Company: CRVO
Filing Date: 2025-03-17
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001437749-25-007829
Chunk: 75

Company: CervoMed Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-03-17
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 75
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 to situations in which applications might in some jurisdictions be refused by the relevant patent offices, while granted by others.

The legal systems of certain countries do not favor the enforcement of patents, trade secrets and other intellectual property protection, which could make it difficult for the Company to stop the infringement of its patents or marketing of competing products in violation of the Company’s proprietary rights generally. Proceedings to enforce its patent rights in other jurisdictions, whether or not successful, could result in substantial costs and divert its efforts and attention from other aspects of the Company’s business, could put the Company’s patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and its patent applications at risk of not issuing, and could provoke third parties to assert claims against the Company. The Company may not prevail in any lawsuits that it initiates, and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful.

Some countries also have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner may be compelled to grant licenses to third parties. In addition, some countries limit the enforceability of patents against government agencies or government contractors. In these countries, the patent owner may have limited remedies, which could materially diminish the value of such patent. If the Company is forced to grant a license to any third parties with respect to any patents relevant to the Company’s business, its competitive position may be impaired.

The lives of the Company’ s patents may not be sufficient to effectively protect the Company’s products and business.

Patents have a limited lifespan. For example, in the U. S., if all maintenance fees are paid timely, the natural expiration of a patent is generally 20 years after its first effective filing date. Although various extensions may be available, the life of a patent, and the protection it affords, is limited. Given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review of new product candidates, patents protecting such candidates might expire before or shortly after such product candidates are commercialized. Even if patents covering the Company’s product candidates are obtained, once the patent life has expired for a product, the Company may be open to competition from biosimilar or generic medications. The launch of a generic version of one of the Company’s products, in particular, would be likely to result in an immediate and substantial reduction in the demand for that product, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. As a result, the Company’s patent portfolio may not provide it with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing product candidates similar or identical