WILN + a host of other IP mobile patent play companies....
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Thoughts from a rational investor.(Mike on Yahoo)
..." I am sure Apple is talking to us right now. The court win destroyed Wi-Lan. But now Apple might regret the approach taken as these patents can now find their way into the hands of a well funded American player. Much preferable to have a weak Wi-lan with its business model on life support being paid $70 million over 7 years...".
..." Our best bet is to sell the company. Wi-lan is much more valuable to a company that can extract fair value for the patents. And the smart phone wars may not last forever - and would be better to get out before Blackberrys patents are on the block..."
".. Even with an Apple win, our economics would have only been a 3 to 1 return. Good, but not great and far worse than what Interdigital (IDCC:Nasdaq) and others can gather. The fact that Wi-Lan disclosed the backlog means it has given up..".
.."Now investors can see that the last two years were a waste. I bet management never wanted to disclose it, but knew the stock would have collapsed even more if they kept it a secret and would have faced a shareholder lawsuit. The goal was to stabilize the share price. Put a floor under the stock and get a reasonable bid for its assets..."
.." But even though they continue to miss expectations, disappoint investors and screw up, I think the breakup value is worth much more than just $3.25, so I'm not selling at these prices. We should all be placing pressure on management to get the value out of the business..".
.." Interdigital (IDCC:Nasdaq) has $800 million in cash. Buying Wi-Lan would double its US patent portfolio as well as its essential LTE patent portfolio..".
..." Purchase price of (for example) $5 would cost $430 million (net cash on hand). Or about half of their cash on hand. This would be immediately accretive to earnings and would enhance ability to get renewals on better terms (with double the esstential LTE patent portfolio)..".
..." Given the present value of existing revenue stream, Interdigital would only be paying $200 million for 1,700 wireless and 1,300 video patents. That is ~100k per wireless patent or $60k for all patents.....Seems like a steal to me for them. Can put their cash to work and have an immediately accretive transaction.."
..." I think you get $5-6 from a company like Interdigital, Acacia or RPX. OR a management buyout. I think you get $6-8 if you get a strategic buyer with very weak 4G position. There aren't too many portfolios of this size that come for sale that often...."
..." It would be silly for a company to make it obvious that they were contemplating a takeover. All hedge funds would have to do would be to spot the "patterns" before a takeover to make lots of money...".
..." Looking at the insider ownership - the largest owner is Acuity Investment Management, which was acquired by AGF. They own 11 million shares (assuming they haven't sold any in past couple of days)...."
..." An announcement by them that they are looking for ways to maximize shareholder value would be a very welcome one!..."
(All of the above extracted thoughts from multiple posts are courtesy of Mike on the Wi-lan Yahoo Board)
.
Read more at http://www.stockhouse.com/companies/bullboard/t.win/wi-lan-inc?postid=21851282#G4WWM04sdEIvbM4H.99
An interesting,insightful and compelling post from CKIII on SH. (ChaunceyKincaidIII)
Looking back a few years at the WIN versus Intel et al case for laptops and
routers, Intel was the first to settle, roughly 2-3 weeks before trial was to
begin.
It appears from the court documents posted recently that the defendants in the
Alcatel et al 3GPP case, which goes to trial the first of April, are doing
whatever they can to delay and obfuscate the proceedings. Also that one of the
main issues of contention is royalties. Past due amounts and future royalty
rates. So it would seem logical that with roughly 9 weeks to trial, the parties
are deep in negotiation over settlement amounts.
Personally I will go with the rule that 90% of patent litigations are settled
before trial and the 100% rule that Skippen, in all his years, has never taken a
litigation to trial.
If the Intel case is used as precedent, then one could assume that settlements
in the Alcatel et al case will begin to be announced sometime in mid-March.
The interesting sidebar is that one of the defendants is HTC who is also a
defendent in other litigations with WIN. Skippen commented in one of the recent
conference calls that if a defendant were in multiple litigations that they
would probably want to settle all at the same time.
HTC's settlement nut, so to speak, for all current litigations is going to be
big. So assuming they settle in March on all litigations that then would end
their involvment in the Apple et al handset case. So the question is, what will
Apple and the other defendants in that case do if HTC settles? Would not that
signifiganty damage their continued defence. It seems to me it would and might,
just might push those defendants to settle as well.
So you see the Alcatel case is not only important in and of itself, it will
probably impact all other cases on the docket.
I believe the market is not factoring this potential domino effect into the
current stock price. But when it does, the stock price is going to move up
suddenly and sharply, and this could happen at anytime.
I am not a big believer in manipulation of the stock price, nor that a takeover
is inevitable. The stock has been trading on relatively low volume for many
months now so small blocks and retail investors tend to influence the price.
There is vitually no short position in WIN and given over 120 million shares
outstanding that tells me there is no one betting that the stock is going down
from current levels and those that own are holding. And as for a takeover, it
may happen and it may not, but it is not a sufficient reason to invest, as you
would maybe place a 50%-50% probablity of it happening. Not really great odds if
you ask me.
What I do believe however, is that the probablity of settlements in the next 6-7
weeks is very high and I will go with a 90-100% probablity of this happenig all
day long. Once the domino effect occurs, I believe that we are talking about
$100's of millions of dollars in settlements being booked in 2013.
It will be interesting to see just how high this stock goes by year end.
CKIII
Read more at
http://www.stockhouse.com/bullboards/messagedetail.aspx?p=0&m=32076717&l=0&r=0&s\
=win&t=list#EhTptgETO5CcQdHm.99
A discussion with Mr Skippen (from Philipp Ghazal)
In the last 14 months I had the chance to call Mr Skippen and discuss with him
the current business activities. By the way I suggest to anyone on the border
here if they are frustrated or anxious about their investment to contact him
directly through the company line and use the directory index. Mr Skippen is a
very business oriented person, doesn't take any critic with anger contrary he
tries to analyze the problem and give you an answer.
