Item 1A.    Risk Factors

        Set forth below and elsewhere in this report and in other documents we file with the SEC are risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from the results contemplated by the forward-looking statements contained in this report and other public statements we make. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition, or results of operations could suffer. In that case, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. The risk factors described below include any material changes to and supersede the risk factors previously disclosed in Part I, Item 1A of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 9, 2010.

Risks Related to Our Business

Our business is highly dependent on the growth in Blu-ray Disc products, and we do not have near-term visibility into the precise timing of this expected growth or how smooth or linear this growth will be. To the extent that consumer adoption of Blu-ray Disc products fails to materialize or does not materialize as quickly or extensively as we expect, or alternative technologies in which we do not participate replace DVD or Blu-ray Disc based products as a dominant medium for consumer video entertainment, our business will be adversely affected.

        Past growth in our business has been due in large part to the rapid growth in sales of DVD based products and home theater systems incorporating our technologies. As the markets for DVD based products mature, we are seeing sales of these products declining and growth in our business shifting to Blu-ray Disc based products. While the release and consumer adoption of Blu-ray Disc players continues to ramp up, potentially slow adoption by consumers of Blu-ray Disc players could adversely affect our business. In addition, if new technologies, including direct downloads of content, are developed or deployed that substantially compete with or replace Blu-ray Disc products as a dominant medium for consumer video entertainment, our business, operating results and prospects could be adversely affected.

Economic downturns could disrupt and materially harm our business.

        Negative trends in the general economy could cause a downturn in the market for our technology, products and services. The recent financial disruption affecting the global financial markets resulted in

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a tightening in the credit markets, a low level of liquidity in many financial markets and extreme volatility in credit and equity markets. If the recent financial crisis were to continue, it may adversely affect our operating results if it results, for example, in the insolvency of a key licensee or other customer, the inability of our licensees and/or other customers to obtain credit to finance their operations, including to finance the manufacture of products containing our technologies, and delays in reporting and/or payments from our licensees. Tight credit markets could also delay or prevent us from acquiring or making investments in other technologies, products or businesses that could enhance our technical capabilities, complement our current products and services, or expand the breadth of our markets. If we are unable to execute such acquisitions and/or strategic investments, our operating results and business prospects may suffer.

        In addition, global economic conditions, including the recent credit crisis, increased cost of commodities, widespread employee layoffs, actual or threatened military action by the United States and the continued threat of terrorism, have resulted in decreased consumer spending and may continue to negatively impact consumer confidence and spending. Any reduction in consumer confidence or disposable income, in general, may negatively affect the demand for consumer electronics products that incorporate our digital audio technology.

        We cannot predict other negative events that may have adverse effects on the global economy in general and the consumer electronics industry specifically. However, the factors described above and such unforeseen events could negatively affect our revenues and operating results.

If we fail to protect our intellectual property rights, our ability to compete could be harmed.

        Protection of our intellectual property is critical to our success. Patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret laws and confidentiality and other contractual provisions afford only limited protection and may not adequately protect our rights or permit us to gain or keep any competitive advantage. We face numerous risks in protecting our intellectual property rights, including the following:

•

our patents may be challenged, found unenforceable or invalidated by our competitors;



•

our pending patent applications may not issue, or if issued, may not provide meaningful protection for related products or proprietary rights;



•

we may not be able to prevent the unauthorized disclosure or use of our technical knowledge or other trade secrets by employees, consultants, and advisors;



•

we may not be able to practice our trade secrets as a result of patent protection afforded a third-party for such product, technique or process;



•

the laws of foreign countries may not protect our intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States, and mechanisms for enforcement of intellectual property rights may be inadequate in foreign countries;



•

our competitors may produce competitive products or services that do not unlawfully infringe upon our intellectual property rights;



•

efforts to identify and prosecute unauthorized uses of our technology are time consuming, expensive, and divert resources from the operation of our business; and



•

we may be unable to successfully identify or prosecute unauthorized uses of our technology.

        As a result, our means of protecting our intellectual property rights and brands may not be adequate. Furthermore, despite our efforts, third parties may violate, or attempt to violate, our intellectual property rights. Enforcement, including infringement claims and lawsuits would likely be expensive to resolve and would require management's time and resources. In addition, we have not sought, and do not intend to seek, patent and other intellectual property protections in all foreign

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countries. In countries where we do not have such protection, products incorporating our technology may be lawfully produced and sold without a license.

