Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Legal Costs, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Legal and Product Liability Costs

In the normal course of business, we are involved in various legal and regulatory proceedings, including intellectual property, breach of contract, securities litigation and product liability suits. In some cases, the claimants seek damages, as well as other relief, which, if granted, could require significant expenditures or impact our ability to sell our products. We are also the subject of certain governmental investigations, which could result in substantial fines, penalties and administrative remedies. We maintain an insurance policy providing limited coverage against securities claims, and we are substantially self-insured with respect to product liability claims and fully self-insured with respect to intellectual property infringement claims. We accrue anticipated costs of settlement, damages, losses for product liability claims and, under certain conditions, costs of defense, based on historical experience or to the extent specific losses are probable and estimable. Otherwise, we expense these costs as incurred. If the estimate of a probable loss is a range and no amount within the range is more likely, we accrue our best estimate of the minimum amount of the range. We analyze litigation settlements to identify each element of the arrangement. We allocate arrangement consideration to patent licenses received based on estimates of fair value and capitalize these amounts as assets if the license will provide an ongoing future benefit. We record certain legal and product liability charges, credits and costs of defense, which we consider to be unusual or infrequent and significant as Litigation-related charges (credits) in our consolidated statements of operations; all other legal and product liability charges, credits and costs are recorded within Selling, general and administrative expenses. See Note J – Commitments and Contingencies for discussion of our individual material legal proceedings.

In accordance with FASB ASC Topic 450, Contingencies, we accrue anticipated costs of settlement, damages, losses for product liability claims and, under certain conditions, costs of defense, based on historical experience or to the extent specific losses are probable and estimable. Otherwise, we expense these costs as incurred. If the estimate of a probable loss is a range and no amount within the range is more likely, we accrue the minimum amount of the range.

ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures

FASB ASC Topic 815 requires all derivative instruments to be recognized at their fair values as either assets or liabilities on the balance sheet. We determine the fair value of our derivative instruments using the framework prescribed by FASB ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, and considering the estimated amount we would receive or pay to transfer these instruments at the reporting date with respect to current currency exchange rates, interest rates, the creditworthiness of the counterparty for unrealized gain positions and our own creditworthiness for unrealized loss positions. In certain instances, we may utilize financial models to measure fair value of our derivative instruments. In doing so, we use inputs that include quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, other observable inputs for the asset or liability and inputs derived principally from, or corroborated by, observable market data by correlation or other means.

ASC Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging

Financial Instruments

ASC Update No. 2017-12

In August 2017, the FASB issued ASC Update No. 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities. The purpose of Update No. 2017-12 is to simplify the application of hedge accounting and better align financial reporting of hedging relationships with risk management objectives. Update No. 2017-12 was effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those annual periods. We early adopted Update No. 2017-12 in the first quarter of 2018. The adoption of the standard had no impact on our financial position or results of operations.

We recognize all derivative financial instruments in our consolidated financial statements at fair value in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, and we present assets and liabilities associated with our derivative financial instruments on a gross basis in our financial statements. In accordance with FASB ASC Topic 815, for those derivative instruments that are designated and qualify as hedging instruments, the hedging instrument must be designated, based upon the exposure being hedged, as a fair value hedge, cash flow hedge, or a hedge of a net investment in a foreign operation. The accounting for changes in the fair value of a derivative instrument depends on whether it qualifies for, and has been designated as part of a hedging relationship, as well as on the type of hedging relationship. Our derivative instruments do not subject our earnings to material risk, as gains and losses on these derivatives generally offset gains and losses on the item being hedged. We do not enter into derivative transactions for speculative purposes, and we do not have any non-derivative instruments that are designated as hedging instruments pursuant to FASB ASC Topic 815. Refer to Note D – Hedging Activities and Fair Value Measurements for more information on our derivative instruments.