Contingencies and Commitments

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Contingencies and Commitments

Contingencies and Commitments

The Company is subject to various investigations, claims and legal proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of business, including commercial disputes, labor and employment matters, tax audits, alleged infringement of intellectual property rights and other matters. In the opinion of the Company, the resolution of pending matters is not expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated results of operations, cash flows or financial position. However, each of these matters is subject to various uncertainties and it is possible that an unfavorable resolution of one or more of these proceedings could materially affect the Company’s results of operations, cash flows or financial position.

An Indian subsidiary of the Company has several service tax audits pending that have resulted in formal inquiries being received on transactions through mid-2012. The Company could incur tax charges and related liabilities, including those related to the service tax audit case, of approximately $7 million. The service tax issues raised in the Company’s notices and inquiries are very similar to the case, M/s Microsoft Corporation (I) (P) Ltd. Vs Commissioner of Service Tax, New Delhi, wherein the Delhi Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has passed a favorable ruling to Microsoft. The Company can provide no assurances on whether the Microsoft case’s favorable ruling will be challenged in higher courts or on the impact that the present Microsoft case’s decision will have on the Company’s cases. The Company is uncertain as to when these service tax matters will be concluded.

A French subsidiary of the Company received notice that the French taxing authority rejected the Company's 2012 research and development credit. The Company has contested the decision. However, if the Company does not receive a favorable outcome, it could incur charges of approximately $0.8 million. In addition, an unfavorable outcome could result in the authorities reviewing or rejecting $3.8 million of similar research and development credits for 2013 through the current quarter that are currently reflected as an asset. The Company can provide no assurances on the timing or outcome of this matter.

The Company sells software licenses and services to its customers under proprietary software license agreements. Each license agreement contains the relevant terms of the contractual arrangement with the customer, and generally includes certain provisions for indemnifying the customer against losses, expenses and liabilities from damages that are incurred by or awarded against the customer in the event the Company’s software or services are found to infringe upon a patent, copyright or other proprietary right of a third party. To date, the Company has not had to reimburse any of its customers for any losses related to these indemnification provisions and no material claims asserted under these indemnification provisions are outstanding as of March 31, 2017. For several reasons, including the lack of prior material indemnification claims, the Company cannot determine the maximum amount of potential future payments, if any, related to such indemnification provisions.