Commitments and Contingencies |
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| Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commitments and Contingencies |
Commitments and Contingencies
Lease Commitments and Other Contractual Obligations
The Company leases facilities and certain equipment under operating lease arrangements expiring at various years through fiscal 2022. As of December 31, 2016, future minimum payments under non-cancelable operating leases, other obligations and inventory purchase obligations are as follows:
The total rental expense for all operating leases was $2.9 million, $2.4 million and $1.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively.
The Company has subleased certain facilities that it ceased using in connection with a restructuring plan (Note 4). Such subleases expire at various years through fiscal 2022. As of December 31, 2016, future minimum rental income under no-cancelable subleases are as follows:
CrestaTech Litigation
On January 21, 2014, CrestaTech Technology Corporation, or CrestaTech, filed a complaint for patent infringement against the Company in the United States District Court of Delaware, or the District Court Litigation. In its complaint, CrestaTech alleges that the Company infringes U.S. Patent Nos. 7,075,585, or the '585 Patent and 7,265,792, or the '792 Patent. In addition to asking for compensatory damages, CrestaTech alleges willful infringement and seeks a permanent injunction. CrestaTech also names Sharp Corporation, Sharp Electronics Corp. and VIZIO, Inc. as defendants based upon their alleged use of the Company's television tuners.
On January 28, 2014, CrestaTech filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission, or ITC, again naming, among others, MaxLinear, Sharp, Sharp Electronics, and VIZIO, or the ITC Investigation. On May 16, 2014, the ITC granted CrestaTech’s motion to file an amended complaint adding six OEM Respondents, namely, SIO International, Inc., Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., Wistron Corp., Wistron Infocomm Technology (America) Corp., Top Victory Investments Ltd. and TPV International (USA), Inc. which are collectively referred to with MaxLinear, Sharp and VIZIO as the Company Respondents. CrestaTech’s ITC complaint alleged a violation of 19 U.S.C. § 1337 through the importation into the United States, the sale for importation, or the sale within the United States after importation of MaxLinear’s accused products that CrestaTech alleged infringe the same two patents asserted in the Delaware action. Through its ITC complaint, CrestaTech sought an exclusion order preventing entry into the United States of certain of the Company's television tuners and televisions containing such tuners from Sharp, Sharp Electronics, and VIZIO. CrestaTech also sought a cease and desist order prohibiting the Company Respondents from engaging in the importation into, sale for importation into, the sale after importation of, or otherwise transferring within the United States certain of the Company's television tuners or televisions containing such tuners.
On March 10, 2014, the court stayed the District Court Litigation pending resolution of the ITC Investigation.
On December 15, 2014, the ITC held a trial in the ITC Investigation. On February 27, 2015, the Administrative Law Judge, or the ALJ, issued a written Initial Determination, or ID, ruling that the Company Respondents do not violate Section 1337 in connection with CrestaTech’s asserted patents because CrestaTech failed to satisfy the economic prong of the domestic industry requirement pursuant to Section 1337(a)(2). In addition, the ID stated that certain of the Company's television tuners and televisions incorporating those tuners manufactured and sold by certain customers infringe three claims of the ‘585 Patent, and these three claims were not determined to be invalid. On April 30, 2015, the ITC issued a notice indicating that it intended to review portions of the ID finding no violation of Section 1337, including the ID’s findings of infringement with respect to, and validity of, the ‘585 Patent, and the ID’s finding that CrestaTech failed to establish the existence of a domestic industry within the meaning of Section 1337.
The ITC has subsequently issued its opinion, which terminated its investigation. The opinion affirmed the findings of the ALJ that no violation of Section 1337 had occurred because CrestaTech had failed to establish the economic prong of the domestic industry requirement. The ITC also affirmed the ALJ's finding of infringement with respect to the three claims of the '585 Patent that were not held to be invalid.
On November 30, 2015, CrestaTech filed an appeal of the ITC decision with the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, or the Federal Circuit. On March 7, 2016, CrestaTech voluntarily dismissed its appeal, resulting in a final determination of the ITC Investigation in the Company's favor.
In addition, the Company has filed four petitions for inter partes review, or IPR, by the US Patent Office, two for each of the CrestaTech patents asserted against the Company. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board, or the PTAB, did not institute two of these IPRs as being redundant to IPRs filed by another party that were already underway for the same CrestaTech patent. The remaining two petitions were instituted or instituted-in-part and, together with the IPRs filed by third parties, there are currently six pending IPR proceedings involving the two CrestaTech patents asserted against the Company.
In October 2015, the PTAB issued final decisions in two of the six pending IPR proceedings (one for each of the two asserted patents), holding that all of the reviewed claims are unpatentable. Included in these decisions was one of the three claims of the ‘585 Patent mentioned above in connection with the ITC’s final decision. CrestaTech appealed the PTAB’s decisions at the Federal Circuit. On November 8, 2016, the Federal Circuit issued an opinion affirming the PTAB’s finding of unpatentability.
In August 2016, the PTAB issued final written decisions in the remaining four pending IPR proceedings (two for each of the asserted patents), holding that many of the reviewed claims - including the two remaining claims of the ‘585 Patent which the ITC held were infringed - are unpatentable. As a result of these IPR decisions, all 13 claims that CrestaTech asserted against the Company in the ITC Investigation have been found to be unpatentable by the PTAB. The parties have filed notices to appeal the two decisions related to the ‘585 Patent. Opening briefs are currently due in late January - early February 2017. CrestaTech, however, did not appeal the PTAB’s rulings related to the ‘792 Patent.
On March 18, 2016, CrestaTech filed a petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the Northern District of California. As a result of this proceeding, all rights in the CrestaTech asserted patents, including the right to control the pending litigation, were assigned to CF Crespe LLC, or CF Crespe. CF Crespe is now the named party in the pending IPRs, the Federal Circuit appeal and District Court Litigation. CF Crespe has not sought to lift the stay in the District Court Litigation given the resolution of the ITC Investigation.
The Company cannot predict the outcome of any appeal by CF Crespe, CrestaTech, the District Court Litigation, or the IPRs. Any adverse determination in the District Court Litigation could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business and operating results.
Trango Systems, Inc. Litigation
On or about August 2, 2016, Trango Systems, Inc., or Trango, filed a complaint in the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego, Central Division, against defendants Broadcom Corporation, Inc., or Broadcom, and the Company, collectively, Defendants. On or about December 6, 2016, Trango filed its second amended complaint. Trango is a purchaser that alleges various fraud, breach of contract, and interference with economic relations claims in connection with the discontinuance of a chip line the Company recently acquired from Broadcom. Trango seeks unspecified general and special damages, pre-judgment interest, expenses and costs, statutory penalties, attorneys’ fees, punitive damages, and unspecified injunctive and equitable relief. The Company intends to vigorously defend against the lawsuit. On January 11, 2017, the Company filed its demurrer to each cause of action in the second amended complaint.
The Company cannot predict the outcome of the Trango Systems, Inc. litigation. Any adverse determination in the Trango Systems, Inc. litigation could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business and operating results.
Other Matters
In addition, from time to time, the Company is subject to threats of litigation or actual litigation in the ordinary course of business, some of which may be material. Other than the CrestaTech and Trango litigation described above, the Company believes that there are no other currently pending litigation matters that, if determined adversely by the Company, would have a material effect on the Company's business or that would not be covered by the Company's existing liability insurance.
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