Here is a summary of Mr Skippen view to the business as of last Friday:
1. WI-LAN has a strategy for growth
2.LG case was a set back but not MOSAID
3.Accacia was on his radar back in 2008 when the price was low.
4.Accacia sp was in the $40's and lost half the price.
5I mentioned the law suits in April and October then he mentioned the
Alcatel-Lucent case
6. He find it amazing that RIM and Nokia started to recover after all the
negative press. He believe the media and analyst exaggerate the situation.
7.I asked him why WI-LAN is not visible to the investment community, he
disagreed totally. He said he did many presentation and WI-LAN is covered by
over 10 analysts with all bur rating.
8. There is a decouple between the sp and the company performance
9. He is focus on the company business not the sp.
10. About the rumour of a buyout last year, he alluded that private companies
are always seeking to buy companies like WI-LAN
11. He is open to sell the company at the right time, right price.
12. He said the sp is very cheap
13. He said that in his career all the law suits were settled before the trial.
Mr Skippen was very professional didn't mention any number any news nothing that
is not share wity the investment community.
Mr Skippen understand the frustration with the investors but the patent business
is a news driven.
I am posting this summary knowing that there is nothing confidential and I
respect Mr Skippen for not rejecting my call.
Read more at http://www.stockhouse.com/bullboards/messagedetail.aspx?s=WIN&t=LIST&m=32047173&l=0&pd=2&r=0#DlRbOYmtXFeRX6jQ.99
Martin Lysejko, just one of WiLAN's primary expert witnesses (likely to testify) seems to have a noteworthy patent pedigree
Date Issued
7953065
Point to multipoint device for communication with a plurality of telecommunications units
May 31, 2011
A point to multipoint device for use in a wireless network to provide wireless communication with a plurality of telecommunications units is described, for communication from the point to multipoint device to the telecommunications units, the point to multipoint device being operable
7627348
Point to multipoint device for communication with a plurality of telecommunications units
December 1, 2009
A point to multipoint device for use in a wireless network operates a sequence of variable duration communication channels, allocatable to telecommunications units. A training sequence indication and a repetition rate indication are stored indicating a training sequence and repetition
7177320
Transfer of data in a telecommunications system
February 13, 2007
A telecommunications system comprises a transmitter within the central terminal for sending a data message destined for a particular subscriber terminal over communication channels as a number of data blocks. A frame generator is provided within the central terminal for generating a numb
7142583
Receiver with plural detecting processors
November 28, 2006
A receiver for detecting and recovering data from received data bearing radio signal samples comprises first and second detecting processors. Each of the detecting processors comprises a data store operable to store a predetermined number of the signal samples, an equalizer operable to
6816726
Transfer of different data types in a telecommunications system
November 9, 2004
The present invention relates to a telecommunications system and method for connecting to a network and for routing data of a plurality of different data types between the network and subscriber terminals of the telecommunications system. The subscriber terminals are connectable to a
6381211
Processing data transmitted and received over a wireless link connecting a central terminal and
April 30, 2002
The present invention provides a transmission controller and method for processing data items to be transmitted over a wireless link connecting a central terminal and a subscriber terminal of a wireless telecommunications system, a single frequency channel being employed for transmit
6324208
Apparatus and method of controlling transmitting power in a subscriber of a wireless telecommuni
November 27, 2001
A wireless telecommunications systems (1) includes a central terminal (10) for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals to and from a subscriber terminal (20). A downlink communication path is established from a transmitter (200) of the central terminal (10) to a receiver (202)
6298246
Subscriber terminal and method for passing control signals between a first and second signal pro
October 2, 2001
The present invention provides a subscriber terminal for communicating over a wireless link with a central terminal of a wireless telecommunications system, the subscriber terminal comprising a first signal processing unit associated with an antenna to transmit and receive signals over t
6222819
Processing data transmitted and received over a wireless link connecting a central terminal and
April 24, 2001
The present invention provides a transmission controller and method for processing data items to be transmitted over a wireless link connecting a central terminal and a subscriber terminal of a wireless telecommunications system, a single frequency channel being employed for transmit
6198911
Controlling transmitter gain in a wireless telecommunications system
March 6, 2001
A central terminal (10) in a wireless telecommunications system (1) includes an analog card (206) that combines inputs from a plurality of modem units (204) for a plurality of downlink communication paths. The analog card (206) generates a composite transmit signal (214) that is prov
6195327
Controlling interference in a cell of a wireless telecommunications system
February 27, 2001
The present invention provides an interference controller and method for limiting in one cell the effect of interference generated by other cells of a wireless telecommunications system, each cell of the wireless telecommunications system having a central terminal and a plurality of
6192252
Establishing a wireless link connecting a central terminal and a subscriber terminal of a wirele
February 20, 2001
The present invention provides a channel selection controller and method for establishing a wireless link connecting a central terminal and a subscriber terminal of a wireless telecommunications system, at least two frequency channels being provided over which said wireless link could be
6185197
Control message transmission in telecommunications systems
February 6, 2001
A communications protocol interface is arranged at a central station of a telecommunications network and is responsive to a control message received from a network controller in accordance with a first message protocol to transmit the control message in accordance with a second message p
6181710
Handling of telecommunications signals passed between elements of a telecommunications network
January 30, 2001
The present invention provides a system for handling telecommunications signals passed between a first and second element of a telecommunications network, the first element having an interface for transmitting and receiving signals in a first protocol, and the second element having an
6175560