Our business and prospects depend on the strength of our brand, and if we do not maintain and strengthen our brand, our business will be materially harmed.

        Establishing, maintaining and strengthening our "DTS" brand is critical to our success. Our brand identity is key to maintaining and expanding our business and entering new markets. Our success depends in large part on our reputation for providing high quality products, services and technologies to the consumer electronics products industry and the entertainment industry. If we fail to promote and maintain our brand successfully, our business and prospects may suffer. Moreover, we believe that the likelihood that our technologies will be adopted in industry standards depends, in part, upon the strength of our brand, because professional organizations and industry participants are more likely to incorporate technologies developed by a well-respected and well-known brand into standards.

We may not be able to evolve our technology, products, and services or develop new technology, products, and services that are acceptable to our customers or the changing market.

        The market for our technology, products, and services is characterized by:

•

rapid technological change;



•

new and improved product introductions;



•

changing customer demands;



•

evolving industry standards; and



•

product obsolescence.

        Our future success depends on our ability to enhance our existing technology, products, and services and to develop acceptable new technology, products, and services on a timely basis. The development of enhanced and new technology, products, and services is a complex and uncertain process requiring high levels of innovation, highly-skilled engineering and development personnel, and the accurate anticipation of technological and market trends. We may not be able to identify, develop, market, or support new or enhanced technology, products, or services on a timely basis, if at all. Furthermore, our new technology, products, and services may never gain market acceptance, and we may not be able to respond effectively to evolving consumer demands, technological changes, product announcements by competitors, or emerging industry standards. Any failure to respond to these changes or concerns would likely prevent our technology, products, and services from gaining market acceptance or maintaining market share and could lead to our technology, products and services becoming obsolete.

We may be sued by third parties for alleged infringement of their proprietary rights.

        Companies that participate in the digital audio, digital image processing, consumer electronics, and entertainment industries hold a large number of patents, trademarks, and copyrights, and are frequently involved in litigation based on allegations of patent infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. Intellectual property disputes frequently involve highly complex and costly scientific matters, and each party generally has the right to seek a trial by jury which adds additional costs and uncertainty. Accordingly, intellectual property disputes, with or without merit, could be costly and time consuming to litigate or settle, and could divert management's attention from executing our business plan. In addition, our technology and products may not be able to withstand any third-party claims or rights against their use. If we were unable to obtain any necessary license following a determination of infringement or an adverse determination in litigation or in interference or other administrative

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proceedings, we may need to redesign some of our products to avoid infringing a third party's rights and could be required to temporarily or permanently discontinue licensing our products.

We may be subject to litigation proceedings that could harm our business.

        In the past, we have been a party to litigation related to protection and enforcement of our intellectual property, and we may be a party to additional litigation in the future. Litigation is subject to inherent uncertainties, and unfavorable rulings could occur. An unfavorable ruling could include monetary damages (including treble damages under the Clayton Act) and an injunction prohibiting us from licensing our technology in particular ways or at all. Were an unfavorable ruling to occur, our business and results of operations could be materially harmed. In addition, any protracted litigation could divert management's attention from our day-to-day operations, disrupt our business and cause our operating results to suffer.

We face intense competition. Certain of our competitors have greater brand recognition and resources than we do.

        The digital audio, consumer electronics and entertainment markets are intensely competitive, subject to rapid change, and significantly affected by new product introductions and other market activities of industry participants. Our principal competitor is Dolby Laboratories, Inc., who competes with us in most of our markets. We also compete with other companies offering digital audio technology incorporated into consumer electronics product and entertainment mediums, including Fraunhofer Institut Integrierte Schaltungen, Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Philips), Microsoft Corporation, Sony Corporation, Thomson and SRS Labs, Inc.

        Certain of our current and potential competitors may enjoy substantial competitive advantages, including:

•

greater name recognition;



•

a longer operating history;



•

more developed distribution channels and deeper relationships with our common customer base;



•

a more extensive customer base;



•

digital technologies that provide features that ours do not;



•

broader product and service offerings;



•

greater resources for competitive activities, such as research and development, strategic acquisitions, alliances, joint ventures, sales and marketing, and lobbying industry and government standards;



•

more technicians and engineers; and



•

greater technical support.

