AMD 2013 Annual Report Download - page 41

this alleged exposure caused harm. Litigation can involve complex factual and legal questions, and its outcome is
uncertain. Any claim that is successfully asserted against us, including in the January 15, 2014 complaint filed
against us, may result in the payment of damages that could be material to our business.
With respect to intellectual property litigation, from time to time, we have been notified of, or third parties
may bring or have brought, actions against us and/or against our customers based on allegations that we are
infringing the intellectual property rights of others, contributing to or inducing the infringement of the
intellectual property rights of others or otherwise improperly using the intellectual property of others. If any such
claims are asserted, we may seek to obtain a license under the third parties’ intellectual property rights. We
cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain all of the necessary licenses on satisfactory terms, if at all. In the
event that we do not obtain a license, these parties may file lawsuits against us or our customers seeking damages
(potentially up to and including treble damages) or an injunction against the sale of products that incorporate
allegedly infringed intellectual property or against the operation of our business as presently conducted, which
could result in our having to stop the sale of some of our products or to increase the costs of selling some of our
products or which could damage our reputation. The award of damages, including material royalty payments, or
the entry of an injunction against the manufacture and sale of some or all of our products could have a material
adverse effect on us. We could decide, in the alternative, to redesign our products or to resort to litigation to
challenge such claims. Such challenges could be extremely expensive and time-consuming regardless of their
merit, could cause delays in product release or shipment and/or could have a material adverse effect on us. We
cannot assure you that litigation related to our intellectual property rights or the intellectual property rights of
others can always be avoided or successfully concluded.
Even if we were to prevail, any litigation could be costly and time-consuming and would divert the attention
of our management and key personnel from our business operations, which could have a material adverse effect
on us.
A variety of environmental laws that we are subject to could result in additional costs and liabilities.
Our operations and properties have in the past and continue to be subject to various United States and
foreign environmental laws and regulations, including those relating to materials used in our products and
manufacturing processes, discharge of pollutants into the environment, the treatment, transport, storage and
disposal of solid and hazardous wastes and remediation of contamination. These laws and regulations require us
to obtain permits for our operations, including the discharge of air pollutants and wastewater. Although our
management systems are designed to maintain compliance, we cannot assure you that we have been or will be at
all times in complete compliance with such laws, regulations and permits. If we violate or fail to comply with
any of them, a range of consequences could result, including fines, suspension of production, alteration of
manufacturing processes, import/export restrictions, sales limitations, criminal and civil liabilities or other
sanctions. We could also be held liable for any and all consequences arising out of exposure to hazardous
materials used, stored, released, disposed of by us or located at, under or emanating from our facilities or other
environmental or natural resource damage.
Certain environmental laws, including the U.S. Comprehensive, Environmental Response, Compensation
and Liability Act of 1980, or the Superfund Act, impose strict or, under certain circumstances, joint and several
liability on current and previous owners or operators of real property for the cost of removal or remediation of
hazardous substances and impose liability for damages to natural resources. These laws often impose liability
even if the owner or operator did not know of, or was not responsible for, the release of such hazardous
substances. These environmental laws also assess liability on persons who arrange for hazardous substances to be
sent to disposal or treatment facilities when such facilities are found to be contaminated. Such persons can be
responsible for cleanup costs even if they never owned or operated the contaminated facility. We have been
named as a responsible party at three Superfund sites in Sunnyvale, California. Although we have not yet been,
we could be named a potentially responsible party at other Superfund or contaminated sites in the future. In
addition, contamination that has not yet been identified could exist at our other facilities.
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