Company: ISRG
Filing Date: 2025-01-31
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001035267-25-000017
Chunk: 247

Company: INTUITIVE SURGICAL INC
Filing Date: 2025-01-31
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 247
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 ALL OR PART OF THEIR SYSTEM UTILIZATION.

Our global customers are subject to periodic inspection by regulatory authorities. Our customers are required to comply with applicable regulations, including with respect to the reprocessing of our instruments and accessories. Hospitals may not follow cleaning and sterilization instructions properly, or equipment used for cleaning and sterilization may malfunction or be used improperly. If our customers deviate from cleaning and sterilization instructions, regulatory authorities may require them to suspend the use of our systems.

RISKS RELATING TO OUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

IF WE ARE UNABLE TO FULLY PROTECT AND SUCCESSFULLY DEFEND OUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY FROM USE BY THIRD PARTIES, OUR ABILITY TO COMPETE IN THE MARKET MAY BE HARMED.

Our commercial success depends in part on obtaining patent protection for the proprietary technologies contained in our products and on successfully defending our patents against infringing products and/or services in litigation or administrative proceedings, including patent oppositions, reviews, or reexaminations. We incur substantial costs in obtaining patents and, if necessary, defending our patent rights. We do not know whether we will be successful in obtaining the desired patent protection for our new proprietary technologies or that the protection we do obtain will be found valid and enforceable when challenged. The success of defending our proprietary rights can be highly uncertain, because it involves complex and often evolving legal issues and procedures that are dependent on the particular facts of each case.

In addition to patents, we also rely on other intellectual property rights, such as trade secret, copyright, and trademark laws to protect proprietary technologies. We further utilize nondisclosure agreements and other contractual provisions as well as technical measures to protect our proprietary technologies. Nevertheless, these measures may be inadequate in protecting our technologies. If these measures prove to be inadequate in protecting our technologies, our competitive advantages may be reduced. Moreover, we may not have adequate remedies for potential breaches by employees, consultants, and others who participate in developing our proprietary technologies against their agreements with us regarding intellectual property. As a result, our trade secrets may be lost. Notwithstanding our efforts to protect our intellectual property, our competitors may independently develop similar or alternative technologies or products that are equal to or superior to our technologies without infringing any of our intellectual property, which would harm our ability to compete in the market.

As foreign markets become more significant in revenue for us, our foreign operations and strategic alliances with foreign entities will likely increase. Our exposure to risks associated with these operations requires us to increase our reliance on protecting our intellectual property