Revenue | NOTE 3 – REVENUE Revenue Recognition General Revenue is recognized when control of the promised goods or services is transferred to a customer in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services, which may include various combinations of goods and services which are generally capable of being distinct and accounted for as separate performance obligations. Revenue is recognized net of sales taxes collected from customers which are subsequently remitted to governmental authorities. In situations where foreign withholding taxes are withheld by the Company’s licensee, revenue is recognized gross of withholding taxes that are remitted directly by the licensee to a local tax authority. Some of the Company’s contracts with customers contain multiple performance obligations. For these contracts, the individual performance obligations are separately accounted for if they are distinct. In an arrangement with multiple performance obligations, the transaction price is allocated among the separate performance obligations on a relative stand-alone selling price basis. The determination of stand-alone selling price considers market conditions, the size and scope of the contract, customer and geographic information, and other factors. When observable prices are not available, stand-alone selling price for separate performance obligations is based on the cost-plus-margin approach, considering overall pricing objectives. The allocation of transaction price among performance obligations in a contract may impact the amount and timing of revenue recognized in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations during a given period. When a contract with a customer includes a variable transaction price, an estimate of the consideration which the Company expects to be entitled to for transferring the promised goods or services is made at contract inception. The amount of variable consideration is estimated at contract inception by considering all available information (historical, current and forecast) at the time and updated as additional information becomes available. The estimate of variable consideration is included in the transaction price to the extent it is probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is resolved. Subsequent changes in the transaction price resulting from changes in the estimate of variable consideration are allocated to the performance obligations in the contract on the same basis as at contract inception. When variable consideration is in the form of a sales-based or usage-based royalty in exchange for a license of IP, or when a license of IP is the predominant item to which the variable consideration relates, revenue is recognized at the later of when the subsequent sale or usage occurs or the performance obligation to which some or all of the sales-based or usage-based royalty has been allocated has been satisfied or partially satisfied. Description of Revenue-Generating Activities The Company operates in two business segments. In its IP Licensing segment, the Company licenses its innovations to leading companies in the broader entertainment and semiconductor industries, and those developing new technologies that will help drive the industries forward. Licensing arrangements include access to one or more of the Company’s foundational patent portfolios and may also include access to some of its industry-leading technologies and proven know-how. In its Product segment, the Company derives the majority of its revenue from licensing its technology to customers primarily through Technology License arrangements and Technology Solutions arrangements. For Technology License arrangements, the customer obtains rights to the technology delivered at the commencement of the agreement. For Technology Solutions arrangements, the customer receives access to a platform, media or data that includes frequent updates, where access to such updates is critical to the functionality of the technology. IP License Arrangements In its IP Licensing segment, the Company licenses (i) its media patent portfolios (“Media IP licensing”) to multichannel video programming distributors, over-the-top video service providers, consumer electronics manufacturers, social media, and other new media companies and (ii) its semiconductor technologies and associated patent portfolios (“Semiconductor IP licensing”) to memory, sensor, radio frequency (“RF”) component, and foundry companies. The Company licenses its IP portfolios under three revenue models: (i) fixed-fee Media IP licensing, (ii) fixed-fee or minimum guarantee Semiconductor IP licensing, and (iii) per-unit or per-subscriber IP royalty licenses. Fixed-fee Media IP licensing The Company's long-term fixed-fee Media IP licensing agreements, which are related to the TiVo businesses following the Mergers, provide its customers with rights to future patented technologies over the term of the agreement that are highly interdependent or highly interrelated to the patented technologies provided at the inception of the agreement. The Company treats these rights as a single performance obligation with revenue recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the fixed-fee license agreement. At times, the Company enters into license agreements in which a licensee is released from past patent infringement claims or is granted a license to ship an unlimited number of units or for an unlimited number of subscribers over a future period for a fixed fee. In these arrangements, the Company allocates the transaction price between the release for past patent infringement claims and the future license which requires significant management judgment. In determining the stand-alone selling price of the release for past patent infringement claims and the future license, the Company considers such factors as the number of units shipped in