Commitments and Contingencies |
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| Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block] |
Leases
We recognized operating leased assets in of $487 million and corresponding accrued liabilities of $173 million, and other long-term liabilities of $236 million as of December 31, 2022. Our operating leases have remaining terms of 1 to 13 years and may include options to extend the leases for up to 36 years. The weighted average remaining lease term was 3.7 years, and the weighted average discount rate was 4.3% as of December 31, 2022, for our operating leases.
Operating lease expense was $729 million in 2022 ($798 million in 2021 and $416 million in 2020), including $551 million in variable lease expense in 2022 ($620 million in 2021 and $237 million in 2020).
In 2021 and 2022, we signed finance leases for supplier capacity extending over approximately 8 years. The leases will commence upon start of supplier production expected in 2023 and 2024. Prepayments of $430 million were recognized in property, plant and equipment as of December 31, 2022.
Discounted and undiscounted lease payments under non-cancelable leases as of December 31, 2022 excluding non-lease components, were as follows:
Commitments
Commitments for capital expenditures totaled $31.0 billion as of December 31, 2022, ($27.0 billion as of December 25, 2021) a majority of which will be due within the next 12 months. Other purchase obligations and commitments totaled approximately $10.7 billion as of December 31, 2022 (approximately $12.4 billion as of December 25, 2021).
Other purchase obligations and commitments include payments due under supply agreements and various types of licenses and agreements to purchase goods or services. Contractual obligations for purchases of goods or services relate to agreements that are enforceable and legally binding and that specify all significant terms, including fixed or minimum quantities; fixed, minimum, or variable price provisions; and the approximate timing of the transaction. Other purchase obligations reflect the non-cancelable portion or the minimum cancellation fee under the agreement.
Other commitments include a $5.4 billion commitment associated with our pending acquisition of Tower and our unrecognized commitment to fund our respective share of the total construction costs of $29.0 billion of Arizona Fab in connection with the definitive agreement entered into with Brookfield. Our remaining unfunded contribution was $13.5 billion as of December 31, 2022.
Legal Proceedings
We are regularly party to various ongoing claims, litigation, and other proceedings, including those noted in this section. We have accrued a charge of $2.2 billion related to litigation involving VLSI, described below. Excluding the VLSI claims described below, management at present believes that the ultimate outcome of these proceedings, individually and in the aggregate, will not materially harm our financial position, results of operations, cash flows, or overall trends; however, legal proceedings and related government investigations are subject to inherent uncertainties, and unfavorable rulings, excessive verdicts, or other events could occur. Unfavorable resolutions could include substantial monetary damages, fines, or penalties. Certain of these outstanding matters include speculative, substantial, or indeterminate monetary awards. In addition, in matters for which injunctive relief or other conduct remedies are sought, unfavorable resolutions could include an injunction or other order prohibiting us from selling one or more products at all or in particular ways, precluding particular business practices, or requiring other remedies. An unfavorable outcome may result in a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial position, and overall trends. We might also conclude that settling one or more such matters is in the best interests of our stockholders, employees, and customers, and any such settlement could include substantial payments. Except as specifically described below, we have not concluded that settlement of any of the legal proceedings noted in this section is appropriate at this time.
European Commission Competition Matter
In 2009, the European Commission (EC) found that Intel had used unfair business practices to persuade customers to buy microprocessors in violation of Article 82 of the EC Treaty (later renumbered Article 102) and Article 54 of the European Economic Area Agreement. In general, the EC found that we violated Article 82 by offering alleged “conditional rebates and payments” that required customers to purchase all or most of their x86 microprocessors from us and by making alleged “payments to prevent sales of specific rival products.” The EC ordered us to end the alleged infringement referred to in its decision and imposed a €1.1 billion fine, which we paid in the third quarter of 2009.
We appealed the EC decision to the European Court of Justice in 2014, after the General Court (then called the Court of First Instance) rejected our appeal of the EC decision in its entirety. In September 2017, the Court of Justice sent the case back to the General Court to examine whether the rebates at issue were capable of restricting competition.
In January 2022, the General Court annulled the EC’s 2009 findings against us regarding rebates, as well as the fine imposed on Intel, which was returned to us in February 2022. In April 2022, the EC appealed the General Court’s decision to the Court of Justice. A hearing date on the appeal has not been scheduled. The General Court’s January 2022 decision did not annul the EC’s 2009 finding that Intel made payments to prevent sales of specific rival products, and in January 2023 the EC reopened its administrative procedure to determine a fine against Intel based on that alleged conduct. Given the procedural posture and the nature of this proceeding, we are unable to make a reasonable estimate of the potential loss or range of losses, if any, that might arise from this matter.
