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7
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
We regard our software and hardware as proprietary and protect our proprietary interests under the laws of patents, copyrights,
trademarks and trade secrets, as well as through contractual provisions.
We have obtained patents and have registered copyrights, trademarks and service marks in the United States and in many foreign
countries. At December 31, 2011, we held 207 U.S. patents, with expiration dates through 2030, and had 42 patent applications
pending with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. We have also registered or applied to register various trademarks and service
marks in the United States and a number of foreign countries, including Avid, Media Composer, NewsCutter, Pro Tools, M-Audio
and Sibelius. As a technology company, we regard our patents, copyrights, trademarks, service marks and trade secrets as being
among our most valuable assets, together with the innovative skills, technical competence and marketing abilities of our
personnel.
Our software is licensed to end users pursuant to shrink-wrap, embedded, click-through or signed paper license agreements. Our
products generally contain copy-protection and/or copy-detection features to guard against unauthorized use. Policing
unauthorized use of computer software is difficult, and software piracy is a persistent problem for us, as it is for the software
industry in general. This problem is particularly acute in some of the international markets in which we operate. For the risks
associated with the protection of our intellectual property, see “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of this annual report.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
We are committed to delivering best-in-class digital media content-creation solutions market-tailored to the unique needs, skills
and sophistication levels of our target customer market segments. We are known as a pioneer and innovator of digital media
content-creation solutions with research and development, or R&D, operations around the globe. Our R&D efforts are focused on
the development of digital media content-creation tools and workgroup solutions that operate primarily on the Mac and Windows
platforms. Our R&D efforts also include networking and storage initiatives intended to deliver standards-based media transfer
and media asset management tools, as well as stand-alone and network-attached media storage systems for workgroups. In
addition to our internal R&D efforts, we are offshoring an increasing portion of certain R&D projects to internationally based
partners. Our R&D expenditures for 2011, 2010 and 2009 were $118.1 million, $120.2 million and $121.0 million, respectively,
which represented 17%, 18% and 19% of our net revenues, respectively. For the risks associated with our use of partners for R&D
projects, see “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of this annual report.
Our company-operated R&D operations are located in: Burlington, Massachusetts; Daly City, California; Madison, Wisconsin;
Mountain View, California; Munich, Germany; Kaiserslautern, Germany; Montreal, Canada and London, England.
HISTORY AND OPERATIONS
Avid was incorporated in Delaware in 1987. We are headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, with operations in North
America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. At December 31, 2011, our worldwide workforce consisted of 1,787
employees and 490 external contractors.
AVID GREEN INITIATIVE
Our initial “green” activities focused on compliance with such environmental initiatives as the Waste Electrical and Electronic
Equipment Directive, or WEEE, and Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic
equipment, or RoHS, and we provide for the recycling of our products and removal of specific toxic substances that may be found
in our products as required by environmental regulations. We have since broadened our focus to include the development of our
“Design for Environment” program, which incorporates environmental considerations into products from initial concept to end-
of-life, as well as our Corporate Environment Management System.
Our Avid Environmental Policy, which is based on the principle that it is our responsibility to minimize our impact on the
environment, establishes the following environmental goals:
• Endorse product stewardship by adopting and integrating Design for Environment practices to minimize environmental
impact throughout the product lifecycle.