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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2014
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES |
12. | COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES:
Commitments Under the 2006 Research Agreement with USC, the Company is obligated to make certain payments to USC based on work performed by USC under that agreement, and by Michigan under its subcontractor agreement with USC. See Note 5 for further explanation. Under the terms of the 1997 Amended License Agreement, the Company is required to make minimum royalty payments to Princeton. See Note 5 for further explanation. The Company has agreements with six executive officers which provide for certain cash and other benefits upon termination of employment of the officer in connection with a change in control of the Company. Each executive is entitled to a lump-sum cash payment equal to two times the sum of the average annual base salary and bonus of the officer and immediate vesting of all stock options and other equity awards that may be outstanding at the date of the change in control, among other items. Patent Related Challenges and Oppositions Each major jurisdiction in the world that issues patents provides both third parties and applicants an opportunity to seek a further review of an issued patent. The specific process for requesting and considering such reviews are specific to the jurisdiction that issued the patent in question, and generally do not include claims for monetary damages or specific claims of infringement. The conclusions made by the reviewing administrative bodies tend to be appealable and generally are limited in scope and applicability to the specific claims and jurisdiction in question. The Company believes that opposition proceedings are frequently commenced in the ordinary course of business by third parties who may believe that one or more claims in a patent do not comply with the technical or legal requirements of the specific jurisdiction in which the patent was issued. The Company views these proceedings as reflective of its goal of obtaining the broadest legally permissible patent coverage permitted in each jurisdiction. Once a proceeding is initiated, as a general matter, the issued patent continues to be presumed valid until the jurisdiction’s applicable administrative body issues a final non-appealable decision. Depending on the jurisdiction, the outcome of these proceedings could include affirmation, denial or modification of some or all of the originally issued claims. The Company believes that as OLED technology becomes more established and its patent portfolio increases in size, so will the number of these proceedings. Below are summaries of certain proceedings that have been commenced against issued patents that are either exclusively licensed to the Company or which are now assigned to the Company. The Company does not believe that the confirmation, loss or modification of the Company's rights in any individual claim or set of claims that are the subject of the following legal proceedings would have a material impact on the Company's material sales or licensing business or on the Company's consolidated financial statements, including its consolidated statements of income, as a whole. However, as noted within the descriptions, some of the following proceedings involve issued patents that relate to the Company's fundamental phosphorescent OLED technologies and the Company intends to vigorously defend against claims that, in the Company's opinion, seek to restrict or reduce the scope of the originally issued claim, which may require the expenditure of significant amounts of the Company's resources. In certain circumstances, when permitted, the Company may also utilize the proceedings to request modification of the claims to better distinguish the patented invention from any newly identified prior art and/or improve the claim scope of the patent relative to commercially important categories of the invention. The entries marked with an "*" relate to the Company's UniversalPHOLED phosphorescent OLED technology, some of which may be commercialized by the Company. Opposition to European Patent No. 0946958 On December 8, 2006, Cambridge Display Technology Ltd. (CDT), which was acquired in 2007 by Sumitomo Chemical Company (Sumitomo), filed a Notice of Opposition to European Patent No. 0946958 (EP '958 patent), which relates to the Company's FOLED™ flexible OLED technology. The EP '958 patent, which was issued on March 8, 2006, is a European counterpart patent to U.S. patents 5,844,363; 6,602,540; 6,888,306; and 7,247,073. These patents are exclusively licensed to the Company by Princeton, and the Company is required to pay all legal costs and fees associated with this proceeding. On November 26, 2009, the European Patent Office (the EPO) issued its written decision to reject the opposition and to maintain the patent as granted. On April 12, 2010, CDT filed an appeal to the EPO panel decision. On August 19, 2010, the Company filed a timely response to the EPO panel decision. The EPO subsequently scheduled an appeal hearing for