Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

9. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Claim Against ICAR

On June 11, 2018, a claim was filed before the Juzgado de Primera Instancia number 5 of Barcelona, Spain, the first instance court in the Spanish civil procedure system, against ICAR. The claim, also directed to Mr. Xavier Codó Grasa, former controlling shareholder of ICAR and its current General Manager, was brought by the Spanish company Global Equity & Corporate Consulting, S.L. for the alleged breach by ICAR of a services agreement entered into in the context of the sale of the shares in ICAR to Mitek Holding B.V.

ICAR responded to the claim on September 7, 2018 and the court process is ongoing.

The amount claimed is €0.8 million (or $0.9 million), plus the interest accrued during the court proceedings.

Pursuant and subject to the terms of the sale and purchase agreement concerning the acquisition of the shares in ICAR, Mitek Holding B.V. is to be indemnified in respect of any damages suffered by ICAR and/or Mitek Holding B.V. in respect of this claim.

Third Party Claims Against Our Customers

The Company is subject to indemnification demands related to various offers to license patents and allegations of patent infringement against several end-customers. Some of the offers and allegations have resulted in ongoing litigation. The Company is not a party to any such litigation. License offers to and infringement allegations against the Company’s end-customers were made by Lighthouse Consulting Group, LLC; Lupercal, LLC; Pebble Tide, LLC; Dominion Harbor Group, LLC; and IP Edge, LLC, which appear to be non-practicing entities (“NPEs”)—often called “patent trolls”—and not the Company’s competitors. These NPEs may seek to exact settlements from our end-customers, resulting in new or renewed indemnification demands to the Company. At this time, the Company does not believe it is obligated to indemnify any customers or end-customers resulting from license offers or patent infringement allegations by the companies listed above. However, the Company could incur substantial costs if it is determined that it is required to indemnify any customers or end-customers in connection with these offers or allegations. Given the potential for impact to other customers and the industry, the Company is actively monitoring the offers, allegations and any resulting litigation.

On July 7, 2018, United Services Automobile Association (“USAA”) filed a lawsuit against Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (“Wells Fargo”) in the Eastern District of Texas alleging that Wells Fargo’s remote deposit capture systems (which in part utilize technology provided by the Company to Wells Fargo through a partner), infringe four USAA owned patents related to mobile deposits (the “First Wells Lawsuit”). On August 17, 2018, USAA filed a second lawsuit (the “Second Wells Lawsuit” and together with the First Wells Lawsuit, the “Wells Lawsuits”) against Wells Fargo in the Eastern District of Texas asserting that an additional five patents owned by USAA were infringed by Wells Fargo’s remote deposit capture system. Subsequently, on November 6, 2019, a jury in the First Wells Lawsuit found that Wells Fargo willfully infringed at least one of the Subject Patents (as defined below) and awarded USAA $200 million in damages. The jury verdict is subject to post-trial motions and appeal by Wells Fargo. The Second Wells Lawsuit is ongoing and no final judgments or awards have been made to date. Given the potential impact such litigation could have on the use of Mitek’s products by Wells Fargo, our other customers, as well as the industry as a whole, the Company is closely monitoring the Wells Lawsuits.

While the Wells Lawsuits do not name Mitek as a defendant, given the Company’s prior history of litigation with USAA and the continued use of Mitek’s products by its customers, on November 1, 2019, the Company filed a Complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking declaratory judgment that its products do not infringe USAA’s U.S. Patent Nos. 8,699,779; 9,336,517; 9,818,090; and 8,977,571 (collectively, the “Subject Patents”). The Company continues to believe that its products do not infringe the Subject Patents and will vigorously defend the right of its end-users to use its technology.

The Company incurred legal fees of $0.8 million in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2019 related to third party claims against our customers. Such fees are included in general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statement of operations.

Claim Against UrbanFT, Inc.

