Google (GOOG)

We are, and may in the future be, subject to intellectual property rights claims, which are costly to defend, could require us to pay damages, and could limit our ability to use certain technologies in the future.

Companies in the internet, technology, and media industries own large numbers of patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets and frequently enter into litigation based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. As we have grown, the intellectual property rights claims against us have increased and may continue to increase. Our products, services, and technologies may not be able to withstand any third-party claims and regardless of the merits of the claim, intellectual property claims are often time-consuming and expensive to litigate or settle. In addition, to the extent claims against us are successful, we may have to pay substantial monetary damages or discontinue any of our services or practices that are found to be in violation of another party’s rights.

We also may have to seek a license to continue such practices, which may significantly increase our operating expenses. In addition, many of our agreements with our Google Network members and other partners require us to indemnify these members for certain third-party intellectual property infringement claims, which would increase our costs as a result of defending such claims and may require that we pay damages if there were an adverse ruling in any such claims.

Companies have filed trademark infringement and related claims against us over the display of ads in response to user queries that include trademark terms. The outcomes of these lawsuits have differed from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. We currently have three cases pending at the European Court of Justice, which will address questions regarding whether advertisers and search engines can be held liable for use of trademarked terms in keyword advertising. We are litigating, or have recently litigated similar issues in other cases, in the U.S., Australia, Austria, Brazil, Chile, China, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

We have also had copyright claims filed against us by companies alleging that features of certain of our products and services, including Google Web Search, Google News, Google Video, Google Image Search, Google Book Search, and YouTube, infringe the rights of others. In the U.S. we announced a settlement with the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers. However, this class action settlement is subject to approval by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and we may be subject to additional claims with respect to Google Book Search both in the U.S. and in other parts of the world. Adverse results in these lawsuits may include awards of substantial monetary damages, costly royalty or licensing agreements, or orders preventing us from offering certain functionalities, and may also result in a change in our business practices, which could result in a loss of revenues for us or otherwise harm our business. In addition, any time one of our products or services links to or hosts material in which others allegedly own copyrights, we face the risk of being sued for copyright infringement or related claims. Because these products and services comprise the majority of our products and services, the risk of harm from such lawsuits could be substantial.

We have also had patent lawsuits filed against us alleging that certain of our products and services, including Android, Google Web Search, Google AdWords, Google AdSense, Google Talk, and Google Chrome, infringe patents held by others. In addition, the number of demands for license fees and the dollar amounts associated with each request continue to increase. Adverse results in these lawsuits, or our decision to license patents based upon these demands, may result in substantial costs and, in the case of adverse litigation rulings, could prevent us from offering certain features, functionalities, products, or services, which could result in a loss of revenues for us or otherwise harm our business.

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We are, and may in the future be, subject to intellectual property rights claims, which are costly to defend, could require us to pay damages, and could limit our ability to use certain technologies in the future.

Companies in the internet, technology, and media industries own large numbers of patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets and frequently enter into litigation based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. As we have grown, the intellectual property rights claims against us have increased and may continue to increase. Our products, services and technologies may not be able to withstand any third-party claims and regardless of the merits of the claim, intellectual property claims are often time-consuming and expensive to litigate or settle. In addition, to the extent claims against us are successful, we may have to pay substantial monetary damages or discontinue any of our services or practices that are found to be in violation of another party’s rights.

We also may have to seek a license to continue such practices, which may significantly increase our operating expenses. In addition, many of our agreements with our Google Network members and other partners require us to indemnify these members for certain third-party intellectual property infringement claims, which would increase our costs as a result of defending such claims and may require that we pay damages if there were an adverse ruling in any such claims.

Companies have filed trademark infringement and related claims against us over the display of ads in response to user queries that include trademark terms. The outcomes of these lawsuits have differed from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. We currently have three cases pending at the European Court of Justice, which will address questions regarding whether advertisers and search engines can be held liable for use of trademarked terms in keyword advertising. We are litigating, or have recently litigated similar issues in other cases, in the U.S., Australia, Austria, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Israel, and Italy.

