Vistaprint 2013 Annual Report Download - page 27

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We may be subject to product liability claims if people or property are harmed by the products we sell.
Some of the products we sell may expose us to product liability claims relating to personal injury, death, or
property damage, and may require product recalls or other actions. Although we maintain product liability insurance,
we cannot be certain that our coverage will be adequate for liabilities actually incurred or that insurance will
continue to be available to us on reasonable terms, or at all.
Our inability to acquire or maintain domain names in each country or region where we currently or intend
to do business could negatively impact our ability to sell our products and services in that country or
region.
We sell our products and services primarily through our websites and from time to time we have difficulty
obtaining a domain name using Vistaprint or our other trademarks in a particular country or region. The
requirements for obtaining domain names vary from region to region and are subject to change, and the relationship
between the regulations governing domain names and the laws protecting trademarks and similar proprietary rights
is unclear. We may not be able to prevent third parties from acquiring domain names that infringe or otherwise
decrease the value of our trademarks and other proprietary rights. If we are unable to use a domain name in a
particular country, then we could be forced to purchase the domain name from an entity that owns or controls it,
which we may not be able to do on commercially acceptable terms or at all; incur significant additional expenses to
develop a new brand to market our products within that country; or elect not to sell products in that country.
Our results of operations may be negatively affected if we are required to charge sales, value added, or
other taxes on Internet sales in additional jurisdictions.
In some of the jurisdictions where we sell products and services, we do not collect or have imposed upon
us sales, value added or other consumption taxes, which we refer to as indirect taxes. The application of indirect
taxes to e-commerce businesses such as Vistaprint is a complex and evolving issue. Many of the fundamental
statutes and regulations that impose these taxes were established before the growth of the Internet and e-
commerce, and in many cases, it is not clear how existing statutes apply to the Internet or e-commerce. For
example, some state governments in the United States have imposed or are seeking to impose indirect taxes on
Internet sales. The imposition by national, state or local governments, whether within or outside the United States,
of additional taxes upon Internet commerce could discourage customers from purchasing products from us,
decrease our ability to compete with traditional retailers, or otherwise negatively impact our results of operations.
Additionally, a successful assertion by one or more governments in jurisdictions where we are not currently
collecting sales or value added taxes that we should be, or should have been, collecting indirect taxes on the sale
of our products could result in substantial tax liabilities for past sales.
If we are unable to retain security authentication certificates, which are supplied by a limited number of
third party providers over which we exercise little or no control, our business could be harmed.
We are dependent on a limited number of third party providers of website security authentication certificates
that are necessary for conducting secure transactions over the Internet. Despite any contractual protections we may
have, these third party providers can disable or revoke, and in the past have disabled or revoked, our security
certificates without our consent, which would render our websites inaccessible to some of our customers and could
discourage other customers from accessing our sites. Any interruption in our customers' ability or willingness to
access our websites if we do not have adequate security certificates could result in a material loss of revenue and
profits and damage to our brands.
Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure
Challenges by various tax authorities to our international structure could, if successful, increase our
effective tax rate and adversely affect our earnings.
We are a Dutch limited liability company that operates through various subsidiaries in a number of countries
throughout the world. Consequently, we are subject to tax laws, treaties and regulations in the countries in which we
operate, and these laws and treaties are subject to interpretation. From time to time, we are subject to tax audits
and claims by the tax authorities in these countries that a greater portion of the income of the Vistaprint N.V. group
should be subject to income or other tax in their respective jurisdictions, which could result in an increase to our
effective tax rate and adversely affect our results of operations. For more information about audits to which we are