First Data 2012 Annual Report Download - page 9

Intellectual Property
The Company owns a global portfolio of many trademarks, trade names, patents and other intellectual property that are
important to its future success. The only intellectual property rights which are individually material to the Company are the FIRST
DATA trademark and trade name and the STAR trademark and trade name. The STAR trademark and trade name are used in the
Financial Services segment. The FIRST DATA trademark and trade name are associated with quality and reliable electronic
commerce and payments solutions. Financial institutions and merchants associate the STAR trademark and trade name with quality
and reliable debit network services and processing services. Loss of the proprietary use of the FIRST DATA or STAR trademarks and
trade names or a diminution in the perceived quality associated with these names could harm the growth of the Company’s businesses.
The Company uses a combination of technologies (including proprietary technology and technology obtained from third parties)
to provide its products and services to its customers, and to remain competitive. The Company has various programs and procedures to
protect its patents and other intellectual property rights. The patent protection associated with the Company’s systems and software
expires at different times over the next one to 20 years.
Employees and Labor
At December 31, 2012, the Company employed approximately 24,000 employees, approximately 97% of which were full-time
employees. The majority of the employees of the Company’s subsidiaries outside of the U.S. are subject to the terms of individual
employment agreements. One of the Company’s wholly owned subsidiaries has approximately 1,500 employees in the United
Kingdom, a portion of whom are members of the Unite trade union. Employees of the Company’s subsidiaries in Vienna, Austria;
Frankfurt, Germany; and Nürnberg, Germany are also represented by local works councils and a portion of the Frankfurt workforce is
covered by a union contract. Certain employees of the Company’s Korean subsidiary are represented by a Labor-Management council.
Employees in certain other countries are also covered by the terms of industry-specific national collective agreements. None of the
Company’s employees are otherwise represented by any labor organization in the U.S. The Company believes that its relations with its
employees and the labor organizations identified above are in good standing.
Available Information
FDC’s principal executive offices are located at 5565 Glenridge Connector, N.E., Suite 2000, Atlanta, Georgia 30342, telephone
[phone]. The Company’s annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and
amendments to those reports are available free of charge to shareholders and other interested parties through the “Investor Relations”
portion of the Company’s web site at http://investor.firstdata.com as soon as reasonably practical after they are filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The SEC maintains a web site, www.sec.gov, which contains reports and other
information filed electronically with the SEC by the Company. The Company’s Audit Committee Charter, Governance, Compensation
and Nominations Committee Charter, Technology and Investment Committee Charter, and Code of Ethics for Senior Financial
Officers are available without charge through the “About First Data”, “Investor Relations”, “Corporate Governance” portion of the
Company’s investor relations web site, listed above, or by writing to the attention of Investor Relations at the address listed above.
Executive Officers of the Company
Refer to Item 10 of this Form 10-K.
Government Regulations
Various aspects of the Company’s service areas are subject to U.S. federal, state and local regulation, as well as regulation
outside the U.S. Failure to comply with regulations may result in the suspension or revocation of licenses or registrations, the
limitation, suspension or termination of service, and/or the imposition of civil and criminal penalties, including fines. Certain of the
Company’s services also are subject to rules promulgated by various payment networks, such as Visa, MasterCard and Discover, as
more fully described below.
Dodd-Frank Act. In July 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the “Dodd-Frank
Act”) was signed into law in the United States. The Dodd-Frank Act will result in significant structural and other changes to the
regulation of the financial services industry. Among other things, Title X of the Dodd-Frank Act establishes a new, independent
regulatory agency known as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to regulate consumer financial products and services
(including many offered by the Company’s customers). Separately, under Section 1075 of the Dodd-Frank Act, debit interchange
transaction fees that a card issuer receives and that are established by a payment card network for an electronic debit transaction will
now be regulated by the Federal Reserve Board and must be “reasonable and proportional” to the cost incurred by the card issuer in
authorizing, clearing and settling the transaction. On June 29, 2011, the Federal Reserve Board announced the final rules governing
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