We have also had copyright claims filed against us by companies alleging that features of certain of our products and services, including Google Web Search, Google News, Google Video, Google Image Search, Google Book Search, and YouTube, infringe the rights of others. In the U.S. we announced a settlement with the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers; however, this class action settlement is subject to approval by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and we are subject to additional claims with respect to Google Book Search in other parts of the world. Adverse results in these lawsuits may include awards of substantial monetary damages, costly royalty or licensing agreements, or orders preventing us from offering certain functionalities, and may also result in a change in our business practices, which could result in a loss of revenue for us or otherwise harm our business. In addition, any time one of our products or services links to or hosts material in which others allegedly own copyrights, we face the risk of being sued for copyright infringement or related claims. Because these products and services comprise the majority of our products and services, the risk of harm from such lawsuits could be substantial.

We have also had patent lawsuits filed against us alleging that certain of our products and services, including Google Web Search, Google AdWords, Google AdSense, and Google Chrome, infringe patents held by others. In addition, the number of demands for license fees and the dollar amounts associated with each request continue to increase. Adverse results in these lawsuits, or our decision to license patents based upon these demands, may result in substantial costs and, in the case of adverse litigation rulings, could prevent us from offering certain features, functionalities, products, or services, which could result in a loss of revenue for us or otherwise harm our business.

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We are, and may in the future be, subject to intellectual property rights claims, which are costly to defend, could require us to pay damages and could limit our ability to use certain technologies in the future.

Companies in the internet, technology and media industries own large numbers of patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets and frequently enter into litigation based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. As we have grown, the intellectual property rights claims against us have increased. Our products, services and technologies may not be able to withstand any third-party claims and regardless of the merits of the claim, intellectual

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property claims are often time-consuming and expensive to litigate or settle. In addition, to the extent claims against us are successful, we may have to pay substantial monetary damages or discontinue any of our services or practices that are found to be in violation of another party’s rights.

We also may have to seek a license to continue such practices, which may significantly increase our operating expenses. In addition, many of our agreements with our Google Network members and other partners require us to indemnify these members for certain third-party intellectual property infringement claims, which would increase our costs as a result of defending such claims and may require that we pay damages if there were an adverse ruling in any such claims.

Companies have filed trademark infringement and related claims against us over the display of ads in response to user queries that include trademark terms. The outcomes of these lawsuits have differed from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. We currently have three cases pending at the European Court of Justice, which will address questions regarding whether advertisers and search engines can be held liable for use of trademarked terms in keyword advertising. We are litigating, or have recently litigated similar issues in other cases, in the U.S., Australia, Austria, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Israel, and Italy.

We have also had copyright claims filed against us by companies alleging that features of certain of our products and services, including Google Web Search, Google News, Google Video, Google Image Search, Google Book Search, and YouTube, infringe their rights. In the U.S. we announced a settlement with the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers; however, this class action settlement is subject to approval by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and we are subject to additional claims with respect to Google Book Search in other parts of the world. Adverse results in these lawsuits may include awards of substantial monetary damages, costly royalty or licensing agreements, or orders preventing us from offering certain functionalities, and may also result in a change in our business practices, which could result in a loss of revenue for us or otherwise harm our business. In addition, any time one of our products or services links to or hosts material in which others allegedly own copyrights, we face the risk of being sued for copyright infringement or related claims. Because these products and services comprise the majority of our products and services, the risk of harm from such lawsuits could be substantial.

We have also had patent lawsuits filed against us alleging that certain of our products and services, including Google Web Search, Google AdWords, Google AdSense, and Google Chrome, infringe patents held by others. In addition, the number of demands for license fees and the dollar amounts associated with each request continue to increase. Adverse results in these lawsuits, or our decision to license patents based upon these demands, may result in substantial costs and, in the case of adverse litigation rulings, could prevent us from offering certain features, functionalities, products, or services, which could result in a loss of revenue for us or otherwise harm our business.