Apparatus and method of establishing and maintaining communication paths in a wireless telecommu
January 16, 2001
A wireless telecommunications systems (1) includes a central terminal (10) for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals to and from a subscriber terminal (20). A downlink communication path is established from a transmitter (200) of the central terminal (10) to a receiver (202)
6088326
Processing data transmitted and received over a wireless link connecting a central terminal and
July 11, 2000
The present invention provides a transmission controller and method for processing data items to be transmitted over a wireless link connecting a central terminal and a subscriber terminal of a wireless telecommunications system, a single frequency channel being employed for transmit
5923668
Apparatus and method of establishing a downlink communication path in a wireless telecommunicati
July 13, 1999
A wireless telecommunications system (1) includes a central terminal (10) for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals to and from a subscriber terminal (20). A downlink communication path is established from a transmitter (200) of the central terminal (10) to a receiver (202)
5918160
Subscriber terminal for a wireless telecommunications system
June 29, 1999
A subscriber station of a wireless telecommunications system includes a transmitter/receiver (24) for wireless communication with a central station and for processing signals for transmission and/or received signals. The transmitter/receiver (24) is connected via a link (408) to a su
5915216
Apparatus and method of transmitting and receiving information in a wireless telecommunications
June 22, 1999
A wireless telecommunications system (1) includes a central terminal (10) for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals to and from a subscriber terminal (20). A downlink communication path is established from a transmitter (200) of the central terminal (10) to a receiver (202)
5905963
Subscriber terminal monitor system for a wireless telecommunications system
May 18, 1999
A subscriber station monitor system is provided for a subscriber station of a wireless telecommunications system. The subscriber station includes a transmitter/receiver for wireless communication with a central station and a communications controller for processing signals for transmissi
5838913
Control message transmission in telecommunications systems
November 17, 1998
A communications interface is used in a telecommunications network station which including a number of network elements, a controller for controlling the network elements and an internal bus interconnecting the controller and the network elements. The controller operates as a busmaster o
5745496
Apparatus and method of establishing a downlink communication path in a wireless telecommunicati
April 28, 1998
A wireless telecommunications system (1) includes a central terminal (10) for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals to and from a subscriber terminal (20). A downlink communication path is established from a transmitter (200) of the central terminal (10) to a receiver (202)
Subject to the foregoing, at this time, Plaintiff identifies the following witnesses for trial:Martin Lysejko (Airspan: inventor)
Read more at http://www.stockhouse.com/bullboards/messagedetail.aspx?s=WIN&t=LIST&m=32047173&l=0&pd=0&r=0#GSdJ7mFzUVY7Qk8w.99
Nevertheless, the Federal Circuit has remarked that "it is difficult to conceive of many situations in which the scope of a rejected claim that became allowable when amended is not substantively changed by the amendment...." Id. at 1348.
"if the patentee made substantive changes to the original claims, the patentee is entitled to infringement damages only for the period following the issuance of the reexamination certificate."
Thursday 10/4/12..71,838 SELLS and 151 BUYS
(with approximately $5000 worth of EDIG shares traded)
$0.089 will become the new $24.00
The BARNEY board subscribes to their own set of facts. (JMHO)
FYI/FWIW...An addendum to "Mindreader's" 2013 EOY share price projection to include ADDITIONAL likely RENEWAL revenues, which were NOT included in his original assumptions.
Mindreader has NOT included ANY renewal revenues in his assumptions.
The Nokia renewal is past due and the potential amount unknown. CIBC has a number of $30-$45 million.
RIM's license with WiLAN expires in August of next year...but who know what shape RIM will be in in a years time. Again potential amount unknown.
Samsung's license for WIN's wireless patents expires in January of 2014. This would be by far the largest of the three renewals, but the amount difficult to estimate.
Yes, all of these licenses if renewed would perhaps increase Mindreader's rev estimates by $50-$100 million over 4 years and and eps numbers by an additional $0.10-$0.20 per year adding anywhere from $1.50 to $3.00 to the stock price.
http://www.stockhouse.com/bullboards/MessageDetail.aspx?p=0&m=31554897&l=0&r=0&s=win&t=list
FWIW.An interesting share price projection from "Mindreader" on "another board"
IMO, "Mindreader" has always offered some of the most thorough and comprehensive due diligence of any investor I have read on any board..Don't take his prognostications lightly...He has shown a history of being both fairminded and reasonably balanced...An interesting conjecture nonetheless.
" Mindreader believes that between now and the end of July 2013 WiLAN should settle all outstanding litigations.
This imo should result in licenses that will generate somewhere in the range of $350-$400 million in revenues over 4 years.
Let us pick the top of the range (because we are feeling a bit frosty this am) which would be $100 million in new revenues per year.
Divide this by 120 million shs outstanding and we have ~$0.83 per year in revs. At a generous 90% profit margin this would translate into an additional $0.75 in eps per year.
Add these additional eps to the current consensus average (8 analysts) eps for this year of $0.44 and you have $1.19 in eps for 2013 and going forward.
Although WiLAN is currently trading at a P/E of ~10x, with these deals consumated the multiple should expand conservatively to 15x.
This would yield a potential price target for year end 2013 of....
$17.85
The above analysis is quite conservative when considering the fact that legal expenses will likely fall sharply after these litigations are settled resulting in the consensus eps for 2013 to rise. And...Mindreader is only factoring in settlement with LG on the V-Chip as they are the only TV mfg currently in litigation. Settlements with the other major TV OEM's would only serve to boost the rev, eps and price targets above. Also not include are any additional revs and eps that may be generated by current and future Gladios partnerships.
Mindreader welcomes any comments or other views on the above analysis. "
http://www.stockhouse.com/bullboards/MessageDetail.aspx?p=0&m=31554517&l=0&r=0&s=WIN&t=LIST
Could this ongoing upfront $30,000/month retainer be pre-paid gravy for this "boutique" law firm who just happened to announce their own hiring of "Blue Sands IP" on the exact same day that e.Digital announced the agreement with Handal?
