Dish Network 2011 Annual Report Download - page 26

16
16
We may not be aware of all intellectual property rights that our products or services may potentially infringe. In
addition, patent applications in the United States are confidential until the Patent and Trademark Office either
publishes the application or issues a patent (whichever arises first) and, accordingly, our products may infringe
claims contained in pending patent applications of which we are not aware. Further, the process of determining
definitively whether a claim of infringement is valid often involves expensive and protracted litigation, even if we
are ultimately successful on the merits.
We cannot estimate the extent to which we may be required in the future to obtain intellectual property licenses or
the availability and cost of any such licenses. Those costs, and their impact on our results of operations, could be
material. Damages in patent infringement cases can be substantial, and in certain circumstances can be trebled. To
the extent that we are required to pay unanticipated royalties to third parties, these increased costs of doing business
could negatively affect our liquidity and operating results. We are currently defending multiple patent infringement
actions. We cannot be certain the courts will conclude these companies do not own the rights they claim, that our
products do not infringe on these rights and/or that these rights are not valid. Further, we cannot be certain that we
would be able to obtain licenses from these persons on commercially reasonable terms or, if we were unable to
obtain such licenses, that we would be able to redesign our products to avoid infringement.
ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS
We are subject to the requirements of federal, state, local and foreign environmental and occupational safety and
health laws and regulations. These include laws regulating air emissions, water discharge and waste management.
We attempt to maintain compliance with all such requirements. We do not expect capital or other expenditures for
environmental compliance to be material in 2012 or 2013. Environmental requirements are complex, change
frequently and have become more stringent over time. Accordingly, we cannot provide assurance that these
requirements will not change or become more stringent in the future in a manner that could have a material adverse
effect on our business.
SEGMENT REPORTING DATA AND GEOGRAPHIC AREA DATA
For segment reporting data and principal geographic area data for 2011, 2010 and 2009, see Note 17 in the Notes to
our Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 15 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
EMPLOYEES
We had approximately 34,000 employees at December 31, 2011, most of whom are located in the United States. We
generally consider relations with our employees to be good.
Approximately 60 employees in three of our field offices have voted to have a union represent them in contract
negotiations. While we are not currently a party to any collective bargaining agreements, we are currently
negotiating collective bargaining agreements at these offices.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We are subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act and accordingly file our annual report on
Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements and other information
with the SEC. The public may read and copy any materials filed with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room
at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at (800) SEC-0330 for further information on the
operation of the Public Reference Room. As an electronic filer, our public filings are also maintained on the SEC’s
Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file
electronically with the SEC. The address of that website is http://www.sec.gov.