Orbitz 2008 Annual Report Download - page 31

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difficulties in staffing and managing operations due to distance, time zones, language and cultural differences, including issues associated
with establishing management systems infrastructure in various countries;
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differences and unexpected changes in regulatory requirements and exposure to local economic conditions;
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increased risk of piracy and limits on our ability to enforce our intellectual property rights;
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preference of local populations for local providers;
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restrictions on the withdrawal of non-U.S. investment and earnings, including potentially substantial tax liabilities if we repatriate any of
the cash generated by our international operations back to the U.S.;
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diminished ability to legally enforce our contractual rights; and
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currency exchange rate fluctuations.
Further, our international operations require us to comply with a number of U.S. and international regulations. For example, we must comply with the
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, which prohibits U.S. companies or their agents and employees from providing anything of value to a foreign official for
the purposes of influencing any act or decision of these individuals in their official capacity to help obtain or retain business, direct business to any person or
corporate entity or obtain any unfair advantage. Any failure by us to adopt appropriate compliance procedures and ensure that our employees and agents comply
with the FCPA and applicable laws and regulations in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial penalties or restrictions on our ability to conduct business in
certain foreign jurisdictions.
Third parties may claim that we have infringed on their intellectual property rights, which could expose us to substantial damages and restrict our
operations.
We have faced, are facing and in the future could face claims that we have infringed the patents, copyrights, trademarks or other intellectual property rights
of others. In addition, we may be required to indemnify travel suppliers for claims made against them. Any claims against us or them could require us to spend
significant time and money in litigation or pay damages. These claims could also delay or prohibit the use of existing, or the release of new, products, services or
processes, and the development of new intellectual property. We could be required to obtain licenses to the intellectual property that is the subject of the
infringement claims, and resolution of these matters may not be available on acceptable terms or at all. Intellectual property claims against us could have a
material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, and these claims may result in a loss of intellectual property protections that
relate to certain parts of our business.
Our ability to attract, train and retain executives and other qualified employees is crucial to our results of operations and future growth.
We depend substantially on the continued services and performance of our key executives, senior management and skilled personnel, particularly our
professionals with experience in our business and operations, including our information technology and systems. Any of these individuals may chose to terminate
their employment with us at any time. The specialized skills we require are difficult and time-consuming to acquire and, as a result, these skills are in short
supply. We expect that this shortage will continue. A lengthy period of time is required to hire and train replacement personnel when skilled personnel depart the
Company. Our inability to hire, train and retain a sufficient number of qualified employees could materially hinder our business by, for example, delaying our
ability to bring new products and services to market or impairing the success of our operations. Even if we are able to
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Source: Orbitz Worldwide, In, 10-K/A, August 28, 2008