CONTINGENCIES	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
CONTINGENCIES	5. CONTINGENCIES From time to time, we receive claims from third parties asserting that our technologies, or those of our licensees, infringe on the other parties’ IP rights. Management believes that these claims are without merit. Additionally, periodically, we are involved in routine legal matters and contractual disputes incidental to our normal operations. In management’s opinion, unless we disclosed otherwise, the resolution of such matters will not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial condition, results of operations, or liquidity. In the normal course of business, we provide indemnification of varying scope to customers, most commonly to licensees in connection with licensing arrangements that include our IP, although these provisions can cover additional matters. Historically, costs related to these guarantees have not been significant, and we are unable to estimate the maximum potential impact of these guarantees on our future results of operations. LGE Korean Withholding Tax Matter On October 16, 2017, we received a letter from LG Electronics Inc. (“LGE”) requesting that we reimburse LGE with respect to withholding tax imposed on LGE by the Korean tax authorities following an investigation where the tax authority determined that LGE failed to withhold on LGE’s royalty payments to Immersion Software Ireland, a subsidiary of the Company, from 2012 to 2014. Pursuant to an agreement reached with LGE, on April 8, 2020, we provided a provisional deposit to LGE in the amount of KRW 5,916,845,454 (approximately $5.0 million) representing the amount of such withholding tax that was imposed on LGE, which provisional deposit would be returned to us to the extent we ultimately prevail in the appeal in the Korean courts. In the second quarter of 2020, we recorded this deposit in Long-term deposits on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. On November 3, 2017, on behalf of LGE, we filed an appeal with the Korea Tax Tribunal regarding their findings with respect to the withholding taxes. The Korea Tax Tribunal hearing took place on March 5, 2019. On March 19, 2019, the Korea Tax Tribunal issued its ruling in which it decided not to accept our arguments with respect to the Korean tax authorities’ assessment of withholding tax and penalties imposed on LGE. On behalf of LGE, we filed an appeal with the Korea Administrative Court on June 10, 2019. The Company has had numerous hearings before the Korea Administrative Court in the years 2019 through 2022. The Korea Administrative Court had indicated that it expected to render a decision on this matter by December 31, 2022, but had subsequently updated the parties to indicate that a decision on this matter was expected by February 16, 2023. On February 15, 2023, we were informed that the Korea Administrative Court had scheduled another hearing for April 27, 2023 due to a change in the main judge for this matter. We had a hearing on April 27, 2023, and the Korea Administrative Court indicated that it expects to render a decision on this matter by June 8, 2023. On April 25, 2023, we received notice from LGE requesting us to reimburse LGE with respect to withholding tax imposed on LGE by the Korean tax authorities following a recent tax audit of LGE for the years 2018 through 2022 in the amount of KRW 3,025,251,775 (approximately $2.3 million). We are currently evaluating our next steps with respect to the reimbursement of such withholding taxes in accordance with our obligations pursuant to the license agreement with LGE. As of March 31, 2023, we have accrued $0.3 million of withholding taxes, interest and penalties related to the 2018 to 2022 period for which the Korean tax authorities have recently assessed LGE. The additional income tax is accrued in Other Current Liabilities in our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. Based on the developments in these cases, we regularly reassess the likelihood that we will prevail in the claims from the Korean tax authorities with respect to the LGE case. To the extent that we determine that it is more likely than not that we will prevail against the claims from the Korean tax authorities, then no additional tax expense is provided for in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income. In the event that we determine that it is more likely than not that we will not prevail against the claims from the Korean tax authorities, or a portion thereof, then we would estimate the anticipated additional tax expense associated with that outcome and record it as additional income tax expense in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income in the period of the new determination. If the additional income tax expense was related to the periods assessed by Korean tax authorities and for which we recorded a Long-term deposits on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, then the additional income tax expense would be recorded as an impairment to the Long-term deposits. If the additional income tax expense was not related to the periods assessed by Korean tax authorities and for which we recorded in Long-term deposits on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, then the additional income tax expense would be accrued as an Other current liabilities. In the event that we do not ultimately prevail in our appeal in the Korean courts with respect to this case, the applicable deposits included in Long-term deposits would be recorded as additional income tax expense on our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income, in the period in which we do not ultimately prevail. In the fourth quarter of 2021, we recorded an impairment charge of $0.8 million related to the long-term deposits paid to LGE. Immersion Corporation vs. Meta Platforms, Inc., f/k/a Facebook, Inc. On May 26, 2022, we filed a complaint against Meta Platforms, Inc. (formerly known as Facebook, Inc.) (“Meta”) in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. The complaint alleges that Meta’s augmented and virtual reality (“AR/VR”) systems, including the Meta Quest 2, infringe six of our patents that cover various uses of haptic effects in connection with such AR/VR systems. We are seeking to enjoin Meta from further infringement and to recover a reasonable royalty for such infringement. The complaint against Meta asserts infringement of the following patents: • U.S. Patent No. 8,469,806: “System and method for providing complex haptic stimulation during input of control gestures, and relating to control of virtual equipment” • U.S. Patent No. 8,896,524: “Context-dependent haptic confirmation system” • U.S. Patent No. 9,727,217: “Haptically enhanced interactivity with interactive content” • U.S. Patent No. 10,248,298: “Haptically enhanced interactivity with interactive content” • U.S. Patent No. 10,269,222: “System with wearable device and haptic output device” • U.S. Patent No. 10,664,143: “Haptically enhanced interactivity with interactive content” Meta responded to our complaint on August 1, 2022. On September 12, 2022, Meta filed a motion to transfer the lawsuit to the Northern District of California or, in the alternative, to the Austin Division of the Western District of Texas. Meta’s motion remains pending, and a hearing on the transfer motion occurred on January 23, 2023. In the meantime, the claim construction briefing is closed, and fact discovery opened on February 7, 2023. The claim construction hearing was scheduled for March 6, 2023, but was rescheduled by the Court for April 24, 2023 and again rescheduled to May 11, 2023. Immersion Corporation vs. Xiaomi Group On or about March 3, 2023, we initiated patent infringement lawsuits against several companies of the Xiaomi-Group (the “Xiaomi-Group”) in Germany, France and India. We initiated lawsuits against Xiaomi-Group companies and their agents in the Düsseldorf Regional Court in Germany, the Tribunal judiciaire de Paris (Paris First Instance Civil Court) in France, and the High Court of Delhi, at New Delhi, in India. The complaints allege that the Xiaomi-Group’s devices, including the Xiaomi 12, infringe our patents that cover various uses of haptic effects in connection with such devices. We are seeking injunctions that would allow us to prohibit Xiaomi-Group from selling the infringing devices in Germany, France and India, as well as costs and damages as compensation for such infringement. The complaints against the Xiaomi-Group assert infringement of the following patents: • EP 2 463 752 B1 (German part) titled “Haptisches Feedback-System mit gespeicherten Effekten” • EP 2 463 752 B1 (French part) titled “Système de rendu haptique avec stockage d’effets” • IN 304 396 (India) titled “Haptic Feedback System With Stored Effects”

