. Commitments and Contingencies

(a) Lease Commitments

The Company leases facilities under operating leases for its personnel located within the United States and in several foreign countries throughout Europe and Asia. These operating leases expire on various dates through 2019, and in some instances are cancelable with advance notice. Lastly, the Company also leases certain equipment and, for some of its sales personnel, automobiles. These operating leases are generally less than five years in duration.

As of December 31, 2016, future minimum lease payments under all operating leases were as follows (in thousands):



2017	$	974
2018		841
2019		467
Total payments	$	2,282

Although certain of the operating lease agreements provide for escalating rent payments over the term of the lease, rent expense under these agreements is recognized on a straight-line basis. As of December 31, 2016, the Company has accrued approximately $193,000 of deferred rent related to these agreements, of which approximately $59,000 is reflected in current liabilities while the remainder is reflected in other long-term liabilities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. As of December 31, 2015, the Company had accrued approximately $112,000 of deferred rent related to its lease agreements, of which approximately $15,000 is reflected in current liabilities while the remainder is reflected in other long-term liabilities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

As discussed in Note 5 - Discontinued Operations, in conjunction with the sale of its Grid division, the Company entered into a sublease with S&T for a portion of its corporate headquarters facility. As of December 31, 2015, the sublease was cancelled in conjunction with the Company's termination of its main headquarters leases as discussed in Note 3.

The components of net rent expense for all operating leases for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014, were as follows (in thousands):



	Year ended 31 December
	2016		2015			2014
Rent expense	$	994	$	1,260		$	1,483
Sublease rentals	—		(685		)	(202		)
Rent expense included in discontinued operations	—		—			(160		)
Rent expense, net	$	994	$	575		$	1,121

(b) Royalties

The Company has certain royalty commitments associated with the shipment and licensing of certain of its products. Royalty expense is generally based on a dollar amount per unit shipped or a percentage of the underlying revenue. Royalty expense, which is recorded as a component of cost of revenues in the Company's consolidated statements of operations, was approximately $264,000, $390,000, and $500,000 for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014, respectively. During the year ended December 31, 2014, royalty expense reported in discontinued operations was approximately $1,000.

The Company will continue to be obligated for royalty payments in the future associated with the shipment and licensing of certain of its products. The Company is currently unable to estimate the maximum amount of these future royalties. However, such amounts will continue to be dependent on the number of units shipped or the amount of revenue generated from these products.

In the normal course of business, the Company provides indemnifications of varying scope to its customers against claims of intellectual property infringement made by third parties arising from the use of its products. Historically, costs related to these indemnification provisions have not been significant. However, the Company is unable to estimate the maximum potential impact of these indemnification provisions on its future results of operations.

As permitted under Delaware law, the Company has entered into agreements whereby it indemnifies its officers and directors for certain events or occurrences while the officer or director is, or was serving, at the Company's request in such capacity. The indemnification period covers all pertinent events and occurrences during the officer's or director's lifetime. The maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make under these indemnification agreements is unlimited. However, the Company has directors and officers insurance coverage that would enable it to recover a portion of any future amounts paid. The Company believes the estimated fair value of these indemnification agreements in excess of the applicable insurance coverage is minimal, if any.

(d) Taxes

The Company conducts operations in many tax jurisdictions throughout the world. In many of these jurisdictions, non-income based taxes such as property taxes, sales and use taxes, and value-added taxes are assessed on the Company's operations in that particular location. While the Company strives to ensure compliance with these various non-income based tax filing requirements, there have been instances where potential non-compliance exposures have been identified. In accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, the Company makes a provision for these exposures when it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the exposure can be reasonably estimated. To date, such provisions have been immaterial, and the Company believes that, as of December 31, 2016, it has adequately provided for such contingencies. However, it is possible that the Company's results of operations, cash flows, and financial position could be harmed if one or more non-compliance tax exposures are asserted by any of the jurisdictions where the Company conducts its operations.

(e) Legal Actions

From time to time, in the ordinary course of business, the Company may be subject to other legal proceedings, claims, investigations, and other proceedings, including claims of alleged infringement of third-party patents and other intellectual property rights, and commercial, employment, and other matters. In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, the Company makes a provision for a liability when it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. These provisions are reviewed at least quarterly and adjusted to reflect the impacts of negotiations, settlements, rulings, advice of legal counsel, and other information and events pertaining to a particular case. While the Company believes it has adequately provided for such contingencies as of December 31, 2016, the amounts of which were immaterial, it is possible that the Company’s results of operations, cash flows, and financial position could be harmed by the resolution of any such outstanding claims.

Line of Credit

Until December 2014, the Company maintained a $5.0 million line of credit with its primary bank. The line of credit was secured by a collateral of the first priority on $6.3 million of the Company's investments placed in a separate account. In December 2014, the Company cancelled this line of credit. It continues to maintain an operating credit line of $1.0 million with its primary bank for company credit card purchases. This line of credit is secured by a collateral of the first priority on $1.3 million of the Company's investments (presented as restricted investments in the consolidated balance sheets). The restricted investments are classified as current assets due to the contractual duration of the underlying credit agreement.