The most significant immediate and ongoing legal costs (in addition to the $30,000 monthly retainer)will be those vitally important areas that Handal is NOT "handling".
Evidently, HANDAL's $30,000 monthly "retainer" does NOT include initial and ongoing costs related to the following...(see BOTH press releases below and note the CAPPED WORDS as my own emphasis)
(1)...EXPERTS
(2)...PRIOR ART SEARCH
(3)...ADVANCED EXPENSES
(4)...TECHNICAL AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SUPPORT
(5)...PATENT INFRINGEMENT ANALYSIS
(6)...IP PRIOR ART INVESTIGATIONS
(7)...PATENT LITIGATION SUPPORT
(8)...IP VALUATIONS
(9)...IP PROSECUTIONS
These 9 vital and expensive functions above are all found in the 2 press releases below. (my own CAPS for emphasis)
..." The Company will pay a monthly retainer fee of $30,000 creditable against future contingency recoveries. Handal has agreed to advance related expenses "excluding EXPERTS and PRIOR ART SEARCH FIRMS". The Company has agreed to (a) pay Handal a fee equal to 33% of any license fee or settlement related to Patent Enforcement Matters, less prior retainers; and (b) "reimburse Handal for ADVANCED EXPENSES"....
Marketwire – 09/17/2012 – San Diego. Handal & Associates has engaged Blue Sands IP for " TECHNICAL AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SUPPORT related to e.Digital flash portfolio."...."Blue Sands IP specializes in PATENT INFRINGEMENT ANALYSIS, IP PRIOR ART INVESTIGATIONS, PATENT LITIGATION SUPPORT, IP VALUATION and IP PROSECUTIONS."...
JMHO...I wonder if Fred Falk used that same attorney he used in the "Boyer/APS Contract" to oversee this EDIG agreement with Handal? Or maybe EDIG BOD Chairman Alan Cocummelli was called in to "give it the once over" since EDIG is still paying Alan his $5000/month retainer as well.
Just how many Millions in ongoing protracted litigation fees DID that poorly constructed "Boyer/APS" contract end up costing e.Digital and it's shareholders?
Now the $30,000 per month retainer may just be the tip of the monthly iceberg.
Given e.Digital's remaining cash and now significantly increased
burn rate,will there even be any funds available if they even make it to court?...not to mention the actual monies (if any)from those still unknown defendants.
neverending and/or heybrad:Your thoughts on the following from "someone else"would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
--------------------------------------------------------------
claim 1 and 19 were not rejected....they were cancelled and are now claims 33 and 34.
From the examiners notes...RE Base claims 1 and 19
Application/Control Number: 90/011,302 Page 4 Art Unit: 3992
RESPONSE TO ARGUMENTS
Patent owner's remarks/arguments, see pages 14-41, sections IV to XI of the Response, and as evidenced by the declarations under 37 CFR § 1.132 of Mr. Mark Gurries (Gurries dec. - Exhibit 1), filed 05/17/2012 with respect to the rejections of claims as recited in the final Office action mailed 04/02/2012 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Particularly, Patent owner's arguments, see id., the Response pages 28-41, and as evidenced by Gurries dec., see id., pages 10-21 items 18-47, have specifically pointed out that the amended claims, each recites control circuitry which includes a microprocessor (21) coupled to switch circuitry, which includes multiple transistors (MOSFETs 64, 65, and 66, and QP2B) configured to enable supply of electrical power to the receiving socket (28/30) coupled to the flash memory (29), and the at least one of the microphone element (20) and the speaker (36) during record and playback functional operations; and which is not taught or suggested by the cited prior art of Kimura, Sharp, Sudoh, and Elbert, either alone or in combination. That the Examiner agrees.
Therefore, the rejections of claims have been withdrawn.
ALLOWABLE SUBJECT MATTER Claims 2-5, 18, and 23-34 are patentable.
STATEMENTNT OF REASONS FOR PATENTABILITY AND/OR CONFIRMATION The following is an examiner's statement of reasons for patentability and/or confirmation of the claims found patentable in this reexamination proceeding:
=====================================================
e.digitals response and elaborations were explained with amendements that e.Digital had considered.
After the examiner figured out what was going on, the amendements e.Digital had considered were not instituted.
Instead, the examiner initiated new claims 33 and 34 that replace 1 and 19.
________________________________________________________________
As for the other dependent claims....the amendements of those are simply new pointers directing them to the new 33 and 34 base claims...re direction from 1 and 19.
_________________________________________________________________
Neverending.(BTW, I did already know that you were no longer a shareholder and FWIW, I am no longer a shareholder either (I've been out since late April/Early May 2011)
Neverending: Per your revealing gross revenue comparisons...
4Q 2012...1/1/2012-3/31/2012)..TOTAL Revenues 221,000
Products:...... 100,685
Services:.......104,274
Patent Lic:..... 16,041
TOTAL...........221,000
From the SEC Filings:COMPARISON...
Thru 3rd Q 2011(end 12/31/2011) VS Thru 4th Q 2012(end 3/31/2012
ACTUAL 4th QTR (1/1/2012-3/31/2012) REVENUES...
Products.........62,159 VS.... 162,844.100,685 in 1/1-3/31/2012
Services........359,654 VS.....463,928.104,274 in 1/1-3/31/2012
Patent Lic... 4,084,338 VS...4,100,379.16,041 in 1/1-3/31/2012
Since EVU now represents almost 93% of EDIG's Gross Revenues, it may be of interest to track EVU's Q1,Q2,Q3,Q4 (The Products/Services portion of the SEC filing) and compare (1) Gross Revenues (2) Costs and (3) Net Profit.