In a related matter, we filed applications with the General Court in April 2022 seeking an order requiring the EC to pay Intel approximately €593 million in default interest.
Litigation Related to Security Vulnerabilities
In June 2017, a Google research team notified Intel and other companies that it had identified security vulnerabilities, now commonly referred to as “Spectre” and “Meltdown,” that affect many types of microprocessors, including our products. As is standard when findings like these are presented, we worked together with other companies in the industry to verify the research and develop and validate software and firmware updates for impacted technologies. In January 2018, information on the security vulnerabilities was publicly reported, before software and firmware updates to address the vulnerabilities were made widely available.
Numerous lawsuits have been filed against Intel relating to Spectre, Meltdown, and other variants of the security vulnerabilities that have been identified since 2018. As of January 25, 2023, consumer class action lawsuits against Intel were pending in the United States, Canada, and Argentina. The plaintiffs, who purport to represent various classes of purchasers of our products, generally claim to have been harmed by Intel's actions and/or omissions in connection with the security vulnerabilities and assert a variety of common law and statutory claims seeking monetary damages and equitable relief. In the United States, class action suits filed in various jurisdictions were consolidated for all pretrial proceedings in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, which entered final judgment in favor of Intel in July 2022 based on plaintiffs’ failure to plead a viable claim. Plaintiffs have appealed that decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In Canada, an initial status conference has not yet been scheduled in one case pending in the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario, and a stay of a second case pending in the Superior Court of Justice of Quebec is in effect. In Argentina, Intel Argentina was served with, and responded to, a class action complaint in June 2022. Additional lawsuits and claims may be asserted seeking monetary damages or other related relief. We dispute the pending claims described above and intend to defend those lawsuits vigorously. Given the procedural posture and the nature of those cases, including that the pending proceedings are in the early stages, that alleged damages have not been specified, that uncertainty exists as to the likelihood of a class or classes being certified or the ultimate size of any class or classes if certified, and that there are significant factual and legal issues to be resolved, we are unable to make a reasonable estimate of the potential loss or range of losses, if any, that might arise from those matters.
Litigation Related to 7nm Product Delay Announcement
Starting in July 2020, five securities class action lawsuits were filed in the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Intel and certain current and former officers based on Intel’s July 2020 announcement of 7nm product delays. The plaintiffs, who purport to represent classes of acquirers of Intel stock between October 2019 and July 2020, generally allege that the defendants violated securities laws by making false or misleading statements about the timeline for 7nm products in light of subsequently announced delays. In October 2020, the court consolidated the lawsuits, appointed lead plaintiffs, and in January 2021 the lead plaintiffs filed a consolidated complaint. Defendants moved to dismiss the consolidated complaint in March 2021. We dispute the claims described above and intend to defend the lawsuits vigorously. Given the procedural posture and the nature of those cases, including that the pending proceedings are in the early stages, that alleged damages have not been specified, that uncertainty exists as to the likelihood of a class or classes being certified or the ultimate size of any class or classes if certified, and that there are significant factual and legal issues to be resolved, we are unable to make a reasonable estimate of the potential loss or range of losses, if any, that might arise from those matters. In July 2021, Intel introduced a new process node naming structure, and the 7nm process is now Intel 4.
Litigation Related to Patent and IP Claims
We have had IP infringement lawsuits filed against us, including but not limited to those discussed below. Most involve claims that certain of our products, services, and technologies infringe others' IP rights. Adverse results in these lawsuits may include awards of substantial fines and penalties, costly royalty or licensing agreements, or orders preventing us from offering certain features, functionalities, products, or services. As a result, we may have to change our business practices, and develop non-infringing products or technologies, which could result in a loss of revenue for us and otherwise harm our business. In addition, certain agreements with our customers require us to indemnify them against certain IP infringement claims, which can increase our costs as a result of defending such claims, and may require that we pay significant damages, accept product returns, or supply our customers with non-infringing products if there were an adverse ruling in any such claims. In addition, our customers and partners may discontinue the use of our products, services, and technologies, as a result of injunctions or otherwise, which could result in loss of revenue and adversely affect our business.
