Dish Network 2001 Annual Report Download - page 28

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26
PATENTS AND TRADEMARKS
Many entities, including some of our competitors, have or may in the future obtain patents and other
intellectual property rights that cover or affect products or services related to those that we offer. In general, if a
court determines that one or more of our products infringes on intellectual property held by others, we may be
required to cease developing or marketing those products, to obtain licenses from the holders of the intellectual
property, or to redesign those products in such a way as to avoid infringing the patent claims. If a competitor holds
intellectual property rights, it may not allow us to use its intellectual property at any price, which could adversely
affect our competitive position.
We cannot assure you that we are aware of all intellectual property rights that our products may potentially
infringe. In addition, patent applications in the United States are confidential until the Patent and Trademark Office
issues a patent and, accordingly, we cannot evaluate the extent to which our products may infringe claims contained
in pending patent applications. Further, it is often not possible to determine definitively whether a claim of
infringement is valid, absent protracted litigation.
We cannot estimate the extent to which we may be required in the future to obtain intellectual property
licenses or the availability and cost of any such licenses. Those costs, and their impact on net income, could be
material. Damages in patent infringement cases may also include treble damages in certain circumstances. To the
extent that we are required to pay royalties to third parties to whom we are not currently making payments, these
increased costs of doing business could negatively affect our liquidity and operating results. We are currently being
sued in patent infringement actions, including, among other, suits by the following entities: Starsight Telecast, Inc.;
Gemstar; Superguide Corp.; IPPV Enterprises, LLC; and MAAST, Inc. We cannot be certain the courts will
conclude these entities do not own the rights they claim, that our products do not infringe on these rights, that we
would be able to obtain licenses from these persons on commercially reasonable terms or, if we were unable to
obtain such licenses, that we would be able to redesign our products to avoid infringement.
Certain Gemstar patents are currently being reviewed by the International Trade Commission. An adverse
decision could temporarily halt the import of our receivers and could require us to materially modify certain user-
friendly electronic programming guides and related features we currently offer to consumers. See “– Legal
Proceedings.”
EMPLOYEES
We had approximately 11,000 employees at December 31, 2001, most of whom are located in the United
States. We generally consider relations with our employees to be good.
Although a total of approximately 75 employees in two of our field offices have voted to unionize, we are
not currently a party to any collective bargaining agreements. However, we are currently negotiating collective
bargaining agreements at these offices.