This isolated ongoing EVU revenue model "may" have growing losses with each and every quarter.
So why does EDIG even bother with this archaic and moribund portion of their business model other than to use it as "top line window dressing" and to satisfy ongoing contractural airline agreements ? (rhetorical question)
John jtdiii
The Markman WIN and the $200 Million+/- settlements?
WiLAN's institutional ownership already exceeds 40%...(and the "weaker" retail hands are being taken out on a daily basis).....by the institutions.
I feel confident that when the "substantial" settlements begin as a result of...
(1)...The enormously favorable USPO V-Chip decision....and
(2)...The extraordinary (10 for 10 on construction claims) Markman Hearing ruling....
The share price will begin a very verticle northward ascent to "well above" $5.00
It has been projected by a number of analysts currently following WiLAN that the settlements from the Markman hearing ruling alone may well be above $200 Million and the V-Chip settlements (now that the USPO has spoken) could well reach that amount as well.
We've only been on the Nasdaq for a little less than a year now, and with
(1) ...A full year of strong earnings (beginning with the revenues from the first EDTX settlements in early 2011),and...
(2)...The near term expected resolution of many of the 30+ pending settlements...
Both the share price and increased institutional ownership will take care of themselves..
All JMHO...
John jtdiii
After that milquetoast office visit, the moniker photo should change from Tony Soprano to Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero. It somehow seems more appropriate.
And while chatting, I wonder if he asked Fred anything of importance, like whose going to take over the "process violation" chores now that "Coyote" has been outed?
Link for the slides at WiLAN's 4/19 AGM (ASM).
Note: The actual AGM presentation included MORE slides (over 35 in total) - lots more details.
http://www.wilan.com/Theme/WiLan2012/files/documents_presentations/120423%20WIN%20WILN%20Investor%20Presentation_Overview_Final_v001_n2al1s.pdf
Extraordinary post on WiLAN's upcoming 4/26 EDTX Markman Hearing
(Courtesy of GlennAS on SH...an excellent thinker...)
(What if anything (positive or negative) can we expect from this event on Thursday?)
My understanding is that the judge will rule on the claims construction in the 3GPP case. This will define the "meaning" of the key terms in the patent - e.g. subscriber terminal, orthogonal channel/channels, TDM, etc. I was very impressed by Wi-LAN's claims construction submission, which can be found here. I don't have access to the defendent's submission, but I found Wi-LAN's definition of terms - particularly around othrogonal channel/channels - to get at the "essense" of the meaning of the term.
So I believe that on Thursday, the judge will rule on the definition of terms in the patent. Probably the key decision is whether the meaning of "subscriber terminal" in the patent applies only to fixed devices, or in generic enough to include mobile devices (which is Wi-LAN's position).
I expect the claims construction ruling to be favorable to Wi-LAN. Certainly, if the judge rules that the meaning of "subscriber terminal" in the patent is restricted to fixed devices, that would be extremely detrimental to Wi-LAN's case. Alternatively, ruling in favor of Wi-LAN's interpretation would be extremely favorable to WIN's case.
The claims construction is very important. I believe that occassionally, it will significantly prejudice the case such that defendents will move to settlement after the claims construction.
So look for the judges ruling as to the definition of terms in the patent, and let's see whether they are in favor of Wi-LAN or defendent claims.
Regards,
glenn
4/23 interview with CEO Jim Skippen (courtesy of springwind88/SH)
Branham300 Executive Interview - Jim Skippen, President & CEO, WiLAN
Monday, April 23, 2012
For the past 20 years, Branham has tracked the Canadian ICT Industry and the leading companies that comprise it. As part of Branham’s ongoing efforts, we speak with leading executives from across Canada to gather first-hand insight on current trends and recent developments within the Canadian Technology space. Recently, Branham sat down with Jim Skippen, President & CEO of WiLAN to talk about his career, the company he leads and what the future has in store. The following statements summarize some of the key points that Mr. Skippen would like to pass along to the Branham300 community. Alternatively, listen in on the conversation between Branham and Mr. Skippen in its entirety here.
Combining Law with a Passion for Technology…
My career really started in university. I was a computer science and business student and I decided to combine that with something that was quite unrelated: law. I went into law, and when I graduated from law school, I decided I wanted to combine the law part with computer science.
I joined a firm called Borden Elliott, which is now called Borden Ladner Gervais, in the computer and technology law group. I was doing patent transfers and technology transfers and some general corporate work for technology-based companies. I started as an associate and became a partner there.
I then joined MOSAID as General Counsel. Very soon after I joined MOSAID in 1996, I became interested in patents and in their patent portfolio and worked on developing a patent licensing program. Ten years later, with a short stint at McCarthy Tetrault in between, I began working at WiLAN.
Making the Shift from Law Firms to Corporations…
I think what made me shift from law firms to corporations was that I saw clients that were doing very well financially. They were working smart as opposed to more hours. I wanted the opportunity to have the type of benefits that are only available through stock or stock options – that was a big motivator. I think a second big motivator was that I wanted to be more directly involved in business. As a legal advisor working at a law firm, you are advising but you are not really making the business decisions. As in-house counsel or as CEO, my current position at WiLAN, I am able to impact directly on business decisions.
WiLAN’s Shift from Products to Patent Licensing…
I think the reason WiLAN changed its focus in 2006 was that it adapted to the market conditions it was faced with. It had tried to sell products, and in all fairness, I think it was largely unsuccessful in making a profitable business that way.
What WiLAN did have was the fundamental inventions – in the form of patents – that related to its products. It made the business decision to try to focus instead on licensing its intellectual property and its patents and that’s where I came in.
