NOTE 14   Contingencies: General From time to time, Teva and its subsidiaries are subject to legal claims for damages and/or equitable relief arising in the ordinary course of business. In addition, as described below, in large part as a result of the nature of its business, Teva is frequently subject to patent litigation. Teva believes it has meritorious defenses to the actions to which it is a party and vigorously pursues the defense of each such action, including those described below. Based upon the status of these cases, management's assessment of the likelihood of damages, the potential exposure involved relative to insurance coverage, and the advice of counsel, no provision has been made in Teva's financial statements for any of such actions except as otherwise noted below. Furthermore, based on currently available information, Teva believes that none of the proceedings described below is likely to have a material adverse effect on its financial condition; however, if one or more of such proceedings were to result in judgments against Teva, such judgments could be material to its results of operations in a given period. From time to time, Teva seeks to develop generic products for sale prior to patent expiration in various territories. In the United States, to obtain approval for most generic products prior to the expiration of the originator's patent(s), Teva must challenge the patent(s) under the procedures set forth in the Hatch-Waxman Act of 1984, as amended by the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003. To the extent that it seeks to utilize such patent challenge procedures, Teva is and expects to be involved in patent litigation regarding the validity, enforceability or infringement of the originator's patent(s). Teva may also be involved in patent litigation involving the extent to which alternate manufacturing process techniques may infringe originator or third-party process patents. Additionally, depending upon a complex analysis of a variety of legal and commercial f