We are, and may in the future be, subject to intellectual property rights claims, which are costly to defend, could require us to pay damages and could limit our ability to use certain technologies in the future.

Companies in the internet, technology and media industries own large numbers of patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets and frequently enter into litigation based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. As we have grown, the intellectual property rights claims against us have increased. Our products, services and technologies may not be able to withstand any third-party claims and regardless of the merits of the claim, intellectual property claims are often time-consuming and expensive to litigate or settle. In addition, to the extent claims against us are successful, we may have to pay substantial monetary damages or discontinue any of our services or practices that are found to be in violation of another party’s rights.

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We also may have to seek a license to continue such practices, which may significantly increase our operating expenses. In addition, many of our agreements with our Google Network members and other partners require us to indemnify these members for certain third-party intellectual property infringement claims, which would increase our costs as a result of defending such claims and may require that we pay damages if there were an adverse ruling in any such claims.

Companies have filed trademark infringement and related claims against us over the display of ads in response to user queries that include trademark terms. The outcomes of these lawsuits have differed from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. We currently have three cases pending at the European Court of Justice, which will address questions regarding whether advertisers and search engines can be held liable for use of trademarked terms in keyword advertising. We are litigating, or have recently litigated similar issues in other cases, in the U.S., Australia, Austria, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Israel, and Italy.

We have also had copyright claims filed against us by companies alleging that features of certain of our products and services, including Google Web Search, Google News, Google Video, Google Image Search, Google Book Search, and YouTube, infringe their rights. In the U.S. we recently announced a settlement with the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers (see Note 15 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-Q for additional information), however, this class action is subject to approval by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and we are subject to additional claims with respect to Google Book Search in other parts of the world. Adverse results in these lawsuits may include awards of substantial monetary damages, costly royalty or licensing agreements or orders preventing us from offering certain functionalities, and may also result in a change in our business practices, which could result in a loss of revenue for us or otherwise harm our business. In addition, any time one of our products or services links to or hosts material in which others allegedly own copyrights, we face the risk of being sued for copyright infringement or related claims. Because these products and services comprise the majority of our products and services, the risk of harm from such lawsuits could be substantial.

We have also had patent lawsuits filed against us alleging that certain of our products and services, including Google Web Search, Google AdWords, and Google AdSense, infringe patents held by others. In addition, the number of demands for license fees and the dollar amounts associated with each request continue to increase. Adverse results in these lawsuits, or our decision to license patents based upon these demands, may result in substantial costs and, in the case of adverse litigation rulings, could prevent us from offering certain features, functionalities, products or services, which could result in a loss of revenue for us or otherwise harm our business.

We are, and may in the future be, subject to intellectual property rights claims, which are costly to defend, could require us to pay damages and could limit our ability to use certain technologies in the future.

Companies in the internet, technology and media industries own large numbers of patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets and frequently enter into litigation based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. As we have grown, the intellectual property rights claims against us have increased. Our products, services and technologies may not be able to withstand any third-party claims and regardless of the merits of the claim, intellectual property claims are often time-consuming and expensive to litigate or settle. In addition, to the extent claims against us are

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successful, we may have to pay substantial monetary damages or discontinue any of our services or practices that are found to be in violation of another party’s rights. We also may have to seek a license to continue such practices, which may significantly increase our operating expenses. In addition, many of our agreements with our Google Network members and other partners require us to indemnify these members for certain third-party intellectual property infringement claims, which would increase our costs as a result of defending such claims and may require that we pay damages if there were an adverse ruling in any such claims.

Companies have filed trademark infringement and related claims against us over the display of ads in response to user queries that include trademark terms. The outcomes of these lawsuits have differed from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Courts in France have held us liable for allowing advertisers to select certain trademarked terms as keywords. We are appealing those decisions. We were also subject to two lawsuits in Germany on similar matters where the courts held that we are not liable for the actions of our advertisers prior to notification of trademark rights. We are litigating, or have recently litigated similar issues in other cases, in the U.S., Australia, Austria, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Israel and Italy.

