Company: ZLAB
Filing Date: 2025-02-27
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001628280-25-008409
Chunk: 188

Company: Zai Lab Ltd
Filing Date: 2025-02-27
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 188
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enforceable patents. Our competitors or other third parties may be able to circumvent our owned or in-licensed patents by developing similar or alternative technologies or products in a non-infringing manner.

Furthermore, the term of a patent is finite and generally expires 20 years from its earliest non-provisional filing date provided that associated fees are timely paid. Given the amount of time required for the development, testing, and regulatory review of products and new product candidates, patents protecting such products and product candidates might expire before or shortly after such products or product candidates are commercialized. For example, certain of our in-licensed patents related to OPTUNE will be expiring over the next two years. As a result, the patent rights we hold may be insufficient to protect our products and product candidates from competitors’ products, including those that are generic. 

Moreover, in the case of any patent rights that are jointly owned by us and another party, if we are unable to obtain an exclusive license or otherwise limit the other party’s right to license such patent rights to a third party, such patent rights may be licensed to third parties, including our competitors. In addition, we may need the cooperation of any joint owner of such jointly-owned patent to enforce it against third parties, and such cooperation may not be provided to us. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial conditions, results of operations, and prospects. 

Our owned or in-licensed patents could be found invalid or unenforceable if challenged in court or before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or other foreign authority.

We or our licensors or collaboration partners may become involved in patent litigation against third parties, for example, to enforce our patent rights, to invalidate patents held by such third parties, or to defend against such claims. Further, third parties could claim that we infringed, misappropriated, or otherwise violated their intellectual property rights or that a patent we or our licensors or collaboration partners have asserted against them is invalid or unenforceable. In patent litigation, defendant counterclaims challenging the validity, enforceability or scope of asserted patents are common, and there are numerous grounds upon which a party can assert invalidity or unenforceability of a patent. In addition to court proceedings, in certain jurisdictions, parties may initiate legal proceedings before administrative bodies to assert challenges to intellectual property rights, including patent rights. Such proceedings could result in revocation, cancellation, or amendment to the scope of our patent rights