Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Commitments and Contingencies

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Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Jan. 31, 2014
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies

8. Commitments and Contingencies

ARRIS Litigation

In July 2009, ARRIS filed a contempt motion in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware (“the Court”) against SeaChange International relating to U.S. Patent No 5,805,804 (the “ ‘804 patent”), a patent in which ARRIS has an ownership interest. On August 3, 2009, SeaChange filed a complaint seeking a declaratory judgment from the Court that its products do not infringe the ‘804 patent and asserting certain equitable defenses. In June 2010, the Court entered an Order staying the declaratory judgment action pending resolution of the contempt proceeding. On October 9, 2012, the Court denied the ARRIS motion of contempt, concluding that the record did not contain clear and convincing evidence to support a contempt finding that SeaChange’s modified ITV system infringes the ARRIS patent. On October 10, 2013, the Court of Appeals for the Federal circuit affirmed the U.S. District Court’s decision.

Revolving Line of Credit/Demand Note Payable

Effective November 28, 2013, we renewed our letter agreement with JP Morgan for a demand discretionary line of credit and a Demand Promissory Note in the aggregate amount of $20.0 million (the “Line of Credit”). Borrowings under the Line of Credit will be used to finance working capital needs and for general corporate purposes. The Line of Credit expires on November 27, 2014. We currently do not have any borrowings nor do we have any financial covenants under this line.

Operating Leases

We lease certain of our operating facilities, automobiles and office equipment under non-cancelable operating leases, which expire at various dates through 2017. Leases for our facilities typically contain standard commercial lease provisions, including renewal options and rent escalation clauses. Rental expense under operating leases was $2.4 million, $2.7 million and $2.6 million for fiscal 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively. Future commitments under minimum lease payments as of January 31, 2014 are as follows (amounts in thousands):

 

For the Fiscal Years Ended January 31,

   Operating
Leases
 

2015

   $ 2,291   

2016

     1,863   

2017

     1,212   

2018

     254   

2019

     —     

2020 and thereafter

     —     
  

 

 

 

Minimum operating lease payments

   $ 5,620   
  

 

 

 

Indemnification and Warranties

We enter into agreements in the ordinary course of business with customers, resellers, distributors, integrators and suppliers. Most of these agreements require us to defend and/or indemnify the other party against intellectual property infringement claims brought by a third party with respect to our products. From time to time, we also indemnify customers and business partners for damages, losses and liabilities they may suffer or incur relating to personal injury, personal property damage, product liability, and environmental claims relating to the use of our products and services or resulting from the acts or omissions of us, our employees, authorized agents or subcontractors. For example, SeaChange has received requests from several of its customers for indemnification of patent litigation claims. Management cannot reasonably estimate any potential losses, but these claims could result in material liability for us.

We warrant that our products, including software products, will substantially perform in accordance with their standard published specifications in effect at the time of delivery. In addition, we provide maintenance support to our customers and therefore allocate a portion of the purchase price to the initial warranty period and recognize revenue on a straight-line basis over the warranty period related to both the warranty obligation and the maintenance support agreement. When we receive revenue for extended warranties beyond the standard duration, it is deferred and recognized on a straight-line basis over the contract period. Related costs are expensed as incurred.

In the ordinary course of business, we provide minimum purchase guarantees to certain of our vendors to ensure continuity of supply against the market demand. Although some of these guarantees provide penalties for cancellations and/or modifications to the purchase commitments as the market demand decreases, most of the guarantees do not. Therefore, as the market demand decreases, we re-evaluate the accounting implications of guarantees and determine what charges, if any, should be recorded.

With respect to our agreements covering product, business or entity divestitures and acquisitions, we provide certain representations and warranties and agree to indemnify and hold such purchasers harmless against breaches of such representations, warranties and covenants. With respect to our acquisitions, we may, from time to time, assume the liability for certain events or occurrences that took place prior to the date of acquisition.

We provide such minimum purchase guarantees and indemnification after considering the economics of the transaction and other factors including but not limited to the liquidity and credit risk of the other party in the transaction. We believe that the likelihood is remote that any such arrangement could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operation or liquidity. We record liabilities, as disclosed above, for such guarantees based on our best estimate of probable losses which considers amounts recoverable under any recourse provisions.