We have also had copyright claims filed against us by companies alleging that features of certain of our products and services, including Google Web Search, Google News, Google Video, Google Image Search, Google Book Search and YouTube, infringe their rights. Adverse results in these lawsuits may include awards of substantial monetary damages, costly royalty or licensing agreements or orders preventing us from offering certain functionalities, and may also result in a change in our business practices, which could result in a loss of revenue for us or otherwise harm our business. In addition, any time one of our products or services links to or hosts material in which others allegedly own copyrights, we face the risk of being sued for copyright infringement or related claims. Because these products and services comprise the majority of our products and services, the risk of harm from such lawsuits could be substantial.

We have also had patent lawsuits filed against us alleging that certain of our products and services, including Google Web Search, Google AdWords, and Google AdSense, infringe patents held by others. In addition, the number of demands for license fees and the dollar amounts associated with each request continue to increase. Adverse results in these lawsuits, or our decision to license patents based upon these demands, may result in substantial costs and, in the case of adverse litigation rulings, could prevent us from offering certain features, functionalities, products or services, which could result in a loss of revenue for us or otherwise harm our business.

We are, and may in the future be, subject to intellectual property rights claims, which are costly to defend, could require us to pay damages and could limit our ability to use certain technologies in the future.

Companies in the internet, technology and media industries own large numbers of patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets and frequently enter into litigation based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. As we have grown, the intellectual property rights claims against us have increased. Our products, services and technologies may not be able to withstand any third-party claims and regardless of the merits of the claim, intellectual property claims are often time-consuming and expensive to litigate or settle. In addition, to the extent claims against us are successful, we may have to pay substantial monetary damages or discontinue any of our services or practices that are found to be in violation of another party’s rights. We also may have to seek a license to continue such practices, which may significantly increase our operating expenses. In addition, many of our agreements with members of our Google Network and other partners require us to indemnify these members for certain third-party intellectual property infringement claims, which would increase our costs as a result of defending such claims and may require that we pay damages if there were an adverse ruling in any such claims.

Companies have filed trademark infringement and related claims against us over the display of ads in response to user queries that include trademark terms. The outcomes of these lawsuits have differed from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Courts in France have held us liable for allowing advertisers to select certain trademarked terms as keywords. We are appealing those decisions. We were also subject to two lawsuits in Germany on similar matters where the courts held that we are not liable for the actions of our advertisers prior to notification of trademark rights. We are litigating or have recently litigated similar issues in other cases in the U.S., Australia, Austria, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Israel and Italy.

We have also had copyright claims filed against us alleging that features of certain of our products and services, including Google Web Search, Google News, Google Video, Google Image Search, Google Book Search and YouTube, infringe another party’s rights. Adverse results in these lawsuits may include awards of substantial monetary damages, costly royalty or licensing agreements or orders preventing us from offering certain functionalities, and may also result in a change in our business practices, which could

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result in a loss of revenue for us or otherwise harm our business. In addition, any time one of our products or services links to or hosts material in which others allegedly own copyrights, we face the risk of being sued for copyright infringement or related claims. Because these products and services comprise the majority of our products and services, the risk of harm from such lawsuits could be substantial.

We have also experienced an increase in patent lawsuits filed against us alleging that certain of our products and services, including Google Web Search, Google AdWords, and Google AdSense, infringe another party’s patents. Adverse results in these lawsuits may include awards of substantial monetary damages, obligations to pay licensing fees and/or orders preventing us from offering certain features, functionalities, products or services, which could result in a loss of revenue for us or otherwise harm our business.

We are, and may in the future be, subject to intellectual property rights claims, which are costly to defend, could require us to pay damages and could limit our ability to use certain technologies in the future.