If you look at what has happened since 2006, there has been dramatic growth in our financial strength and the size of the company and the success of the company. I think it turned out to be a very good decision to focus on intellectual property.
WiLAN’s Recent Achievements…
Over the past five-plus years, there are several key accomplishments that come to mind. One is building our intellectual property business and signing over 250 licenses to our intellectual property. The stock price, when I was first asked to consider joining, was 65 cents. It is well over $5 now. That is almost a ten-fold increase in the stock price.
Our financial strength is another great accomplishment – we went from about $300 thousand in the bank and now we have over $200 million. We are in a different league in terms of financial strength. Revenue growth is another measure of our success. We have grown from zero to over $100 million in revenues in just 5 years.
In addition, we have implemented a dividend for our shareholders and I think we have established a reputation for honesty, fairness and integrity in both the market that we are in but also generally in the community.
The Key Drivers to the Company’s Success in Fiscal 2011…
One of the key drivers to our success has been our financial strength. It has enabled us to grow our patent portfolio; it has enabled us to withstand court challenges that were very expensive, and it has ultimately led us to prevail.
I think another key to our success is that we stuck to our plan. We made sure that when we signed deals or licenses that they were the right deals or licenses at the time.
Another key driver is the continuing strength of our team. We are committed to training and strengthening the capabilities of our existing employees, while at the same time, bringing new strong employees on board as we need to.
Coining Fiscal 2011 as a “Defining Year for WiLAN”…
I think 2011 was a defining year for WiLAN because, after three years of litigation and negotiation, most of the Wi-Fi industry and much of the cell phone industry took licenses to our patent portfolio. This helped us because it reduced our expenses while at the same time increasing our revenues significantly.
This specific year, we were able to achieve revenues in excess of $100 million with very high profitability. We doubled our dividend and then in the beginning of 2012, we increased it by another 20 percent. In addition, the size of our patent portfolio basically tripled.
Milestones on the Horizon…
Some of the milestones that we would like to achieve in the next 24 months are to sign more licenses and to apply some of our significant cash reserves to buy patents and companies, especially companies that will add revenue streams to what we are already doing. I think that the Gladios initiative, which is designed to help other companies license their intellectual property, will gain more traction in the next 24 months and eventually will become a more significant contributor to our revenue.
The Attempted Acquisition of MOSAID Technologies…
I think the MOSAID acquisition proceeded much as we expected. We were somewhat surprised that a private equity player made an offer but that is the name of the game with this type of process: you don’t know who might enter the fray and bid more than you.
In hindsight I believe it was the right thing, for us to launch a bid to acquire MOSAID. The fact that it ultimately sold for a price that was much higher than the market price before we launched our bid indicates that we were offering good value. I think one lesson we took from the whole exercise is that we took the high road. We did not engage or respond to personal attacks. That served us well and I am glad we took that approach.
Increased Awareness Around the IP and Patent Market…
I think that the Nortel transaction and transactions like the recent Microsoft purchase of the AOL patents has made the general public and certainly the financial markets much more aware of the value of intellectual property in patents. Larger operating companies like AOL, Microsoft and Nokia are now much more interested in finding ways to monetize their patents and deploy them. That is a big change from what things were like 10 or 15 years ago.
So I think you are likely to see more of these larger companies staking out their intellectual property to third companies like WiLAN to try to license the intellectual property and generate revenue both for WiLAN but also for the operating company. Increasingly, organizations want to make sure there IP is not an asset that is stagnant on the shelf.
What to Look for From WiLAN in the Near-Term…
In the near term I would expect that we will continue to sign licenses and bolster our core licensing areas, which are wireless access, digital display and cloud computing. We will also continue to engage with new Gladios partners, and sign licenses with some or all of them. At the same time we are going to look for opportunities to work with larger, strategic partners who could benefit from our licensing expertise. We could take on one or two of those types of partners and will be working on that in relative near-term.
Parting Advice…
I would say that entrepreneurs need to be bold and forge ahead. I think for leaders of small public companies I would caution them that there is nothing like a strong balance sheet and there are a lot of factors that can mitigate against you strengthening the balance sheet or doing financing if the opportunity presents itself.
I would caution that you should still consider trying to raise money when it is available. The irony is that usually the very best time to raise money is when you least need it and when no one will understand why you are doing it. If you try to raise money when you need it, it is probably already too late.
WiLAN has completed many successful financings and I think it has served us very well in being able to execute on all of our strategic goals and initiatives.
Another thing I would say to smaller entrepreneurs is keep your eye on your patents. Many times, patents are a secondary thought because they are expensive to maintain and file. At the end of it all your patents may be the most significant part of the company’s value. Consider the Nortel patents that were sold for more than all of Nortel’s businesses combined. Patents are really where the value is, and that value that is not being protected by many small companies.
(The above article originally discovered by springwind88 on SH)
Tyler Burns and I had a 1 hour conversation.
Tyler was very generous of his time, and he was as "forthcoming" as he could be but did not offer anything worthy of sharing.
Had I actually "learned" something from the conversation, I would have shared it publicly by now...It's been quite a while...
I'm looking forward to "something" at tomorrow's AGM...
John / jtdiii
An extraordinarily compelling post from Glenn on SH...
I just want to add a couple additional items to your "reasons for liking Wi-LAN's business model" ...
1 - Operational Profitability
Wi-LAN's business model is very profitable, and WIN has very high net operating margins. From Todd Copeland/CIBC's very comprehensive research report on Wi-LAN from December 2011, CIBC forecasts a EBITDA margin of 61.1% for FY2012 (it was approx. 54% in 2011).
By contrast, Acacia (ACTG)'s operating margin was approx 15% in 2011. So basically, assuming ACTG's operating margin remains constant in 2012, Wi-LAN generates nearly 4x as much operational profit from each dollar of revenue as Acacia.
