Company: SCLXW
Filing Date: 2025-03-31
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000950170-25-047800
Chunk: 141

Company: Scilex Holding Co
Filing Date: 2025-03-31
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 141
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 patents covering such technologies. If another party has filed a U.S. patent application on inventions similar to ours, we may have to participate in an interference proceeding declared by the PTO to determine priority of invention in the United States. The costs of these proceedings could be substantial, and it is possible that such efforts would be unsuccessful if, unbeknownst to us, the other party had independently arrived at the same or similar invention prior to our own invention, resulting in a loss of our U.S. patent position with respect to such inventions. Other countries have similar laws that permit secrecy of patent applications, and may be entitled to priority over our applications in such jurisdictions. 

Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially greater resources. In addition, any uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of any litigation could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our operations. 

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Even if we were to prevail, any litigation or administrative proceeding could be costly and time-consuming and would divert the attention of our management and key personnel from our business operations. Furthermore, as a result of a patent infringement suit brought against us or our strategic partners or licensees, we or our strategic partners or licensees may be forced to stop or delay developing, manufacturing or selling technologies, product candidates or potential products that are claimed to infringe a third party’s intellectual property unless that party grants us or our strategic partners’ or licensees’ rights to use its intellectual property. Ultimately, we may be unable to develop some of our product candidates or may have to discontinue development of a product candidate or cease some of our business operations as a result of patent infringement claims, which could severely harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. 

We may become involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents or other intellectual property, which could be expensive, time-consuming and unsuccessful. 

Competitors may infringe our patents, trademarks, copyrights or other intellectual property. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to file infringement claims, which can be expensive and time-consuming and divert the time and attention of our management and key personnel. For example, on June 22, 2022, we filed a complaint against Aveva and Apotex in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida alleging infringement of certain Orange Book patents covering ZTlido. See the section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K titled “Business