Halliburton 2011 Annual Report Download - page 36

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Changes in, compliance with, or our failure to comply with laws in the countries in which we
conduct business may negatively impact our ability to provide services in, make sales of equipment to,
and transfer personnel or equipment among, some of those countries and could have a material adverse
affect on our consolidated results of operations.
In the countries in which we conduct business, we are subject to multiple and, at times,
inconsistent regulatory regimes, including those that govern our use of radioactive materials, explosives,
and chemicals in the course of our operations. Various national and international regulatory regimes govern
the shipment of these items. Many countries, but not all, impose special controls upon the export and
import of radioactive materials, explosives, and chemicals. Our ability to do business is subject to
maintaining required licenses and complying with these multiple regulatory requirements applicable to
these special products. In addition, the various laws governing import and export of both products and
technology apply to a wide range of services and products we offer. In turn, this can affect our employment
practices of hiring people of different nationalities because these laws may prohibit or limit access to some
products or technology by employees of various nationalities. Changes in, compliance with, or our failure
to comply with these laws may negatively impact our ability to provide services in, make sales of
equipment to, and transfer personnel or equipment among some of the countries in which we operate and
could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated results of operations.
Our failure to protect our proprietary information and any successful intellectual property
challenges or infringement proceedings against us could materially and adversely affect our competitive
position.
We rely on a variety of intellectual property rights that we use in our services and products. We
may not be able to successfully preserve these intellectual property rights in the future, and these rights
could be invalidated, circumvented, or challenged. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries in which
our services and products may be sold do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as the
laws of the United States. Our failure to protect our proprietary information and any successful intellectual
property challenges or infringement proceedings against us could materially and adversely affect our
competitive position.
If we are not able to design, develop, and produce commercially competitive products and to
implement commercially competitive services in a timely manner in response to changes in technology,
our business and consolidated results of operations could be materially and adversely affected, and the
value of our intellectual property may be reduced.
The market for our services and products is characterized by continual technological developments
to provide better and more reliable performance and services. If we are not able to design, develop, and
produce commercially competitive products and to implement commercially competitive services in a
timely manner in response to changes in technology, our business and revenue could be materially and
adversely affected, and the value of our intellectual property may be reduced. Likewise, if our proprietary
technologies, equipment and facilities, or work processes become obsolete, we may no longer be
competitive, and our business and consolidated results of operations could be materially and adversely
affected.
The loss or unavailability of any of our executive officers or other key employees could have a
material adverse effect on our business.
We depend greatly on the efforts of our executive officers and other key employees to manage our
operations. The loss or unavailability of any of our executive officers or other key employees could have a
material adverse effect on our business.