Black & Decker 2014 Annual Report Download - page 20

6
Backlog
Due to short order cycles and rapid inventory turnover primarily in the Company's CDIY and IAR businesses, backlog is
generally not considered a significant indicator of future performance. At January 31, 2015, the Company had approximately
$888 million in unfilled orders, which mainly relate to the Engineered Fastening and Security businesses. Substantially all of
these orders are reasonably expected to be filled within the current fiscal year. As of February 1, 2014 and February 2, 2013,
unfilled orders amounted to $948 million and $850 million, respectively.
Patents and Trademarks
No business segment is dependent, to any significant degree, on patents, licenses, franchises or concessions, and the loss of
these patents, licenses, franchises or concessions would not have a material adverse effect on any of the business segments. The
Company owns numerous patents, none of which individually is material to the Company's operations as a whole. These
patents expire at various times over the next 20 years. The Company holds licenses, franchises and concessions, none of which
individually or in the aggregate are material to the Company's operations as a whole. These licenses, franchises and
concessions vary in duration, but generally run from one to 40 years.
The Company has numerous trademarks that are used in its businesses worldwide. In the CDIY segment, significant trademarks
include STANLEY®, BLACK+DECKER®, DEWALT®, Porter-Cable®, Bostitch®, FatMax®, Powers®, Oldham®,
Guaranteed Tough® and the yellow & black color scheme for power tools and accessories. Significant trademarks in the
Industrial segment include STANLEY®, DEWALT®, CRC®, LaBounty®, Dubuis®, MAC®, MAC Tools®, Proto®,
Vidmar®, Facom®, AeroScout®, Cribmaster®, Expert®, USAG™, SIDCHROME™, Lista®, POP®, Warren®, GRIPCO®,
Avdel®, HeliCoil®, MasterFix®, Tucker®, NPR®, Dodge®, and Spiralock®. The Security segment includes significant
trademarks such as STANLEY®, BEST®, Blick™, HSM®, Sargent & Greenleaf®, S&G®, SONITROL®, Niscayah®,
Stanley Access Technologies™, AeroScout®, InnerSpace®, Hugs®, WanderGuard®, Roam Alert®, MyCall®, Arial® and
Bed-Check®. The terms of these trademarks typically vary from 10 to 20 years, with most trademarks being renewable
indefinitely for like terms.
Environmental Regulations
The Company is subject to various environmental laws and regulations in the U.S. and foreign countries where it has
operations. Future laws and regulations are expected to be increasingly stringent and will likely increase the Company’s
expenditures related to environmental matters.
In the normal course of business, the Company is involved in various legal proceedings relating to environmental issues. The
Company’s policy is to accrue environmental investigatory and remediation costs for identified sites when it is probable that a
liability has been incurred and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. In the event that no amount in the range of
probable loss is considered most likely, the minimum loss in the range is accrued. The amount of liability recorded is based on
an evaluation of currently available facts with respect to each individual site and includes such factors as existing technology,
presently enacted laws and regulations, and prior experience in remediation of contaminated sites. The liabilities recorded do
not take into account any claims for recoveries from insurance or third parties. As assessments and remediation progress at
individual sites, the amounts recorded are reviewed periodically and adjusted to reflect additional technical and legal
information that becomes available. As of January 3, 2015 and December 28, 2013, the Company had reserves of $177.3
million and $184.1 million, respectively, for remediation activities associated with Company-owned properties, as well as for
Superfund sites, for losses that are probable and estimable. Of the 2014 amount, $13.0 million is classified as current and
$164.3 million as long-term, which is expected to be paid over the estimated remediation period. As of January 3, 2015, the
Company has recorded $21.7 million in other assets related to funding by the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") and
monies received have been placed in trust in accordance with the Consent Decree associated with the West Coast Loading
Corporation ("WCLC") proceedings, as further discussed in Note S, Contingencies, of the Notes to Consolidated Financial
Statements in Item 8. Accordingly, the Company's cash obligation as of January 3, 2015 associated with the aforementioned
remediation activities is $155.6 million. The range of environmental remediation costs that is reasonably possible is $135.7
million to $268.9 million, which is subject to change in the near term. The Company may be liable for environmental
remediation of sites it no longer owns. Liabilities have been recorded on those sites in accordance with policy.
The amount recorded for identified contingent liabilities is based on estimates. Amounts recorded are reviewed periodically and
adjusted to reflect additional technical and legal information that becomes available. Actual costs to be incurred in future
periods may vary from the estimates, given the inherent uncertainties in evaluating certain exposures. Subject to the
imprecision in estimating future contingent liability costs, the Company does not expect that any sum it may have to pay in
connection with these matters in excess of the amounts recorded will have a materially adverse effect on its financial position,
results of operations or liquidity. Additional information regarding environmental matters is available in Note S, Contingencies,
of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8.