Patents, Accumulated Amortization

No definition available.

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- Definition

Weighted average amortization period of finite-lived intangible assets acquired either individually or as part of a group of assets, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 30
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (a)(3)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=66006027&loc=d3e16265-109275

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- Definition

Useful life of finite-lived intangible assets, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

The cash outflow to acquire asset without physical form usually arising from contractual or other legal rights, excluding goodwill.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 13
-Subparagraph (c)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=66902209&loc=d3e3213-108585

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Glossary Investing Activities
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6516133

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Patents (Details) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended
Patents (Details) - USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2016
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Patents, accumulated amortization	$ 363,558,000		$ 358,043,000
Weighted average useful life of patents and patent rights	5 years
Patent portfolio investment costs	$ 0	$ 1,000,000
Minimum [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Useful life of patents and patent rights	1 year
Maximum [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Useful life of patents and patent rights	7 years