the past or the number of past subscribers and the relevant geographies of the shipped units or subscribers, the future number of subscribers or units, as well as the licensing rate the Company generally receives for per-subscriber or units shipped in the same geographies. As the release from past patent infringement claims is generally satisfied at execution of the agreement, the transaction price allocated to the release from past patent infringement claims is generally recognized in the period the agreement is executed and the amount of transaction price allocated to the future license is recognized ratably over the future license term. Fixed-fee or minimum guarantee Semiconductor IP licensing The Company enters into Semiconductor IP licenses that have fixed fee or minimum guarantee arrangements, whereby licensees pay a fixed fee for the right to incorporate the Company’s IP technologies in the licensee’s products over the license term. In arrangements with a minimum guarantee, the fixed fee component corresponds to a minimum number of units or dollars that the customer must produce or pay, with additional per-unit fees for any units or dollars exceeding the minimum. The Company generally recognizes the full fixed fee as revenue at the beginning of the license term when the customer has the right to use the IP and begins to benefit from the license, net of the effect of any significant financing components calculated using customer-specific, risk-adjusted lending rates, with the related interest income being recognized over time on an effective rate basis. For minimum guarantee agreements where the customer exceeds the minimum, the Company recognizes revenue relating to any additional per-unit fees in the periods it believes the customer will exceed the minimum and adjusts the revenue based on actual usage once that is reported by the customer. Per-unit or per-subscriber IP royalty licenses The Company recognizes revenue from per-unit or per-subscriber IP royalty licenses in the period in which the licensee's sales or production are estimated to have occurred, which results in an adjustment to revenue when actual sales or production are subsequently reported by the licensee, which is generally in the month or quarter following usage or shipment. Estimating customers’ monthly or quarterly royalties prior to receiving the royalty reports requires the Company to make significant assumptions and judgments related to forecasted trends and growth rates used to estimate quantities shipped or manufactured by customers, which could have a material impact on the amount of revenue it reports on a quarterly basis. Technology License The Company licenses The Company generally Certain e Technology Solutions Arrangements Technology Solutions customers are primarily multi-channel video service providers, CE manufacturers, and end consumers. Technology Solutions revenue is primarily derived from licensing the Company’s Pay-TV solutions, Personalized Content Discovery, enriched Metadata, and viewership data; selling TiVo-enabled devices like the Stream 4K; and advertising. For Technology Solutions, the Company provides on-going media or data delivery, hosting and access to its platform, and software updates. For these solutions, the Company generally receives fees on a per-subscriber per-month basis or as a fixed fee, and revenue is recognized during the month in which the solutions are provided to the customer. For most of the Technology Solutions offerings, substantially all functionality is obtained through the Company’s continuous hosting and/or updating of the data and content. In these instances, the Company typically has a single performance obligation related to these ongoing activities in the underlying arrangement. For those arrangements that include multiple performance obligations, the Company allocates the consideration as described above and recognizes revenue for each distinct performance obligation when control of the promised goods or services is transferred to the customer. The Company also generates revenue from non-recurring engineering (“NRE”) services, advertising, and hardware products, each of which was less than 5% of total revenue for all periods presented. Practical Expedients and Exemptions The Company applies a practical expedient to not perform an evaluation of whether a contract includes a significant financing component when the timing of revenue recognition differs from the timing of cash collection by one year or less. The Company applies a practical expedient to expense costs to obtain a contract with a customer as incurred as a component of selling, general and administrative expenses when the amortization period would have been one year or less. The Company applies a practical expedient when disclosing revenue expected to be recognized from unsatisfied performance obligations to exclude contracts with customers with an original duration of less than one year; amounts attributable to variable consideration arising from (i) a sales-based or usage-based royalty of an intellectual property license or (ii) when variable consideration is allocated entirely to a wholly unsatisfied performance obligation; or to a wholly unsatisfied promise to transfer a distinct good or service that forms part of a single performance obligation. Revenue Details The following information depicts how the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows are affected by economic factors by disaggregating revenue by product category/end market and geographic location (presented in “Note 16 - Segment and Geographic Information Revenue disaggregated by product category/end market was as follows (in thousands): Three Months Ended March 31, 2022 2021 IP Licensing revenue $ 138,531 $ 98,014 Pay-TV 64,155 63,743 Consumer Electronics 28,091 31,105 Connected Car 19,719 22,891 Media Platform 