28.

Commitments, contingent liabilities and other

(1)

Loan commitments

Subsidiaries in the Financial Services segment have entered into loan agreements with their customers in accordance with the condition of the contracts. As of March 31, 2019, the total unused portion of the lines of credit extended under these contracts was 27,553 million yen. Based upon the information currently available, it is not possible to estimate the aggregate amounts of future year-by-year payments for these loan commitments.

(2)

Purchase commitments and other

Purchase commitments and other outstanding as of March 31, 2019 amounted to 593,338 million yen. The major components of these commitments are as follows:

Certain subsidiaries in the Pictures segment have entered into agreements with creative talent for the development and production of motion pictures and television programming as well as agreements with third parties to acquire completed motion pictures, or certain rights therein, and to acquire the rights to broadcast certain live action sporting events. These agreements cover various periods mainly within three years. As of March 31, 2019, these subsidiaries were committed to make payments under such contracts of 94,871 million yen.

Certain subsidiaries in the Music segment have entered into contracts with recording artists, songwriters and companies for the future production, distribution and/or licensing of music product. These contracts cover various periods mainly within six years. As of March 31, 2019, these subsidiaries were committed to make payments of 112,578 million yen under such contracts.

A subsidiary in the G&NS segment has entered into contracts for programming content. These contracts cover various periods mainly within a year. As of March 31, 2019, this subsidiary was committed to make payments of 11,027 million yen under such contracts.

Sony has entered into purchase contracts for fixed assets. As of March 31, 2019, Sony has committed to make payments of 164,174 million yen under such contracts.

Sony has entered into purchase contracts for materials. As of March 31, 2019, Sony has committed to make payments of 125,164 million yen under such contracts.

Sony has entered into sponsorship contracts related to advertising and promotional rights. These contracts cover various periods mainly within two years. As of March 31, 2019, Sony has committed to make payments of 10,132 million yen under such contracts.

The schedule of the aggregate amounts of year-by-year payment of purchase commitments during the next five fiscal years and thereafter is as follows:


Fiscal year ending March 31	Yen in millions
2020		344,417
2021		82,600
2022		55,492
2023		40,349
2024		26,387
Later fiscal years		44,093

Total		593,338

(3)

Litigation

Beginning in 2009, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”), the European Commission and certain other governmental agencies outside the United States have conducted investigations relating to competition in the optical disk drives market. Sony Corporation and/or certain of its subsidiaries have been subject to these investigations. Sony understands that these investigations have ended. However, proceedings initiated by the European Commission as a result of its investigation continue. In October 2015, the European Commission adopted a decision in which it fined Sony Corporation and certain of its subsidiaries 31 million euros; however, Sony filed an appeal against the decision with the European Union’s General Court. In addition, a number of direct and indirect purchaser lawsuits, including class actions, have been filed in certain jurisdictions in which the plaintiffs allege that Sony Corporation and certain of its subsidiaries violated antitrust laws and seek recovery of damages and other remedies. Most of these lawsuits have been settled, including the class actions brought by the direct and indirect purchasers in the United States; however, certain lawsuits continue. Based on the stage of the pending proceedings, it is not possible to estimate the amount of losses or range of possible losses, if any, that might ultimately result from adverse judgments, settlements or other resolution of all of these matters.

Since 2011, in relation to the secondary batteries business that was operated by Sony and certain of its subsidiaries, a number of direct and indirect purchaser lawsuits, including class actions, have been filed in certain jurisdictions in which the plaintiffs allege that Sony Corporation and certain of its subsidiaries violated antitrust laws and seek recovery of damages and other remedies. Most of these lawsuits have been settled, including the class actions brought by the direct and indirect purchasers in the United States; however, certain lawsuits are still pending. Based on the stage of the pending proceedings, it is not possible to estimate the amount of losses or range of possible losses, if any, that might ultimately result from adverse judgments, settlements or other resolution of all of these matters.

In addition, Sony Corporation and certain of its subsidiaries are defendants or otherwise involved in other pending legal and regulatory proceedings. However, based upon the information currently available, Sony believes that the outcome from such legal and regulatory proceedings would not have a material impact on Sony’s results of operations and financial position.

(4)

Guarantees

Sony has issued guarantees that contingently require payments to guaranteed parties if certain specified events or conditions occur. The maximum potential amount of future payments under these guarantees as of March 31, 2019 amounted to 2,531 million yen.

In addition to the above, Sony also issues contractual product warranties under which it generally guarantees the performance of products delivered and services rendered for a certain period or term. The changes in the product warranty liability for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2017, 2018 and 2019 are as follows:


	Yen in millions
	Fiscal year ended March 31
	2017			2018			2019
Balance at beginning of the fiscal year		64,450			57,694			44,717
Additional liabilities for warranties		51,465			32,179			23,041
Settlements (in cash or in kind)		(47,922	)		(30,570	)		(26,326	)
Changes in estimate for pre-existing warranty reserve		(8,120	)		(16,802	)		(7,370	)
Translation adjustments		(2,179	)		2,216			(1,057	)

Balance at end of the fiscal year		57,694			44,717			33,005

The consideration received for extended warranty service, which is not a significant portion of the warranty activities provided by Sony, is excluded from the amounts in the table above.