VLSI Technology LLC v. Intel
In October 2017, VLSI Technology LLC (VLSI) filed a complaint against Intel in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California alleging that various Intel FPGA and processor products infringe eight patents that VLSI acquired from NXP Semiconductors, N.V. (NXP). VLSI estimates its damages to be at least $5.5 billion, and seeks enhanced damages, future royalties, attorneys’ fees, costs, and interest.
Intel filed Inter Partes Review (IPR) petitions with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in 2018 challenging patentability, and the parties stipulated to stay the district court action pending the PTAB's review. The PTAB subsequently found all claims of two patents, and some claims of two other patents, to be unpatentable. The district court lifted the stay in September 2021 and scheduled trial for March 2024 on the claims that were found patentable by the PTAB.
In June 2018, VLSI filed a second suit against Intel, in U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, seeking $4.4 billion in damages for the alleged infringement by various Intel processors of five additional patents that VLSI acquired from NXP. In December 2022, VLSI stipulated to dismiss with prejudice its claims, for which Intel paid nothing. The court dismissed the case in January 2023.
In April 2019, VLSI filed three infringement suits against Intel in the Western District of Texas (WDTX) accusing various Intel processors of infringement of eight additional patents it had acquired from NXP. The first Texas case went to trial in February 2021, and the jury awarded VLSI $1.5 billion for literal infringement of one patent and $675 million for infringement of another patent under the doctrine of equivalents. In April 2022, the court entered final judgment, awarding VLSI $2.2 billion in damages and approximately $162.3 million in pre-judgment and post-judgment interest. Intel has appealed the judgment to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, including its claim to have a license from Fortress Investment Group’s acquisition of Finjan. In December 2021 and January 2022 the PTAB instituted IPRs on the claims found to have been infringed in the first Texas case, but it has not yet issued a final written decision on either petition.
The second Texas case went to trial in April 2021, and the jury found that Intel does not infringe the asserted patents. VLSI had sought approximately $3.0 billion for alleged infringement, plus enhanced damages for willful infringement. The court has not yet entered final judgment following the second trial in Texas. The third Texas case went to trial in November 2022, with VLSI asserting one remaining patent. The jury found the patent valid and infringed, and awarded VLSI nearly $949 million in damages, plus a running royalty. The court has not yet entered final judgment following the third trial in Texas. We intend to file motions for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, and further appeals are possible.
In May 2019, VLSI filed a case in Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court against Intel, Intel (China) Co., Ltd., Intel Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., and Intel Products (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. VLSI asserts one patent against certain Intel Core processors. Defendants filed an invalidation petition in October 2019 with the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) which held a hearing in September 2021. CNIPA has not yet issued a decision. The Shenzhen court held trial proceedings in July 2021 and indicated that further trial proceedings were needed but would be stayed pending the outcome of defendants’ invalidity challenge at the CNIPA. VLSI seeks an injunction as well as RMB 1.3 million in costs and expenses, but no damages.
In May 2019, VLSI filed a case in Shanghai Intellectual Property Court against Intel (China) Co., Ltd., Intel Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., and Intel Products (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. asserting one patent against certain Intel core processors. The court held a trial hearing in December 2020, where VLSI requested expenses (RMB 300 thousand) and an injunction. The court held a second trial hearing in May 2022, but has yet to issue its final decision. In December 2022, Intel filed a second petition to invalidate the patent at issue.
In November 2019, Intel, along with Apple Inc., filed a complaint against Fortress Investment Group LLC, Fortress Credit Co. LLC, Uniloc 2017 LLC, Uniloc USA, Inc., Uniloc Luxembourg S.A.R.L., VLSI, INVT SPE LLC, Inventergy Global, Inc., DSS Technology Management, Inc., IXI IP, LLC, and Seven Networks, LLC. Plaintiffs allege violations of Section 1 of the Sherman Act by certain defendants, Section 7 of the Clayton Act by certain defendants, and California Business and Professions Code section 17200 by all defendants based on defendants’ unlawful aggregation of patents. In September 2021, the district court dismissed the claims with prejudice, entering judgment in favor of defendants. In November 2022 the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision.
Intel has accrued a charge of approximately $2.2 billion related to the VLSI litigation. While we dispute VLSI’s claims and intend to vigorously defend against them, we are unable to make a reasonable estimate of losses in excess of recorded amounts given recent developments and future proceedings.
Business Interruption Insurance Proceeds
We received $484 million of insurance proceeds, primarily in the fourth quarter of 2022, to compensate for business interruption and property damage from a temporary electrical breakdown that occurred at one of our facilities in 2020. We recognized these receipts as a reduction of .
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