CONTINGENCIES

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2023

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

5. CONTINGENCIES

From time to time, we receive claims from third parties asserting that our technologies, or those of our licensees, infringe on the other parties’ IP rights. Management believes that these claims are without merit. Additionally, periodically, we are involved in routine legal matters and contractual disputes incidental to our normal operations. In management’s opinion, unless we disclosed otherwise, the resolution of such matters will not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial condition, results of operations, or liquidity.

In the normal course of business, we provide indemnification of varying scope to customers, most commonly to licensees in connection with licensing arrangements that include our IP, although these provisions can cover additional matters. Historically, costs related to these guarantees have not been significant, and we are unable to estimate the maximum potential impact of these guarantees on our future results of operations.

LGE Korean Withholding Tax Matter

On October 16, 2017, we received a letter from LG Electronics Inc. (“LGE”) requesting that we reimburse LGE with respect to withholding tax imposed on LGE by the Korean tax authorities following an investigation where the tax authority determined that LGE failed to withhold on LGE’s royalty payments to Immersion Software Ireland, a subsidiary of the Company, from 2012 to 2014. Pursuant to an agreement reached with LGE, on April 8, 2020, we provided a provisional deposit to LGE in the amount of KRW 5,916,845,454 (approximately $5.0 million) representing the amount of such withholding tax that was imposed on LGE, which provisional deposit would be returned to us to the extent we ultimately prevail in the appeal in the Korean courts. In the second quarter of 2020, we recorded this deposit in Long-term deposits on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

On November 3, 2017, on behalf of LGE, we filed an appeal with the Korea Tax Tribunal regarding their findings with respect to the withholding taxes. The Korea Tax Tribunal hearing took place on March 5, 2019. On March 19, 2019, the Korea Tax Tribunal issued its ruling in which it decided not to accept our arguments with respect to the Korean tax authorities’ assessment of withholding tax and penalties imposed on LGE. On behalf of LGE, we filed an appeal with the Korea Administrative Court on June 10, 2019. The Company has had numerous hearings before the Korea Administrative Court in the years 2019 through 2022. The Korea Administrative Court had indicated that it expected to render a decision on this matter by December 31, 2022, but had subsequently updated the parties to indicate that a decision on this matter was expected by February 16, 2023. On February 15, 2023, we were informed that the Korea Administrative Court had scheduled another hearing for April 27, 2023 due to a change in the main judge for this matter. We had a hearing on April 27, 2023, and the Korea Administrative Court indicated that it expects to render a decision on this matter by June 8, 2023.