Companies in the internet, technology and media industries own large numbers of patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets and frequently enter into litigation based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. As we have grown, the intellectual property rights claims against us have increased. Our products, services and technologies may not be able to withstand any third-party claims and regardless of the merits of the claim, intellectual property claims are often time-consuming and expensive to litigate or settle. In addition, to the extent claims against us are successful, we may have to pay substantial monetary damages or discontinue any of our services or practices that are found to be in violation of another party’s rights. We also may have to seek a license to continue such practices, which may significantly increase our operating expenses. In addition, many of our agreements with members of our Google Network and other partners require us to indemnify these members for certain third-party intellectual property infringement claims, which would increase our costs as a result of defending such claims and may require that we pay damages if there were an adverse ruling in any such claims.

Companies have filed trademark infringement and related claims against us over the display of ads in response to user queries that include trademark terms. The outcomes of these lawsuits have differed from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Courts in France have held us liable for allowing advertisers to select certain trademarked terms as keywords. We are appealing those decisions. We were also subject to two lawsuits in Germany on similar matters where the courts held that we are not liable for the actions of our advertisers prior to notification of trademark rights. We are litigating or have recently litigated similar issues in other cases in the U.S., France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Austria and Australia.

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We have also had copyright claims filed against us alleging that features of certain of our products and services, including Google Web Search, Google News, Google Video, Google Image Search, Google Book Search and YouTube, infringe another party’s rights. Adverse results in these lawsuits may include awards of substantial monetary damages, costly royalty or licensing agreements or orders preventing us from offering certain functionalities, and may also result in a change in our business practices, which could result in a loss of revenue for us or otherwise harm our business. In addition, any time one of our products or services links to or hosts material in which others allegedly own copyrights, we face the risk of being sued for copyright infringement or related claims. Because these products and services comprise the majority of our products and services, the risk of harm from such lawsuits could be substantial.

We are, and may in the future be, subject to intellectual property rights
claims, which are costly to defend, could require us to pay damages and could limit our ability to use certain technologies in the future.

SIZE="2">Companies in the internet, technology and media industries own large numbers of patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets and frequently enter into litigation based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual
property rights. As we have grown, the intellectual property rights claims against us have increased. Our products, services and technologies may not be able to withstand any third-party claims and regardless of the merits of the claim, intellectual
property claims are often time-consuming and expensive to litigate or settle. In addition, to the extent claims against us are successful, we may have to pay substantial monetary damages or discontinue any of our services or practices that are found
to be in violation of another party’s rights. We also may have to seek a license to continue such practices, which may significantly increase our operating expenses. In addition, many of our agreements with members of our Google Network and
other partners require us to indemnify these members for certain third-party intellectual property infringement claims, which would increase our costs as a result of defending such claims and may require that we pay damages if there were an adverse
ruling in any such claims.

Companies have filed trademark infringement and related claims against us over the display of ads in response
to user queries that include trademark terms. The outcomes of these lawsuits have differed from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Courts in France have held us liable for allowing advertisers to select certain trademarked terms as keywords. We are
appealing those decisions. We were also subject to two lawsuits in Germany on similar matters where the courts held that we are not liable for the actions of our advertisers prior to notification of trademark rights. We are litigating or have
recently litigated similar issues in other cases in the U.S., France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Austria and Australia.

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We have also had copyright claims filed against us alleging that features of certain of our products and
services, including Google Web Search, Google News, Google Video, Google Image Search, Google Book Search and YouTube, infringe another party’s rights. Adverse results in these lawsuits may include awards of substantial monetary damages, costly
royalty or licensing agreements or orders preventing us from offering certain functionalities, and may also result in a change in our business practices, which could result in a loss of revenue for us or otherwise harm our business. In addition, any
time one of our products or services links to or hosts material in which others allegedly own copyrights, we face the risk of being sued for copyright infringement or related claims. Because these products and services comprise the majority of our
products and services, the risk of harm from such lawsuits could be substantial.

We are, and may in the future be, subject to intellectual property rights claims, which are costly to defend, could require us to pay damages and could limit our ability to use certain technologies in the future.

