Capital One 2014 Annual Report Download - page 38

Intellectual Property
As part of our overall and ongoing strategy to protect and enhance our intellectual property, we rely on a variety of
protections, including copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, patents and certain restrictions on disclosure, solicitation
and competition. We also undertake other measures to control access to and distribution of our other proprietary
information. Despite these precautions, it may be possible for a third party to copy or otherwise obtain and use
certain intellectual property or proprietary information without authorization. Our precautions may not prevent
misappropriation or infringement of our intellectual property or proprietary information. In addition, our competitors
and other third parties also file patent applications for innovations that are used in our industry. The ability of our
competitors and other third parties to obtain such patents may adversely affect our ability to compete. Conversely,
our ability to obtain such patents may increase our competitive advantage. There can be no assurance that we will
be successful in such efforts, or that the ability of our competitors to obtain such patents may not adversely impact
our financial results.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
From time to time, we have made and will make forward-looking statements, including those that discuss, among
other things, strategies, goals, outlook or other non-historical matters; projections, revenues, income, returns,
expenses, capital measures, accruals for claims in litigation and for other claims against us, earnings per share or
other financial measures for us; future financial and operating results; our plans, objectives, expectations and
intentions; and the assumptions that underlie these matters.
To the extent that any such information is forward-looking, it is intended to fit within the safe harbor for forward-
looking information provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Numerous factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from those described in such forward-looking
statements, including, among other things:
• general economic and business conditions in the U.S., the U.K., Canada or our local markets, including
conditions affecting employment levels, interest rates, collateral values, consumer income and confidence,
spending and savings that may affect consumer bankruptcies, defaults, charge-offs and deposit activity;
• an increase or decrease in credit losses (including increases due to a worsening of general economic conditions
in the credit environment);
• financial, legal, regulatory, tax or accounting changes or actions, including the impact of the Dodd-Frank Act
and the regulations promulgated thereunder and regulations governing bank capital and liquidity standards,
including Basel-related initiatives and potential changes to financial accounting and reporting standards;
• developments, changes or actions relating to any litigation matter involving us;
• the inability to sustain revenue and earnings growth;
• increases or decreases in interest rates;
• our ability to access the capital markets at attractive rates and terms to capitalize and fund our operations and
future growth;
• the success of our marketing efforts in attracting and retaining customers;
• increases or decreases in our aggregate loan balances or the number of customers and the growth rate and
composition thereof, including increases or decreases resulting from factors such as shifting product mix, amount
of actual marketing expenses we incur and attrition of loan balances;
• the level of future repurchase or indemnification requests we may receive, the actual future performance of
mortgage loans relating to such requests, the success rates of claimants against us, any developments in litigation
and the actual recoveries we may make on any collateral relating to claims against us;
16 Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)