On April 25, 2023, we received notice from LGE requesting us to reimburse LGE with respect to withholding tax imposed on LGE by the Korean tax authorities following a recent tax audit of LGE for the years 2018 through 2022 in the amount of KRW 3,025,251,775 (approximately $2.3 million). We are currently evaluating our next steps with respect to the reimbursement of such withholding taxes in accordance with our obligations pursuant to the license agreement with LGE. As of March 31, 2023, we have accrued $0.3 million of withholding taxes, interest and penalties related to the 2018 to 2022 period for which the Korean tax authorities have recently assessed LGE. The additional income tax is accrued in Other Current Liabilities in our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Based on the developments in these cases, we regularly reassess the likelihood that we will prevail in the claims from the Korean tax authorities with respect to the LGE case. To the extent that we determine that it is more likely than not that we will prevail against the claims from the Korean tax authorities, then no additional tax expense is provided for in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income. In the event that we determine that it is more likely than not that we will not prevail against the claims from the Korean tax authorities, or a portion thereof, then we would estimate the anticipated additional tax expense associated with that outcome and record it as additional income tax expense in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income in the period of the new determination. If the additional income tax expense was related to the periods assessed by Korean tax authorities and for which we recorded a Long-term deposits on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, then the additional income tax expense would be recorded as an impairment to the Long-term deposits. If the additional income tax expense was not related to the periods assessed by Korean tax authorities and for which we recorded in Long-term deposits on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, then the additional income tax expense would be accrued as an Other current liabilities.

In the event that we do not ultimately prevail in our appeal in the Korean courts with respect to this case, the applicable deposits included in Long-term deposits would be recorded as additional income tax expense on our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income, in the period in which we do not ultimately prevail.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, we recorded an impairment charge of $0.8 million related to the long-term deposits paid to LGE.

Immersion Corporation vs. Meta Platforms, Inc., f/k/a Facebook, Inc.

On May 26, 2022, we filed a complaint against Meta Platforms, Inc. (formerly known as Facebook, Inc.) (“Meta”) in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. The complaint alleges that Meta’s augmented and virtual reality (“AR/VR”) systems, including the Meta Quest 2, infringe six of our patents that cover various uses of haptic effects in connection with such AR/VR systems. We are seeking to enjoin Meta from further infringement and to recover a reasonable royalty for such infringement.

The complaint against Meta asserts infringement of the following patents:

• U.S. Patent No. 8,469,806: “System and method for providing complex haptic stimulation during input of control gestures, and relating to control of virtual equipment”

• U.S. Patent No. 8,896,524: “Context-dependent haptic confirmation system”

• U.S. Patent No. 9,727,217: “Haptically enhanced interactivity with interactive content”

• U.S. Patent No. 10,248,298: “Haptically enhanced interactivity with interactive content”

• U.S. Patent No. 10,269,222: “System with wearable device and haptic output device”

• U.S. Patent No. 10,664,143: “Haptically enhanced interactivity with interactive content”

Meta responded to our complaint on August 1, 2022. On September 12, 2022, Meta filed a motion to transfer the lawsuit to the Northern District of California or, in the alternative, to the Austin Division of the Western District of Texas. Meta’s motion remains pending, and a hearing on the transfer motion occurred on January 23, 2023. In the meantime, the claim construction briefing is closed, and fact discovery opened on February 7, 2023. The claim construction hearing was scheduled for March 6, 2023, but was rescheduled by the Court for April 24, 2023 and again rescheduled to May 11, 2023.

Immersion Corporation vs. Xiaomi Group

On or about March 3, 2023, we initiated patent infringement lawsuits against several companies of the Xiaomi-Group (the “Xiaomi-Group”) in Germany, France and India. We initiated lawsuits against Xiaomi-Group companies and their agents in the Düsseldorf Regional Court in Germany, the Tribunal judiciaire de Paris (Paris First Instance Civil Court) in France, and the High Court of Delhi, at New Delhi, in India.

The complaints allege that the Xiaomi-Group’s devices, including the Xiaomi 12, infringe our patents that cover various uses of haptic effects in connection with such devices. We are seeking injunctions that would allow us to prohibit Xiaomi-Group from selling the infringing devices in Germany, France and India, as well as costs and damages as compensation for such infringement.

The complaints against the Xiaomi-Group assert infringement of the following patents:

• EP 2 463 752 B1 (German part) titled “Haptisches Feedback-System mit gespeicherten Effekten”

• EP 2 463 752 B1 (French part) titled “Système de rendu haptique avec stockage d’effets”

• IN 304 396 (India) titled “Haptic Feedback System With Stored Effects”

- Definition

The entire disclosure for loss and gain contingencies. Describes any existing condition, situation, or set of circumstances involving uncertainty as of the balance sheet date (or prior to issuance of the financial statements) as to a probable or reasonably possible loss incurred by an entity that will ultimately be resolved when one or more future events occur or fail to occur, and typically discloses the amount of loss recorded or a range of possible loss, or an assertion that no reasonable estimate can be made.

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