Western Digital 2012 Annual Report Download - page 19

Backlog
A substantial portion of our orders are generally for shipments within 30 to 60 days of the placement of the
order. Customers’ purchase orders typically may be canceled with relatively short notice to us, with little or no cost to
the customer, or modified by customers to provide for delivery at a later date. In addition, for many of our OEMs uti-
lizing just-in-time inventory, we do not generally require firm order commitments and instead, receive a periodic
forecast of requirements. Therefore, backlog information as of the end of a particular period is not necessarily
indicative of future levels of our revenue and profit and may not be comparable to prior periods.
Patents, Licenses and Proprietary Information
We own numerous patents and have many patent applications in process. We believe that, although our patents
and patent applications have considerable value, the successful manufacturing and marketing of our products depends
primarily upon the technical and managerial competence of our staff. Accordingly, the patents held and applied for do
not ensure our future success.
In addition to patent protection of certain intellectual property rights, we consider elements of our product
designs and processes to be proprietary and confidential. We believe that our non-patented intellectual property, par-
ticularly some of our process technology, is an important factor in our success. We rely upon non-disclosure agree-
ments and contractual provisions and a system of internal safeguards to protect our proprietary information. Despite
these safeguards, there is a risk that competitors may obtain and use such information. The laws of foreign juris-
dictions in which we conduct business may provide less protection for confidential information than the U.S.
We rely on certain technology that we license from other parties to manufacture and sell our products. We
believe that we have adequate cross-licenses and other agreements in place in addition to our own intellectual property
portfolio to compete successfully in the storage industry. For discussion of risks related to our ownership and use of
intellectual property, see Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Environmental Regulation
We are subject to a variety of U.S. and foreign laws and regulations in connection with our operations and relat-
ing to the protection of the environment, including those governing discharges of pollutants into the air and water,
the management and disposal of hazardous substances, and the cleanup of contaminated sites. Some of our operations
require environmental permits and controls to prevent and reduce air and water pollution. These permits are subject
to modification, renewal and revocation by issuing authorities. We believe that we have obtained or are in the process
of obtaining all necessary environmental permits for our operations.
We have established environmental management systems and continually update our environmental policies and
standard operating procedures for our operations worldwide. We believe that our operations are in material com-
pliance with applicable environmental laws, regulations and permits. We budget for operating and capital costs on an
ongoing basis to comply with environmental laws.
Our properties have in some cases been operated for many years and may contain soil or groundwater con-
tamination. In certain of our facilities we are undertaking voluntary monitoring of soil and groundwater. Based on
available information, including our voluntary monitoring activities, we do not believe that we have a current affirma-
tive legal obligation for any remedial action.
For a discussion of risks related to environmental regulation, see Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Employees
As of June 29, 2012, we employed a total of 103,111 employees worldwide, excluding temporary employees and
contractors. Many of our employees are highly skilled, and our continued success depends in part upon our ability to
attract and retain such employees. Accordingly, we offer employee benefit programs which we believe are, in the
aggregate, competitive with those offered by our competitors.
While the substantial majority of our employees are not party to a collective bargaining agreement, a majority of
our employees in Japan are subject to a collective bargaining agreement with the Hitachi Worker Union. In addition,
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