Seagate 2013 Annual Report Download - page 31

Table of Contents
We are at times subject to intellectual property legal proceedings and claims which could cause us to incur significant additional costs or
prevent us from selling our products, and which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
We are subject from time-to-time to legal proceedings and claims, including claims of alleged infringement of the patents, trademarks and
other intellectual property rights of third parties by us, or our customers, in connection with their use of our products. Intellectual property
litigation can be expensive and time-consuming, regardless of the merits of any claim, and could divert our management's attention from
operating our business. In addition, intellectual property lawsuits are subject to inherent uncertainties due to the complexity of the technical
issues involved, which may cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations. Patent litigation has increased due to the current
uncertainty of the law and the increasing competition and overlap of product functionality in the field. Some of the actions that we face from
time-to-time seek injunctions against the sale of our products and/or substantial monetary damages, which if granted or awarded, could
materially harm our business, financial condition and operating results.
We cannot be certain that our products do not and will not infringe issued patents or other intellectual property rights of others. We may not
be aware of currently filed patent applications that relate to our products or technology. If patents are later issued on these applications, we may
be liable for infringement. If our products were found to infringe the intellectual property rights of others, we could be required to pay substantial
damages, cease the manufacture, use and sale of infringing products in one or more geographic locations, expend significant resources to
develop non-
infringing technology, discontinue the use of specific processes or obtain licenses to the technology infringed. We might not be able
to obtain the necessary licenses on acceptable terms, or at all, or be able to reengineer our products successfully to avoid infringement. Any of
the foregoing could cause us to incur significant costs and prevent us from selling our products, which could adversely affect our results of
operations and financial condition. See "Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data-Note 14. Legal, Environmental and Other
Contingencies" contained in this report for a description of pending intellectual property proceedings.
We may be unable to protect our intellectual property rights, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of
operations.
We rely on a combination of patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret laws, confidentiality procedures and licensing arrangements to
protect our IP rights. In the past, we have been involved in significant and expensive disputes regarding our IP rights and those of others,
including claims that we may be infringing patents, trademarks and other IP rights of third-parties. We expect that we will be involved in similar
disputes in the future.
There can be no assurance that:
• any of our existing patents will continue to be held valid, if challenged;
• patents will be issued for any of our pending applications;
• any claims allowed from existing or pending patents will have sufficient scope or strength to protect us; or
• our patents will be issued in the primary countries where our products are sold in order to protect our rights and potential
commercial advantage.
In addition, our competitors may be able to design their products around our patents and other proprietary rights. Enforcement of our rights
often requires litigation. If we bring a patent infringement action and are not successful, our competitors would be able to use similar technology
to compete with us. Moreover, the defendant in such an action may successfully countersue us for infringement of their patents or assert a
counterclaim that our patents are invalid or unenforceable.
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