Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Commitments and Contingencies

v2.4.0.6
Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2012
Notes to Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Note 7 - Commitments and Contingencies
Note 7. Commitments and Contingencies
Legal Proceedings. Tessera, Inc. v. QUALCOMM Incorporated: On April 17, 2007, Tessera filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and a complaint with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) pursuant to Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 against the Company and other companies, alleging infringement of two patents. The district court action was stayed pending resolution of the ITC proceeding, including all appeals. On May 20, 2009, the ITC issued a limited exclusion order and a cease and desist order, both of which were terminated when the patents expired on September 24, 2010. During the period of the exclusion order, the Company shifted supply of accused chips for customers who manufacture products that may be imported to the United States to a licensed supplier of Tessera, and the Company continued to supply those customers without interruption. The appeals court affirmed the ITC’s orders, and on November 28, 2011, the United States Supreme Court denied the Company’s petition for review. On January 18, 2012, pursuant to the parties’ stipulation, the district court in the Eastern District of Texas lifted the stay and ordered that the case be moved to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. On March 1, 2012, that court consolidated the case with an earlier-filed lawsuit filed by Tessera against multiple parties, including some of the Company’s semiconductor chip package suppliers. Trial is scheduled for April 7, 2014. Tessera may continue to seek alleged past damages in the district court, but it cannot obtain injunctive relief due to the expiration of the patents.
MicroUnity Systems Engineering, Inc. v. QUALCOMM Incorporated et al.: MicroUnity filed a total of three patent infringement complaints, on March 16, 2010, June 3, 2010 and January 27, 2011, against the Company and a number of other technology companies, including Texas Instruments, Samsung, Apple, Nokia, Google and HTC, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. MicroUnity currently alleges that certain of the Company’s Snapdragon products infringe 10 of its patents and seeks unspecified damages and injunctive and other relief. The court consolidated the actions in May 2011. Trial is scheduled for June 3, 2013.
MOSAID Technologies Incorporated v. Dell, Inc. et al.: On March 16, 2011, MOSAID filed a complaint against Atheros Communications, Inc., which the Company acquired in May 2011 and was renamed Qualcomm Atheros, Inc. (Qualcomm Atheros), and 32 other entities in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas alleging that certain of Atheros’ WiFi products infringe six MOSAID patents. MOSAID seeks unspecified damages and injunctive and other relief. The case is in the discovery phase. On March 28, 2012, Qualcomm Atheros and the other defendants filed a motion to transfer the case to the Northern District of California. A decision on that motion is pending. A claim construction hearing is scheduled for April 16, 2013, and trial is scheduled for January 8, 2014.
ParkerVision, Inc. v. QUALCOMM Incorporated: On July 20, 2011, ParkerVision filed a complaint against the Company in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida alleging that certain of our products infringe seven of its patents alleged to cover direct-conversion (or Zero-IF/ZIF) receivers. The complaint seeks unspecified damages and injunctive and other relief. On February 28, 2012, ParkerVision filed an amended complaint dropping two patents from the case and adding one new patent. The parties have motions pending challenging the sufficiency of certain claims in the opposing party’s pleadings. The parties also have motions pending addressing discovery disputes. A claim construction hearing was held on August 10, 2012, but the court has not yet issued a claim construction order. Discovery is scheduled to close on November 30, 2012, and trial is scheduled to begin on August 5, 2013.
Icera Complaint to the European Commission: On June 7, 2010, the European Commission (the Commission) notified and provided the Company with a redacted copy of a complaint filed with the Commission by Icera, Inc. alleging that the Company has engaged in anticompetitive activity. The Company was asked by the Commission to submit a preliminary response to the portions of the complaint disclosed to it, and the Company submitted its response in July 2010. On October 19, 2011, the Commission notified the Company that it should provide to the Commission additional documents and information. On January 16, 2012, the Company provided additional documents and information in response to that request. The Company continues to cooperate fully with the Commission’s preliminary investigation.
Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) Complaint: On January 4, 2010, the KFTC issued a written decision finding that the Company had violated South Korean law by offering certain discounts and rebates for purchases of its CDMA chips and for including in certain agreements language requiring the continued payment of royalties after all licensed patents have expired. The KFTC levied a fine, which the Company paid in the second quarter of fiscal 2010. The Company is appealing that decision in the Korean courts.
Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) Complaint: The JFTC received unspecified complaints alleging that the Company’s business practices are, in some way, a violation of Japanese law. On September 29, 2009, the JFTC issued a cease and desist order concluding that the Company’s Japanese licensees were forced to cross-license patents to the Company on a royalty-free basis and were forced to accept a provision under which they agreed not to assert their essential patents against the Company’s other licensees who made a similar commitment in their license agreements with the Company. The cease and desist order seeks to require the Company to modify its existing license agreements with Japanese companies to eliminate these provisions while preserving the license of the Company’s patents to those companies. The Company disagrees with the conclusions that it forced its Japanese licensees to agree to any provision in the parties’ agreements and that those provisions violate the Japanese Antimonopoly Act. The Company has invoked its right under Japanese law to an administrative hearing before the JFTC. In February 2010, the Tokyo High Court granted the Company’s motion and issued a stay of the cease and desist order pending the administrative hearing before the JFTC. The JFTC has held hearings on 15 different dates, with another hearing scheduled for December 20, 2012 and additional hearing dates yet to be scheduled.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Formal Order of Private Investigation and Department of Justice (DOJ) Investigation: On September 8, 2010, the Company was notified by the SEC’s Los Angeles Regional office of a formal order of private investigation. The Company understands that the investigation arose from a “whistleblower’s” allegations made in December 2009 to the audit committee of the Company’s Board of Directors and to the SEC. In 2010, the audit committee completed an internal review of the allegations with the assistance of independent counsel and independent forensic accountants. This internal review into the whistleblower’s allegations and related accounting practices did not identify any errors in the Company’s financial statements. On January 27, 2012, the Company learned that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California/DOJ (DOJ) had begun a preliminary investigation regarding the Company’s compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).The Company believes that FCPA compliance had also become a focus of the SEC investigation. The audit committee has commenced an internal review into the Company’s compliance with the FCPA with the assistance of independent counsel and independent forensic accountants.
