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Litigation and Asserted Claims (Details) (USD $) | 1 Months Ended | 15 Months Ended | 37 Months Ended | 65 Months Ended | 102 Months Ended | 146 Months Ended |  |  | 1 Months Ended |  |  |  | 1 Months Ended |  | 1 Months Ended | 12 Months Ended | 3 Months Ended | 9 Months Ended |  |
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Mar. 31, 2012 Hynix Litigation - U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California | Apr. 30, 2006 Hynix Litigation - U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California | Dec. 31, 2005 Hynix Litigation - U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California | Apr. 30, 2010 Hynix Litigation - U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California | Jan. 31, 2009 Hynix Litigation - U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California | Dec. 31, 2005 Hynix Litigation - U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California | Jan. 31, 2009 Hynix Litigation - U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California | Sep. 30, 2012 Hynix Litigation - U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California Item | Jun. 29, 2012 Hynix Litigation - Superior Court of California for County of San Francisco | Feb. 15, 2012 Hynix Litigation - Superior Court of California for County of San Francisco | Jan. 31, 2009 Micron Litigation - U.S. District Court in Delaware: Case No. 00-792-SLR Patent | Aug. 31, 2000 Micron Litigation - U.S. District Court in Delaware: Case No. 00-792-SLR Patent | Nov. 30, 2008 Micron Litigation - U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California Patent | Sep. 30, 2008 Micron Litigation - U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California Item | Jan. 31, 2006 Micron Litigation - U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California Patent | Sep. 30, 2012 Micron Litigation - European Patent Infringement Cases | Jun. 29, 2012 Micron Litigation - Superior Court of California for County of San Francisco | Feb. 15, 2012 Micron Litigation - Superior Court of California for County of San Francisco | Nov. 30, 2008 DDR2, DDR3, gDDR2, GDDR3, GDDR4 Litigation ("DDR2") - U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California Patent | Sep. 04, 2008 DDR2, DDR3, gDDR2, GDDR3, GDDR4 Litigation ("DDR2") - U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California | Apr. 30, 2010 European Commission Competition Directorate-General | Dec. 31, 2009 European Commission Competition Directorate-General | Dec. 31, 2011 European Commission Competition Directorate-General | Sep. 30, 2012 Broadcom, Freescale, LSI, MediaTek, and STMicroelectronics Litigation Item | Sep. 30, 2012 Superior Court of California for the County of San Francisco | May 05, 2004 Superior Court of California for the County of San Francisco Item | Mar. 02, 2007 Stock Option Investigation Related Claims
Loss Contingencies |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Number of phases in a case |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 3 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Damages awarded by court |  | $ 307,000,000 | $ 134,000,000 |  | $ 215,000,000 | $ 134,000,000 | $ 397,000,000 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Pre-judgment interest |  |  |  |  |  |  | 48,000,000 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Litigation costs to be awarded |  |  |  |  |  |  | 760,000 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Maximum royalty rate of percentage for SDR SDRAM |  |  |  | 1.00% |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Maximum royalty rate of percentage for DDR SDRAM |  |  |  | 4.25% |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1.50% |  |  |  |  |
Litigation Settlement, Amount to be paid | 8,100,000 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Number of patent claims invalid |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 8 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Number of patent claims infringed or in suit |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 12 | 12 | 16 | 12 | 14 |  |  |  | 16 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Number of appeals |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 2 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Number of patent claims elected to proceed to trial |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 12 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Term of license agreement (in years) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 5 years |  |  |  |  |
Royalty rate of percentage for SDR |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1.50% |  |  |  |  |  |
Reduced royalty rate of percentage for SDR |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1.00% |  |  |  |
Royalty rate of percentage for DDR, DDR2, DDR3, GDDR4 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 2.65% |  |  |  |  |  |
Reduced royalty rate of percentage for DDR, DDR2, DDR3, GDDR4 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 2.00% |  |  |  |
Number of Samsung-related entities added as defendants |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 3 |
Costs which the plaintiff seeks to recover |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 350,000 | 3,000,000 |  |  |  |  |  |  | 520,000 | 1,600,000 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Accrued litigation expenses |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ 900,000 |  |
Number of shareholders whose actions were filed |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 2
Number of respondents |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1 |  |  |

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