AMD 2012 Annual Report Download - page 24

assigned approximately 3,000 patents and approximately 1,000 patent applications to GF. GF owns its allocation
of patents and applications subject to pre-existing rights, licenses or immunities granted to third parties relating
to such patents and applications. The patents and patent applications to be owned by each party after the division
were licensed to the other party pursuant to the agreement.
In addition, we entered into a Non-Patent Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Agreement with
GF pursuant to which we assigned to GF all of our right, title and interest in technology and non-patent
intellectual property rights used exclusively in the manufacture, sorting and/or intermediate testing of
semiconductor products. We retained technology and non-patent intellectual property rights used exclusively in
the design and/or post-fabrication delivery testing of semiconductors. Technology and non-patent intellectual
property rights used both in the manufacture, sorting and/or intermediate testing of semiconductor products and
in the design and/or post-fabrication delivery testing of semiconductor products are owned jointly by us and GF.
Backlog
We sell standard lines of products. Sales are made primarily pursuant to purchase orders for current delivery
or agreements covering purchases over a period of time. Some of these orders or agreements may be revised or
cancelled without penalty. Generally, in light of current industry practice, we do not believe that such orders or
agreements provide meaningful backlog figures or are necessarily indicative of actual sales for any succeeding
period.
Employees
As of December 29, 2012, we had approximately 10,340 employees.
Environmental Regulations
Many aspects of our business operations and products are regulated by domestic and international
environmental laws and regulations. These regulations include limitations on discharge of pollutants to air, water,
and soil; remediation requirements; product chemical content limitations; manufacturing chemical use and
handling restrictions; pollution control requirements; waste minimization considerations; and requirements with
respect to treatment, transport, storage and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes. If we fail to comply with any
of the applicable environmental regulations we may be subject to fines, suspension of production, alteration of
our manufacturing processes, import/export restrictions, sales limitations, and/or criminal and civil liabilities.
Existing or future regulations could require us to procure expensive pollution abatement or remediation
equipment; to modify product designs; or to incur other expenses to comply with environmental regulations. Any
failure to adequately control the use, disposal or storage, or discharge of hazardous substances could expose us to
future liabilities that could have a material adverse effect on our business. We believe we are in material
compliance with applicable environmental requirements and do not expect those requirements to result in
material expenditures in the foreseeable future.
Environmental laws are complex, change frequently and have tended to become more stringent over time.
For example, the European Union (EU) and China are two among a growing number of jurisdictions that have
enacted restrictions on the use of lead and other materials in electronic products. Other countries have also
implemented similar restrictions. These regulations affect semiconductor devices and packaging. As regulations
restricting materials in electronic products continue to increase around the world, there is a risk that the cost,
quality and manufacturing yields of products that are subject to these restrictions, may be less favorable
compared to products that are not subject to such restrictions, or that the transition to compliant products may
produce sudden changes in demand, which may result in excess inventory.
In August 2012, the SEC adopted its final rule to implement Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street
Reform and Consumer Protection Act regarding disclosure and reporting requirements for companies who use
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