The Company has discovered, and as a part of its ongoing cooperation with these investigations has informed the SEC and the DOJ of, instances in which special hiring consideration, gifts or other benefits (collectively, benefits) were provided to several individuals associated with Chinese state-owned companies or agencies. Based on the facts currently known, the Company believes the aggregate monetary value of the benefits in question to be less than $250,000, excluding employment compensation. The Company is continuing to investigate the circumstances relating to providing these benefits and is attempting to identify whether any other benefits were provided.
The Company is continuing to cooperate with the SEC and the DOJ, but is unable to predict the outcome of their investigations.
Other: The Company has been named, along with many other manufacturers of wireless phones, wireless operators and industry-related organizations, as a defendant in three lawsuits pending in Washington D.C. superior court, seeking monetary damages arising out of its sale of cellular phones.
The Company will continue to vigorously defend itself in the foregoing actions. However, litigation and investigations are inherently uncertain. Accordingly, the Company cannot predict the outcome of these matters. The Company has not recorded any accrual at September 30, 2012 for contingent losses associated with these matters based on its belief that losses, while possible, are not probable. Further, any possible range of loss cannot be reasonably estimated at this time. Nonetheless, the unfavorable resolution of one or more of these matters could have a material adverse affect on the Company’s business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows. The Company is engaged in numerous other legal actions not described above arising in the ordinary course of its business and, while there can be no assurance, believes that the ultimate outcome of these actions will not have a material adverse effect on its business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.
Loans and Debentures. The Company’s BWA subsidiaries have loan and debenture liabilities in connection with the India BWA spectrum won in India in June 2010 and payment of $81 million to the DoT in March 2012. At September 30, 2012, the aggregate carrying value of the loans and debentures, including accrued interest on the debentures, of $1.1 billion, was classified as a component of liabilities held for sale (Note 2). At September 25, 2011, loans were $994 million. At September 30, 2012 and September 25, 2011, the loans and debentures liabilities approximated fair value (a Level 2 measurement). Cash paid for interest on the loans was $88 million, $94 million and $15 million for fiscal 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.
The BWA subsidiaries’ loan agreements with multiple lenders are denominated in Indian rupees. The majority of the loans ($468 million at September 30, 2012) bear interest at an annual rate based on the highest rate among the bank lenders, which is reset quarterly, plus 0.25% (10.00% at September 30, 2012) with interest payments due monthly. The remaining loan ($77 million at September 30, 2012) bears interest at an annual rate based on the highest rate of the bank that is party to the loan or of the other bank lenders, which is reset quarterly, plus 0.25% (10.50% at September 30, 2012) with interest payments due monthly. All of the loans can be prepaid without penalty on certain dates and are guaranteed by QUALCOMM Incorporated and one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All of the loans are due and payable in full on December 18, 2012. The Company intends to refinance the loans with long-term loans on or before that date. The loan agreements contain standard covenants, which, among other things, limit actions by the subsidiaries that are party to the loan agreements, including the incurrence of loans and equity investments, disposition of assets, mergers and consolidations and other matters customarily restricted in such agreements. The loan agreements also define certain events of default, including, among other things, if certain government authorizations are revoked, terminated, withdrawn, suspended, modified or withheld.
On May 29, 2012, the same BWA subsidiaries issued redeemable, unlisted, unsecured, non-convertible debentures (the debentures) to multiple purchasers, the proceeds of which were used primarily to prepay a portion of the loans described in the previous paragraph. The debentures are denominated in Indian rupees and bear interest at an agreed-upon annual rate, which is compounded annually and reset semi-annually beginning on June 25, 2013 (10.25% at September 30, 2012) with interest due upon redemption. All of the debentures ($519 million, including accrued interest, at September 30, 2012) are due and payable in full on June 25, 2017. The debentures can be redeemed by the Company without penalty on certain dates. Additionally, each holder has the right to demand redemption of its portion of the debentures outstanding on June 25, 2013 subject to sufficient prior written notice. As a result, the debentures were classified as current liabilities. The holders are indemnified by QUALCOMM Incorporated and one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries.
Indemnifications. With the exception of the practices of its Qualcomm Atheros subsidiary, the Company generally does not indemnify its customers and licensees for losses sustained from infringement of third-party intellectual property rights. However, the Company is contingently liable under certain product sales, services, license and other agreements to indemnify certain customers against certain types of liability and/or damages arising from qualifying claims of patent infringement by products or services sold or provided by the Company. The Company’s obligations under these agreements may be limited in terms of time and/or amount, and in some instances, the Company may have recourse against third parties for certain payments made by the Company. Under Qualcomm Atheros’ indemnification agreements, software license agreements and product sale agreements (including its standard software license agreements and standard terms and conditions of semiconductor sales), Qualcomm Atheros agrees, subject to restrictions and after certain conditions are met, to indemnify and defend its licensees and customers against third-party claims asserting infringement of certain intellectual property rights, which may include patents, copyrights, trademarks or trade secrets, and to pay any judgments entered on such claims against the licensees or customers. Through September 30, 2012, Qualcomm Atheros has received a number of claims from its direct and indirect customers and other third parties for indemnification under such agreements with respect to alleged infringement of third-party intellectual property rights by its products.
These indemnification arrangements are not initially measured and recognized at fair value because they are deemed to be similar to product warranties in that they relate to claims and/or other actions that could impair the ability of the Company’s direct or indirect customers to use the Company’s products or services. Accordingly, the Company records liabilities resulting from the arrangements when they are probable and can be reasonably estimated. Reimbursements under indemnification arrangements have not been material to the Company’s consolidated financial statements. The Company has not recorded any accrual for contingent liabilities at September 30, 2012 associated with these indemnification arrangements, other than insignificant amounts, based on the Company’s belief that additional liabilities, while possible, are not probable. Further, any possible range of loss cannot be reasonably estimated at this time.
Purchase Obligations. The Company has agreements with suppliers and other parties to purchase inventory, other goods and services and long-lived assets. Noncancelable obligations under these agreements at September 30, 2012 for each of the subsequent five years from fiscal 2013 through 2017 were approximately $3.1 billion, $402 million, $119 million, $27 million and $5 million, respectively, and $10 million thereafter. Of these amounts, for fiscal 2013 through 2015, commitments to purchase integrated circuit product inventories comprised $2.7 billion, $347 million and $79 million, respectively.
Leases. The future minimum lease payments for all capital leases and operating leases at September 30, 2012 were as follows (in millions):
 
