the entire "Intellectual Property" section of the last 10-K..........
Intellectual Property
We will be able to protect our technology from unauthorized use by third parties only to the extent that it is covered by valid and enforceable patents or is effectively maintained as trade secret. Accordingly, patents or other proprietary rights are an essential element of our business. We have 90 pending patent applications and seven issued patents in the United States as well as corresponding foreign patent applications. At least six patent applications have been filed in the United States by or on behalf of universities that have granted us exclusive license rights to the technology. Our policy is to file patent applications to protect technology, inventions and improvements to inventions that are commercially important to the development of our business. We seek United States and international patent protection for a variety of technologies, including: new screening methodologies and other research tools; target molecules that are associated with disease states identified in our screens; and lead compounds that can affect disease pathways. We also intend to seek patent protection or rely upon trade secret rights to protect other technologies that may be used to discover and validate targets and that may be used to identify and develop novel drugs. We seek protection, in part, through confidentiality and proprietary information agreements. We are a party to various other license agreements that give us rights to use technologies in our research and development.
Pharmexa (formerly M&E Biotech) has notified us that they have received patent protection in some European countries and Australia for a process that they assert is similar to certain aspects of our technologies. Pharmexa has notified us of its belief that we have infringed, and are contributorily infringing, certain claims of that European patent. In June 2001, we commenced administrative proceedings to oppose Pharmexa's European patent. Earlier in 2001, Pharmexa commenced an administrative proceeding to oppose our Australian patent. Legal proceedings with respect to these patents could be lengthy, costly and require significant management time and other resources, which could adversely affect the pursuit of scientific and business goals. In addition, any such legal action could result in the award of damages or a court order preventing us from using the technology covered by the Pharmexa patent. In addition, any license or other transfer of rights to the patent by Pharmexa to a third party could adversely impact our ability to obtain a license to the patent. In the event we desire to seek a license to the patent, we may not be able to obtain a license on acceptable terms. Furthermore, such failure might adversely impact our collaborations with European partners or may materially adversely affect our business in the jurisdictions that may be covered by the patent
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protection. We are also aware that Pharmexa has sought patent protection in other countries, including the U.S., and has the option to seek patent protection in other parts of the world. If Pharmexa were to receive such patent protection, it might conflict with or overlap with the patent rights we have under U.S. Patent No. 6,153,380 and others we are pursuing. We currently do not, and do not plan to, operate in any country other than the United States. |