the first quarter of 2015. At this time, based on its current knowledge, the Company believes that the EPO panel decision will be upheld on appeal. However, the Company cannot make any assurances of this result. Opposition to European Patent No. 1449238* In 2007, Sumation Company Limited (Sumation), a joint venture between Sumitomo and CDT, Merck Patent GmbH, of Darmstadt, Germany, and BASF Aktiengesellschaft, of Mannheim, Germany, filed Notices of Opposition to European Patent No 1449238 (EP '238 patent). The EP '238 patent, which was issued on November 2, 2006, is a European counterpart patent, in part, to U.S. patents 6,830,828; 6,902,830; 7,001,536; 7,291,406; 7,537,844; and 7,883,787; and to pending U.S. patent applications 13/009,001, filed on January 19, 2011, and 13/205,290, filed on August 9, 2011 (hereinafter the “U.S. '828 Patent Family”). They are exclusively licensed to the Company by Princeton, and the Company is required to pay all legal costs and fees associated with this proceeding. On January 13, 2012, the EPO issued a decision to maintain the patent with claims directed to OLEDs comprising phosphorescent organometallic iridium compounds. All the parties appealed the EPO's panel decision. An Oral Hearing was held in the EPO on November 22, 2013, in which the EPO Appellate Board reversed the decision of the prior panel and revoked the patent in its entirety. The Company intends to continue prosecuting claims directed to the subject matter originally claimed in the ‘238 patent and to overcome the EPO Appellate Board’s objections to the original claim language in pending divisional applications in the EPO which claim priority from the same original priority application. Opposition to European Patent No. 1394870* On April 20, 2010, Merck Patent GmbH; BASF Schweitz AG of Basel, Switzerland; Osram GmbH of Munich, Germany; Siemens Aktiengesellschaft of Munich, Germany; and Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V., of Eindhoven, The Netherlands filed Notices of Opposition to European Patent No. 1394870 (the EP '870 patent). The EP '870 patent, which was issued on July 22, 2009, is a European counterpart patent, in part, to U.S. patents 6,303,238; 6,579,632; 6,872,477; 7,279,235; 7,279,237; 7,488,542; 7,563,519; and 7,901,795; and to pending U.S. patent application 13/035,051, filed on February 25, 2011 (hereinafter the “U.S. '238 Patent Family”). They are exclusively licensed to the Company by Princeton, and the Company is required to pay all legal costs and fees associated with this proceeding. An Oral Hearing was held before an EPO panel of first instance in Munich, Germany, on April 8-9, 2014. The panel rejected the original claims and amended the claims to comply with EPO requirements by more narrowly defining the scope of the claims. The ‘870 patent, in its amended form, was held by the panel to comply with the EPO requirements. The Company believes the EPO's decision relating to the broad original claims is erroneous and has appealed the ruling to reinstate a broader set of claims. This patent, as originally granted by the EPO, is deemed valid during the pendency of the appeals process. At this time, based on the Company's current knowledge, the Company believes there is a substantial likelihood that the patent being challenged will be declared valid and that all or a significant portion of the Company's claims will be upheld. However, the Company cannot make any assurances of this result. Invalidation Trials in Japan for Japan Patent Nos. 4357781 and 4358168* On May 24, 2010, the Company received Notices of Invalidation Trials against Japan Patent Nos. 4357781 (the JP '781 patent) and 4358168 (the JP '168 patent), which were both issued on August 14, 2009. The requests were filed by Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. (SEL). The JP '781 and JP '168 patents are Japanese counterpart patents, in part, to the above-noted U.S. '828 Patent Family. They are exclusively licensed to the Company by Princeton, and the Company is required to pay all legal costs and fees associated with this proceeding. On March 31, 2011, the Company learned that the Japanese Patent Office (JPO) had issued decisions finding all claims in the JP '781 and JP '168 patents invalid. Both parties appealed this matter to the Japanese IP High Court. On November 7, 2012, the Company was notified that the Japanese IP High Court had reversed the JPO's finding of invalidity and remanded the case back to the JPO for further consideration. In a decision reported to the Company on April 15, 2013, all claims in the Company's JP '781 and JP '168 patents were upheld as valid by the JPO. The Company's opponent appealed this decision. At this time, based on the Company's current knowledge, the Company believes that the claims on the patents should be upheld. However, the Company cannot make any assurances of this result. Invalidation Trial in Japan for Japan Patent No. 4511024* On June 16, 2011, the Company learned that a Request for an Invalidation Trial was filed in Japan for its Japanese Patent No. JP-4511024 (the JP '024 patent), which issued on May 14, 2010. The Request was filed by