        As a result, these current and potential competitors may be able to respond more quickly and effectively than we can to new or changing opportunities, technologies, standards, or customer requirements.

        In addition to the competitive advantages described above, Dolby also enjoys other unique competitive strengths relative to us. For example, it introduced multi-channel audio technology before we did. Its technology has been incorporated in significantly more DVD based products than our technology. It has also achieved mandatory standard status in product categories that we have not, including DVD based products, for its stereo technology and terrestrial digital television broadcasts in

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the United States. As a result of these factors, Dolby has a competitive advantage in selling its digital multi-channel audio technology to consumer electronics products manufacturers.

We have limited control over existing and potential customers' and licensees' decisions to include our technology in their product offerings.

        Except for Blu-ray products, where our technology is mandatory, we are dependent on our customers and licensees—including consumer electronics product manufacturers, semiconductor manufacturers, producers and distributors of content for music, videos, and games—to incorporate our technology into their products, purchase our products and services, or release their content in our proprietary DTS audio format. Although we have contracts and license agreements with many of these companies, these agreements do not require any minimum purchase commitments, are on a non-exclusive basis, and do not typically require incorporation or use of our technology, trademarks or services. Our customers, licensees and other manufacturers might not utilize our technology or services in the future.

If we are unable to maintain and increase the amount of entertainment content released with DTS audio soundtracks, demand for the technology, products, and services that we offer to consumer electronics product manufacturers may significantly decline.

        We expect to derive a significant percentage of our revenues from the technology, products, and services that we offer to manufacturers of consumer electronics products. To date, the most significant driver for the use of our technology in the home theater market has been the release of major movie titles with DTS audio soundtracks. We also believe that demand for our DTS audio technology in growing markets for multi-channel audio, including cars, personal computers, video game consoles, digital media players and mobile handsets will be based on the number, quality, and popularity of the Blu-ray Disc titles, computer software programs, and video games either released with DTS audio soundtracks or capable of being coded and played in DTS format. Although we have existing relationships with many leading providers of movie, music, computer, and video game content, we generally do not have contracts that require these parties to develop and release content with DTS audio soundtracks. In addition, we may not be successful in maintaining existing relationships or developing relationships with other existing providers or new market entrants that provide content. As a result, we cannot assure you that a significant amount of content in movies, Blu-ray Disc titles, computer software programs, video games, or other entertainment mediums will be released with DTS audio soundtracks. If the amount, variety, and popularity of entertainment content released with DTS audio soundtracks do not increase, consumer electronics products manufacturers that pay us per-unit licensing fees may discontinue offering DTS playback capabilities in the consumer electronics products that they sell.

Declining retail prices for consumer electronics products could force us to lower the license or other fees we charge our customers.

        The market for consumer electronics products is intensely competitive and price sensitive. Retail prices for consumer electronics products that include our DTS audio technology have decreased significantly and we expect prices to continue to decrease for the foreseeable future. Declining prices for consumer electronics products could create downward pressure on the licensing fees we currently charge our customers who integrate our technology into the consumer electronics products that they sell and distribute. Most of the consumer electronics products that include our audio technology also include Dolby's multi-channel audio technology. As a result of pricing pressure, consumer electronics products manufacturers who manufacture products in which our audio technology is not a mandatory standard could decide to exclude our DTS audio technology from their products altogether.

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Our licensing revenue depends in large part upon semiconductor manufacturers incorporating our technologies into integrated circuits, or ICs, for sale to our consumer electronics product licensees and if, for any reason, our technologies are not incorporated in these ICs or fewer ICs are sold that incorporate our technologies, our operating results would be adversely affected.

        Our licensing revenue from consumer electronics product manufacturers depends in large part upon the availability of ICs that implement our technologies. IC manufacturers incorporate our technologies into these ICs, which are then incorporated into consumer electronics products. We do not manufacture these ICs, but rather depend on IC manufacturers to develop, produce and then sell them to licensed consumer electronics product manufacturers. We do not control the IC manufacturers' decisions whether or not to incorporate our technologies into their ICs, and we do not control their product development or commercialization efforts. If these IC manufacturers are unable or unwilling, for any reason, to implement our technologies into their ICs, or if, for any reason, they sell fewer ICs incorporating our technologies, our operating results will be adversely affected.

