Commitments And Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Apr. 01, 2012

Commitments And Contingencies [Abstract]

Commitments And Contingencies

Note 13. Commitments and Contingencies

We have entered into a variety of agreements with third parties that include indemnification clauses, both in the ordinary course of business and in connection with our divestitures of certain product lines. These clauses require us to compensate these third parties for certain liabilities and damages that may be incurred by them. Fair value of guarantees is required to be recorded as a liability. We do not believe that we have any significant exposure related to such guarantees and therefore have not recorded a liability as of April 1, 2012 or December 31, 2011. We have not made any significant indemnification payments as a result of these clauses.

We currently, and from time to time, are subject to disputes, claims and lawsuits arising in the ordinary course of business. With the exception of certain cases involving intellectual property described below, the external legal costs incurred in these matters are expensed. These matters include claims by third parties against us for amounts allegedly owed to them as well as counterclaims against us in cases where we have made claims against third parties. Resolution of these disputes could result in the write down or write off of accounts receivable or the payment of damages. The ultimate resolution of such matters is inherently subject to uncertainty. An adverse outcome in certain of these matters could result in a material charge in the period in which the matter is resolved. However, we currently do not expect the ultimate resolution of pending proceedings and disputes to have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

One of our pending law suits involves the defense of our patents; the external legal costs incurred in this matter are capitalized. We capitalize external legal costs incurred in the defense of our patents when we believe that there is an evident increase in the value of the patent and that the successful outcome of the legal action is probable. During the course of any legal action, the court where the case is pending makes decisions and issues rulings of various kinds, which may be favorable or unfavorable. We monitor developments in the legal action, the legal costs incurred and the anticipated outcome of the legal action, and assess the likelihood of a successful outcome based on the entire action. If changes in the anticipated outcome occur that reduce the likelihood of a successful outcome to less than probable, the capitalized costs would be charged to expense in the period in which the change is determined. As of April 1, 2012 and December, 31, 2011, $7. 5 and $7.4 million of legal patent costs have been capitalized, respectively. All of these amounts relate to the case Alien Technologies Corporation v. Intermec, Inc., et al., Civil Action No. 3:06-cv-0051, United States District Court for the District of North Dakota, Southeastern Division (the "Alien Case"). The capitalized legal patent costs are recorded in other assets on our condensed consolidated balance sheets.