Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments

In the normal course of business, we enter into various contractual and legally binding purchase commitments. As of December 31, 2021, these commitments were approximately $22.0 million.

We have entered into several license and patent agreements. Under these agreements, we pay annual license maintenance fees, non-refundable license issuance fees, and royalties as a percentage of net sales for the sale or sublicense of products using the licensed technology. Future payments related to these license agreements have not been included in the contractual obligations table above as the period of time over which the future license payments will be required to be made, and the amount of such payments, are indeterminable. We do not expect the license payments to be material in any particular year.

Indemnifications

From time to time, we have entered into indemnification provisions under certain of our agreements in the ordinary course of business, typically with business partners, customers, and suppliers. Pursuant to these agreements, we may indemnify, hold harmless, and agree to reimburse the indemnified parties on a case-by-case basis for losses suffered or incurred by the indemnified parties in connection with any patent or other intellectual property infringement claim by any third party with respect to our products. The term of these indemnification provisions is generally perpetual from the time of the execution of the agreement. The maximum potential amount of future payments we could be required to make under these indemnification provisions is typically not limited to a specific amount. In addition, we have entered into indemnification agreements with our officers, directors, and certain other employees. With certain exceptions, these agreements provide for indemnification for related expenses including, among others, attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and settlement amounts incurred by any of these individuals in any action or proceeding.

Contingencies

In September 2020, a putative class action complaint alleging violations of the federal securities laws was filed against the Company (also naming our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer as defendants) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (Reena Saintjermain, et al. v. Fluidigm Corporation, et al). The Court appointed a lead plaintiff and lead counsel in December 2020, and an amended complaint was filed on February 19, 2021. The complaint, as amended, seeks unspecified damages on behalf of a purported class of persons and entities who acquired our common stock between February 7, 2019 and November 5, 2019 and alleges securities laws violations based on statements and alleged omissions made by the Company during such period. The Company filed a motion to dismiss the complaint on April 5, 2021 and, on August 4, 2021, the Court granted defendants’ motion to dismiss with leave to amend. A second amended complaint was filed on September 14, 2021. The Company filed a motion to dismiss the second amended complaint on October 29, 2021 and, on February 14, 2022, the Court granted defendants’ motion and dismissed the second amended complaint with prejudice. The plaintiff has 30 days following the Court’s entry of judgment to file an appeal. We believe the claims alleged in the complaint lack merit and, should an appeal be filed, we intend to defend this action vigorously.

From time to time, we may be subject to various legal proceedings and claims arising in the ordinary course of business. These include disputes and lawsuits related to intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, licensing, contract law, tax, regulatory, distribution arrangements, employee relations and other matters. Periodically, we review the status of each matter and assess its potential financial exposure. If the potential loss from any claim or legal proceeding is considered probable and a range of possible losses can be estimated, we accrue a liability for the estimated loss. We have not recorded any such liabilities. Legal proceedings are subject to uncertainties, and the outcomes are difficult to predict. Because of such uncertainties, accruals are based only on the best information available at the time. As additional information becomes available, we continue to reassess the potential liability related to pending claims and litigation and may revise estimates.