Contingencies

9 Months Ended

Jan. 01, 2022

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Contingencies

Contingencies

Patent Litigation

On October 18, 2019, a patent infringement lawsuit was filed by Arbor Global Strategies LLC (Arbor) against the Company in the U.S. District Court in Delaware (Arbor Global Strategies LLC, v. Xilinx, Inc., Case No. 1:19-cv-01986). The lawsuit pertains to four patents and Arbor seeks unspecified damages, interest, attorneys’ fees, and costs. The Company filed a motion to dismiss the case on December 19, 2019 that was denied on August 12, 2020. On September 4, 2020, the Company filed four inter parties review (IPR) petitions directed at each of the four Arbor patents. On March 5, 2021, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) entered decisions granting institution of all four IPR petitions. Subsequently, the parties filed an agreed stay motion on March 10, 2021 for the district court litigation. On March 11, 2021, the Court issued an order staying the case until the issuance of the PTAB’s Final Written Decision on the last-instituted of the parties’ pending IPRs, which is expected no later than March 2022. The Company is unable to estimate its range of possible loss, if any, in this matter at this time.

On December 5, 2019, Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) filed a patent infringement lawsuit against the Company in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (Analog Devices, Inc. v. Xilinx, Inc., Case No. 1-19-cv-02225). The lawsuit pertains to eight patents and ADI seeks unspecified damages, interest, attorneys’ fees, costs, and a permanent injunction. The Company filed its answer and counterclaims alleging infringement by ADI of eight patents on January 21, 2020. The Company filed amended counterclaims on April 3, 2020. The Company filed a motion to strike ADI’s affirmative defense of inequitable conduct on May 8, 2020, which the Court granted on February 9, 2021. The parties exchanged infringement contentions on

August 17, 2020, and invalidity contentions on September 15, 2020. Between July 17 and December 4, 2020, the Company filed nine IPR petitions challenging the patentability of seven ADI asserted patents. The PTAB entered decisions granting institution of IPR on six ADI asserted patents, U.S. Patent No. 10,250,250, U.S. Patent No. 8,487,659, U.S. Patent No. 7,012,463, U.S. Patent No. 7,286,075, U.S. Patent No. 6,900,750 and U.S. Patent No. 7,719,452. The PTAB entered a decision denying institution of IPR on one ADI asserted patent, U.S. Patent No. 7,274,321. Between August 31 and September 15, 2020, ADI filed eight IPR petitions challenging eight Xilinx asserted patents. The PTAB entered decisions granting institution of IPR on eight Xilinx asserted patents, U.S. Patent No. 8,548,071, U.S. Patent No. 7,224,184, U.S. Patent No. 7,088,767, U.S. Patent No. 7,187,709, U.S. Patent No. 7,015,838, U.S. Patent No. 7,280,590, U.S. Patent No. 7,116,251 and U.S. Patent No. 6,975,132. On February 22, 2021, the Court issued an order staying the case until the issuance of the PTAB’s Final Written Decision on the last-instituted of the parties’ pending IPRs, which is expected no later than May 2022. At that time, if either party believes a stay should continue, that party may file a motion with the Court within 10 days after the issuance of the last decision, and the other party may oppose. The Company is unable to estimate its range of possible loss, if any, in this matter at this time.

On April 30, 2020, a patent infringement lawsuit was filed by FG SRC LLC (SRC) against the Company in the U.S. District Court in Delaware (FG SRC LLC, v. Xilinx, Inc., Case No. 1:20-cv-00601). The lawsuit pertains to two patents and SRC seeks unspecified damages, interest, and an on-going royalty. The Company filed its answer to the complaint on June 29, 2020. On July 20, 2020, SRC filed an amended complaint. On August 3, 2020, the Company filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint. On August 6, 2020, the Company filed a motion to stay this case in Delaware bankruptcy court in view of the pending bankruptcy of the prior owner of the patents. This motion to stay was denied on September 23, 2020. The motion to dismiss was denied on February 10, 2021. On March 22, 2021, SRC filed an amended complaint removing one of the two previously asserted patents. Discovery is ongoing. SRC’s infringement contentions were received on June 3, 2021, and invalidity contentions were served on July 22, 2021. A trial has been set for March 20, 2023. The Company is unable to estimate its range of possible loss, if any, in this matter at this time.

On September 16, 2020, five patent infringement lawsuits (Case Nos. 1:20-cv-01228, 1:20-cv-01229, 1:20-cv-01231, 1:20-cv-01232 1:20-cv-01233) were filed by WSOU Investments, LLC - d/b/a Brazos Licensing and Development (WSOU Investments) in the U.S. District Court in Delaware. Each lawsuit pertains to a single patent and WSOU Investments seeks unspecified damages, interest, attorneys’ fees, and costs. On November 9, 2020, the Company filed a motion to dismiss WSOU Investments’ indirect infringement claims in each of the cases. In response, WSOU Investments filed amended complaints, limiting its request for pre-suite damages to the direct infringement claims. The Company filed motions to dismiss the indirect infringement claims in the amended complaints on December 7, 2020. On June 8, 2021, the Court entered an order in each of the cases, dismissing the indirect infringement claims. The Court entered a scheduling order on September 13, 2021, setting a trial date for June 2023. WSOU Investments provided amended infringement contentions on November 8, 2021, and the Company served invalidity contentions on December 1, 2021. Discovery is ongoing. The Company is unable to estimate its range of possible loss, if any, in this matter at this time.

The Company intends to continue to protect and defend its intellectual property (IP) vigorously.

On August 9, 2021, a former employee filed a lawsuit against the Company (Case No. 21-cv-385612) in the Superior Court of California in the County of Santa Clara. The lawsuit alleges fourteen causes of action, which include claims for violations of employment law under the theory of retaliation, for trade secret misappropriation under the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act, and various causes of action for common law and statutory forms of fraud. The plaintiff is seeking $365.0 million in damages. The Company demurred to the complaint on September 20, 2021. The Court has not set a date for hearing the demurrer. Discovery in the case is now open. The Company is unable to estimate its range of possible loss, if any, in this matter at this time. The Company’s management intends to contest the case vigorously.

From time to time, the Company is involved in various disputes and litigation matters that arise in the ordinary course of its business. These include disputes and lawsuits related to intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, licensing, contract law, tax, regulatory, distribution arrangements, employee relations and other matters. Periodically, the Company reviews the status of each matter and assesses its potential financial exposure. If the potential loss from any claim or legal proceeding is considered probable and a range of possible losses can be estimated, the Company accrues a liability for the estimated loss. Legal proceedings are subject to uncertainties, and the outcomes are difficult to predict. Because of such uncertainties, accruals are based only on the best information available at the time. As additional information becomes available, the Company continues to reassess the potential liability related to pending claims and litigation and may revise estimates.