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Commitments and Contingencies | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2022
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies | 15. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES As of December 31, 2022, we had a total of approximately $24,205,000 of cancelable and non-cancelable capital expenditure commitments, principally for manufacturing and production equipment, which we intend to fund with existing cash, and approximately $4,194,000 of capital expenditure items which had been received and included in Property, plant and equipment in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets, but not yet paid for. The Company is the defendant in a patent infringement lawsuit originally filed on January 28, 2011 by SynQor, Inc. (“SynQor”) in the U.S. District Court (the “District Court”) for the Eastern District of Texas. The complaint, as amended, alleged that the Company’s unregulated bus converters used in intermediate bus architecture power supply systems infringed SynQor’s U.S. patent numbers 7,072,190, 7,272,021, 7,564,702, and 8,023,290 (“the ‘190 patent”, “the ‘021 patent”, “the ‘702 patent”, and “the ‘290 patent”, respectively, and collectively the “SynQor Patents”). The Company asserted counterclaims against SynQor alleging unfair competition and tortious interference with business relations (the “Counterclaims”). As a result of certain actions by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) and the District Court, SynQor’s infringement allegations regarding the ‘021 patent and the ‘290 patent were dismissed from the case prior to the beginning of trial. Specifically, the USPTO invalidated all the asserted claims of the ‘021 patent and that decision was upheld on appeal on August 30, 2017. In addition, on October 5, 2022, the District Court issued an order involuntarily dismissing the ‘290 patent infringement allegations on grounds of equitable and judicial estoppel, in view of representations by SynQor to the District Court agreeing to such dismissal as a condition of lifting a prior stay of the lawsuit. (On January 18, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a decision upholding a decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the USPTO invalidating all claims of the ‘290 patent.) A trial in the District Court began on October 17, 2022 on the asserted claims of the ‘190 patent and the ‘702 patent, as well as on the Company’s Counterclaims. The District Court dismissed the Company’s Counterclaims on October 25, 2022. On October 26, 2022, the jury returned a verdict on SynQor’s patent infringement claims, finding that the Company willfully infringed the ‘702 patent, but did not infringe the ‘190 patent. The jury awarded SynQor damages in the amount of $6,500,000 for infringement of the ‘702 patent. All of the SynQor Patents expired in 2018. On December 23, 2022, SynQor filed in the District Court (a) a motion for judgment as a matter of law that the Company infringed the ‘190 patent, (b) a motion requesting the District Court to award SynQor treble damages, as well as pre- and post-judgment interest, (c) a motion requesting the District Court to award SynQor its attorneys’ fees, and (d) a motion for a new trial. On December 23, 2022, the Company filed in the District Court (a) a motion requesting judgment as a matter of law that it did not infringe the ‘702 patent, and (b) a motion requesting judgment with respect to its defenses of equitable estoppel and waiver. The Court has not yet acted on any of these motions. To the extent that the District Court ultimately rules against the Company with respect to any of the aforementioned motions, the Company anticipates appealing those rulings to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The Company similarly anticipates appealing the District Court’s order dismissing the Company’s Counterclaims against SynQor. In accordance with applicable accounting standards, the Company has recorded a litigation related accrual of $6,500,000 in the third quarter of 2022 as its estimate based on the jury award, using estimated outcomes ranging from $0 to treble damages plus attorney fees. In addition, we are involved in certain other litigation and claims incidental to the conduct of our business. While the outcome of such other lawsuits and claims against us cannot be predicted with certainty, management does not expect such litigation or claims will have a material adverse impact on our financial position or results of operations.

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