4DS - Anything but Charting, page-26140

This JDA with WD costs WD nothing except the time it takes for them to have the renewal signed off for the following year signed off by the executive. It doesn't obligate them to invest anything except a bit of time from their boffins maybe what, once or twice a year? It doesn't require them to pay a percentage of the IMEC costs or front a percentage of development costs if 4DS pull off a megabit chip.

Basically zero cost to WD/HGST, yet massive upside if 4DS pull it off. It's a no brainer for them to sign.

So I don't think you could infer anything about the probability of success for PL4 from a renewal.