On July 31, 2019, the Company filed a lawsuit against one of its customers, UrbanFT, Inc. (“UrbanFT”) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California (case No. 19-CV-1432-CAB-WVG). UrbanFT is delinquent in payment and attempted to justify its non-payment by asserting that the Company is or may be infringing on unspecified Urban FT patents. The Company filed such lawsuit to collect the delinquent payments and to obtain a declaratory judgment of non-infringement. UrbanFT filed an answer to the complaint but did not file any cross-claims for infringement. The Company intends to vigorously pursue its claims and defend against any claims of infringement.

Other Legal Matters

In addition to the foregoing, the Company is subject to various claims and legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of its business. The Company accrues for such liabilities when it is both (i) probable that a loss has occurred and (ii) the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated in accordance with ASC 450, Contingencies. While any legal proceeding has an element of uncertainty, the Company believes that the disposition of such matters, in the aggregate, will not have a material effect on the Company’s financial condition or results of operations.

Employee 401(k) Plan

The Company has a 401(k) plan that allows participating employees to contribute a percentage of their salary, subject to Internal Revenue Service annual limits. In 2015, the Company implemented a company match to the plan. The Company's contributions are made in an amount equal to 25% of the first 6% of an employee's designated deferral of their eligible compensation. The Company's total cost related to the 401(k) plan was $231,000, $123,000, and $121,000 for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively.

Facility Lease

The Company’s principal executive offices, as well as its research and development facility, are located in approximately 29,000 square feet of office space in San Diego, California and the term of the lease continues through June 30, 2024. The average annual base rent under this lease is approximately $1.0 million per year. In connection with this lease, the Company received tenant improvement allowances totaling approximately $1.0 million. These lease incentives are being amortized as a reduction of rent expense over the term of the lease. As of September 30, 2019, the unamortized balance of the lease incentives was $0.6 million, of which $0.1 million has been included in other current liabilities and $0.5 million has been included in other non-current liabilities.

The Company’s other offices are located in Paris, France; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; New York, New York; Barcelona, Spain; and London, United Kingdom. The term of the Paris, France lease continues through July 31, 2021, with an annual base rent of approximately €0.4 million (or $0.4 million). The term of the Amsterdam, The Netherlands lease continues through December 31, 2022, with an annual base rent of approximately €0.2 million (or $0.2 million). The term of the New York, New York lease continues through November 30, 2024, with an annual base rent of approximately $0.2 million. The term of the Barcelona, Spain lease continues through May 31, 2023, with an annual base rent of approximately €0.1 million (or $0.1 million). The term of the London, United Kingdom lease continues through May 31, 2020, with an annual base rent of approximately £63,000 (or approximately $78,000).

Other than the lease for office space in San Diego, California, the Company does not believe that the leases for the offices are material to the Company. The Company believes its existing properties are in good condition and are sufficient and suitable for the conduct of its business.

Future annual minimum rental payments payable under the facility and other operating leases are as follows (shown in thousands):


Years ended September 30:
2020	$	1,699
2021	2,166
2022	1,784
2023	1,554
2024	1,153
Thereafter	36
Total	$	8,392

Rent expense for the Company’s operating leases for its facilities for the years ended September 30, 2019, 2018, and 2017 totaled $2.1 million, $1.7 million and $0.6 million, respectively.

Revolving Credit Facility

On May 3, 2018, the Company and ID Checker, Inc. (together, the “Co-Borrowers”) entered into a Loan and Security Agreement (the “Loan Agreement”) with Silicon Valley Bank (“SVB”). Pursuant to the Loan Agreement, the Company arranged for a $10.0 million secured revolving credit facility (the “Revolver”) with a floating per annum interest rate equal to the greater of the Wall Street Journal prime rate, plus 0.25%, or 4.5%. The Co-Borrowers must maintain, at all times when any amounts are outstanding under the Revolver, either (i) minimum unrestricted cash at SVB and unused availability on the Revolver of at least $15.0 million and (ii) Adjusted Quick Ratio (as defined in the Loan Agreement) of 1.75:1.00. In May 2019, the Company and SVB entered into an amendment of the Loan Agreement to extend the maturity of the Revolver to September 30, 2020. There were no borrowings outstanding under the Revolver as of September 30, 2019.