Adobe 2009 Annual Report Download - page 38

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• disruption of our ongoing business and distraction of our management and employees from other opportunities
and challenges;
• difficulty integrating the acquired company’s accounting, management information, human resources and other
administrative systems;
• inability to retain key technical and managerial personnel of the acquired business;
• inability to retain key customers, distributors, vendors and other business partners of the acquired business;
• inability to achieve the financial and strategic goals for the acquired and combined businesses;
• inability to take advantage of anticipated tax benefits as a result of unforeseen difficulties in our integration
activities;
• incurring acquisition-related costs or amortization costs for acquired intangible assets that could impact our
operating results;
• potential additional exposure to fluctuations in currency exchange rates;
• potential impairment of our relationships with employees, customers, partners, distributors or third-party
providers of our technologies, products or services;
• potential failure of the due diligence processes to identify significant problems, liabilities or other shortcomings or
challenges of an acquired company or technology, including but not limited to, issues with the acquired
company’s intellectual property, product quality or product architecture, data back-up and security, revenue
recognition or other accounting practices, employee, customer or partner issues or legal and financial
contingencies;
• exposure to litigation or other claims in connection with, or inheritance of claims or litigation risk as a result of, an
acquisition, including but not limited to, claims from terminated employees, customers, former stockholders or
other third-parties;
• incurring significant exit charges if products or services acquired in business combinations are unsuccessful;
• potential inability to assert that internal controls over financial reporting are effective;
• potential inability to obtain, or obtain in a timely manner, approvals from governmental authorities, which could
delay or prevent such acquisitions;
• potential delay in customer and distributor purchasing decisions due to uncertainty about the direction of our
product and service offerings; and
• potential incompatibility of business cultures.
Mergers and acquisitions of high technology companies are inherently risky, and ultimately, if we do not complete an
announced acquisition transaction or integrate an acquired business successfully and in a timely manner, we may not realize
the benefits of the acquisition to the extent anticipated.
We may incur substantial costs enforcing or acquiring intellectual property rights and defending against third-party claims
as a result of litigation or other proceedings.
In connection with the enforcement of our own intellectual property rights, the acquisition of third-party intellectual
property rights, or disputes relating to the validity or alleged infringement of third-party intellectual property rights, including
patent rights, we have been, are currently and may in the future be subject to claims, negotiations or complex, protracted
litigation. Intellectual property disputes and litigation are typically very costly and can be disruptive to our business
operations by diverting the attention and energies of management and key technical personnel. Although we have
successfully defended or resolved past litigation and disputes, we may not prevail in any ongoing or future litigation and
disputes. Third-party intellectual property disputes could subject us to significant liabilities, require us to enter into royalty
and licensing arrangements on unfavorable terms, prevent us from licensing certain of our products or offering certain of our
services, subject us to injunctions restricting our sale of products or services, cause severe disruptions to our operations or the
markets in which we compete, or require us to satisfy indemnification commitments with our customers including contractual