Symantec 2011 Annual Report Download - page 89

product licensing, which could cause us to lose existing or potential customers and could adversely affect our
operating results.
If we are unable to attract and retain qualified employees, lose key personnel, fail to integrate
replacement personnel successfully, or fail to manage our employee base effectively, we may be unable to
develop new and enhanced products and services, effectively manage or expand our business, or increase
our revenues.
Our future success depends upon our ability to recruit and retain our key management, technical, sales,
marketing, finance, and other critical personnel. Our officers and other key personnel are employees-at-will, and we
cannot assure you that we will be able to retain them. Competition for people with the specific skills that we require
is significant. In order to attract and retain personnel in a competitive marketplace, we believe that we must provide
a competitive compensation package, including cash and equity-based compensation. The volatility in our stock
price may from time to time adversely affect our ability to recruit or retain employees. In addition, we may be
unable to obtain required stockholder approvals of future increases in the number of shares available for issuance
under our equity compensation plans, and accounting rules require us to treat the issuance of employee stock
options and other forms of equity-based compensation as compensation expense. As a result, we may decide to issue
fewer equity-based incentives and may be impaired in our efforts to attract and retain necessary personnel. If we are
unable to hire and retain qualified employees, or conversely, if we fail to manage employee performance or reduce
staffing levels when required by market conditions, our business and operating results could be adversely affected.
From time to time, key personnel leave our company. While we strive to reduce the negative impact of such
changes, the loss of any key employee could result in significant disruptions to our operations, including adversely
affecting the timeliness of product releases, the successful implementation and completion of company initiatives,
the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal control over financial reporting, and the
results of our operations. In addition, hiring, training, and successfully integrating replacement sales and other
personnel could be time consuming, may cause additional disruptions to our operations, and may be unsuccessful,
which could negatively impact future revenues.
From time to time we are a party to class action lawsuits, which often require significant management
time and attention and result in significant legal expenses, and which could, if not determined favorably,
negatively impact our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We have been named as a party to class action lawsuits, and we may be named in additional litigation. The
expense of defending such litigation may be costly and divert management’s attention from the day-to-day
operations of our business, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and cash flows. In
addition, an unfavorable outcome in such litigation could negatively impact our business, results of operations, and
cash flows.
Third parties claiming that we infringe their proprietary rights could cause us to incur significant legal
expenses and prevent us from selling our products.
From time to time, we receive claims that we have infringed the intellectual property rights of others, including
claims regarding patents, copyrights, and trademarks. In addition, former employers of our former, current, or
future employees may assert claims that such employees have improperly disclosed to us the confidential or
proprietary information of these former employers. Any such claim, with or without merit, could result in costly
litigation and distract management from day-to-day operations. If we are not successful in defending such claims,
we could be required to stop selling, delay shipments of, or redesign our products, pay monetary amounts as
damages, enter into royalty or licensing arrangements, or satisfy indemnification obligations that we have with
some of our customers. We cannot assure you that any royalty or licensing arrangements that we may seek in such
circumstances will be available to us on commercially reasonable terms or at all.
In addition, we license and use software from third parties in our business. These third party software licenses
may not continue to be available to us on acceptable terms or at all, and may expose us to additional liability. This
19