We rely on the accuracy of our customers' manufacturing reports for reporting and collecting our revenues, and if these reports are untimely or incorrect, our revenues could be delayed or inaccurately reported.

        Most of our revenues are generated from consumer electronics product manufacturers who license and incorporate our technology in their consumer electronics products. Under our existing agreements, these customers pay us per-unit licensing fees based on the number of consumer electronics products manufactured that incorporate our technology. We rely on our customers to accurately report the number of units manufactured in collecting our license fees, preparing our financial reports, projections, budgets, and directing our sales and product development efforts. Most of our license agreements permit us to audit our customers, but audits are generally expensive, time consuming, difficult to manage effectively, dependent in large part on the cooperation of our licensees and the quality of the records they keep, and could harm our customer relationships. If any of our customer reports understate the number of products they manufacture, we may not collect and recognize revenues to which we are entitled, or may endure significant expense to obtain compliance.

We expect our operating expenses to increase in the future, which may impact profitability.

        We expect our operating expenses to increase as we, among other things:

•

expand our sales and marketing activities, including the continued development of our international operations;



•

adopt a more customer-focused business model which is expected to entail additional hiring;



•

acquire businesses or technologies and integrate them into our existing organization;



•

increase our research and development efforts to advance our existing technology, products, and services and develop new technology, products, and services;



•

hire additional personnel, including engineers and other technical staff;



•

expand and defend our intellectual property portfolio;



•

upgrade our operational and financial systems, procedures, and controls; and



•

continue to assume the responsibilities of being a public company.

        As a result, we will need to grow our revenues and manage our costs in order to positively impact profitability. In addition, we may fail to accurately estimate and assess our increased operating expenses as we grow.

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We have a limited operating history in certain new and evolving markets.

        Our technology has only recently been incorporated into certain markets, such as personal computers, portable electronics devices, digital satellite and cable broadcast products, digital media players, televisions and mobile handsets. We do not have the same experience in these markets as in our traditional consumer electronics business, nor do we have as much operating history as companies, such as Dolby Laboratories, Inc., SRS Labs, Inc. and BBE Sound, Inc. As a result, the demand for our technology, products, and services and the income potential of these businesses are unproven. In addition, because our participation in these markets is relatively new and rapidly evolving, we may have limited insight into trends that may emerge and affect our business. We may make errors in predicting and reacting to relevant business trends, which could harm our business. Before investing in our common stock, you should consider the risks, uncertainties, and difficulties frequently encountered by companies in new and rapidly evolving markets such as ours. We may not be able to successfully address any or all of these risks.

Our technology and products are complex and may contain errors that could cause us to lose customers, damage our reputation, or incur substantial costs.

        Our technology or products could contain errors that could cause our products or technology to operate improperly and could cause unintended consequences. If our products or technology contain errors we, could be required to replace them, and if any such errors cause unintended consequences, we could face claims for product liability. Although we generally attempt to contractually limit our exposure to incidental and consequential damages, as well as provide insurance coverage for such events, if these contract provisions are not enforced or are unenforceable for any reason, if liabilities arise that are not effectively limited, or if our insurance coverage is inadequate to satisfy the liability, we could incur substantial costs in defending and/or settling product liability claims.

We cannot be certain of the future effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting or the impact thereof on our operations or the market price of our common stock.

        Pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, we are required to include in our annual reports on Form 10-K our assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. We cannot assure you that our system of internal control will be effective in the future as our operations and control environment change. If we cannot adequately maintain the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, our financial reporting may not be timely and/or accurate. If reporting delays or errors actually occur, we could be subject to sanctions or investigation by regulatory authorities, such as the SEC. Moreover, even if we conclude that our internal control is effective, our independent registered public accounting firm may disagree. If our independent registered public accounting firm is not satisfied with our internal control over financial reporting or the level at which our internal control over financial reporting is documented, designed, operated or reviewed, or if the independent registered public accounting firm interprets the requirements, rules or regulations differently than we do, then it may issue an adverse or qualified opinion. Any of the above outcomes could adversely affect our financial results or result in a loss of investor confidence in the reliability of our financial information, which could materially and adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

We are subject to additional risks associated with our international operations.

