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accumulated a nice starter position. Can't wait for news to take this thing to the teens.
JC - relax we are just having a discussion here.
I believe when he answered my first question, I got the answer to your question. The company already released information about several interested parties currently beta testing the technology to determine a value for the patents. No company turns over its tech to another entity without NDA's and no company is going to discuss #s with a public entity without NDA's. All of that sounds alot like negotiations to me - the result maybe huge, nil, or something in between, but "no comment at this time" is the response you get no matter which scenario plays out per the NDAs.
Exactly my point - very strange unless they were not really prepared for the general public (not the specific audience).
JMO- If you were having high level conversations with various leaders within the industry, then they would require some explanation as to the purpose and use of the patents. Information that could be easily dissiminated to other key personnel within your company, i.e engineering, marketing, IT.
great - looking forward to the response. Thanks again
I would love for them to make some noise as well, but i can think of several scenarios in which that would potentially cause more damage than good.
I did think the new white papers were the start of something along those lines. The language there is very telling. JMHO
Thanks again, it sounds like more catalyst coming in the near term.
I thought it was interesting. I'll make this as short as possible, but here is the jist of conversation with Rich (Investor Relations)- paraphrasing.
Question 1.)Is there any possibility of another cc to update the progress of any negotiations/interest?
Answer 1.)No. The answer to any relevent questions would be "we can't comment on that at this time.
Question 2.) Would the company ever announce a rejected offer?
Answer 2.) No. The company's that would have interest are not going to allow us to use them as a negotiating chip with another company. The NDA's, if any, would be highly restrictive.
Question 3.) Have you or any of the insiders sold shares?
Answer 3.) No. This board and Malik intend to do just as they have openly stated - monetize these patents in the best manner possible for all shareholders.
Question 4.) At the time of the cc, the 5th patent was thought to be some time away and then it just sort of leapfrogged. There was no discussion of that patent during the cc as it related to having it in hand prior to making some noise in the media or closing a deal. Would that have an impact on our ability to finalize a deal?
Answer 5.) No. That patent is not key to our ability to negotiate. It's impact is further down the road than the others, not that it isn't valuable in its own right, but dit would not prevent a deal from getting done.
Closing comments from Rich (no question):
What is a game-changer is the Whatsapp sale, etc...
Thats about it.
Agree 100%
Medflower,
Have you received any response from the company? TIA
Well put Spec. That is exactly what IR told me when I called.
Curious if anyone believes we may be trying to get these patents mandated as a standard through the FCC and corresponding EU agency? I ask for two reasons 1) because much of the language in the white papers seem to point to this conclusion and 2) the BOD has remarkable experience in this specific area.
Any thoughts?
Sorry, just figured out that "ut" is "but" not UpToday. Ha
Stef, I am guessing "ut" is me. If so, i am def not out - been here for almost a year, but i don't post much. I'm sitting on about 2M at about a dime, not selling at .31, .20, .14 - not until the deal is done.
Making stuff up? I said "per IR" meaning Investor Relations. Also, I never said the UI patent isn't important just that it was not the key to getting the deal done. That comes from IR not me. I called Rich to inquire because of the post I saw on here about expectations regarding the 5th patent and I posted what he told me - take it or leave it.
As for the other speculations, thats what we do here. i think you are speculating about the pps drop after UI gets approved with no announcement. You may very well be right if thats what people expect, however it will have nothing to do with the viability of getting this deal done.
Per IR, the fifth patent is not the key to this deal getting done. Any talks that are going on are not dependent upon the last patent. The only reason this will be dragged on longer is the deal for Whatsapp - it changed the landscape of the industry. Did you listen to the telco quotes coming out of the world mobile conference - these guys are nervous and fully intend to catch up to social sites with regards to VOIP. Did you notice the date on the two new white papers (02/25/14) with no PR (just added to the website. The MWC started on the 24th. My opinion is that these were prepared for parties interested at the conference and that will take some time to play out. Anyone who sells at .14-15, or .19-.21 for that matter, will seriously regret giving up on the big payday. LONG and strong! JMHO
Carl was no longer an integral part of the BOD - he actually doesn't fit the mold of the new leadership. Further, with a diminished role at VPLM, he has much more time to focus on his core business - which is also making history - some would argue it may even be a better opportunity than the VOIP space.
