corresp
February 11, 2011
BY EDGAR SUBMISSION
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
Division of Corporation Finance
100 F Street, N.E.
Washington, DC 20549
|
|
|
Attn:
|
|
Ms. Linda Cvrkel, Branch Chief |
|
|
|
Re:
|
|
Vistaprint N.V. |
|
|
Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2010 |
|
|
Filed August 27, 2010 |
|
|
File No. 000-51539 |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Vistaprint N.V. (Vistaprint or the Company), submits this letter in response to the
comment regarding the above referenced filing contained in a letter dated January 28, 2011 from
Linda Cvrkel, Branch Chief of the staff (the Staff) of the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission (the Commission), to Robert S. Keane, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Vistaprint. The Companys response to the comment contained in the Staffs letter is set forth
below and is keyed to the numbering of the comment and heading used in the Staffs letter. For
your reference, the Staffs comment is reproduced in italics and the Companys response is set
forth below the comment in standard type.
Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2010
Note 8 Commitments and Contingencies
1. |
|
We note your disclosure regarding several of your legal proceedings described in Note 8 (as
well as Note 12 of your year-end financial statements) regarding the fact that you are unable
to express an opinion as to their likely outcome. Even though you cannot predict their
outcome, in accordance with ASC 450-20-50-3 if no accrual is made for a loss contingency
because one or both of the conditions are not met, or an exposure to loss exists in excess of
the amount accrued pursuant to the provisions of ASC 450-20-30-1, disclosure of the
contingency shall be made when there is at least a reasonable possibility that a loss or an
additional loss may have been incurred. The disclosure shall indicate the nature of the
contingency and shall give an estimate of the possible loss or range of loss or state that
such an estimate cannot be made. In light of the fact that these proceedings were initiate in
2009 or earlier, supplementally advise us and revise your disclosures in future filings to
indicate why management is unable to predict the
|
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
February 11, 2011
Page 2
|
|
likelihood of an unfavorable outcome, and what management has done to try to determine the
ultimate outcome. If further developments have occurred by the time of your response,
supplementally advise us and revise your disclosures in future filings to provide the
information pursuant to ASC 450-20-50-3. We may have further comment upon reviewing your
response. |
Response:
Prior to the issuance of its financial statements each reporting period, the Company evaluates
each contingency to determine whether or not it is probable, reasonably possible or remote that a
liability has been incurred and, if it is at least reasonably possible, whether a possible loss or
range of loss can reasonably be estimated under the provisions of ASC 450-20-25-2. This evaluation
is the result of a comprehensive process designed to ensure that any required accounting entries
and disclosures are appropriately and timely made and involves the Companys corporate accounting
team and internal and external legal representatives engaged in the activity of each legal
proceeding. The process includes regular communications during the quarter and scheduled meetings
shortly before the issuance of the Companys quarterly financial results involving legal and
accounting personnel to evaluate any new legal proceedings and the status of any developments in
each existing legal proceeding, as well as the preparation of quarterly lawyers letters describing
any new legal proceedings and updating the status of each existing legal proceeding. This
evaluation includes a careful consideration of the then-current status of each legal proceeding
within the scope and context of the entire proceeding, including to the extent applicable the
procedural status of each lawsuit, any potential opportunities to dispose of the case on its merits
before trial (for example, a motion to dismiss or for summary judgment), the amount of time
remaining before trial, the status and course of discovery, any communications between the Company
and the plaintiff such as settlement discussions or arbitration or mediation proceedings, and the
judgment of internal and external counsel regarding the likelihood of the Companys success prior
to or at trial and potential damages, if any.
After executing the process described above and based on its evaluation of information
available at the time of filing its Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2010, the Company
was unable to express an opinion on the outcome of the legal proceedings disclosed based upon the
activity through the filing date and the overall scope and context of the proceedings. The Company
also believed, and continues to believe, based upon the nature and status of the disclosed matters
and its evaluation of the information that was then available, that it was unable to establish a
meaningful range of possible loss for any of the legal proceedings.
In Note 9 of the Companys Form 10-Q for the period ended December 31, 2010 filed on January
28, 2011, the Company removed its disclosure of the contingencies for two legal proceedings
previously disclosed in the Forms 10-K and 10-Q reviewed by the Staff (the patent infringement
lawsuit against print24 GmbH, unitedprint.com AG and their two managing directors and the patent
infringement lawsuit against 123Print, Inc. and Drawing Board (US), Inc.) because the Company had
concluded that a loss, if any, would not be material to the
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
February 11, 2011
Page 3
Companys financial position or results of operations and would not be material to a decision
to buy or sell the Companys securities. The Company will include disclosure of these
contingencies in the future only to the extent that additional developments occur that result in
these matters becoming material or if there is activity relating to the contingencies that is
required to be disclosed to ensure the consolidated financial statements are not misleading.
For the one outstanding legal proceeding disclosed in the Form 10-Q for the period ended
December 31, 2010 (the patent infringement lawsuit filed by ColorQuick LLC), after executing the
process described above the Company continued to be unable to express an opinion as to the likely
outcome of the proceeding as of the date of the Form 10-Q filing and has disclosed this inability.
In addition, the Company included a statement that it cannot reasonably estimate a potential range
of loss related to this proceeding. The Companys conclusion as to its inability to express an
opinion as to the likely outcome or potential range of loss was based upon its evaluation of the
information available to it at the time of filing, in light of the factors described above,
including the amount of time remaining before trial, the Companys ongoing analysis of materials
received in discovery, communications between the Company and the plaintiff and the judgment of
internal and external counsel. No further developments have occurred as of the date of this
response letter that would enable the Company to state an opinion regarding the outcome of the
proceeding or possible range of loss. The Company will continue to assess whether it is able to
express an opinion as to the ultimate outcome of this matter or estimate a possible range of loss
for it as the litigation progresses and additional information about the claim becomes available
within the context of the overall matter.
In response to the Staffs comment, in future filings the Company will modify its disclosures
to the extent applicable and if it cannot reasonably estimate a potential range of loss will add
the underlined language below:
On July 21, 2009, Vistaprint Limited and OfficeMax Incorporated were named as defendants in
a complaint for patent infringement filed by ColorQuick LLC in the United States District
Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The complaint alleges that Vistaprint Limited and
OfficeMax Incorporated are infringing U.S. patent 6,839,149, relating generally to systems
and methods for processing electronic files stored in a page description language format,
such as PDF. The plaintiff is seeking a declaration that the patent at issue is valid and
enforceable, a declaration that Vistaprint Limited infringes, the entry of a preliminary and
permanent injunction, and damages. Based on the Companys evaluation of available
information, including the amount of time remaining before trial, the results of discovery,
communications between the Company and the plaintiff and the judgment of internal and
external counsel, the Company is unable to express an opinion as to the likely outcome
of this matter and cannot reasonably estimate a potential range of loss.
In connection with this response, the Company hereby acknowledges that:
|
|
|
the Company is responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in the
filing; |
|
|
|
|
Staff comments or changes to disclosure in response to Staff comments do not foreclose
the Commission from taking any action with respect to the filing; and |
|
|
|
|
the Company may not assert Staff comments as a defense in any proceeding initiated by
the Commission or any person under the federal securities laws of the United States. |
If
you require additional information, please telephone the undersigned
at 781.652.6222 or
Lawrence Gold, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Vistaprint, at 781.652.6541.
Alternatively, you may also contact Thomas Ward at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP at
617.526.6374.
Very truly yours,
Michael Giannetto
Chief Financial Officer
|
|
|
cc:
|
|
Lawrence A. Gold, Esq. |
|
|
Thomas S. Ward, Esq. |