6,924 5,843 Total Product revenue 118,889 123,582 Total revenue $ 257,420 $ 221,596 Contract Balances Contracts Assets Contract assets primarily consist of unbilled contracts receivable that are expected to be received from customers in future periods, where the revenue recognized to date exceeds the amount billed. The amount of unbilled contracts receivable may not exceed their net realizable value and are classified as long-term assets if the payments are expected to be received more than one year from the reporting date. Contract assets also include the incremental costs of obtaining a contract with a customer, principally sales commissions when the renewal commission is not commensurate with the initial commission, and deferred engineering costs for significant software customization or modification and set-up services to the extent deemed recoverable. Contract assets were recorded in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as follows (in thousands ): March 31, 2022 December 31, 2021 Unbilled contracts receivable (1) $ 121,778 $ 77,677 Other current assets 1,157 1,150 Long-term unbilled contracts receivable (2) 43,112 4,107 Other long-term assets 2,216 2,310 Total contract assets $ 168,263 $ 85,244 (1) The unbilled contracts receivable increase relates primarily to a change in billing process in the three months ended March 31, 2022. This change has no impact on the Company’s cash flows. (2) The long-term unbilled contracts receivable increase relates primarily to the recognition of revenue from a multi-year contract with a customer in the three months ended March 31, 2022. Contract Liabilities Contract liabilities are mainly comprised of deferred revenue related to technology solutions arrangements, multi-period licensing, and other offerings for which the Company is paid in advance while the promised good or service is transferred to the customer at a future date or over time. Deferred revenue also includes amounts received related to professional services to be performed in the future. Deferred revenue arises when cash payments are received, including amounts which are refundable, in advance of performance obligations being completed. Allowance for Credit Losses The allowance for credit losses, which includes the allowance for accounts receivable and unbilled contracts receivable, represents the Company’s best estimate of lifetime expected credit losses inherent in those financial assets. The Company’s lifetime expected credit losses are determined using relevant information about past events (including historical experience), current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect collectability. The Company monitors its credit exposure through ongoing credit evaluations of its customers’ financial condition and limits the amount of credit extended when deemed necessary. In addition, the Company performs routine credit management activities such as timely account reconciliations, dispute resolution, and payment confirmations. The Company may employ collection agencies and legal counsel to pursue recovery of defaulted receivables. The Company’s long-term unbilled contracts receivable is derived from fixed-fee or minimum-guarantee arrangements, primarily with large well-capitalized companies. It is generally considered to be of high credit quality due to past collection history and the nature of the customers. The following table presents the activity in the allowance for credit losses for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 (in thousands): Three Months Ended March 31, 2022 Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 Accounts Receivable Unbilled Contracts Receivable Accounts Receivable Unbilled Contracts Receivable Beginning balance $ 3,102 $ 729 $ 7,336 $ 2,231 Provision for (reversal of) credit losses (180 ) (111 ) 1,142 123 Recoveries (38 ) — (591 ) — Charged-off/other adjustments 11 (76 ) (3,849 ) (1 ) 530 Balance at end of period $ 2,895 $ 542 $ 4,038 $ 2,884 (1) The charge off of accounts receivable in the first quarter of 2021 was primarily related to a customer whose account had been substantially reserved for credit losses in 2020 due to deteriorating financial condition and delinquent payment history. Additional Disclosures The following table presents additional revenue and contract disclosures (in thousands): Three Months Ended March 31, 2022 2021 Revenue recognized in the period from: Amounts included in deferred revenue at the beginning of the period $ 10,241 $ 10,712 Performance obligations satisfied in previous periods (true ups, licensee reporting adjustments and settlements)* $ 153 $ 19,863 *True ups represent the differences between the Company’s quarterly estimates of per-unit royalty revenue and actual production/sales-based royalties reported by licensees in the following period. Licensee reporting adjustments represent corrections or revisions to previously reported per-unit royalties by licensees, generally resulting from the Company’s inquiries or compliance audits. Settlements represent resolutions of litigation during the period for past royalties owed pursuant to expired or terminated IP license agreements. Remaining revenue under contracts with performance obligations represents the aggregate amount of the transaction price allocated to the performance obligations that are unsatisfied (or partially unsatisfied) under certain of the Company’s fixed fee arrangements and engineering services contracts. The Company's remaining revenue under contracts with performance obligations was as follows (in thousands) : As of March 31, 2022 December 31, 2021 Revenue from contracts with performance obligations expected to be satisfied in: 2022 (remaining 9 months) $ 130,163 $ 176,646 2023 155,635 153,746 2024 126,123 122,488 2025 112,594 110,703 2026 10,940 10,735 Thereafter 4,647 4,441 Total $ 540,102 $ 578,759 |