Company: LASR
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001124796-25-000021
Chunk: 3

Company: NLIGHT, INC.
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 3
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 made commercially viable by laser-based precision manufacturing techniques. Preferences for brighter, more vibrant displays in mobile phones, tablets and televisions, and the desire for thinner products with improved battery life and energy efficiency are placing greater importance on the need for components that are smaller, more robust and less expensive, which we believe will continue to drive demand for lasers.

Research and Development

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Table of Contents

Our research and development activities include innovation of improvements to existing products that enhance performance at reduced cost, and the design of new products that address select market opportunities. While we seek to improve our products on all operating characteristics, we believe we lead the market in terms of semiconductor laser chip brilliance. Our programmable fiber lasers use a proprietary solution that allows our customers to program laser beam strength and shape and real-time pulse timing to optimize the performance of their solution for specific commercial and defense applications. We work closely with customers to develop products to meet customer application and performance needs, making our research and development efforts more efficient. We also benefit from our vertically integrated business model, as we can conduct design cycles more rapidly through control of the full production process.

We intend to continue our commitment to research and development and to introduce new products, solutions, and complementary products to maintain and strengthen our competitive position.

Intellectual Property

Our success depends in part upon our ability to continue to innovate and invest in research and development to meet the needs of our customers, and to maintain and protect our proprietary technology. To accomplish this, we rely on a combination of intellectual property rights, including patents, trade secrets and trademarks, as well as customary contractual protections with our customers, suppliers, employees, and consultants that access our material intellectual property.

We have generated, and continue to generate and maintain, patents and other intellectual property rights covering innovations that are intended to create a competitive advantage, and to support the protection of our investments in research and development. Although we believe that our patents and other intellectual property rights have significant value, we do not believe that maintaining or growing our business is materially dependent on any single patent. Due to the rapid pace of innovation within the markets that we serve, it is possible that our protection through patents may be less important than factors such as our technological expertise, continuing development of new products and technologies, protection of trade secrets, market penetration, customer relationships, and our ability to provide support and service to customers worldwide.

No assurance can be given that any of our patents will not be challenged, invalidated, or circumvented, or that the rights granted thereunder will provide us with a sustained