Twitter

Legal Proceedings

Twitter is “currently involved in, and may in the future be involved in, legal proceedings, claims and government investigations in the ordinary course of business. (Twitter is) involved in litigation, and may in the future be involved in litigation, with third parties asserting, among other things, infringement of their intellectual property rights. In addition, the nature of (Twitter) business exposes (Twitter) to claims related to defamation, rights of publicity and privacy, and personal injury torts resulting from information that is published or made available on (Twitter) platform. This risk is enhanced in certain jurisdictions outside the United States where (Twitter) protection from liability for content published on (Twitter) platform by third parties may be unclear and where (Twitter) may be less protected under local laws than (Twitter is) in the United States. Although the results of the legal proceedings, claims and government investigations in which (Twitter is) involved cannot be predicted with certainty, (Twitter does) not believe that there is a reasonable possibility that the final outcome of these matters will have a material adverse effect on (Twitter) business, financial condition or operating results.

Future litigation may be necessary, among other things, to defend (Twitter), (Twitter) platform partners and (Twitter) users by determining the scope, enforceability, and validity of third-party proprietary rights or to establish (Twitter) proprietary rights. The results of any current or future litigation cannot be predicted with certainty, and regardless of the outcome, litigation can have an adverse impact on (Twitter) because of defense and settlement costs, diversion of management resources and other factors.” (1)

Intellectual Property Issues

From time to time (Twitter) receive(s) claims from third parties which allege that (Twitter has) infringed upon their intellectual property rights. In this regard, (Twitter) received (in 2013) a letter from International Business Machines Corporation, or IBM, alleging that (Twitter) infringe(s) on at least three U.S. patents held by IBM, and inviting (Twitter) to negotiate a business resolution of the allegations.

In December 2013, (Twitter) acquired over 900 patents from IBM, which significantly increases the size of (Twitter) patent portfolio and entered into a patent cross-license.

Further, from time to time (Twitter) may introduce new products and services, including in areas where (Twitter still does) not have an offering, which could increase (Twitter) exposure to patent and other intellectual property claims from competitors and non-practicing entities. In addition, although (Twitter) standard terms and conditions for (Twitter) Promoted Products and public APIs do not provide advertisers and platform partners with indemnification for intellectual property claims against them, some of (Twitter) agreements with advertisers, platform partners and data partners require (Twitter) to indemnify them for certain intellectual property claims against them, which could require (Twitter) to incur considerable costs in defending such claims, and may require (Twitter) to pay significant damages in the event of an adverse ruling. Such advertisers, platform partners and data partners may also discontinue use of (Twitter) products, services and technologies as a result of injunctions or otherwise, which could result in loss of revenue and adversely impact (Twitter) business.” (2)

Twitter is “involved in a number of intellectual property lawsuits, and as (Twitter) face(s) increasing competition and gain an increasingly high profile, (Twitter) expect(s) the number of patent and other intellectual property claims against (Twitter) to grow. There may be intellectual property or other rights held by others, including issued or pending patents, that cover significant aspects of (Twitter) products and services, and (Twitter) cannot be sure that (Twitter is) not infringing or violating, and (has) not infringed or violated, any third-party intellectual property rights or that (Twitter) will not be held to have done so or be accused of doing so in the future.” (3)

Notes

1. Twitter, 2014 Annual Report
2. Id.
3. Id.

See Also

Data Protection
Intellectual Property