Changes in these or other rules, or scrutiny of our current accounting practices, or a determination that our judgments or assumptions in the application of these accounting principles were incorrect, could have a significant adverse effect on our reported operating results or the way in which we conduct our business.
Continued uncertainty surrounding the implementation and effect of Brexit may cause increased economic volatility, affecting our operations and business.
In March 2017, the UK served notice to the European Council under Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon to withdraw membership from the EU. Brexit could cause disruptions to, and create uncertainty surrounding, our business in the UK and EU, including affecting our relationships with our existing and future customers, suppliers, and employees. As a result, Brexit could have an adverse effect on our future business, financial results, and operations. The UK formally left the EU on January 31, 2020, although it was subject to a transition period through December 31, 2020. While the transition period has now ended, and a deal was reached between the EU and the UK (avoiding a so called "hard Brexit"), the long-term nature of the UK’s relationship with the EU is still relatively unclear. The political and economic instability created by Brexit has caused and may continue to cause significant volatility in global financial markets. Brexit has also had the effect of disrupting the free movement of goods, services, and people between the UK, the EU, and elsewhere. Brexit could lead to legal uncertainty and potentially divergent national laws and regulations as the UK determines which EU laws to repeal or replace. Further, uncertainty around these and related issues could lead to adverse effects on the economy of the UK and the other economies in which we operate. There can be no assurance that any or all of these events will not have a material adverse effect on our business operations, results of operations and financial condition.
Further, Brexit has created uncertainty with regard to the future regulation of data protection in the United Kingdom. We may experience reluctance or refusal by current or prospective customers in Europe, including the United Kingdom, to use our products, and we may find it necessary or desirable to make further changes to our handling of personal data of European residents. The regulatory environment applicable to the handling of European residents’ personal data, and our actions taken in response, may cause us to assume additional liabilities or incur additional costs, and could result in our business, operating results, and financial condition being harmed.
Risks Related to Intellectual Property
We have been and may in the future be sued by third parties for various claims including alleged infringement of proprietary rights that can be time-consuming, incur substantial costs and divert the attention of management, which could adversely affect our operations and cash flow.
We are involved in various legal matters arising from the normal course of business activities. These may include claims, suits, and other proceedings involving alleged infringement of third-party patents and other intellectual property rights, and commercial, labor and employment, and other matters.
The software and Internet industries are characterized by the existence of a large number of patents, trademarks and copyrights and by frequent litigation based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. We have received and may receive in the future communications from third parties claiming that we or our customers have infringed the intellectual property rights of others. In addition, we have been, and may in the future be, sued by third parties for alleged infringement of their claimed proprietary rights. Our technologies and those of our customers may be subject to injunction if they are found to infringe the rights of a third party or we may be required to pay damages, or both. Many of our agreements require us to indemnify our customers for third-party intellectual property infringement claims, which would increase the cost to us of an adverse ruling on such a claim.
The outcome of any litigation, regardless of its merits, is inherently uncertain. Any claims and lawsuits, and the disposition of such claims and lawsuits, could be time-consuming and expensive to resolve, divert management attention from executing our business plan, lead to attempts on the part of other parties to pursue similar claims and, in the case of intellectual property claims, require us to change our technology, change our business practices or pay monetary damages, or enter into short- or long-term royalty or licensing agreements.
Any adverse determination related to intellectual property claims or other litigation could prevent us from offering our service to customers, could be material to our financial condition or cash flows, or both, or could otherwise adversely