Company: OCEA
Filing Date: 2025-04-08
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001641172-25-003155
Chunk: 2228

Company: Ocean Biomedical, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-04-08
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 2228
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 court action. Therefore, the
America Invents Act and its implementation could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our owned or in-licensed
patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our owned or in-licensed issued patents, all of which could have a material adverse
effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

In
addition, the patent positions of companies in the development and commercialization of biopharmaceuticals are particularly uncertain.
Recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings have narrowed the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances and weakened the rights
of patent owners in certain situations. This combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the validity and enforceability
of patents, once obtained. Depending on future actions by the U.S. Congress, the federal courts, and the USPTO, the laws and regulations
governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that could have a material adverse effect on our existing patent portfolio and our
ability to protect and enforce our intellectual property in the future.

We
have limited foreign intellectual property rights and may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.

We
have limited intellectual property rights outside the United States. Filing, prosecuting and defending patents on product candidates
in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive, and our intellectual property rights in some countries outside
the United States can be less extensive than those in the United States. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect
intellectual property rights to the same extent as federal and state laws in the United States. Consequently, we may not be able to prevent
third parties from practicing our inventions in all countries outside the United States, or from selling or importing products made using
our inventions in and into the United States or other jurisdictions. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have
not obtained patent protection to develop their own products and, further, may export otherwise infringing products to territories where
we have patent protection but where enforcement is not as strong as that in the United States. These products may compete with our products
in jurisdictions where we do not have any issued patents and our patent claims or other intellectual property rights may not be effective
or sufficient to prevent them from competing.

104

Many
companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. The
legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of, and may require a compulsory
license to