        Our licensing headquarters are located in Limerick, Ireland, and we market and sell our products and services outside the United States. We currently have employees located in eight countries, and many of our customers and licensees are located outside the United States. As a key component of our business strategy, we intend to expand our international sales and customer support. During the nine

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months ended September 30, 2010, approximately 90% of our revenues were derived internationally. We face numerous risks in doing business outside the United States, including:

•

unusual or burdensome foreign laws or regulatory requirements or unexpected changes to those laws or requirements;



•

tariffs, trade protection measures, import or export licensing requirements, trade embargos, and other trade barriers;



•

difficulties in attracting and retaining qualified personnel and managing foreign operations;



•

competition from foreign companies;



•

dependence on foreign distributors and their sales channels;



•

longer accounts receivable collection cycles and difficulties in collecting accounts receivable;



•

less effective and less predictable protection and enforcement of our intellectual property;



•

changes in the political or economic condition of a specific country or region, particularly in emerging markets;



•

fluctuations in the value of foreign currency versus the U.S. dollar and the cost of currency exchange;



•

potentially adverse tax consequences; and



•

cultural differences in the conduct of business.

        Such factors could cause our future international sales to decline.

        Our business practices in international markets are also subject to the requirements of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. If any of our employees is found to have violated these requirements, we and our employees could be subject to significant fines, criminal sanctions and other penalties.

        Our international revenue is mostly denominated in U.S. dollars. As a result, fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies may make our technology, products, and services more expensive for international customers, which could cause them to decrease their purchases from us. Expenses for our subsidiaries are denominated in their respective local currencies. As a result, if the U.S. dollar weakens against the local currency, the translation of our foreign-currency-denominated expenses will result in higher operating expense without a corresponding increase in revenue. Significant fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies could have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. The main foreign currencies we encounter in our operations are the Yen, Euro, CAD, RMB and GBP. We do not currently engage in currency hedging activities to limit the risk of exchange rate fluctuations.

We face risks in expanding our business operations in China.

        An important strategy of ours is to expand our business operations in China. However, we may be unsuccessful in implementing this strategy as planned or at all. Factors that could inhibit our successful expansion into China include its historically poor recognition of intellectual property rights and poor performance in stopping counterfeiting and piracy activity as well as enforcing judgments. If we are unable to successfully stop unauthorized use of our intellectual property and assure compliance by our Chinese licensees, we could experience increased operational and enforcement costs both inside and outside China.

        Even if we are successful in expanding into China, we may be greatly impacted by the political, economic, and military conditions in China, Taiwan, North Korea, and South Korea. Such disputes may continue or escalate, resulting in economic embargos, disruptions in shipping, or even military

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hostilities. This could severely harm our business by interrupting or delaying production or shipment of our products or products that incorporate our technology.

We may experience fluctuations in our operating results.

        We have historically experienced moderate seasonality in our business due to our business mix and the nature of our products. Consumer electronics manufacturing activities are generally lowest in the first calendar quarter of each year, and increase progressively throughout the remainder of the year. Manufacturing output is generally strongest in the third and fourth quarters as our technology licensees increase manufacturing to prepare for the holiday buying season. Since recognition of revenues generally lags manufacturing activity by one quarter, our revenues and earnings are generally lowest in the second quarter. The introduction of new products and inclusion of our technologies in new and rapidly growing markets can distort and amplify the seasonality described above. For example, the introduction of Blu-ray Disc players may result in an overall near-term slowdown in our business as sales of DVD based products slow in anticipation of purchasing Blu-ray Disc products, but purchases of Blu-ray Disc products are in an early phase market adoption. Our revenues may continue to be subject to fluctuations, seasonal or otherwise, in the future. Unanticipated fluctuations, whether due to seasonality, economic down turns, product cycles, or otherwise, could cause us to miss our earnings projections, or could lead to higher than normal variation in short-term earnings, either of which could cause our stock price to decline.

