Company: NPWR-WT
Filing Date: 2025-03-10
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001845437-25-000008
Chunk: 116

Company: NET Power Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-03-10
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 116
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 may not result in issued patents, and not having such patents may have a material adverse effect on our ability to prevent others from commercially exploiting products similar to ours. The status of patents involves complex legal and factual questions, and the breadth of claims allowed is uncertain. As a result, we cannot be certain that any patent applications we have or will file will result in patents being issued or that our patents and any patents that may be issued to us will afford protection against competitors with similar technology. Numerous patents and pending patent applications owned by others exist in the fields in which we have developed and are developing our technology. In addition to those who may have patents or patent applications directed to relevant technology with an effective filing date earlier than any of our existing patents or pending patent applications, any of our existing or pending patents may also be challenged by others on the basis that they are otherwise invalid or unenforceable. Furthermore, patent applications filed in foreign countries are subject to laws, rules and procedures that differ from those of the U.S., and, thus, we cannot be certain that foreign patent applications related to issued U.S. patents will be issued. 

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Even if our patent applications succeed and even if we are issued patents in accordance with them, it is still uncertain whether these patents will be contested, circumvented, invalidated or limited in scope in the future. The rights granted under any issued patents may not provide us with meaningful protection or competitive advantages, and some foreign countries provide significantly less effective patent enforcement than in the U.S. In addition, the claims under any patents that issue from our patent applications may not be broad enough to prevent others from developing technologies that are similar to ours or that achieve results similar to ours. The intellectual property rights of others could also bar us from licensing and exploiting any patents that issue from our pending applications. In addition, patents issued to us may be infringed upon or designed around by others, and others may obtain patents that we need to license or design around, either of which would increase costs and may adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. 

We maintain certain technology as trade secrets and others could independently develop competing or similar technologies, allowing others to develop plants without our license if our other intellectual property rights are insufficient to prevent such unlicensed development and deployment of plants. 

We currently rely, and intend to rely in the future, on trade secrets, know-how, and technology that are not protected by patents to maintain our competitive position. We may not be able to protect our trade secrets, know-how