2 - Low Valuation = High Margin of Safety
In addition to the $220 million cash on Wi-LAN's balance sheet, Wi-LAN is currently trading at approx the value of the cash on its balance sheet + the NPV of future revenue streams from deals already signed.
So basically, you're buying future revenue/earnings potential - on both the patent licensing and Gladios side - for free.
This represents a significant margin of safety in broader stock market that, to my mind, is very vulnerable to "black swan"-type event from a global financial system that's truly on the brink of a major systemic rupture (in the next 2 years).
If Wi-LAN's current share price was $20/sh, I would argue that Wi-LAN was still a great business, but I wouldn't necessarily say that at that price it was a GREAT investment.
My 4 reasons for continuing to buy and hold WiLAN.....
Having never been to a WiLAN AGM, I have only a small idea what the general texture and culture of the WiLAN shareholders meetings are like. Suffice it to say that since the last AGM, holding WiLAN has been a bumpy ride (From $4.00+/- to $10.00+/- to $5.75+/-), particularly for the retail shareholder. This erraticism has made it prudent for some shareholders to begin trading rather than holding. More power to them. I'm not making any value judgements here.
But there are now 4 new "near term" reasons for me to continue buying and holding WiLAN.
(1) The recent USPTO decision affirming '402 (and allowing our patent to be even even more robust) strengthens the likelihood that WiLAN will more expeditiously monetize the substantial untapped claims against other major infringers, particularly now that we are armed with what may now be a "bullet-proof" patent.
(2) The upcoming 4/26 Markman Hearing against Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, HTC, LG, Sony, etal, in the Eastern District of Texas is in what a well respected attorney friend of mine (and fellow WiLAN shareholder) described to me as a generally "patent owner friendly" district. Although it's been over a year since our last game changing EDTX success, both our claims as well as our odds, may well again be in WiLAN's favor.
(3) In spite of WiLAN managements' steadfast (maybe stubborn?) philosophy of creating "long term" shareholder value, (a) the recent USPTO decision, (b) the generally positive attitude for the upcoming 4/26 Markman Hearings, and (c) the 20+ deals (now growing hair on them)...may well mean that WiLAN management will be in a more "favorable" position (for them) to "finally" begin pulling the trigger on WiLAN's terms.
(4) I've gleaned from both empirical and anecdotal evidence that the retail shareholders' "angst" has indeed been heard by WiLAN management. Unless they're completely tone deaf, I would "expect" that there may well be significant, substantive and sustaining revelations shared at the upcoming 4/19 AGM. (JMHO)
We'll see.....
John / jtdiii
FWIW. Latest from Fraser Mackenzie with $10 Target (courtesy of 2Gorgeous on SH)
http://www.frasermackenzie.com/newresearch/FM_Bulletin_100412.pdf
Markman Update:WiLAN vs Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, HTC, LG, Sony (MH 4/26/2012)
Updated links discovered and shared by 2Gorgeous on SH.
http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/texas/txedce/6:2010cv00521/125700/185/0.pdf?ts=1334484542
http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/texas/txedce/6:2010cv00521/125700/184/0.pdf?ts=1334484368
http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/texas/txedce/6:2010cv00521/125700/184/0.pdf?ts=1334484368
http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/texas/txedce/6:2010cv00521/125700/182/0.pdf?ts=1334484292
April 13, 2012
181
Cross SEALED MOTION for Summary Judgment by Sony Mobile Communications (USA) Inc., Sony Mobile Communications AB. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1. Beming Decl., # 2 Exhibit 2. Vecella Decl., # 3 Exhibit 3. Mahon Decl., # 4 Exhibit 4. Wynne Decl., # 5 Exhibit 5. Wi-LAN ltr to LME, # 6 Exhibit 6. SEMC CRA, # 7 Exhibit 7. Wi-LAN ltr to SEMC, # 8 Exhibit 8. 068 Patent Claim Chart, # 9 Exhibit 9.897 Patent Claim Chart, # 10 Exhibit 10. Ericsson CRA, # 11 Exhibit 11. Excerpts of Wi-LAN 3-1 Disclosures, # 12 Exhibit 12. Wi-LAN Prior License Agreement, # 13 Text of Proposed Order)(Wynne, Richard)
April 13, 2012
180
SEALED PATENT RESPONSE to SEALED PATENT MOTION re 171 SEALED MOTION PLAINTIFFS MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT filed by Ericsson Inc., Sony Mobile Communications (USA) Inc., Sony Mobile Communications AB, Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1, # 2 Exhibit 2, # 3 Text of Proposed Order)(Sostek, Bruce)
Both (WILN:Nasdaq)/(WIN:TSX)have now surpassed the 100 Day MA.
Hopefully, some follow-up progress to be announced at the (4/18?) AGM?
All Claims of WiLAN's V-Chip Patent Upheld by USPTO
OTTAWA, CANADA--(Marketwire - April 10, 2012) - Wi-LAN Inc. ("WiLAN" or the "Company") (TSX:WIN)(NASDAQ:WILN) today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") has confirmed the validity of all the claims in WiLAN's US Patent No. 5,828,402 (the "402 Patent") along with more than 30 new claims. The USPTO ruling signals that the 402 Patent re-examination proceedings are at an end.
"This ruling confirms the validity of our fundamental 402 or V-Chip Patent, and enables our licensing activity to continue with the unlicensed portion of the market, which is significant," said Jim Skippen, President & CEO. "Millions of V-Chip-enabled TVs and digital TV receivers are sold each year and are already licensed under WiLAN's V-Chip technology. This ruling also grants more than 30 new claims, which further demonstrates the quality of the patents that WiLAN licenses as part of its major licensing program."
