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Legal Proceedings and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2020
Legal Proceedings and Contingencies  
Legal Proceedings and Contingencies

Note 14 – 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 September 30, 2020.

We have been involved in an ongoing dispute with a German company, Onespin solutions GmbH, regarding the co-existence of, or alleged infringement with, its trademark in certain jurisdictions for “ONESPIN” and our trademark in certain jurisdictions for “ONESPAN”. Onespin sells integrated circuit integrity verification solutions for use in the system on chip software development process flow. Subsequent to the end of the third quarter we reached an immaterial settlement with OneSpin on these matters. While certain administrative steps and filings will occur pursuant to the settlement, we consider this matter to now be closed.

A complaint was filed on August 20, 2020 against OneSpan and certain of its officers, asserting claims for purported violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), and SEC Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, based on certain alleged material misstatements and omissions. The case is captioned Almendariz v. OneSpan Inc., et al., No. 1:20-cv-04906 (N.D. Ill.) (the “Securities Class Action”). Specifically, the plaintiff in the Securities Class Action alleges, among other things, that certain statements about OneSpan’s business were misleading because of defendants’ failure to disclose that OneSpan purportedly had inadequate internal procedures and controls over financial reporting and related disclosures; and OneSpan purportedly downplayed the negative impacts of immaterial errors in its financial statements.

A complaint, related in subject matter to the Securities Class Action, was filed on October 23, 2020 against certain of OneSpan’s officers and directors, and names OneSpan as a nominal defendant. The case is captioned Klein v. Boroditzky, et al., No. 1:20-cv-06310 (N.D. Ill.) (the “Derivative Action” and, collectively with the Securities Class Action, the “Litigation”). The plaintiff asserts claims for breach of fiduciary duty, abuse of control and corporate waste, as well as a claim for contribution under Sections 10(b) and 21D of the Exchange Act, based on the same alleged wrongdoing pled in the Securities Class Action. We believe that the claims in the Litigation are meritless and intend to defend against them vigorously.

From time to time, we have been involved in litigation and claims incidental to the conduct of our business, such as compensation claims from current or former employees in Europe. We expect that to continue. Excluding matters specifically 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.