AMD 2006 Annual Report Download - page 41

Table of Contents
With respect to intellectual property litigation, from time to time, we have been notified, or third parties may bring actions against us, based on allegations
that we are infringing the intellectual property rights of others. If any such claims are asserted against us, we may seek to obtain a license under the third party’s
intellectual property rights. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain all of the necessary licenses on satisfactory terms, if at all. In the event that we
cannot obtain a license, these parties may file lawsuits against us seeking damages (potentially including treble damages) or an injunction against the sale of our
products that incorporate allegedly infringed intellectual property or against the operation of our business as presently conducted, which could result in our
having to stop the sale of some of our products or to increase the costs of selling some of our products or could damage our reputation. The award of damages,
including material royalty payments, or the entry of an injunction against the manufacture and sale of some or all of our products, would have a material adverse
effect on us. We could decide, in the alternative, to redesign our products or to resort to litigation to challenge such claims. Such challenges could be extremely
expensive and time-consuming and could have a material adverse effect on us. We cannot assure you that litigation related to our intellectual property rights or
the intellectual property rights of others can always be avoided or successfully concluded.
Even if we were to prevail, any litigation could be costly and time-consuming and would divert the attention of our management and key personnel from
our business operations, which could have a material adverse effect on us.
We are subject to a variety of environmental laws that could result in liabilities.
Our operations and properties are subject to various United States and foreign environmental laws and regulations, including those relating to materials
used in our products and manufacturing processes, discharge of pollutants into the environment, the treatment, transport, storage and disposal of solid and
hazardous wastes, and remediation of contamination. These laws and regulations require us to obtain permits for our operations, including the discharge of air
pollutants and wastewater. Although our management systems are designed to maintain compliance, we cannot assure you that we have been or will be at all
times in complete compliance with such laws, regulations and permits. If we violate or fail to comply with any of them, a range of consequences could result,
including fines, suspension of production, alteration of manufacturing processes, import/export restrictions, sales limitations, criminal and civil liabilities or other
sanctions. We could also be held liable for any and all consequences arising out of exposure to hazardous materials used, stored, released, disposed of by us or
located at or under our facilities or other environmental or natural resource damage.
Certain environmental laws, including the U.S. Comprehensive, Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, or the Superfund Act,
impose strict, joint and several liability on current and previous owners or operators of real property for the cost of removal or remediation of hazardous
substances and impose liability for damages to natural resources. These laws often impose liability even if the owner or operator did not know of, or was not
responsible for, the release of such hazardous substances. These environmental laws also assess liability on persons who arrange for hazardous substances to be
sent to disposal or treatment facilities when such facilities are found to be contaminated. Such persons can be responsible for cleanup costs even if they never
owned or operated the contaminated facility. We have been named as a responsible party on Superfund clean-up orders for three sites in Sunnyvale, California.
Although we have not yet been, we could be named a potentially responsible party at other Superfund or contaminated sites in the future. In addition,
contamination that has not yet been identified could exist at our other facilities.
Environmental laws are complex, change frequently and have tended to become more stringent over time. For example, the European Union and China are
two among a growing number of jurisdictions that have enacted restrictions on the use of lead, among other chemicals, in electronic products. These regulations
affect semiconductor packaging, and we continue our work to ensure compliance across product lines. There is a risk that the cost, quality and manufacturing
yields of lead-free products may be less favorable compared to lead-based products or that the transition to lead-free products may produce sudden changes in
demand, which may result in excess inventory. Other regulatory requirements potentially affecting our manufacturing processes and the design and marketing of
our products are in development throughout the world. We have management
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Source: ADVANCED MICRO DEVIC, 10-K, March 01, 2007