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Legal Proceedings and Contingencies
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2019
Legal Proceedings and Contingencies  
Legal Proceedings and Contingencies

Note 12 – Legal Proceedings and Contingencies

We are a party to or have intellectual property subject to litigation and other proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of our business. These types of matters could result in fines, penalties, compensatory or treble damages or non-monetary sanctions or relief. We believe the probability is remote that the outcome of each of these matters, including the legal proceedings described below, will have a material adverse effect on the corporation as a whole, notwithstanding that the unfavorable resolution of any matter may have a material effect on our financial results in any particular interim reporting period. Among the factors that we consider in this assessment are the nature of existing legal proceedings and claims, the asserted or possible damages or loss contingency (if estimable), the progress of the case, existing law and precedent, the opinions or views of legal counsel and other advisers, our experience in similar cases and the experience of other companies, the facts available to us at the time of assessment and how we intend to respond to the proceeding or claim. Our assessment of these factors may change over time as individual proceedings or claims progress.

Although we cannot predict the outcome of legal or other proceedings with certainty, where there is at least a reasonable possibility that a loss may have been incurred, U.S. GAAP requires us to disclose an estimate of the reasonably possible loss or range of loss or make a statement that such an estimate cannot be made. We follow a process in which we seek to estimate the reasonably possible loss or range of loss, and only if we are unable to make such an estimate do we conclude and disclose that an estimate cannot be made. Accordingly, unless otherwise indicated below in our discussion of legal proceedings, a reasonably possible loss or range of loss associated with any individual legal proceeding cannot be estimated.

We include various types of indemnification clauses in our agreements. These indemnifications may include, but are not limited to, infringement claims related to our intellectual property, direct damages and consequential damages. The type and amount of such indemnifications vary substantially based on our assessment of risk and reward associated with each agreement. We believe the estimated fair value of these indemnification clauses is minimal, and we cannot determine the maximum amount of potential future payments, if any, related to such indemnification provisions. We have no liabilities recorded for these clauses as of June 30, 2019.

On March 14, 2017, a complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, captioned StrikeForce Technologies, Inc. v. Vasco Data Security International, Inc., et al., claiming the Company infringed on certain patent rights of the plaintiff. On May 8, 2017, the Company answered the complaint denying the allegations of patent infringement. The parties then engaged in motion practice and discovery in the case. The plaintiff has also brought suit against various other companies in the cybersecurity industry. In one such suit in the federal district court for the Central District of California, on December 1, 2017, the court granted defendant’s motion to dismiss, finding that the StrikeForce asserted claims are invalid. StrikeForce appealed such decision. In light of such ruling, on December 20, 2017, the court in the Company’s case granted a stay of the proceedings pending the appeal in the related case. On April 16, 2019, the Court dismissed the claims of StrikeForce against us with prejudice. We consider this case to be closed.

 

From time to time, we have been involved in the litigation incidental to the conduct of our business. Excluding matters disclosed above, we are not a party to any lawsuit or proceeding that, in management’s opinion, is likely to have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition or results of operations.