        In addition, we actively engage in intellectual property compliance and enforcement activities focused on identifying third parties who have either incorporated our technology, trademarks, or know-how without a license or who have underreported to us the amount of royalties owed under license agreements with us. As a result of these activities, from time to time, we may recognize royalty revenues that relate to manufacturing activities from prior periods and we may incur expenditures related to enforcement activity. These expenditures and royalty recoveries, as applicable, may cause revenues to be higher than expected, or net profit to be lower than expected, during a particular reporting period and may not recur in future reporting periods. Such fluctuations in our revenues and operating results may cause declines in our stock price.

Our future capital needs are uncertain and we may need to raise additional funds in the future, and such funds may not be available on acceptable terms or at all.

        Our capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:

•

acceptance of, and demand for, our products and technology;



•

the costs of developing new products or technology;



•

the extent to which we invest in new technology and research and development projects;



•

the number and timing of acquisitions and other strategic transactions;



•

the costs associated with our expansion, if any; and



•

the costs of litigation and enforcement activities to defend our intellectual property.

        In the future, we may need to raise additional funds, and such funds may not be available on favorable terms, or at all, particularly given the continuing credit crisis and downturn in the overall global economy. Furthermore, if we issue equity or debt securities to raise additional funds, our existing stockholders may experience dilution, and the new equity or debt securities may have rights, preferences, and privileges senior to those of our existing stockholders. If we cannot raise funds on acceptable terms, or at all, we may not be able to develop or enhance our products and services, execute our business plan, take advantage of future opportunities, or respond to competitive pressures

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or unanticipated customer requirements. This may materially harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Even if our technologies are adopted as an industry standard for a particular market, manufacturers may not widely adopt our technologies.

        Even if a standards-setting body mandates our technologies for a particular market, our technologies may not be the sole technologies adopted for that market as an industry standard. Further, even when inclusion of certain of our technologies is mandated by a particular standard, market participants may choose not to implement or adopt any of our technologies beyond those required by the mandate. Our revenues and operating results depend on manufacturers choosing to adopt our technologies instead of or along with competitive technologies that may also be acceptable under industry standards. For example, the continued growth of our revenue from the Blu-ray Disc market depends upon both the continued growth of the format generally and manufacturers' choosing to incorporate our multi-channel technologies where they are an optional industry standard.

Our licensing of industry standard technologies can be subject to limitations that could adversely affect our business and prospects.

        When a standards-setting body adopts our technologies as explicit industry standards, we generally must agree to license such technologies on a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory basis, which we believe means that we treat similarly situated licensees similarly. In these situations, we may be required to limit the royalty rates we charge for these technologies, which could adversely affect our business. Furthermore, we may have limited control over whom we license such technologies to, and may be unable to restrict many terms of the license. From time to time, we may be subject to claims that our licenses of our industry standard technologies may not conform to the requirements of the standards-setting body. Claimants in such cases could seek to restrict or change our licensing practices or our ability to license our technologies in ways that could injure our reputation and otherwise materially and adversely affect our business, operating results and prospects.

Our ability to develop proprietary technology in markets in which "open standards" are adopted may be limited, which could adversely affect our ability to generate revenue.

        Standards-setting bodies may require the use of so-called "open standards," meaning that the technologies necessary to meet those standards are publicly available. The use of open standards may reduce our opportunity to generate revenue, as open standards technologies are based upon non-proprietary technology platforms in which no one company maintains ownership over the dominant technologies.

We are dependent on our management team and technical talent.

        Our success depends, in part, upon the continued availability and contributions of our management team and engineering and technical personnel because of the complexity of our products and services. Important factors that could cause the loss of key personnel include:

•

our existing employment agreements with the members of our management team allow such persons to terminate their employment with us at any time;



•

we do not have employment agreements with a majority of our key engineering and technical personnel;



•

significant portions of the equity awards held by the members of our management team are vested; and

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•

equity awards held by some of our executive officers provide for accelerated vesting in the event of a sale or change of control of our company.

        The loss of key personnel or an inability to attract qualified personnel in a timely manner could slow our technology and product development and harm our ability to execute our business plan.

A loss of one or more of our key customers or licensees in any of our markets could adversely affect our business.

