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Commitments and Contingencies
6 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2016
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies

7. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Legal Matters

Rothschild Mobile Imaging Innovations, Inc.

On May 16, 2014, Rothschild Mobile Imaging Innovations, Inc. (“RMII”) filed a complaint against the Company in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware alleging that certain of the Company’s mobile imaging products infringe four RMII-owned patents related to mobile imaging technology. On June 1, 2014, RMII amended its complaint to add JPMorgan Chase & Co. and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (together, “Chase”), one of the Company’s customers, as a defendant in the lawsuit (as amended, the “Initial Lawsuit”). On September 8, 2014, RMII filed three additional complaints (the “Subsequent Lawsuits” and together with the Initial Lawsuit, the “RMII Lawsuits”) against the Company in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. The Subsequent Lawsuits contain allegations substantially similar to the Initial Lawsuit regarding infringement by the Company’s mobile imaging products of the four RMII-owned patents related to mobile imaging technology, but name as co-defendants Citibank, N.A., Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Company, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Bank of America Corporation and Bank of America, N.A. (together with Chase, the “Bank Defendants”), each of whom offers the Company’s mobile imaging technology as part of its mobile banking applications.  On July 8, 2015, RMII amended the Subsequent Lawsuits to name as additional defendants Fiserv, Inc. and NCR Corporation (the “Distributor Defendants”) each of whom RMII alleges distribute the Company’s mobile imaging technology to the Bank Defendants.

On November 10, 2014, the Company filed a motion to sever and stay the claims against Chase in the Initial Lawsuit pending resolution of RMII’s claims against the Company, which motion was granted on August 3, 2015.  On November 19, 2014, the Company filed joinders to the motion to stay with respect to the Subsequent Lawsuits, which joinders were also granted on August 3, 2015. Additionally, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office instituted the Company’s petitions for Inter Partes Review (“IPR”) of all four asserted patents, and the Court agreed to stay the litigation in its entirety until all of the decisions are rendered in the IPR proceedings.  RMII has since agreed to the unpatentability of one of its four asserted patents and oral argument in the IPR proceedings on the other three asserted patents was held on April 19, 2016.  A decision in the IPR proceedings is due by the end of July 2016.

On February 5, 2016, RMII filed an IPR petition against one of Mitek’s issued patents related to Mitek’s mobile check deposit technology (U.S. Patent No. 8,379,914).  In that IPR, RMII has challenged the patentability of all claims in the patent.  Mitek intends to file a preliminary response to RMII’s petition on May 10, 2016.  A decision as to whether the Patent and Trademark Appeal Board will institute RMII’s petition is expected no later than August 10, 2016.

Based on the Company’s current understanding of the claims, the Company has agreed to accept the demands for indemnity and defense tendered by each of the Bank Defendants and Distributor Defendants in connection with their respective RMII Lawsuits. The Company is currently controlling the defense of such claims and has taken actions to defend the RMII Lawsuits, as more fully described above. The Company believes that RMII’s claims are without merit and intends to vigorously defend against those claims. The Company does not believe that the results of the RMII Lawsuits will have a material adverse effect on its financial condition or results of operations.

Other Legal Matters

 

In addition to the foregoing, the Company is subject to various claims and legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of its business. The Company accrues for such liabilities when it is both (i) probable that a loss has occurred and (ii) the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated in accordance with ASC 450. While any legal proceeding has an element of uncertainty, the Company believes that the disposition of such matters, in the aggregate, will not have a material effect on the Company’s financial condition or results of operations

Facility Lease

The Company’s principal executive offices, as well as its research and development facility, are located in approximately 22,523 square feet of office space in San Diego, California. The term of the lease for the Company’s offices continues through June 30, 2019. The annual base rent under the lease is approximately $0.5 million per year and is subject to annual increases of approximately 3% per year. In connection with the lease, the Company received tenant improvement allowances totaling $0.7 million. These lease incentives are being amortized as a reduction of rent expense over the term of the lease. As of March 31, 2016, the unamortized balance of the lease incentives was $0.3 million, of which $0.1 million has been included in other current liabilities and $0.2 million has been included in other non-current liabilities. Under the terms of the lease, the Company issued a standby letter of credit to the landlord that allows for one or more draws of up to $0.2 million over the term of the lease. The offices of IDchecker are located in the Netherlands and the term of the lease continues through May 31, 2020. The annual base rent under the lease is approximately €48,000 per year. The Company believes its existing properties are in good condition and are sufficient and suitable for the conduct of its business.