SEL, the same opponent as in the above-noted Japanese Invalidation Trials for the JP '781 and JP '168 patents. The JP '024 patent is a counterpart patent, in part, to the U.S. '238 Patent Family, which relate to the EP '870 patent, which is subject to one of the above-noted European oppositions and which relates to the Company's UniversalPHOLED phosphorescent OLED technology. They are exclusively licensed to the Company by Princeton, and the Company is required to pay all legal costs and fees associated with this proceeding. On May 10, 2012, the Company learned that the JPO issued a decision upholding the validity of certain claimed inventions in the JP '024 Patent but invalidating the broadest claims in the patent. The Company appealed the JPO’s decision to the Japanese IP High Court. On October 31, 2013, the Japanese IP High Court ruled that the prior art references relied on by the JPO did not support the JPO’s findings, reversed the JPO’s decision with respect to the previously invalidated broad claims in the JP ‘024 patent and remanded the matter back to the JPO for further consideration consistent with its decision. The JPO subsequently issued a decision upholding the validity of certain claimed inventions in the JP '024 Patent but invalidating the broadest claims in the patent. The Company appealed the decision to reinstate a broader set of claims. This patent, as originally granted by the JPO, is deemed valid during the pendency of the appeals process. At this time, based on its current knowledge, the Company believes that the patent being challenged should be declared valid and that all or a significant portion of the Company's claims should be upheld. However, the Company cannot make any assurances of this result. Opposition to European Patent No. 1252803* On July 12 and 13, 2011, Sumitomo, Merck Patent GmbH and BASF SE, of Ludwigshaven, Germany filed oppositions to the Company's European Patent No. 1252803 (the EP '803 patent). The EP '803 patent, which was issued on October 13, 2010, is a European counterpart patent, in part, to the U.S. '828 Patent Family. They are exclusively licensed to the Company by Princeton, and the Company is required to pay all legal costs and fees associated with this proceeding. On December 7, 2012, the EPO rendered a decision at an Oral Hearing wherein it upheld the broadest claim of the granted patent. All three opponents filed an appeal and an Oral Hearing is scheduled for the first quarter of 2015. At this time, based on its current knowledge, the Company believes there is a substantial likelihood that the patent being challenged will be declared valid and that all or a significant portion of its claims will be further upheld on appeal. However, the Company cannot make any assurances of this result. Opposition to European Patent No. 1390962 On November 16, 2011, Osram AG and BASF SE each filed a Notice of Opposition to European Patent No. 1390962 (EP '962 patent), which relates to the Company's white phosphorescent OLED technology. The EP '962 patent, which was issued on February 16, 2011, is a European counterpart patent to U.S. patents 7,009,338 and 7,285,907. They are exclusively licensed to the Company by Princeton, and the Company is required to pay all legal costs and fees associated with this proceeding. The EPO combined the oppositions into a single opposition proceeding. The Company is awaiting the rescheduling of the hearing by the EPO on this matter. At this time, based on its current knowledge, the Company believes there is a substantial likelihood that the patent being challenged will be declared valid, and that all or a significant portion of the Company's claims will be upheld. However, the Company cannot make any assurances of this result. Opposition to European Patent No. 1933395* On February 24 and 27, 2012, Sumitomo, Merck Patent GmbH and BASF SE filed oppositions to the Company's European Patent No. 1933395 (the EP '395 patent). The EP '395 patent is a counterpart patent to the above-noted JP '168 patent, and, in part, to the U.S. '828 Patent Family. This patent is exclusively licensed to the Company by Princeton, and the Company is required to pay all legal costs and fees associated with this proceeding. At an Oral Hearing on October 14, 2013, the EPO panel issued a decision that affirmed the basic invention and broad patent coverage in the EP '395 patent, but narrowed the scope of the original claims. On February 26, 2014, the Company appealed the ruling to reinstate a broader set of claims. The patent, as originally granted by the EPO, is deemed to be valid during the pendency of the appeals process. Two of the three opponents also filed their own appeals of the ruling. Sumitomo did not file an appeal within the allotted time, and will therefore no longer be a party to the proceedings. In addition to the above proceedings, from time to time, the Company may have other proceedings that are pending which relate to patents the Company acquired as part of the Fuji Patent acquisition or which to relate to technologies that are not currently widely utilized in the marketplace.

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