Regardless, I like the move. JMHO
I agree we are due for a pop fairly soon. Each time we have surged to a new high, it has been followed by about a 40% retraction in the sp before consolidating and moving higher.
As many have speculated, the fifth patent is almost complete, however I don't believe that one is pivotal to completing the deal. Two examples for my reasoning: the first is that on the cc the BOD said they would begin making noise after RBR and MG were in hand. As indicated, they were very cautious with the PR, not releasing it until two weeks after MG was mailed. With UI, they release a PR once it goes to FDC - this is a change from the approach to RBR and MG. Further, there has been no "noise" as promised which indicates to me that there is no need at this point in the negotiations - we are beyond any "promotional" phase.
Secondly, I believe these negotiations are going to take a little longer due to a.) the delays for MG - someone was attempting to hold that up and that party is unlikely to submit a bid until after losing at the patent ofc plus a little time to settle ruffled feathers and b.) the "game-changing whatsapp purchase - that just raised the price for everything in this sphere - so even if you were close to terms on a deal when that was announced, it completely changes the parameters. It would certainly make me go back to table and demand more in light of the changing landscape of the industry.
I expect an announcement between now and the end of April, but I'm not hanging my hat on it coming with the announcement of the fifth patent - could be sooner or later. JMHO
Where do you get that info or is it just a rumor? I don't see any public disclosure of preferred shares being issued.
Sounds risky - this deal will have a lot of scrutiny once completed. Any related party transaction will get a hard look. JMHO
hypothetically, how would a deal be structured that benefits a group of shareholders more than the remaining shareholders?
It looks to me that someone is trying really hard to keep this at or below .28
Hopefully that dam will break soon!!!GLTA
Wow, that was unexpected this soon. This just keeps getting better and better all the time. Thanks for the post.
With regards to MG update, there is more info on the image file warpper tab. 08-22 The company filed an amendment to the claims, per conversations with the examiner and supervisor on 08-14 and 08-20. Also submitted a request for notice of allowance based on these changes.
08-22-2013
SA..
Supplemental Response or Supplemental Amendment
PROSECUTION
1
08-22-2013
CLM
Claims
PROSECUTION
18
08-22-2013
INTRVIEW.APP
Applicant summary of interview with examiner
PROSECUTION
1
08-22-2013
REM
Applicant Arguments/Remarks Made in an Amendment
PROSECUTION
2
08-22-2013
N417
EFS Acknowledgment Receipt
PROSECUTION
2
08-19-2013
R48.REQ
Request under Rule 48 correcting inventorship
PROSECUTION
6
08-19-2013
OATH
Oath or Declaration filed
PROSECUTION
6
08-19-2013
ADS
Application Data Sheet
PROSECUTION
4
08-19-2013
N417
EFS Acknowledgment Receipt
PROSECUTION
2
No, it would not be in the shareholders best interest. The goal here is to sell at the highest price - not to inflate the pps in the short-term. If the co is in talks with several interested parties, then it would not aide those negotiations to inform the other bidders about an offer that you are not taking. You really want all parties to put forth their best offer with an equal amount of fear that they may get outbid.
Also, I believe this will get done rapidly once MG gets approved. After that, there are really no more "unknowns". Thus, it really should not take too long to solicit the final offers from all interested parties. JMHO
Update on USPTO for MG. The co filed the corrected ADS and other docs to change the inventorship (look on Image File Wrapper tab) as of 08-19-13.
Not sure why the transaction page doesn't show this? This should be the last step to allow for the exam to continue and a decision should come soon. IMO
Okay, that makes more sense. Sorry for the misinterpretation.
Butters,
Maybe you didn't understand my post. I am delighted to have Sawyer at the head of the co. The only other thoughts I added to that was the opinion that the co will be getting a lot of press in the near term (more than just pr's, but actual free press).
Once the patent is finalized on RBR, then the co will be issuing letters/statements to all those infringing on their patents (they alluded to this on the call). This will certainly turn some heads and the reporters and analyst will come calling wanting to know more. Thus, I like Sawyer as the face the public will see - he is quite impressive. That is all I'm saying. JMHO
I agree and would add that Dr. Sawyer is the one that you want speaking with the media and interviewers as well. Looks to me like a full court press will be forthcoming.
thanks for the update Spec
The patent office has an internal target of 60 days from the time of filing responses to non-final rejections. On MG, this was exceeded and then the request for change in inventorship filed and now needing the ADS. That is why I called the patent office about the effects on priorty which I posted earlier ("no effect"). That decision will be imminent upon cleaning up the admin stuff.
