Blackberry 2012 Annual Report Download - page 76

The Company is subject to general commercial litigation, class action and other litigation claims as part of its operations,
and it could suffer significant litigation expenses in defending these claims and could be subject to significant damage
awards or other remedies.
In the course of its business, the Company receives general commercial claims related to the conduct of its business and the
performance of its products and services, employment claims and other litigation claims, which may potentially include claims
relating to improper use of or access to personal data. For example, as a result of the service interruption that occurred in October
2011, the Company is facing class action suits in multiple jurisdictions and has received inquiries from consumer protection agencies.
Litigation resulting from these claims could be costly and time-consuming and could divert the attention of management and key
personnel from the Company’s business operations. The complexity of the technology involved and the inherent uncertainty of
commercial, class action, employment and other litigation increases these risks. In recognition of these considerations, the Company
may enter into material settlements. If the Company is unsuccessful in its defense of material litigation claims or is unable to settle the
claims, the Company may be faced with significant monetary damages or injunctive relief against it that could have a material
adverse effect on the Company’s business, BlackBerry brand, results of operations and financial condition. Administrative or
regulatory actions against the Company or its employees could also have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business,
BlackBerry brand, results of operations and financial condition.
Risk associated with litigation claims against the Company arising from the Company’s practice of providing forward-
looking guidance to its shareholders with respect to certain financial metrics, including the Company’s practice of
updating previous guidance where circumstances warrant.
In the past, the Company has followed the practice of providing specific quantitative forward-looking guidance to its shareholders
with respect to certain financial metrics for the subsequent fiscal quarter in its quarterly earnings press releases. In addition, in certain
quarterly earnings press releases over the past fiscal year, the Company provided forward-looking guidance with respect to its
anticipated earnings per share for the full fiscal year ended March 3, 2012. On March 29, 2012, the Company announced that it will
no longer provide specific quantitative guidance. However, the Company is committed to providing a high level of disclosure and
transparency and will continue to provide commentary that highlights the trends and uncertainties that RIM anticipates. Any
statements that are forward-looking statements are intended to enable RIM’s shareholders to view the anticipated financial
performance and prospects of the Company from management’s perspective at the time such statements are made, and they are
subject to the risks that are inherent in all forward-looking statements, as described in this Annual Information Form under
“Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors”. These forward-looking statements are made by RIM
in light of its experience, its perception of historical and anticipated business trends, existing conditions in the business at the time and
anticipated future developments, including competition and new product initiatives and expected timing, as well as RIM’s current
assessments of the risk factors that affect its business and the likely success of mitigation strategies relating to such factors. These
forward-looking statements are subject to the inherent risk of difficulties in forecasting RIM’s financial results for future periods,
particularly over longer periods, given the rapid technological changes, evolving industry standards, intense competition and short
product life cycles that characterize the wireless communications industry.
68