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Commitments and Contingencies
3 Months Ended
Apr. 02, 2016
Commitments and Contingencies  
Commitments and Contingencies

11.  Commitments and Contingencies

 

Patent Litigation

 

On January 21, 2014, Cresta Technology Corporation (“Cresta Technology”), a Delaware corporation, filed a lawsuit against the Company, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Samsung Electronics America, Inc., LG Electronics Inc. and LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc. in the United States District Court in the District of Delaware, alleging infringement of three United States Patents (the “Cresta Patents”). The Delaware District Court action has been stayed.

 

On January 28, 2014, Cresta Technology also filed a complaint with the United States International Trade Commission (“ITC”) alleging infringement of the same patents. On September 29, 2015, the ITC issued its Final Determination, finding that all the patent claims asserted against the Company’s products were either invalid or not infringed and that Cresta Technology failed to establish the ITC’s domestic industry requirement. The ITC found no violation by the Company and terminated the investigation. On November 30, 2015, Cresta Technology filed an appeal of the ITC decision to the Federal Circuit. On March 8, 2016, pursuant to a stipulated dismissal, the Federal Circuit dismissed Cresta Technology’s appeal in its entirety.

 

In a parallel process, the Company challenged the validity of the claims of the Cresta Patents asserted in the ITC investigation through a series of Inter-Partes Review (IPR) proceedings at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). On October 21, 2015, the USPTO issued final written decisions on a first set of reviewed claims finding all of the reviewed claims invalid. On December 18, 2015, Cresta Technology appealed those adverse decisions to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit as to this first USPTO determination. The USPTO has instituted a second set of IPR proceedings against a second set of the remaining claims. On March 18, 2016, Cresta Technology filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California. The second set of IPR proceedings are currently stayed due to Cresta Technology’s bankruptcy petition.

 

On July 16, 2014, the Company filed a lawsuit against Cresta Technology in the United States District Court in the Northern District of California alleging infringement of six United States Patents. The Company is seeking a permanent injunction and an award of damages and attorney fees. As a result of the chapter 7 bankruptcy filing by Cresta Technology, these proceedings are currently stayed.

 

As is customary in the semiconductor industry, the Company provides indemnification protection to its customers for intellectual property claims related to the Company’s products. The Company has not accrued any material liability on its Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet related to such indemnification obligations in connection with the Cresta Technology litigation.

 

The Company intends to continue to vigorously defend against Cresta Technology’s allegations and to continue to pursue its claims against Cresta and their patents. At this time, the Company cannot predict the outcome of these matters or the resulting financial impact to it, if any.

 

Other

 

The Company is involved in various other legal proceedings that have arisen in the normal course of business. While the ultimate results of these matters cannot be predicted with certainty, the Company does not expect them to have a material adverse effect on its Consolidated Financial Statements.