We have non-exclusively licensed two families of patents and patent applications from Ablexis, LLC. These families of patents and patent applications are pending and/or granted in the United States and other territories and comprise 40 granted patents and 11 applications. Patents have been granted in Australia, Canada, Europe, Korea, New Zealand and the United States. Nationalization for some members has taken place in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, and United Kingdom. Patents that grant from these patent families are generally expected to expire between 2029 and 2030, subject to possible patent term extensions.
We have non-exclusively licensed two families of patents and patent applications directed to AAV capsids from the California Institute of Technology. These families of patents and patent applications are pending in the United States and internationally and comprise 19 granted patents and 24 applications. Patents have been granted in the United States. Patents that grant from these patent families are generally expected to start to expire in 2034, subject to possible patent term extensions.
Trademark Protection
We own U.S. Reg. Nos. 4,545,283 for the service mark VOYAGER THERAPEUTICS and 4,621,083 for the service mark VOYAGER THERAPEUTICS Logo for “pharmaceutical research and development in the field of gene therapy.” These marks were granted registration on the Principal Register of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, on June 3, 2014 and October 14, 2014, respectively.
We also own U.S. Reg. No. 6,024,564 for the mark V-TAG and U.S. Reg. No. 6,019,421 for the V-TAG Logo, for “medical system comprised of a surgical device for guiding, locating or placing a diagnostic device or therapeutic device, namely, stents, probes, needles, leads, grafts, pumps, syringes, catheters, and implants during a medical procedure and related software sold as a unit, none of the aforesaid for use in cardiac ablation; MRI-compatible medical system comprised of an MRI-compatible surgical device for guiding, locating or placing a diagnostic device or therapeutic device, namely, stents, probes, needles, leads, grafts, pumps, syringes, catheters, and implants during a MRI-guided procedure and related software sold as a unit, none of the aforesaid for use in cardiac ablation,” as well as European Community trademark registration for V-TAG (No. 017430182, registered May 8, 2018) and a United Kingdom trademark (UK00917430182, registered May 8, 2018) for a medical system comprised of a surgical device for guiding, locating or placing a diagnostic device or therapeutic device, namely, stents, probes, needles, leads, grafts, pumps, syringes, catheters, and implants during a medical procedure and related software sold as a unit; MRI-compatible medical system comprised of an MRI-compatible surgical device for guiding, locating or placing a diagnostic device or therapeutic device, namely, stents, probes, needles, leads, grafts, pumps, syringes, catheters, and implants during a MRI-guided procedure and related software sold as a unit.”
We plan to register trademarks in connection with our biological products.
Trade Secret Protection
Finally, we may rely, in some circumstances, on trade secrets to protect our technology. We seek to protect our proprietary technology and processes, in part, by entering into confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, scientific advisors and contractors. We also seek to preserve the integrity and confidentiality of our data and trade secrets by maintaining physical security of our premises and physical and electronic security of our information technology systems. While we have confidence in these individuals, organizations and systems, agreements or security measures may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any breach. In addition, our trade secrets may otherwise become known or be independently discovered by competitors. To the extent that our consultants, contractors or collaborators use intellectual property owned by others in their work for us, disputes may arise as to the rights in related or resulting know-how and inventions.
Government Regulation and Product Approval
In the United States, biological products, including gene therapy products, are licensed by FDA for marketing under the Public Health Service Act, or PHS Act, and regulated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or