Vistaprint 2007 Annual Report Download - page 19

We place advertisements on the websites of companies such as eBay and Amazon, contract for
targeted e-mail marketing services from vendors such as IntegraClick and MyPoints, and contract for
placement on leading search engines such as Google and Yahoo!. We maintain affiliate programs with
companies such as UPromise under which we permit program members to include hyperlinks to our
websites on their sites and in promotional materials and we pay program members for sales generated
through those links.
In addition, we create co-branded or private branded versions of our websites and web landing or
splash pages for companies in a variety of industries. In general, these arrangements involve payment
of a commission or revenue share to these companies for sales of our products and services
generated through these websites and web pages.
We have also developed a scalable capability to address the market of customers who choose to
order customized products and services through retail environments such as office superstores,
retailers and copy storefronts. With a strong wholesale value proposition, a commitment to quality and
service we believe that we are positioned to develop broader and deeper relationships in this space.
Intellectual Property
Protecting our intellectual property rights is part of our strategy for competitive differentiation. We
seek to protect our proprietary rights through a combination of patent, copyright, trade secret, and
trademark law and contractual restrictions, such as confidentiality agreements and proprietary rights
agreements. We enter into confidentiality and proprietary rights agreements with our employees,
consultants and business partners, and control access to and distribution of our proprietary information.
We currently hold 13 issued United States patents, two issued European patents, and one issued
French patent. Subject to our continued payment of required patent maintenance fees, our currently
issued patents will expire between December 2016 and May 2024. In addition, we currently have more
than 40 patent applications pending in the United States and other countries and we intend to pursue
corresponding patent coverage in additional countries to the extent we believe such coverage is
justified, appropriate, and cost efficient. Our issued patents relate generally to our automated process
for receiving, processing, aggregating and producing multiple individual print jobs and to automated
processes for facilitating document creation at a client system.
From time to time, third parties may allege that we have violated their intellectual property rights.
In addition, a third party may claim that we have improperly obtained or used its confidential or
proprietary information. We have in the past received letters from third parties that state that these third
parties have patent rights that cover aspects of the technology that we use in our business and that the
third parties believe we are obligated to license in order to continue to use such technology. Any claims
that our products or processes infringe the intellectual property rights of others, regardless of the merit
or resolution of such claims, could cause us to incur significant costs in responding to, defending, and
resolving such claims, and may divert the efforts and attention of our management and technical
personnel away from our business. As a result of such intellectual property infringement claims, we
could be required or otherwise decide it is appropriate to:
‰pay damages;
‰discontinue manufacturing, using, or selling particular products subject to infringement claims;
‰discontinue using or providing the technology or processes subject to infringement claims;
‰develop other technology not subject to infringement claims, which could be time-consuming
and costly or may not be possible; and/or
‰license technology from the third party claiming infringement, which license may not be
available on commercially reasonable terms.
Form 10-K
15