Sony 2015 Annual Report Download - page 218

SONY CORPORATION AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
the U.S.-based music publishing subsidiary, the closing of which is subject to certain conditions including
regulatory approval. As of March 31, 2016, the subsidiary was committed to make payments of 750 million
U.S. dollars under the Music Publishing Purchase Agreements.
Certain subsidiaries in the Music segment have entered into long-term 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 five years. As of March 31, 2016, these subsidiaries were
committed to make payments of 54,198 million yen under such long-term contracts.
A subsidiary in the Game & Network Services segment has entered into long-term contracts for
programming content. These contracts cover various periods mainly up to four years. As of March 31, 2016, this
subsidiary was committed to make payments of 25,741 million yen under such long-term contracts.
Sony has entered into long-term sponsorship contracts related to advertising and promotional rights. These
contracts cover various periods mainly within three years. As of March 31, 2016, Sony has committed to make
payments of 15,727 million yen under such long-term 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
2017 279,201
2018 67,192
2019 39,889
2020 14,265
2021 8,685
Later fiscal years 11,018
Total 420,250
(3) Litigation
In October 2009, Sony Corporation’s U.S. subsidiary, Sony Optiarc America Inc., received a subpoena from
the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) seeking information about its optical disk drive business. Sony
understands that the European Commission and certain other governmental agencies outside the United States
also opened investigations of competition in the optical disk drives market. In March 2014, the DOJ notified
Sony that it had closed its investigation. In October 2015, the European Commission adopted a decision in which
it fined Sony Corporation, its subsidiary in Japan, Sony Optiarc Inc., and two other subsidiaries 31 million euros.
In December 2015, Sony filed an appeal with the European Union’s General Court. Sony understands that the
investigations by several other agencies have now ended, but one other agency continues to investigate. A
number of direct and indirect purchaser lawsuits, including class actions, have been filed in certain jurisdictions,
including the United States, in which the plaintiffs alleged that Sony Corporation and certain of its subsidiaries
violated antitrust laws and sought recovery of damages and other remedies. Although certain of these lawsuits
have reached a settlement, including the class action brought by the direct purchasers in the United States, certain
other lawsuits continue. Based on the remaining investigation and cases, 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 May 2011, Sony Corporation’s U.S. subsidiary, Sony Electronics Inc., received a subpoena from the DOJ
Antitrust Division seeking information about its secondary batteries business. Sony understands that the
European Commission and certain other governmental agencies outside the United States also opened
investigations of competition in the secondary batteries market. The DOJ has notified Sony that it has closed its
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