        From time to time, one or a small number of our customers or licensees may represent a significant percentage of our revenue. For instance, in 2009, one customer accounted for 15% of revenues from our continuing operations. Although we have agreements with many of our customers, these agreements typically do not require any material minimum purchases or minimum royalty fees and do not prohibit customers from purchasing products and services from competitors. A decision by any of our major customers or licensees not to use our technologies, or their failure or inability to pay amounts owed to us in a timely manner, or at all, could have a significant adverse effect on our business.

Unanticipated changes in our tax provisions or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of our income tax returns could adversely affect our net income.

        We are subject to income taxes in both the United States and foreign jurisdictions. Our effective income tax rates have recently been and could in the future be adversely affected by changes in tax laws or interpretations of those tax laws, by changes in the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, or by changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities. Significant judgment is required in determining our worldwide provision for income taxes. In the ordinary course of our business, there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. We may come under audit by tax authorities. For instance, the Internal Revenue Service is examining our 2005 to 2007 federal income tax returns, including certain prior period carryforwards, and the State of California is examining our 2004 and 2005 corporate tax returns. Although we believe our tax estimates are reasonable, the final determination of tax audits and any related litigation could be materially different from our historical income tax provisions and accruals. Based on the results of an audit or litigation, a material effect on our income tax provision, net income or cash flows in the period or periods for which that determination is made could result. In addition, changes in tax rules may adversely affect our future reported financial results or the way we conduct our business. For example, we consider the operating earnings of our foreign subsidiaries to be invested indefinitely outside the United States. We have not provided for United States federal or foreign withholding taxes that may result on future remittances of undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries. Our future reported financial results may be adversely affected if tax or accounting rules regarding unrepatriated earnings change.

Current and future governmental and industry standards may significantly limit our business opportunities.

        Technology standards are important in the audio and video industry as they help to assure compatibility across a system or series of products. Generally, standards adoption occurs on either a mandatory basis, requiring a particular technology to be available in a particular product or medium, or an optional basis, meaning that a particular technology may be, but is not required to be, utilized. For example, both our digital multi-channel audio technology and Dolby's have optional status in DVD based products and Blu-ray Disc. In the standard for Blu-ray Disc, both DTS and Dolby technologies have been selected as mandatory standards for two-channel output. However, if either or both of these standards are re-examined or a new standard is developed, we may not be included as mandatory in

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any such new or revised standard which would cause revenue growth in our consumer business to be significantly lower than expected and could have a material adverse affect on our business.

        Various national governments have adopted or are in the process of adopting standards for all digital television broadcasts, including cable, satellite, and terrestrial. In the United States, Dolby's audio technology has been selected as the sole, mandatory audio standard for terrestrial digital television broadcasts. As a result, the audio for all digital terrestrial television broadcasts in the United States must include Dolby's technology and must exclude any other format, including ours. We do not know whether this standard will be reopened or amended. If it is not, our audio technology may never be included in that standard. Certain large and developing markets, such as China, have not fully developed their digital television standards. Our technology may or may not ultimately be included in these standards.

        As new technologies and entertainment media emerge, new standards relating to these technologies or media may develop. New standards may also emerge in existing markets that are currently characterized by competing formats, such as the market for personal computers. We may not be successful in our efforts to include our technology in any such standards.

We may not successfully address problems encountered in connection with any acquisitions.

        We expect to consider opportunities to acquire or make investments in other technologies, products, and businesses that could enhance our technical capabilities, complement our current products and services, or expand the breadth of our markets. We have a limited history of acquiring and integrating businesses. Acquisitions and strategic investments involve numerous risks, including:

•

problems assimilating the purchased technologies, products, or business operations;



•

significant future charges relating to in-process research and development and the amortization of intangible assets;



•

significant amount of goodwill that is not amortizable and is subject to annual impairment review;



•

problems maintaining uniform standards, procedures, controls, and policies;



•

unanticipated costs associated with the acquisition, including accounting and legal charges, capital expenditures, and transaction expenses;



•

diversion of management's attention from our core business;



•

adverse effects on existing business relationships with suppliers and customers;



•

risks associated with entering markets in which we have no or limited prior experience;



•

unanticipated or unknown liabilities relating to the acquired businesses;



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the need to integrate accounting, management information, manufacturing, human resources and other administrative systems to permit effective management; and



•

potential loss of key employees of acquired organizations.

