Legal Proceedings

12 Months Ended

Jun. 28, 2024

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Legal Proceedings

Legal Proceedings

Tax

For disclosures regarding statutory notices of deficiency issued by the IRS on June 28, 2018 and December 10, 2018, and the status of resolution with respect to certain matters, see Note 13, Income Tax Expense.

Intellectual Property Litigation

Unless otherwise stated, for each of the matters described below, the Company has either recorded an accrual for losses that are probable and reasonably estimable or has determined that, while a loss is reasonably possible (including potential losses in excess of the amounts accrued by the Company), a reasonable estimate of the amount of loss or range of possible losses with respect to the claim or in excess of amounts already accrued by the Company cannot be made. The ability to predict the ultimate outcome of such matters involves judgments, estimates and inherent uncertainties. The actual outcome of such matters could differ materially from management’s estimates.

On August 26, 2022, MR Technologies, GmbH (“MRT”) filed an action in the United States District Court for the Central District of California (the “Central District Court”) against the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Western Digital Technologies, Inc., alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 9,978,413, 9,928,864, 11,133,031 and 11,138,997, each of which relate to hard disk drive media. As the case progressed, MRT dropped its claims with respect to U.S Patent Nos. 9,978,413 and 11,133,031, and the case proceeded to trial on the remaining two patents (together, the “MRT Patents”). The trial commenced on July 16, 2024 and concluded on July 26, 2024, and the jury awarded MRT a lump sum of $262 million for use of the MRT Patents in the past and through their remaining lives. MRT also requested and was awarded prejudgment interest totaling $117 million in a judgment entered on August 15, 2024. We anticipate that MRT will also request costs, attorney’s fees and post-judgment interest. The Company has recognized an aggregate liability for this matter of $384 million within Accrued expenses on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets as of June 28, 2024. Of this amount, $291 million was recognized as Litigation matter under Operating expenses on the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations for the year ended June 28, 2024 and $93 million recognized within Other non-current assets on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets as of June 28, 2024, to be amortized over the remaining lives of the MRT Patents. The Company believes it has meritorious defenses, plans to file post-trial motions, and if not successful, plans to appeal the judgment and continue to defend itself vigorously.

On September 28, 2016, SPEX Technologies, Inc. (“SPEX”) filed a lawsuit in the Central District Court against the Company and two of the Company’s current or former wholly-owned subsidiaries, Western Digital Technologies, Inc. and HGST Inc., alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,088,802 and 6,003,135, both of which allegedly relate to moving a security mechanism (e.g., the encrypting/decrypting mechanism) from a host computer or a separate device to a peripheral device that provides data storage. As the case progressed, SPEX dismissed its allegations relating to U.S. Patent No. 6,003,135 and narrowed its case to three claims under U.S. Patent No. 6,088,802 asserted against certain HDD products that may include certain encryption capabilities. Trial is scheduled to commence on October 8, 2024, and the Company intends to defend itself vigorously.

Other Matters

In the normal course of business, the Company is subject to legal proceedings, lawsuits and other claims. Although the ultimate aggregate amount of probable monetary liability or financial impact with respect to these other matters is subject to many uncertainties, management believes that any monetary liability or financial impact to the Company from these matters, individually and in the aggregate, would not be material to the Company’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. However, any monetary liability and financial impact to the Company from these matters could differ materially from management’s expectations.