COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES |
12 Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dec. 31, 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Facility Leases Acacia primarily leases office facilities under operating lease arrangements that will end in various years through February 2025. On June 7, 2019, Acacia entered into a building lease agreement with Jamboree Center 4 LLC. Pursuant to the lease, we have leased approximately 8,293 square feet of office space in Irvine, California. The lease commenced on August 1, 2019. The term of the lease is 60 months from the commencement date, provides for annual rent increases, and does not provide us the right to early terminate or extend our lease terms. On January 7, 2020, Acacia entered into a building lease agreement with Sage Realty Corporation. Pursuant to the lease, we have leased approximately 4,600 square feet of office space for our corporate headquarters in New York, New York. The lease commenced on February 1, 2020. The term of the lease is 24 months from the commencement date, provides for annual rent increases, and does not provide us the right to early terminate or extend our lease terms. During August 2021, we entered into a first amendment of the New York office lease, to commence for a period of three years upon landlords’ substantial completion of adequate substitution space. On January 25, 2022, the substitution space was substantially completed and the new expiration date is February 28, 2025. Printronix conducts its foreign and domestic operations using leased facilities under non-cancelable operating leases that expire at various dates through February 2028. The significant Printronix leases are as follows: •On November 10, 2020, Printronix entered into a building lease agreement with PPC Irvine Center Investment, LLC for office space in Irvine, California. The lease commenced on April 1, 2021. The term of the lease is 65 months from the commencement date, provides for annual rent increases and provides the right to early terminate the lease under certain circumstances, as well as extend the lease term. •On September 30, 2019, Printronix entered into a building lease agreement with Dynamics Sing Sdn. Bhd for warehouse/manufacturing space in Johor, Malaysia. The lease commenced on December 29, 2019. The term of the lease is 48 months from the commencement date, has no annual rent increases and provides the right to early terminate or extend our lease term. The Malaysia factory lease has two renewal options for an additional four years and one additional renewal option for two years. •On November 28, 2019, Printronix entered into a building lease agreement with PF Grand Paris for office space in Paris, France. The lease commenced on March 1, 2019. The term of the lease is 109 months from the commencement date, has no annual rent increases and provides the right to early terminate the lease under certain circumstances, however does not provide for an extension of the lease term. •On November 1, 2020, Printronix entered into a building lease agreement with Shanghai SongYun Enterprise Management Center for office space in Shanghai, China. The lease commenced on November 1, 2020. The term of the lease is 48 months from the commencement date, has no annual rent increases and provides the right to early terminate or extend the lease term. The Company's operating lease costs, including Printronix for the period from October 7, 2021 through December 31, 2021, were $851,000, and $603,000 for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The table below presents aggregate future minimum payments due under the Company's leases discussed above, reconciled to long-term lease liabilities and short-term lease liabilities (included in accrued expenses and other current liabilities) included in the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2021 (in thousands):
Inventor Royalties and Contingent Legal Expenses In connection with the investment in certain patents and patent rights, certain of Acacia’s operating subsidiaries executed related agreements which grant to the former owners of the respective patents or patent rights, the right to receive inventor royalties based on future net revenues (as defined in the respective agreements) generated as a result of licensing and otherwise enforcing the respective patents or patent portfolios. Acacia’s operating subsidiaries may retain the services of law firms that specialize in patent licensing and enforcement and patent law in connection with their licensing and enforcement activities. These law firms may be retained on a contingent fee basis whereby such law firms are paid on a scaled percentage of any negotiated fees, settlements or judgments awarded based on how and when the fees, settlements or judgments are obtained. Patent Enforcement and Legal Proceedings The Company is subject to claims, counterclaims and legal actions that arise in the ordinary course of business. Management believes that the ultimate liability with respect to these claims and legal actions, if any, will not have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Certain of Acacia’s operating subsidiaries are often required to engage in litigation to enforce their patents and patent rights. In connection with any of Acacia’s operating subsidiaries’ patent enforcement actions, it is possible that a defendant may request and/or a court may rule that an operating subsidiary has violated statutory authority, regulatory authority, federal rules, local court rules, or governing standards relating to the substantive or procedural aspects of such enforcement actions. In such event, a court may issue monetary sanctions against Acacia or its operating subsidiaries or award attorney’s fees and/or expenses to a defendant(s), which could be material. In December 2017, the Federal Court of Canada allowed a counterclaim for invalidity of a patent asserted by Rapid Completions LLC and awarded costs payable by Rapid Completions LLC. