Commitments and Contingencies

Product Warranties

Changes in the liability for product warranty claim costs were as follows:



(In thousands)	Three Months Ended March 31,
(In thousands)	2017			2016
Balance at beginning of period	$	134		$	35
Accruals for warranties issued during the period	—			—
Settlements (in cash or in kind) during the period	(2		)	—
Balance at end of period	$	132		$	35

Restructuring Activities and Sale of Guangzhou Factory

In the first quarter of 2016, we implemented a plan to reduce our manufacturing costs by transitioning manufacturing activities from our southern-most China factory, located in the city of Guangzhou in the Guangdong province, to our other three China factories where labor rates are lower. As a result, we incurred severance costs of $5.3 million and $1.4 million during the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, which are included within operating expenses. We expect to incur additional severance costs of approximately $2 million as we continue to execute this transition over the next three to six months. Because severance costs relate to involuntary terminations, we record the related liability at the communication date. At March 31, 2017, we had $0.2 million of unpaid severance costs included within accrued compensation.

On September 26, 2016, we entered into an agreement to sell our Guangzhou manufacturing facility for RMB 320 million (approximately $46 million based on March 31, 2017 exchange rates). Under the terms of this agreement, we have up to 24 months to cease all operations within the facility. The closing of the sale will be subject to customary due diligence and local regulatory approval and per the terms of the agreement could take up to approximately 28 months from the execution of the agreement. In accordance with the terms of the agreement, the buyer deposited 10% of the purchase price into an escrow account at agreement inception, which we have presented as long-term restricted cash in our consolidated balance sheet (also refer to Note 2). The remaining balance of the purchase price is to be placed into the escrow account prior to the closing of the sale and will be released to us upon closing.

Litigation

On or about June 10, 2015, FM Marketing GmbH ("FMH") and Ruwido Austria GmbH ("Ruwido"), filed a Summons in Summary Proceedings in Belgium court against one of our subsidiaries, Universal Electronics BV ("UEBV") and one of its customers, Telenet N.V. ("Telenet"), claiming that one of the products UEBV supplies Telenet violates two design patents and one utility patent owned by FMH and/or Ruwido. By this summons, FMH and Ruwido sought to enjoin Telenet and UEBV from continued distribution and use of the products at issue. After the September 29, 2015 hearing, the Court issued its ruling in our and Telenet’s favor, rejecting FMH and Ruwido’s request entirely. On October 22, 2015, Ruwido filed its notice of appeal in this ruling. The parties have fully briefed the appeal and on February 15, 2016, the appellate court heard oral arguments. While awaiting the appellate court’s ruling, we requested and received permission to submit additional filings in support of our position. In March, we submitted our additional filings and answered questions from the court. We are now awaiting the decision from the court, which we believe will be rendered during the summer of 2017. In addition, in September 2015, UEBV filed an Opposition with the European Patent Office seeking to invalidate the one utility patent asserted against UEBV and Telenet by Ruwido. The hearing on this opposition has been set for July 2017. Finally, on or about February 9, 2016, Ruwido filed a writ of summons for proceeding on the merits with respect to asserted patents. UEBV and Telenet have replied, denying all of Ruwido's allegations and we intend to vigorously defend against these claims. A hearing on this matter occurred in February 2017 with the court allowing the parties to submit additional filings to further support their respective positions. A further hearing has been scheduled for early summer 2017.

On January 26, 2017, OpenTV, Inc., Nagra USA, Inc., Nagravision SA, and Kudelski SA (collectively, the “Kudelski Group”) filed a request with the U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) to institute an investigation pursuant to Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, concerning certain remote control devices we supply Comcast Corporation (“Comcast”) to which the ITC agreed to accept this request. By this request, the Kudelski Group will seek exclusion of certain digital television set-top boxes, remote control devices, and components thereof imported into the United States by Comcast and/or various of its subsidiaries, ARRIS International plc and/or various of its subsidiaries, and us and/or certain of our subsidiaries. We deny the allegations made by the Kudelski Group against us and we intend to vigorously defend against them. Discovery in this matter has just begun. Further, the ITC issued its scheduling order, setting the hearing start date for November 1, 2017.

There are no other material pending legal proceedings to which we or any of our subsidiaries is a party or of which our respective property is the subject. However, as is typical in our industry and to the nature and kind of business in which we are engaged, from time to time, various claims, charges and litigation are asserted or commenced by third parties against us or by us against third parties arising from or related to product liability, infringement of patent or other intellectual property rights, breach of warranty, contractual relations, or employee relations. The amounts claimed may be substantial but may not bear any reasonable relationship to the merits of the claims or the extent of any real risk of court awards assessed against us or in our favor. However, no assurances can be made as to the outcome of any of these matters, nor can we estimate the range of potential losses to us. In our opinion, final judgments, if any, which might be rendered against us in potential or pending litigation would not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows. Moreover, we believe that our products do not infringe any third parties' patents or other intellectual property rights.

We maintain directors' and officers' liability insurance which insures our individual directors and officers against certain claims, as well as attorney's fees and related expenses incurred in connection with the defense of such claims.