Capital
Leases
 
Operating
Leases
 
Total
2013
$
4

 
$
131

 
$
135

2014
5

 
113

 
118

2015
5

 
58

 
63

2016
5

 
41

 
46

2017
5

 
32

 
37

Thereafter
110

 
69

 
179

Total minimum lease payments
134

 
$
444

 
$
578

Deduct: Amounts representing interest
74

 
 
 
 
Present value of minimum lease payments
60

 
 
 
 
Deduct: Current portion of capital lease obligations

 
 
 
 
Long-term portion of capital lease obligations
$
60

 
 
 
 

The Company leases certain of its land, facilities and equipment under noncancelable operating leases, with terms ranging from less than one year to 35 years and with provisions in certain leases for cost-of-living increases. Rental expense for fiscal 2012, 2011 and 2010 was $87 million, $87 million and $85 million, respectively. The Company leases certain property under operating and capital lease agreements associated with its discontinued operations (Note 9), primarily related to site leases that have an initial term of five to seven years with renewal options of up to five additional renewal periods. In determining the capital lease classification for the site leases upon commencement of each lease, the Company included all renewal options. As a result of its restructuring plan, the Company does not intend to renew its existing site capital leases. At September 30, 2012, the Company had $55 million of site capital lease assets (which are included in buildings and improvements in property, plant and equipment) and $60 million of capital lease obligations (which are included in other liabilities) that pertain to optional renewal periods for these site leases. The Company expects to write off these amounts at the end of the current contractual lease terms. Any early terminations may impact the amounts that are written off.