Toshiba 2008 Annual Report Download - page 82

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strategic businesses in which such investments are made may not generate profit commensurate with the investments.
(18) Protection of intellectual property rights
The Group makes every effort to secure intellectual property rights. However, in some regions, it may not be possible to
secure sufficient protection.
Also, the Group uses intellectual property from third parties, which the Group has acquired license to use. It may be pos-
sible that the Group fails to receive such third-party license for an essential intellectual property, or receives permission only
on unfavorable terms.
It is also possible that the Group may have to file suit in order to protect its intellectual property rights, or that a suit for
breach of intellectual property rights may be brought against the Group. Such lawsuits may require time, costs and other
management resources, and, depending on the decision handed down, it may become impossible for the Group to use an
important technology, or the Group may become liable for significant damages.
(19) Environment
In the Group’s global business activities, various environmental laws, including laws on air pollution, water pollution, toxic
substances, waste disposal, product recycling, prevention of global warming and energy policies, are in force around the
world. While the Group pays careful attention to those laws and regulations, it may be possible that the Group discovers a
legal or social liability for the environment, regardless of whether it is at fault or not, in past, present or future business activi-
ties. It may also be possible that, in future, the Group will be more strongly required to remove environmental hazards,
including toxic substances, or to further reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, as a result of the introduction of more
demanding environmental regulations or in accordance with societal requirements.
(20) Parent company’s guarantee
When the Group’s US subsidiaries, such as Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC or Toshiba International Corporation, accept
orders for large projects, the Company, as the parent company, may provides guarantees regarding contracts, etc. Upon the request of
the customers, these parent company’s guarantees are required in accordance with ordinary business practice and are provided under
the ordinary course of business to fulfill ordinary contractual obligations. However, should the relevant subsidiaries fail to fulfill con-
tractual obligations, the Company may be obliged to bear any resulting compensation, resulting in a loss.
(21) Employee retirement benefit costs and obligations
The amount of the Group’s employee retirement benefit costs and obligations are calculated on assumptions used in the rele-
vant actuarial calculations. Those assumptions may change due to adverse economic or other factors, or planned returns on
assets may be lower than anticipated.
(22) Financing environment
The Group has substantial amounts of interest-bearing debt for financing that is highly susceptible to the market environ-
ment, including interest rate movements and fund supply and demand. Changes in these factors may have an adverse effect
on the Group’s funding activities.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis