Note 13 - Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

Note 13.    Commitments and Contingencies

Contractual Obligations

Through its acquisitions, the Company assumed additional leases of property with the following non-cancelable obligations:

	Amount
	(in thousands)
For the year ending December 31:
2013	$	490
2014		463
2015		463
2016		134
2017		-
	$	1,550

Rent expense for property and equipment for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 was $2.7 million as a result of the various acquisitions. Rent expense for fiscal 2011 and the Transition Period were immaterial.

Legal Proceedings

From time to time, we are subject to litigation or claims, including claims related to businesses that we wound down or sold, which are normal in the course of business, and while the results of such litigation matters and claims cannot be predicted with certainty, we believe that the final outcome of such matters will not have a material adverse impact on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. However, because of the nature and inherent uncertainties of litigation, should the outcome of these actions be unfavorable, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially and adversely affected.

For an additional discussion of certain risks associated with legal proceedings, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Intellectual Property and Other Indemnification Obligations

The Company has agreements whereby it indemnified its directors and certain of its officers for certain events or occurrences while the officer or director is, or was, serving at the Company’s request in such capacity. These indemnification agreements are not subject to a maximum loss clause; however, the Company maintains a director and officer insurance policy which may cover all or a portion of the liabilities arising from its obligation to indemnify its directors and officers. It is not possible to make a reasonable estimate of the maximum potential amount of future payments under these or similar agreements due to the conditional nature of the Company’s obligations and the unique facts and circumstances involved in each particular agreement. Historically, the Company has not incurred significant costs to defend lawsuits or settle claims related to such agreements and no amount has been accrued in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements with respect to these indemnification guarantees.

In addition, the Company entered into agreements with PMC-Sierra that included certain indemnification obligations related to the sale of the DPS Business. These indemnification obligations generally required the Company to compensate the other party for certain damages and costs incurred as a result of third party claims. In these circumstances, payment by the Company was conditional on the other party making a claim pursuant to the procedures specified in the particular agreements, which procedures typically allowed the Company to challenge the other party’s claims. Further, the Company’s obligations under these agreements was limited in terms of time and/or amount, and in some instances, the Company may have had recourse against third parties for certain payments made by it under these agreements. No liability resulted from the agreements with PMC-Sierra.

Product Warranty from Discontinued Operations

The Company provided an accrual for estimated future warranty costs based upon the historical relationship of warranty costs to sales. The estimated future warranty obligations related to product sales were recorded in the period in which the related revenue was recognized. The estimated future warranty obligations were affected by sales volumes, product failure rates, material usage and replacement costs incurred in correcting a product failure. If actual product failure rates, material usage or replacement costs differed from the Company’s estimates, revisions to the estimated warranty obligations would be required. Substantially all of the Company’s product warranty liability transferred to PMC-Sierra upon the sale of the DPS Business, except those amounts associated with the Company’s Aristos Business. As of December 31, 2010, all product warranties were fulfilled.