Item 1A. Risk Factors
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
The risk factors set forth below update the risk factors in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 16, 2022 and in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on April 28, 2022 and July 27, 2022.
In addition to the risk factors set forth below, we encourage you to carefully consider the risk factors identified in Item 1A. “Risk Factors” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These risk factors could materially affect our business, financial condition, and future results, and may cause our actual business and financial results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements made in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or elsewhere by management.
We face risks related to intellectual property claims or appropriation of our intellectual property rights.
We rely primarily on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secrets laws, as well as intellectual property and confidentiality agreements to protect our proprietary rights. We also try to control access to and distribution of our technologies and other proprietary information. We have obtained patents in strategically important global markets relating to the architecture of our systems. We cannot be certain that such patents will not be challenged, invalidated, or circumvented, or that rights granted thereunder, or the claims contained therein will provide us with competitive advantages. Moreover, despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized parties may attempt to copy aspects of our software or to obtain the use of information that we regard as proprietary. Although we generally enter into intellectual property and confidentiality agreements with our employees and strategic partners, despite our efforts our former employees may seek employment with our business partners, clients, or competitors, and there can be no assurance that the confidential nature of our proprietary information will be maintained. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect our proprietary rights as effectively as they do in the U.S. There can be no assurance that our means of protecting our proprietary rights will be adequate or that our competitors will not independently develop similar technology.
Other companies or individuals have obtained proprietary rights covering a variety of designs, processes, and systems. Third parties have claimed and may in the future claim that we have infringed or otherwise violated their intellectual property. We are currently party to litigation with Appian Corp. - see Part II, Item 1 “Legal Proceedings” and Note 14 in the “Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements” included in Part I, Item 1 of this Quarterly Report; Part II, Item 1 “Legal Proceedings” and Note 14 in the “Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements” included in Part I, Item 1 of our Quarterly Report filed with the SEC on July 27, 2022; Part II, Item 1 “Legal Proceedings” and Note 14 in the “Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements” included in Part I, Item 1 of our Quarterly Report filed with the SEC on April 28, 2022; and Part I, Item 3 “Legal Proceedings” and Note 19 in the “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” included in Part II, Item 8 of our Annual Report filed with the SEC on February 16, 2022.
Although we attempt to limit the amount and type of our contractual liability for infringement or other violation of the proprietary rights of third parties and assert ownership of work product and intellectual property rights as appropriate, there are often exceptions, and limitations may not be applicable and enforceable in all cases. Even if limitations are found to be applicable and enforceable, our liability to our clients for these types of claims could be material given the size of certain of our transactions. We expect that software product developers will increasingly be subject to infringement claims as the number of products and competitors in our industry segment grows and the functionality of products in different industry segments overlaps. Any such claims, with or without merit, could be time-consuming, result in costly litigation, cause product shipment and delivery delays, require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements, or preclude us from making and selling the infringing software, if such proprietary rights are found to be valid. Royalty or licensing agreements, if required, may not be available on terms acceptable to us or at all. These claims could also subject us to significant liability for damages, potentially including treble damages if we are found to have willfully infringed patents or copyrights. Even if a license were available, we could be required to pay significant royalties, which would increase our operating expenses. As a result, we may be required to develop alternative non-infringing technology, which could require substantial effort and cost. If we cannot license or develop technology for any infringing aspect of our business, we would be forced to limit or stop sales of our software and may be unable to compete effectively, which could have a material effect upon our business, operating results, and financial condition.
29
Intellectual property rights claims by third parties are extremely costly to defend, could require us to pay significant damages, and could limit our ability to use certain technologies.
Companies in the software and technology industries, including some of our current and potential competitors, own large numbers of patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets and frequently enter into litigation based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. In addition, many of these companies can dedicate greater resources to enforce their intellectual property rights and to defend claims that may be brought against them. The litigation may involve patent holding companies or other adverse patent owners that have no relevant product revenues and against which our patents may, therefore, provide little or no deterrence. Third parties have claimed and may claim in the future that we have misappropriated, misused, or infringed other parties' intellectual property rights, and, to the extent we gain greater market visibility, we face a higher risk of being the subject of intellectual property claims.
Any litigation regarding intellectual property could be costly and time-consuming and could divert the attention of our management and key personnel from our business operations. Significant judgments are required for the determination of probability and the range of the outcomes in any legal dispute, and the estimates are based only on the information available to us at the time. Due to the inherent uncertainties involved in claims, legal proceedings, and in estimating the losses that may arise, actual outcomes may differ from our estimates. Contingencies deemed not probable or for which losses were not estimable in one period may become probable, or losses may become estimable in later periods which may have a material impact on our results of operations and financial position. Intellectual property disputes could subject us to significant liabilities, require us to enter into royalty and licensing arrangements on unfavorable terms, prevent us from manufacturing or licensing certain of our products, cause severe disruptions to our operations or the markets in which we compete or require us to satisfy indemnification commitments to our customers. Any of these could seriously harm our business.
We are currently party to litigation with Appian Corp. - see Part II, Item 1 “Legal Proceedings” and Note 14 in the “Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements” included in Part I, Item 1 of this Quarterly Report; Part II, Item 1 “Legal Proceedings” and Note 14 in the “Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements” included in Part I, Item 1 of our Quarterly Report filed with the SEC on July 27, 2022; Part II, Item 1 “Legal Proceedings” and Note 14 in the “Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements” included in Part I, Item 1 of our Quarterly Report filed with the SEC on April 28, 2022; and Part I, Item 3 “Legal Proceedings” and Note 19 in the “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” included in Part II, Item 8 of our Annual Report filed with the SEC on February 16, 2022. On September 15, 2022, the circuit court of Fairfax County entered judgment in the amount of $2,060,479,287, consisting of the jury verdict and the Court’s award of attorneys’ fees and costs to Appian, and stating that Appian will be entitled to post-judgment interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of the jury verdict (May 9, 2022) as to the amount of the jury verdict and from September 15, 2022 as to the portion of the judgment that is attributable to the Court’s award of attorneys’ fees and costs. On September 15, 2022, the Company filed a notice of appeal from the judgment. On September 29, 2022, the circuit court of Fairfax County approved of the $25,000,000 letter of credit obtained by the Company to secure the judgment and entered an order suspending the judgment during the pendency of the Company’s appeal. This appeals process could potentially take years to complete. Notwithstanding the circuit court of Fairfax County having entered this judgment, we are unable to reasonably estimate possible damages in that matter because, among other things, of the uncertainty as to the outcome of appellate proceedings, and/or any potential new trial resulting from the appellate proceedings. If we are ultimately unsuccessful in prevailing in the matter in its entirety or in obtaining a substantially smaller jury verdict, we may be required to incur debt or otherwise engage in capital market transactions to finance the final judgment, together with interest and any awards of attorneys’ fees and costs. In addition, if we do not satisfy the judgment within 60 days following the expiration of the right to appeal, there may be an acceleration of liabilities under our Convertible Senior Notes and our Credit Facility. While we continue to believe that we have the financial strength to pay these amounts if it ever becomes necessary, it is possible that we may not be able to engage in these activities on desirable terms, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results.
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.