Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Oct. 31, 2020

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Contingencies

Contingencies

Legal Proceedings

The Company is subject to routine legal proceedings, as well as demands, claims and threatened litigation that arise in the normal course of its business. The ultimate outcome of any litigation is often uncertain and unfavorable outcomes could have a negative impact on the Company’s results of operations and financial condition. The Company regularly reviews the status of each significant matter and assesses its potential financial exposure. If the potential loss from any claim or legal proceeding is considered probable and the amount is estimable, the Company accrues a liability for the estimated loss. Legal proceedings are inherently uncertain and as circumstances change, it is possible that the amount of any accrued liability may increase, decrease, or be eliminated.

The Company has determined that, except as set forth below, no disclosure of estimated loss is required for a claim against the Company because: (1) there is not a reasonable possibility that a loss exceeding amounts already recognized (if any) may be incurred with respect to such claim; (2) a reasonably possible loss or range of loss cannot be estimated; or (3) such estimate is immaterial.

Mentor Patent Litigation

Prior to the legal settlement as further described below, the Company was engaged in complex patent litigation with Mentor Graphics Corporation (Mentor) involving several actions in different forums. The Company succeeded to the litigation when it acquired Emulation & Verification Engineering S.A. on October 4, 2012.

Legal Settlement

In March 2017, Siemens PLM Software (Siemens) acquired Mentor. On June 29, 2018, the Company, Siemens and Mentor settled all outstanding patent litigation between the Company and Mentor for a $65.0 million payment made in the current quarter from the Company to Mentor. The Company had previously accrued $39.0 million and recorded the remaining $26.0 million as an expense in the quarter ended July 31, 2018. As a result of the settlement, the litigation with Mentor was dismissed and the injunction entered in connection with that litigation was vacated. The settlement included mutual seven-year patent cross-licenses between the Company and Siemens, and between the Company and Mentor. The Company and Mentor also amended an existing interoperability agreement to collaborate on a wide range of EDA products for the benefit of their mutual customers. The amendment includes a one-time termination charge between $0.0 and $25.0 million, payable to Mentor under certain conditions.

Tax Matters

The Company undergoes examination from time to time by U.S. and foreign authorities for non-income based taxes, such as sales, use and value-added taxes, and is currently under examination by tax authorities in certain jurisdictions. If the potential loss from such examinations is considered probable and the amount or the range of loss could be estimated, the Company would accrue a liability for the estimated expense. In addition to the foregoing, the Company is, from time to time, party to various other claims and legal proceedings in the ordinary course of its business, including with tax and other governmental authorities. For a description of certain of these other matters, refer to Note 13. Income Taxes.