Vistaprint 2007 Annual Report Download - page 32

‰restrictions imposed by local labor practices and laws on our business and operations; and
‰failure of local laws to provide a sufficient degree of protection against infringement of our
intellectual property.
We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights, which may impede our ability to
build brand identity, cause confusion among our customers, damage our reputation and permit
others to practice our patented technology, which could substantially harm our business and
results of operations.
We rely on a combination of patent, trademark, trade secret and copyright law and contractual
restrictions to protect our intellectual property. These protective measures afford only limited
protection. Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized parties may attempt to
copy aspects of our websites features and functionalities or to obtain and use information that we
consider proprietary, such as the technology used to operate our websites and our production
operations and our trademarks.
As of June 30, 2007, we held 13 issued United States patents, two issued European patents and
one issued French patent and we had more than 40 patent applications pending in the United States
and other countries. We intend to continue to pursue patent coverage in the United States and other
countries to the extent we believe such coverage is justified, appropriate, and cost efficient. There can
be no guarantee that any of our pending applications or continuation patent applications will be
granted. In addition, there could be infringement, invalidity, co-inventorship or similar claims brought by
third parties with respect to any of our currently issued patents or any patents that may be issued to us
in the future. For example, administrative opposition proceedings asking the European Patent Office to
reconsider the allowance of our European patent relating to certain downloadable document design
programs and methods were filed in 2005 and remain pending. Any such claims, whether or not
successful, could be extremely costly, could damage our reputation and brand and substantially harm
our business and results of operations.
Our primary brand is “VistaPrint.” We hold trademark registrations for the VistaPrint trademark in
the United States, the European Union, Canada, Japan and various other jurisdictions. Our
competitors or other entities may adopt names or marks similar to ours, thereby impeding our ability to
build brand identity and possibly leading to customer confusion. There are several companies that
currently incorporate or may incorporate in the future “Vista” into their company, product or service
names, such as Microsoft Corporation’s decision to name its most recently released operating system
“Microsoft Vista.” There could be potential trade name or trademark infringement claims brought by
owners of other registered trademarks or trademarks that incorporate variations of the term VistaPrint
or our other trademarks, and we may institute such claims against other parties. Any claims or
customer confusion related to our trademarks could damage our reputation and brand and
substantially harm our business and results of operations.
If we become involved in intellectual property litigation or other proceedings related to a
determination of rights, we could incur substantial costs, expenses or liability, lose our
exclusive rights or be required to stop certain of our business activities.
A third party may sue us for infringing its 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. Similarly, companies or individuals
with whom we currently have a business relationship, or have had a past business relationship, may
commence an action seeking rights in one or more of our patents or pending patent applications.
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