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CONTINGENCIES (Notes)
3 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2012
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
CONTINGENCIES
CONTINGENCIES

At June 30, 2012, the Company was subject to various litigations claiming patent infringement by the Company.  If any infringement is determined to exist, the Company may seek licenses or settlements. At this time, the Company believes that a loss is neither probable nor remote, and based on the information currently available regarding these legal proceedings, the Company is unable to determine an estimate, or range of estimates, of potential losses. 

In addition, as a normal incidence of the nature of the Company's business, various claims, charges and litigation have been asserted or commenced from time to time against the Company arising from or related to contractual, employee relations, intellectual property rights, product performance, or other matters.  Management is not aware of any such current claims that will have a material adverse effect on the financial position or results of operation of the Company. Also, in connection with the 2012 Plan and the sale of certain assets to Numark and Corel, various claims have been asserted, and unasserted claims may exist, against the Company from or related to contractual, employee relations, or other matters. At this time, the Company believes that a loss in excess of recorded accruals and allowances related to the 2012 Plan and the divestitures is neither probable nor remote, and based on the information currently available regarding these claims, the Company is unable to determine an estimate, or range of estimates, of potential losses above the recorded accruals and allowances. See Notes 13 and 5 for the amounts recorded as accruals and allowances related to the 2012 Plan and the divestitures of the consumer audio and consumer video product lines.

Additionally, the Company provides indemnification to certain customers for losses incurred in connection with intellectual property infringement claims brought by third parties with respect to the Company's products.  These indemnification provisions generally offer perpetual coverage for infringement claims based upon the products covered by the agreement and the maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make under these indemnification provisions is theoretically unlimited.  To date, the Company has not incurred material costs related to these indemnification provisions; accordingly, the Company believes the estimated fair value of these indemnification provisions is immaterial. 

Further, certain of the Company's arrangements with customers include clauses whereby the Company may be subject to penalties for failure to meet certain performance obligations; however, the Company has not recorded any related material penalties to date. 

The Company's Canadian subsidiary, Avid Technology Canada Corporation, was assessed and paid to the Ministry of Revenue Quebec (“MRQ”) approximately CAN $1.7 million for social tax assessments on Canadian employee stock-based compensation related to the Company's stock plans. The Company is currently attempting to recover the payments against these assessments through litigation with the MRQ. The payment amounts were recorded in “other current assets” in the Company's consolidated balance sheets at June 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011. Because the Company cannot predict the outcome of the litigation at this time or the amount of potential losses, if any, no costs have been accrued for any loss contingency; however, this matter is not expected to have a material effect on the Company's financial position or results of operations.

As permitted under Delaware law and pursuant to the Company's Third Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, the Company is obligated to indemnify its current and former officers and directors for certain events that occur or occurred while the officer or director is or was serving in such capacity. The term of the indemnification period is for each respective officer's or director's lifetime. The maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make under these indemnification obligations is unlimited; however, the Company has mitigated the exposure through the purchase of directors and officers insurance, which is intended to limit the risk and, in most cases, enable the Company to recover all or a portion of any future amounts paid. As a result of this insurance coverage, the Company believes the estimated fair value of these indemnification obligations is minimal.

The Company has letters of credit at a bank that are used as security deposits in connection with the Company's Burlington, Massachusetts office space. In the event of default on the underlying leases, the landlords would, at June 30, 2012, be eligible to draw against the letters of credit to a maximum of $2.6 million in the aggregate. The letters of credit are subject to aggregate reductions of approximately $0.4 million at the end of each of the second, third and fifth years, provided the Company is not in default of the underlying leases and meets certain financial performance conditions. In no case will the letters of credit amounts be reduced to below $1.3 million in the aggregate throughout the lease periods, all of which extend to May 2020. At June 30, 2012, the Company was not in default of any of the underlying leases.

The Company also has a standby letter of credit at a bank that is used as a security deposit in connection with the Company's Daly City, California office space lease. In the event of default on this lease, the landlord would, at June 30, 2012, be eligible to draw against this letter of credit to a maximum of $0.8 million. The letter of credit will remain in effect at this amount throughout the remaining lease period, which extends to September 2014. At June 30, 2012, the Company was not in default of this lease.

The Company also has additional letters of credit totaling approximately $3.7 million that support its ongoing operations. These letters of credit have various terms and expire during 2012 and 2013. Some of the letters of credit may automatically renew based on the terms of the underlying agreements.

The Company provides warranties on externally sourced and internally developed hardware and software. For internally developed hardware and in cases where the warranty granted to customers for externally sourced hardware is greater than that provided by the manufacturer, the Company records an accrual for the related liability based on historical trends and actual material and labor costs. For software, the Company records an accrual for the costs of providing bug fixes. The warranty period for all of the Company's products is generally 90 days to one year, but can extend up to five years depending on the manufacturer's warranty or local law.

The following table sets forth the activity in the warranty accrual account for the six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2011 (in thousands):
 
Six Months Ended June 30,
 
2012
 
2011 (Revised)
Accrual balance at beginning of year (revised)
$
5,960

 
$
5,894

Accruals for product warranties
6,639

 
3,230

Costs of warranty claims
(5,596
)
 
(2,977
)
Accrual balance at end of period
$
7,003

 
$
6,147