Company: SUPN
Filing Date: 2025-02-25
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001356576-25-000017
Chunk: 445

Company: SUPERNUS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
Filing Date: 2025-02-25
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 445
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 policy is to actively seek to protect our proprietary positions by, among other things, filing patent applications in the U.S. and abroad (including Europe, Canada, and certain other countries when appropriate) relating to proprietary technologies that are important to the development of our business.

The strength of patents in the pharmaceutical industry involves complex legal and scientific questions and can have uncertain results. Patent applications in the U.S. and most other countries are confidential for a period of time until they are published. Publication of discoveries in scientific or patent literature typically lags actual discoveries by several months or more. As a result, we cannot be certain that we were the first to conceive inventions covered by our patents and pending patent applications or that we were the first to file patent applications for such inventions. In addition, we cannot be certain that our patent applications will be granted; that any issued patents will adequately protect our intellectual property; or that such patents will not be challenged, narrowed, invalidated, or circumvented.

We also rely upon unpatented trade secrets, unpatented know-how, and continuing technological innovation to develop and maintain our competitive position, which we seek to protect, in part, by confidentiality agreements with our employees, with our collaborators, and with our consultants. We also have agreements with our employees and selected consultants that obligate them to assign their inventions to us.

It is possible that technology relevant to our business will be independently developed by a person that is not a party to such an agreement. Furthermore, if the employees and consultants that are parties to these agreements breach or violate the terms of these agreements, we may not have adequate remedies. We could lose our trade secrets through such breaches or violations. Further, our trade secrets could otherwise become known or could be independently discovered by our competitors. Any failure to adequately prevent disclosure of our trade secrets and other proprietary information could have a material, adverse impact on our business.

In addition, the laws of certain foreign countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent or in the same manner as the U.S. Therefore, we may encounter problems in protecting and defending our intellectual property in certain foreign jurisdictions.

If we are sued for infringing the intellectual property rights of third parties, it could be costly and time consuming to defend such a suit. An unfavorable outcome in such litigation could have a material adverse effect on our business. 

Our commercial success depends upon our ability, and the ability of our collaborators, to develop, manufacture, market and sell our approved products and our product candidates and to use our proprietary technologies without infringing the proprietary