Company: OCEA
Filing Date: 2025-04-08
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001641172-25-003155
Chunk: 2215

Company: Ocean Biomedical, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-04-08
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 2215
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 licensees that would be likely to manufacture
substantially in the United States or that under the circumstances domestic manufacture is not commercially feasible. This preference
for U.S. manufacturers may limit our ability to contract with non-U.S. product manufacturers for products covered by such intellectual
property. To the extent any of our future intellectual property is generated through the use of U.S. government funding, the provisions
of the Bayh-Dole Act may similarly apply.

If
we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, our business and competitive position would be harmed.

97

In
addition to patent protection, we rely heavily upon know-how and trade secret protection, such as that involved in our WPDS platform,
and we intend to enter into non-disclosure agreements and invention assignment agreements with our employees, consultants and third-parties,
to protect our confidential and proprietary information, especially where we do not believe patent protection is appropriate or obtainable.
In addition to contractual measures, we expect to try to protect the confidential nature of our proprietary information using physical
and technological security measures. Such measures may not, for example, in the case of misappropriation of a trade secret by an employee
or third-party with authorized access, provide adequate protection for our proprietary information. Our security measures may not prevent
an employee or consultant from misappropriating our trade secrets and providing them to a competitor, and recourse we take against such
misconduct may not provide an adequate remedy to protect our interests fully. Enforcing a claim that a party illegally disclosed or misappropriated
a trade secret can be difficult, expensive, and time-consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, trade secrets may be independently
developed by others in a manner that could prevent legal recourse by us. For example, the way in which we use our WPDS platform is proprietary
and confidential. If one or more third parties obtain or are otherwise able to replicate these techniques, an important feature and differentiator
of our clinical development strategy will become available to potential competitors. If any of our confidential or proprietary information,
such as our trade secrets, were to be disclosed or misappropriated, or if any such information was independently developed by a competitor,
our competitive position could be harmed.

In
addition, courts outside the United States are sometimes less willing to protect trade secrets. If we choose to go to court to stop a
third-party from using any of our trade secrets, we may incur substantial costs. These lawsuits may consume our time and other