        If we fail to properly evaluate and execute acquisitions and strategic investments, our management team may be distracted from our day-to-day operations, our business may be disrupted, and our operating results may suffer. In addition, if we finance acquisitions by issuing equity or convertible debt securities, our existing stockholders would be diluted. Foreign acquisitions involve unique risks in addition to those mentioned above, including those related to integration of operations across different geographies, cultures and languages, currency risks and risks associated with the particular economic, political and regulatory environment in specific countries. Also, the anticipated benefit of our

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acquisitions may not materialize, whether because of failure to obtain stockholder approval or otherwise. Future acquisitions could result in potentially dilutive issuances of our equity securities, the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities or amortization expenses, or write-offs of goodwill, any of which could harm our operating results or financial condition. Future acquisitions may also require us to obtain additional equity or debt financing, which may not be available on favorable terms or at all.

We may have difficulty managing any growth that we might experience.

        As a result of a combination of internal growth and growth through acquisitions, we expect to continue to experience growth in the scope of our operations and the number of our employees. If our growth continues, it may place a significant strain on our management team and on our operational and financial systems, procedures, and controls. Our future success will depend in part on the ability of our management team to manage any growth effectively. This will require our management to:

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hire and train additional personnel in the United States and internationally;



•

implement and improve our operational and financial systems, procedures, and controls;



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maintain our cost structure at an appropriate level based on the revenues we generate;



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manage multiple concurrent development projects; and



•

manage operations in multiple time zones with different cultures and languages.

        Any failure to successfully manage our growth could distract management's attention, and result in our failure to execute our business plan.

Risks Related to Our Common Stock

We expect that the price of our common stock will fluctuate substantially.

        The market price of our common stock is likely to be highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially due to many factors, including:

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actual or anticipated fluctuations in our results of operations;



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market perception of our progress toward announced objectives;



•

announcements of technological innovations by us or our competitors or technology standards;



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announcements of significant contracts by us or our competitors;



•

changes in our pricing policies or the pricing policies of our competitors;



•

developments with respect to intellectual property rights;



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the introduction of new products or product enhancements by us or our competitors;



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the commencement of or our involvement in litigation;



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resolution of significant litigation in a manner adverse to our business;



•

our sale or purchase of common stock or other securities in the future;



•

conditions and trends in technology industries;



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changes in market valuation or earnings of our competitors;



•

the trading volume of our common stock;



•

announcements of potential acquisitions;

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•

the adoption rate of new products incorporating our or our competitors' technologies, including Blu-ray Disc players;



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changes in the estimation of the future size and growth rate of our markets; and



•

general economic conditions.

        In addition, the stock market in general, and the Nasdaq Global Select Market and the market for technology companies in particular, has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. Further, the market prices of securities of technology companies have been particularly volatile. These broad market and industry factors may materially harm the market price of our common stock, regardless of our operating performance. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company's securities, securities class-action litigation has often been instituted against that company. Such litigation, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management's attention and resources.

Shares of our common stock are relatively illiquid.

        As a result of our relatively small public float, our common stock may be less liquid than the common stock of companies with broader public ownership. Among other things, trading of a relatively small volume of our common shares may have a greater impact on the trading price for our shares than would be the case if our public float were larger.

Anti-takeover provisions under our charter documents and Delaware law could delay or prevent a change of control and could also limit the market price of our stock.

        Our Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Restated Bylaws contain provisions that could delay or prevent a change of control of our company or changes in our Board of Directors that our stockholders might consider favorable. Some of these provisions:

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authorize the issuance of preferred stock which can be created and issued by the Board of Directors without prior stockholder approval, with rights senior to those of the common stock;



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provide for a classified Board of Directors, with each director serving a staggered three-year term;



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prohibit stockholders from filling Board vacancies, calling special stockholder meetings, or taking action by written consent; and



•

require advance written notice of stockholder proposals and director nominations.

        In addition, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporate Law, which may prohibit certain business combinations with stockholders owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock. These and other provisions in our Restated Certificate of Incorporation, Restated Bylaws and Delaware law could make it more difficult for stockholders or potential acquirors to obtain control of our Board or initiate actions that are opposed by the then-current Board, including delay or impede a merger, tender offer, or proxy contest involving our company. Any delay or prevention of a change of control transaction or changes in our Board could cause the market price of our common stock to decline.

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