Amazon.com 2012 Annual Report Download - page 72

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 72 of the 2012 Amazon.com annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 90

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90

In June 2012, Hand Held Products, Inc., a subsidiary of Honeywell, filed a complaint against Amazon.com,
Inc., AMZN Mobile LLC, AmazonFresh LLC, A9.com, Inc., A9 Innovations LLC, and Quidsi, Inc. in the United
States District Court for the District of Delaware. The complaint alleges, among other things, that the use of
mobile barcode reader applications, including Amazon Mobile, Amazon Price Check, Flow, and AmazonFresh,
infringes U.S. Patent No. 6,015,088, entitled “Decoding of Real Time Video Imaging.” The complaint seeks an
unspecified amount of damages, interest, and an injunction. We dispute the allegations of wrongdoing and intend
to vigorously defend ourselves in this matter.
In July 2012, Norman Blagman filed a purported class-action complaint against us for copyright
infringement in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The complaint alleges,
among other things, that we sell digital music in our Amazon MP3 Store obtained from defendant Orchard
Enterprises and other unnamed “digital music aggregators” without obtaining mechanical licenses for the
compositions embodied in that music. The complaint seeks certification as a class action, statutory damages,
attorneys’ fees, and interest. We dispute the allegations of wrongdoing and intend to vigorously defend ourselves
in this matter.
In July 2012, Technology Properties Limited, Phoenix Digital Solutions LLC, and Patriot Scientific
Corporation filed a complaint against us for patent infringement in the United States International Trade
Commission and in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The complaints
allege, among other things, that using the Kindle Fire in combination with certain peripheral devices infringes
U.S. Patent No. 5,809,336, entitled “High Performance Microprocessor Having Variable Speed System
Clock.” The ITC complaint seeks an exclusion order preventing the importation of Kindle Fire into the United
States. The district court complaint asserts infringement of two additional patents—U.S. Patent Nos. 5,440,749
and 5,530,890, both entitled “High Performance, Low Cost Microprocessor Architecture”—and seeks an
unspecified amount of damages, enhanced damages, attorneys’ fees, interest, and an injunction. In a November
2012 letter to the Company plaintiff alleged specifically that, if we are found to infringe the patents-in-suit and
the patents are found to be valid (both of which we dispute), Amazon and its affiliates should pay damages of
approximately $42 million, subject to enhancement, plus $17 million in prejudgment interest. We dispute the
allegations of wrongdoing and intend to vigorously defend ourselves in this matter.
In August 2012, an Australian quasi-government entity named Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial
Research Organization filed a complaint against us in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of
Texas. The complaint alleges, among other things, that the sale of “products which are operable according to the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (“IEEE”) 802.11a, g, n, and/or draft n standards” infringe U.S.
Patent No. 5,487,069, entitled “Wireless LAN.” The complaint seeks an unspecified amount of damages,
enhanced damages, attorneys’ fees, and injunctive relief. We dispute the allegations of wrongdoing and intend to
vigorously defend ourselves in this matter.
In September 2012, B.E. Technology, LLC filed a complaint against Amazon Digital Services, Inc. in the
United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. The complaint alleges, among other things,
that Kindle, Kindle Touch, Kindle Touch 3G, Kindle Keyboard 3G, Kindle DX, and Kindle Fire infringe U.S.
Patent No. 6,771,290, entitled “Computer Interface Method And Apparatus With Portable Network Organization
System And Targeted Advertising.” The complaint seeks an unspecified amount of damages, interest, and
injunctive relief. We dispute the allegations of wrongdoing and intend to vigorously defend ourselves in this
matter.
In November 2012, Innovative Automation LLC filed a complaint against Amazon.com, Inc., Audible, Inc.,
and On-Demand Publishing LLC dba CreateSpace in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of
Texas. The complaint alleges, among other things, that Amazon products and services relating to Kindle content
distribution, Audible audiobooks, Amazon Cloud Player, and on-demand CD and DVD duplication infringe
U.S. Patent Nos. 7,392,283 and 7,174,362, both entitled “Method and System for Supplying Products and
Pre-Stored Digital Data in Response to Demands Transmitted Via Computer Network.” The complaint seeks an
65