Companies in the internet, technology and media industries own large numbers of patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets and frequently enter into litigation based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. As we grow, the intellectual property rights claims against us increases. Our products, services and technologies may not be able to withstand any third-party claims and regardless of the merits of the claim, intellectual property claims are often time-consuming and expensive to litigate or settle. In addition, to the extent claims against us are successful, we may have to pay substantial monetary damages or discontinue any of our services or practices that are found to be in violation of another party’s rights. We also may have to seek a license to continue such practices, which may significantly increase our operating expenses. In addition, many of our agreements with members of our Google Network and other partners require us to indemnify these members for certain third-party intellectual property infringement claims, which would increase our costs as a result of defending such claims and may require that we pay damages if there were an adverse ruling in any such claims.

Companies have filed trademark infringement and related claims against us over the display of ads in response to user queries that include trademark terms. The outcomes of these lawsuits have differed from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Courts in France have held us liable for allowing advertisers to select certain trademarked terms as keywords. We are appealing those decisions. We were also subject to two lawsuits in Germany on similar matters where the courts held that we are not liable for the actions of our advertisers prior to notification of trademark rights. We are litigating or have recently litigated similar issues in other cases in the U.S., France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Austria and Australia.

We have also had copyright claims filed against us alleging that features of certain of our products and services, including Google Web Search, Google News, Google Video, Google Image Search, Google Book Search and YouTube, infringe their rights. Adverse results in these lawsuits may include awards of substantial monetary damages, costly royalty or licensing agreements or orders preventing us from offering certain functionalities, and may also result in a change in our business practices, which could result in a loss of revenue for us or otherwise harm our business. In addition, any time one of our products or services links to or hosts material in which others allegedly own copyrights, we face the risk of being sued for copyright infringement or related claims. Because these products and services comprise the majority of our products and services, the risk of harm from such lawsuits could be substantial.

We are, and may in the future be, subject to intellectual property rights claims, which are costly to defend, could require us to pay damages and could limit our ability to use certain technologies in the future.

Companies in the internet, technology and media industries own large numbers of patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets and frequently enter into litigation based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. As we grow, the intellectual property rights claims against us increases. Our products, services and technologies may not be able to withstand any third-party claims and regardless of the merits of the claim, intellectual property claims are often time-consuming and expensive to litigate or settle. In addition, to the extent claims against us are successful, we may have to pay substantial monetary damages or discontinue any of our services or practices that are found to be in violation of another party’s rights. We also may have to

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seek a license to continue such practices, which may significantly increase our operating expenses. In addition, many of our agreements with members of our Google Network and other partners require us to indemnify these members for certain third-party intellectual property infringement claims, which would increase our costs as a result of defending such claims and may require that we pay damages if there were an adverse ruling in any such claims.

Companies have filed trademark infringement and related claims against us over the display of ads in response to user queries that include trademark terms. The outcomes of these lawsuits have differed from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Courts in France have held us liable for allowing advertisers to select certain trademarked terms as keywords. We are appealing those decisions. We were also subject to two lawsuits in Germany on similar matters where the courts held that we are not liable for the actions of our advertisers prior to notification of trademark rights. We are litigating or have recently litigated similar issues in other cases in the U.S., France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Austria and Australia.

We have also had copyright claims filed against us alleging that features of certain of our products and services, including Google Web Search, Google News, Google Video, Google Image Search, Google Book Search and YouTube, infringe their rights. Adverse results in these lawsuits may include awards of substantial monetary damages, costly royalty or licensing agreements or orders preventing us from offering certain functionalities, and may also result in a change in our business practices, which could result in a loss of revenue for us or otherwise harm our business. In addition, any time one of our products or services links to or hosts material in which others allegedly own copyrights, we face the risk of being sued for copyright infringement or related claims. Because these products and services comprise the majority of our products and services, the risk of harm from such lawsuits could be substantial.