Company: LENZ
Filing Date: 2025-05-07
Form Type: 10-Q
Source: 0001815776-25-000032
Chunk: 135

Company: LENZ Therapeutics, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-05-07
Form: 10-Q
Item: Part I, Item 4
Chunk 135
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 These lawsuits may consume our time and other resources even if we are successful. For example, significant elements of our products, including confidential aspects of sample preparation, methods of manufacturing, and related processes and software, are based on unpatented trade secrets. Although we take steps to protect our proprietary information and trade secrets, including through contractual means with our employees and consultants, third parties may independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary information and techniques or otherwise gain access to our trade secrets or disclose our technology. 

We may be subject to claims that our employees, consultants or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information of their former employers or other third parties or claims asserting ownership of what we regard as our own intellectual property. 

We employ individuals who were previously employed at other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, or at research institutions, including our competitors or potential competitors. Although we try to ensure that our employees, consultants 

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and advisors do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that these individuals have or we have used or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such individual’s current or former employer. Further, although we seek to protect our ownership of intellectual property rights by ensuring that our agreements with our employees, collaborators, and other third parties with whom we do business include provisions requiring such parties to assign rights in inventions to us, we may be subject to claims that we or our employees, consultants or independent contractors have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed confidential information of our employees’ former employers or other third parties. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights. An inability to incorporate such technologies or features would harm our business and may prevent us from successfully commercializing our technologies or product candidates. In addition, we may lose personnel as a result of such claims and any such litigation, or the threat thereof, may adversely affect our ability to hire employees or contract with independent contractors. A loss of key personnel or their work product could hamper or prevent our ability to commercialize our technologies or product candidates, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management. 

In addition, we may also be subject to claims that former employers, consultants or other third parties have an ownership interest in our patents or