Vistaprint 2014 Annual Report Download - page 24

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We rely heavily on email to market to and communicate with customers, and email communications are
subject to regulatory and reputation risks.
Various private entities attempt to regulate the use of commercial email solicitation by blacklisting
companies that the entities believe do not meet their standards, which results in those companies' emails being
blocked from some Internet domains and addresses. Although we believe that our commercial email solicitations
comply with all applicable laws, from time to time some of our Internet protocol addresses appear on some of these
blacklists. The blacklisting sometimes interferes with our ability to send operational or advertising emails to our
current and potential customers and to send and receive emails to and from our corporate email accounts, which
can interfere with our ability to market our products and services, communicate with our customers, and operate
and manage our websites and corporate email accounts. In addition, as a result of being blacklisted, we have had
disputes with, or concerns raised by, various service providers who perform services for us, including co-location
and hosting services, Internet service providers and electronic mail distribution services.
Further, we have contractual relationships with partners that market our products and services on our
behalf, and some of our marketing partners engage third-party email marketers with which we do not have any
contractual or other relationship. Although we believe we comply with all applicable laws relating to email
solicitations and our contracts with our partners require that they do the same, we do not always have control over
the third-party email marketers that our partners engage. If such a third party were to send emails marketing our
products and services in violation of applicable anti-spam or other laws, then our reputation could be harmed and
we could potentially be liable for their actions.
We are subject to safety, health, and environmental laws and regulations, which could result in
liabilities, cost increases or restrictions on our operations.
We are subject to a variety of safety, health and environmental (“SHE”) laws and regulations in each of the
jurisdictions in which we operate. These laws and regulations govern, among other things, air emissions,
wastewater discharges, the storage, handling and disposal of hazardous and other regulated substances and
wastes, soil and groundwater contamination and employee health and safety. We use regulated substances such
as inks and solvents, and generate air emissions and other discharges at our manufacturing facilities, and some of
our facilities are required to hold environmental permits. If we fail to comply with existing SHE requirements, or new,
more stringent SHE requirements applicable to us are imposed, we may be subject to monetary fines, civil or
criminal sanctions, third-party claims or the limitation or suspension of our operations. In addition, if we are found to
be responsible for hazardous substances at any location (including, for example, offsite waste disposal facilities or
facilities at which we formerly operated), we may be responsible for the cost of cleaning up contamination,
regardless of fault, as well as to claims for harm to health or property or for natural resource damages arising out of
contamination or exposure to hazardous substances.
Our customers create products that incorporate images, illustrations and fonts that we license from third
parties, and any loss of the right to use these licensed materials may substantially harm our business and
results of operations.
Many of the images, illustrations, and fonts incorporated in the design products and services we offer are
the copyrighted property of other parties that we use under license agreements. If one or more of our licenses
covering a significant amount of content were terminated, the amount and variety of content available on our
websites would be significantly reduced, and we may not be able to find, license, and introduce substitute content in
a timely manner, on acceptable terms, or at all.
The loss of key personnel or an inability to attract and retain additional personnel could affect our ability to
successfully grow our business.
We are highly dependent upon the continued service and performance of our senior management team and
key technical, marketing, and production personnel, any of whom may cease their employment with us at any time
with minimal advance notice. We face intense competition for qualified individuals from many other companies in
diverse industries. The loss of one or more of our key employees may significantly delay or prevent the
achievement of our business objectives, and our failure to attract and retain suitably qualified individuals could have
an adverse effect on our ability to implement our business plan.