manage risk over time. Settlement may include cross licensing of the patents that are the subject of the litigation as well as our other intellectual property and may involve monetary payments to or from third parties. 

We maintain insurance policies providing limited coverage against securities claims. We are substantially self-insured with respect to product liability claims and fully self-insured with respect to intellectual property infringement claims. The absence of significant third-party insurance coverage increases our potential exposure to unanticipated claims or adverse decisions. See Note I – Commitments and Contingencies to our 2024 consolidated financial statements included in Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of intellectual property, product liability and other litigation and proceedings in which we are involved.