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company made approximately $1.2 million in settlement payments. This settlement was fully paid as of December 31, 2021 and all claims were withdrawn. On September 6, 2019, Slingshot Technologies, LLC, or Slingshot, filed a lawsuit in Delaware Chancery Court against the Company and Acacia Research Group, LLC, or collectively, the Acacia Entities, Monarch Networking Solutions LLC (“Monarch”), Acacia board member Katharine Wolanyk, and Transpacific IP Group, Ltd., or Transpacific. Slingshot alleges that the Acacia Entities and Monarch misappropriated its confidential and proprietary information, purportedly furnished to the Acacia Entities and Monarch by Ms. Wolanyk, in acquiring a patent portfolio from Transpacific after Slingshot’s exclusive option to purchase the same patent portfolio from Transpacific had already expired. Slingshot seeks monetary damages, as well as equitable and injunctive relief related to its alleged right to own the portfolio. On March 15, 2021, the court issued orders granting Monarch’s motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and Ms. Wolanyk’s motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The remaining parties then commenced discovery, and have since served initial written requests and responses, notices of the depositions of the parties’ corporate designees, and initial document productions. The Chancery Court has set a two-day trial on liability for April 18–19, 2023, with a third day of trial on damages to follow in the event that Slingshot prevails on liability. The Acacia Entities maintain that Slingshot’s allegations are baseless, that the Acacia Entities neither had access to nor used Slingshot’s information in acquiring the portfolio, that the Acacia Entities acquired the portfolio as a result of the independent efforts of its IP licensing group, and that Slingshot suffered no damages given its exclusive option to purchase the portfolio had already ended and it has proven itself incapable of closing on the portfolio purchase. During the year ended December 31, 2021, Acacia incurred $162,000 in operating expenses for settlement and contingency accruals. During the year ended December 31, 2020, operating expenses included a net income for settlement, offset by contingency accruals totaling $308,000, net of prior accruals. At December 31, 2021 and 2020, our contingency accrual balance, included in accrued expenses and other current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets, was zero and $1.3 million, respectively. Guarantees and Indemnifications Certain of Acacia’s operating subsidiaries have made guarantees and indemnities under which they may be required to make payments to a guaranteed or indemnified party, in relation to certain transactions, including revenue transactions in the ordinary course of business. In connection with certain facility leases, Acacia and certain of its operating subsidiaries have indemnified lessors for certain claims arising from the facilities or the leases. Acacia indemnifies its directors and officers to the maximum extent permitted under the laws of the State of Delaware. However, Acacia has a directors and officers insurance policy that may reduce its exposure in certain circumstances and may enable it to recover a portion of future amounts that may be payable, if any. The duration of the guarantees and indemnities varies and, in many cases is indefinite but subject to statute of limitations. The majority of guarantees and indemnities do not provide any limitations of the maximum potential future payments that Acacia could be obligated to make. To date, Acacia has made no payments related to these guarantees and indemnities. Acacia estimates the fair value of its indemnification obligations to be insignificant based on this history and therefore, have not recorded any liability for these guarantees and indemnities in the consolidated balance sheets. Additionally, no events or transactions have occurred that would result in a material liability at December 31, 2021. Printronix posted collateral in the form of a surety bond or other similar instruments, which are issued by independent insurance carriers (the “Surety”), to cover the risk of loss related to certain customs and employment activities. If any of the entities that hold such bonds should require payment from the Surety, Printronix would be obligated to indemnify and reimburse the Surety for all costs incurred. As of December 31, 2021, Printronix had approximately $100,000 of these bonds outstanding. Environmental Cleanup Printronix maintained a manufacturing operation in a leased facility in Irvine, California from 1980 to 1994. The facility was used for similar manufacturing operations by another tenant from 1968 to 1977. The manufacturing operations employed by the previous tenant are believed to have resulted in the contamination of soil and groundwater under the facility which included chlorinated volatile organic compounds (“VOCs”). Evidence indicates that the VOCs requiring cleanup were used by the prior tenant and not by Printronix. Printronix worked with the prior tenant, which agreed to share the costs of the activities in an equal percentage with Printronix, and the state regulatory agencies, including the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, to investigate and cleanup the subsurface contamination. A significant soil cleanup project was completed in 2017. In 2020, Printronix executed an agreement with the prior tenant whereby the prior tenant would take 100% responsibility for the costs and process of the cleanup going forward. Printronix is in process of filing for release of such responsibility from a governmental agency and so may currently be found to be secondarily liable if the prior tenant cannot fulfil their responsibilities under the agreement. Accordingly, Printronix no longer takes part in monitoring or paying for any future investigation or cleanup activity. Printronix expects to have no such further costs associated with this facility. During 2020, Printronix was able to recover $24,000 from the prior tenant. During the period from October 7, 2021 through December 31, 2021, Printronix incurred no related legal fees.
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