Adobe 2001 Annual Report Download - page 17

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product, which we released in April 2001. See Management’s Discussion and Analysis for further
information.
PRODUCT PROTECTION
We regard our software as proprietary and protect it with copyrights, patents, trademarks, trade secret
laws, internal and external nondisclosure precautions, and restrictions on disclosure and transferability that
are incorporated into our software license agreements. We protect the source code of our software
programs as trade secrets, and make source code available to OEMs only under limited circumstances and
specific security and confidentiality constraints.
Our products are generally licensed to end users on a ‘‘right to use’’ basis pursuant to a license that is
nontransferable and restricts the use of the products to the customer’s internal purposes on a designated
number of printers or computers. We also rely on copyright laws and on ‘‘shrink wrap’’ and electronic
licenses that are not signed by the end user. Copyright protection may be unavailable under the laws of
certain countries. The enforceability of ‘‘shrink wrap’’ and electronic licenses has not been conclusively
determined. We have obtained many patents and have registered numerous copyrights, trademarks,
domain names, and logos in the United States and foreign countries.
Policing unauthorized use of computer software is difficult, and software piracy is a persistent problem
for the software industry. This problem is particularly acute in international markets. We conduct vigorous
anti-piracy programs. However, our products do not currently contain copy protection or network
copy-detection features.
We believe that, because computer software technology changes and develops rapidly, patent, trade
secret, and copyright protection are less significant than factors such as the knowledge, ability, and
experience of our personnel, brand recognition, contractual relationships, and ongoing product
development.
EMPLOYEES
As of January 25, 2002, we employed 3,029 people, none of whom are represented by a labor union.
We have not experienced work stoppages and believe our employee relations are good. Competition in
recruiting personnel in the software industry, especially highly skilled engineers, is intense. We believe our
future success will depend in part on our continued ability to recruit and retain highly skilled technical,
management and marketing personnel.
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