Netgear 2013 Annual Report Download - page 10

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Table of Contents
We conduct most of our international sales and marketing operations through wholly-
owned subsidiaries, which operate via sales and marketing
subsidiaries and branch offices worldwide.
Customer Support
We design our products with “plug-and-play”
ease of use. We respond globally to customer questions through a variety of venues including phone,
chat and email. Customers can also get self-
help service through the comprehensive knowledgebase and the user forum on our website. Customer
support is provided through a combination of a limited number of permanent employees and use of subcontracted, out-
sourced resources. Our permanent
employees design our technical support database and are responsible for training and managing our outsourced sub-
contractors. They also handle
escalations from the outsourced resources. We utilize the information gained from customers by our customer support organization to enhance our
product offerings, including further simplifying the installation process.
Intellectual Property
We believe that our continued success will depend primarily on the technical expertise, speed of technology implementation, creative skills and
management abilities of our officers and key employees, plus ownership of a limited but important set of copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets and
patents. We primarily rely on a combination of copyright, trademark and trade secret and patent laws, nondisclosure agreements with employees,
consultants and suppliers and other contractual provisions to establish, maintain and protect our proprietary rights. We hold approximately 150 issued
United States patents that expire between years 2014 and 2030 and 80 foreign patents that expire between 2014 and 2030. In addition, we currently have
approximately 125 pending United States and foreign patent applications related to technology and products offered by us. We also rely on third-
party
licensors for patented hardware and software license rights in technology that are incorporated into and are necessary for the operation and functionality
of our products. Our success will depend in part on our continued ability to have access to these technologies.
We have trade secret rights for our products, consisting mainly of product design, technical product documentation and software. We also own, or
have applied for registration of trademarks, in connection with our products in the United States and internationally, including NETGEAR, the
NETGEAR logo, AirCard, NETGEAR Green, the NETGEAR Green logo, NETGEAR Digital Entertainer, the NETGEAR Digital Entertainer logo,
Genie, Genie+, the Genie logo, ReadyShare, Neo TV, the Neo TV logo, NETGEAR Stora, the NETGEAR Stora logo, Connect with Innovation,
ProSafe, RangeMax, ReadyNAS, ReadyDrop, ReadyData, ReadyCloud, ReadyDLNA, Smart Wizard, ProSecure, the ProSecure logo, Push2TV,
Ultraline, Proline, Liteline, Envoy Service Management System, Versalink, Wirespeed, Leaf Networks, NeoMedia, Centria, On Networks, Folio, Wifi
Works, My Media, Nighthawk, NETGEAR Trek, Overdrive, Overdrive 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot logo, Watcher, Aircard Watcher, Zing Mobile Hotspot,
Coach, Mingle, Vue, VueZone, and X-
RAID. We have registered a number of Internet domain names that we use for electronic interaction with our
customers including dissemination of product information, marketing programs, product registration, sales activities, and other commercial uses.
Seasonal Business
We have historically experienced increased net sales in our third and fourth fiscal quarters as compared to other quarters in our fiscal year due to
seasonal demand of consumer markets related to the beginning of the school year and the holiday season. However, because of irregular and significant
purchases from customers in other markets, such as the service provider market, this pattern has not been consistent. As such, any pattern should not be
considered a reliable indicator of our future net sales or financial performance.
Backlog
We believe the actual amount of order backlog at any particular time is not a meaningful indication of our future business. Our backlog consists of
products for which customer purchase orders have been received and that are scheduled or in the process of being scheduled for shipment. While we
expect to fulfill the order backlog within the current year, most orders are subject to rescheduling or cancellation with little or no penalties. Because of
the possibility of customer changes in product scheduling or order cancellation, our backlog as of any particular date may not be an indicator of net sales
for any subsequent period. Accordingly, backlog should not be considered a reliable indicator of our ability to achieve any particular level of revenue or
financial performance.
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