Further, the patent process is reciprocal in nature. The two sides are communicating on a regular basis. To me, one would have to feel very confident in the possible approval in order to file the request for change in inventorship near the end of the examination process. Seems like a tell to me. Of course, on never know until its done, but I like what I see. JMHO
A share purchase agrmnt would be great. The chance to convert from short-term cap gains to long-term would save a fortune in taxes for most shareholders including the BOD. Also, would allow indiv to cash out earlier if they so desired by selling the new shares or some combination of holding and selling. JMHO
I hope so. It seems like it is certainly possible. Personally, I think it will be multi b's, but if it sells for 500M, then I won't be crying. Best guess would be between 2 - 3.5/share for a sale within the next 3 mnths. JMHO
Of course, I would take 5, 8 10/share happily. BLTA
That was my feeling as well. All that hemming and hawing about it may be worth this or that or this or that, just sounds like corp speak for "we can't tell you at this time". I thought Dr. Sawyer referring to the vonage case was telling. It showed me that they have conducted research and analysis on the value. While that particular case is nice, its nothing when you extrapolate it out to all the possible infringement parties. I would expect this analysis (hopefully involving an independent 3rd party) would be a key component to any negotiations (i.e. here is the potential for your liability and the assets of others potential liability to you if you are the eventual highest bidder). That's just basic corp/business strategy. Add to it the more advance technology of LI, MG, and eventually Interoperability Solutions and I think you have serious value for potential suitors.
I think once MG is done, this will move quickly (not the pps, but the sale of the co.) JMHO
The main reason VPLM will sell the co is because they do not have the resources to enforce the patents or build out the business. No matter the reward of doing so, it would require additional dilution or taking on massive debt (if possible). Neither the BOD or the shareholders are interested in that path. Further, any CEO of a major is not going to be worried about what happens in some legal case 5-7 yrs from now because his bonuses and options, etc are based on the here and now. He/she would leave that problem for some future CEO.
That being said, they will make offers, but it will not be for the true value of the company. It will be far lesser because of the point I mentioned above. They will want it, but they will want it at the least possible price. Still, since there will enormous competition for the technology coupled with the fact that the competition will have the capacity to enforce the patents, we will still see a very valuable buyout in the near future (multi B). JMHO
I almost totally agree, but the majors making an offer is only in their interest. Our interest is the highest offer. That may cause us to let it play out a bit. Then, the fun really begins because we have no need to hurry - but they do and so does their competition and their competition, etc.
I have no doubts that the BOD has already generated offers - just none worth taking at this time. JMHO
FYI - with regards to MG
Just confirmed with the patent ofc, the recent request for change in inventorship and the patent office reply that requires a corrected ADS will no have any impact on the priority for examination.
Thus, once the co files the one page, updated ADS (updating inventor's names), we should be back on track for a decision.
After listening to the call, I believe the cert will be issued for RBR within 8 weeks of the fee payment on 08-09-13.
Once that is completed, letters will be going out to every hardware, service, and backend provider utilizing voip technology to cease and desist due to patent infringement. This will be followed by a rigorous press and marketing campaign that will blow away the recent LI PR's. I would expect those co's stock to start taking a hit and the likes of CNBC, et al to start reporting and investigating the claims (validating). Then, we will see extreme movement in pps as well as buyout offers. JMHO
RBR updated by USPTO:
08-14-2013
Application Is Considered Ready for Issue
08-13-2013
Pubs Case Remand to TC
08-09-2013
Response to Reasons for Allowance
08-09-2013
Amendment after Notice of Allowance (Rule 312)
08-09-2013
Issue Fee Payment Verified
08-09-2013
Issue Fee Payment Received
Probably so, but its up to the co as to whether the shares are restricted. If restricted, this would be lifted upon a liquidation event (sale).
FYI,
For those wanting to hear the Q&A from the BOD ("the call"), it is now posted on the front page of VOIP-PAL's website.
No problem. Obviously, share price is speculative, but I would be shocked if this thing goes for less than 1B. MG alone is worth that and RBR isn't far behind that valuation. I believe once MG is done this will be done rather quickly. JMHO