Company: OCEA
Filing Date: 2025-04-08
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001641172-25-003155
Chunk: 3524

Company: Ocean Biomedical, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-04-08
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 3524
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 other foreign patent office. The costs of these opposition proceedings could be substantial, and may consume
our time or other resources. If we fail to obtain a favorable result at the USPTO, EPO or other patent office then we may be exposed
to litigation by a third-party alleging that the patent may be infringed by our product candidates or proprietary technologies.

In
addition, because some patent applications in the United States may be maintained in secrecy until the patents are issued, patent applications
in the United States and many foreign jurisdictions are typically not published until 18 months after filing, and publications in the
scientific literature often lag behind actual discoveries, we cannot be certain that others have not filed patent applications for technology
covered by our owned and in-licensed issued patents or our pending applications, or that we or, if applicable, a licensor were the first
to invent the technology. Our competitors may have filed, and may in the future file, patent applications covering our products or technology
similar to ours. Any such patent application may have priority over our owned and in-licensed patent applications or patents, which could
require us to obtain rights to issued patents covering such technologies. If another party has filed a U.S. patent application on inventions
similar to those owned by or in-licensed to us, we or, in the case of in-licensed technology, the licensor may have to participate in
an interference or derivation proceeding declared by the USPTO to determine priority of invention in the United States. If we or one
of our licensors is a party to an interference or derivation proceeding involving a U.S. patent application on inventions owned by or
in-licensed to us, we may incur substantial costs, divert management’s time and expend other resources, even if we are successful.

Interference
or derivation proceedings provoked by third parties or brought by us or declared by the USPTO may be necessary to determine the priority
of inventions with respect to our patents or patent applications or those of our licensors. An unfavorable outcome could result in a
loss of our current patent rights and could require us to cease using the related technology or to attempt to license rights to it from
the prevailing party. Our business could be harmed if the prevailing party does not offer us a license on commercially reasonable terms
or at all, or if a nonexclusive license is offered and our competitors gain access to the same technology. Litigation or interference
proceedings may result in a decision adverse to our interests and, even if we