Our ability to implement our business plan successfully depends in part on our ability to build brand recognition using our patents, service marks and other proprietary intellectual property, including our names and logos. We have patents in selected global jurisdictions, with prior art dating back to December 4, 2014. We have been issued 19 patents, 1 of each in Australia, Canada, China, the EU and the USA, 2 of each in Hong Kong and Singapore, 3 of each in Japan and New Zealand, and 4 in the Republic of Korea. We have 11 patent-pending submissions; 1 each in Australia, China, India, and Singapore, 3 with PCT (Patent Corporation Treaty) and 4 in the USA. We also have updated applications to 11 of our existing issued patents to further protect our IP in process. No assurance can be given that our patent-pending submissions or the additional patent applications which is in process will be approved. If our patent-pending submissions or the additional patent applications which is in process are not approved, our ability to expand or develop our business may be negatively affected.
We have established trademarks to protect our brand globally in key jurisdictions including: the USA, Korea, New Zealand, Hong Kong, the EU, the UK, Japan, and Australia. We currently have 2 applications pending each in both Canada and India.
Third parties may also oppose our trademark or patent applications, or otherwise challenge our use of the trademarks or patents. In the event that our trademarks or patents are successfully challenged, we could be forced to rebrand our goods and services or redesign our technology, which could result in loss of brand recognition, and could require us to devote resources to advertising and marketing new brands and products.
If our efforts to register, maintain and protect our intellectual property are inadequate, or if any third party misappropriates, dilutes or infringes on our intellectual property, the value of our brands may be harmed, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and might prevent our brands from achieving or maintaining market acceptance. We may also face the risk of claims that we have infringed third parties' intellectual property rights. If third parties claim that we infringe upon their intellectual property rights, our operating profits could be adversely affected. Any claims of intellectual property infringement, even those without merit, could be expensive and time consuming to defend, require us to rebrand our services, if feasible, divert management's attention and resources or require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements in order to obtain the right to use a third party's intellectual property.
Any royalty or licensing agreements, if required, may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. A successful claim of infringement against us could result in our company being required to pay significant damages, enter into costly license or royalty agreements, or stop the sale of certain products or services, any of which could have a negative impact on our operating profits and harm our future prospects.