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Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies

6. Commitments and Contingencies

Purchase Commitments

The Company purchases components from a variety of suppliers and uses several contract manufacturers to provide manufacturing services for its products. During the normal course of business, in order to manage manufacturing lead times and to help ensure adequate component supply, the Company enters into agreements with the Company’s contract manufacturers and suppliers that allow them to procure inventory based upon criteria as defined by the Company. A portion of the Company’s reported purchase commitments arising from these agreements consists of firm, non-cancelable purchase commitments. In certain instances, these agreements allow the Company the option to cancel, reschedule, and adjust the Company’s requirements based on its business needs prior to when production starts. However, in situations where the Company is unable to cancel, reschedule, or adjust the purchase commitment due to changing customer demand, excess inventories could result in material inventory provisions. As of December 31, 2021, the Company had commitments totaling $5.4 million primarily for design and simulation licenses which will be paid through June 2024.

Commitments for MEMS Wafer Supplier Agreement

The Company purchases MEMS wafers required for its silicon timing systems products under a multi-year manufacturing agreement with a third-party supplier. Under this agreement, the Company has agreed to minimum quantity purchase commitments and is responsible for research and development, tooling, and samples cost, in addition to wafer costs. The Company has historically met the supplier’s minimum wafer quantity requirements.

Indemnification

The Company is a party to a variety of agreements pursuant to which it may be obligated to indemnify other parties to such agreements with respect to certain matters. Typically, these obligations arise in the context of contracts that the Company has entered into, under which the Company customarily agrees to hold the other party harmless against losses arising from a breach of representations and covenants or terms and conditions related to such matters as the sale and/or delivery of its products, title to assets sold, certain intellectual property claims, defective products, specified environmental matters, and certain income taxes. Further, the Company’s obligations under these agreements may be limited in terms of time, amount, or the scope of its responsibility and in some instances, the Company may have recourse against third parties for certain payments made under these agreements. It is not possible to predict the maximum potential amount of future payments under these agreements due to the conditional nature of the Company’s obligations and the unique facts and circumstances involved in each particular agreement. Historically, the Company has had no material indemnification claims under these agreements.

Legal Matters

From time to time, the Company may be a party to various litigation claims in the normal course of business. Legal fees and other costs associated with such actions are expensed as incurred. The Company assesses, in conjunction with legal counsel, the need to record a liability for litigation and contingencies. Accrual estimates are recorded when and if it is determined that such a liability for litigation and contingencies are both probable and reasonably estimable.

In March 2019, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Ltd. ("VTT") filed suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California alleging infringement by the Company of a patent relating to specific combinations of features set forth in U.S. Patent No. 8,558,643. The complaint sought unspecified monetary damages and injunctive relief. On January 22, 2020, the Company participated in a mediation that had been ordered by the Court. The case was not resolved at the mediation. A Markman Hearing was held on May 15, 2020 relating to a number of different disputed claim terms, and on July 9, 2020 the Court issued a Markman Order relating to those disputed claim terms. Among its determinations, the Court found that one of the disputed claim terms was indefinite, as well as any claim that had this claim term in it. On July 17, 2020, the Court issued a judgment finding all claims of U.S. Patent No. 8,558,643 invalid, based upon its Markman Order. VTT filed a Notice of Appeal of the Court's judgment with the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and filed its opening brief on November 19, 2020 and the Company filed its response brief on January 28, 2021. VTT filed its reply on March 4, 2021. On June 9, 2021, a hearing was held at the CAFC and on June 10, 2021 the CAFC affirmed the Court’s judgment. The Company believes this litigation matter is now fully resolved.