Added Skippen, "The 402 Patent is the second important WiLAN patent to successfully undergo the re-examination process, which I believe speaks to the thoroughness we apply in selecting high quality patents to include in our growing portfolio."
An analysis of an oversold, undervalued firm in a rapidly growing industry.
Courtesy of Whaler on SH...
Written by Lance Fraser on Sunday, April 01, 2012
http://www.dayonbay.ca/index.php/technology/buy-winning.html
DayOnBay.ca is a student owned website targeted towards Canadian undergraduate business students interested in pursuing a career in finance. DayOnBay.ca strives to be a one-stop shop for Canadian business students who wish to learn more about careers such as Investment Banking, Sales & Trading, Private Equity, and other professions in finance. DayOnBay.ca has three distinct yet complementary content areas: current business news, careers in finance content, and news regarding student-run finance initiatives from across Canada.
An analysis of an oversold, undervalued firm in a rapidly growing industry.
Patent licensing is a hostile and litigation driven industry. Most companies involved in it are not actually in the patent industry, but are forced to defend their products with patent assets. Even with the litigation cost, patent licensing can be a very profitable and high margin business model. WiLAN (TSX:WIN, NASD:WILN) has been using this business model to grow at a CAGR of 118% since 2006, yet the stock is still undervalued.
Company Overview
WiLAN, founded in 1992, was originally focused on commercializing low cost, high speed networking technology. In 2006, realizing the value of its intellectual property, WiLAN chose to focus on developing, protecting and monetizing patents. At this time, WiLAN appointed a new CEO, Jim Skippen, who has 25 years’ experience in patent licensing and was named the 2011 Canadian Tech Executive of the Year. Since 2006, he has grown net cash from $1-222mm, market cap from $25-700mm and the patent portfolio from 20-3000 patents. Patent growth is done through internal R&D and the company generates revenue by licensing use of these patents or filing litigation against companies that illegally use protected technology. To date, over 250 companies have licensed WiLAN’s technology that includes 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, DSL, WiMax, TV reception, 4G/LTE and next generation technology.
Industry Outlook
As the North American economy shifts from a manufacturing-based to a knowledge-based economy, intellectual property rights are becoming increasingly important. Currently, Amazon, Apple, RIM, Samsung, Sony, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Oracle, LG, HTC, Google, Ericsson, Facebook, IBM and numerous other technology companies are involved in unprecedented patent litigation regarding their products. A specific example is the recent litigation launched by Yahoo against Facebook regarding social media patents. Facebook has responded by acquiring 750 patents from IBM and this litigation is sure to be a long, costly affair for both companies. These law suits have caused an increase in patent acquisitions in both proactive and defensive measures, increasing the value of technology patents. Recent examples of these law suits include the $4.5B Nortel patent auction and the over $600mm patent settlement between Apple and Nokia. In the technology industry in general, strong data growth is forecasted for the next 5 years, driven by smartphone growth (see Figure 2). This growth will drive sales in related industries including patent licensing. Additionally, increased global competition in this space between Apple, Android Manufacturers, Nokia and RIM promises to limit the bargaining power of any one company.
Microeconomic Outlook
Since 2006, WiLAN has increased net cash from $1-222mm. This provides the company with the financial strength needed to sustain operations with limited risk. This amount of cash ensures that WiLAN will not experience cash flow troubles even given long legal fights. WiLAN has strong, experienced management focused on shareholder return. The recent appointment of COO Michael Vladescu provides negotiation experience and expertise, especially with Nokia as Vladescu managed successful negations between MOSAID and Nokia in the past (Source: CIBC World Markets). Management has made it clear that they are willing to use debt financing for major acquisitions as opposed to equity financing, which would dilute shareholder value. In addition, they doubled their dividend this year to $0.10, a 2.3% yield, and announced a share buyback program of over $50mm. That management has been willing to grow the patent portfolio, as mentioned before, through both acquisitions and R&D shows a strong understanding of theinvestment needed to stay relevant in the technology sector. Additionally, the currently held patents in next generation Wi-Fi technology suggests the willingness of management to hold assets that may not generate revenue for many years but are necessary for future patent licensing success.
WiLAN has attractive guaranteed signed revenue of $421mm over the next 3-5 years and an additional $578mm of revenue in various stages of negotiation or litigation. From these negotiations, they also have over 20 cash offers on the table that they could sign at any point. The willingness and financial ability of management to push licensees to maximize the value of these deals shows the strength of the company.
Figure 3: Current and Future Revenue
Catalysts
WiLAN’s ability to continue to sign ‘big-name’ clients to long term deals will dictate much of their future revenue growth. Recently, they have been able to sign large deals with Intel, Motorola and Samsung. They have also launched recent litigation against RIM and Apple. If they can continue to sign these large names, it should ensure the negotiation process with other patent infringers is shorter and less costly. Their ability to succeed in current litigation worth over $245mm will also contribute to future revenue.
In addition to these current catalysts, WiLAN’s ability to expand its current lines of revenue will drive growth. They currently have over 30 patent families that do not generate any revenue and recently acquired 3-4 new TV patent families that are believed to have significant upside. The company that previously owned these patents only pursued licensing deals with two of the many manufacturers. Furthermore, WiLAN recently opened a subsidiary Gladios IP that acts as a brokerage and licenses patents on behalf of companies who do not have the resources to monetize their own patents. This subsidiary has currently signed 7 agreements with companies and has another 10-20 in the pipeline.
Risks
Major external risks can negatively affect WiLAN’s growth in the future. Firstly, political risks of changes in patent laws could change the method of attaining and licensing patents. This would cause WiLAN to devote significant resources to changing their patent business to counteract political landscape changes. In addition, WiLAN may find it difficult to negotiate with large technology companies because they have more financial and human capital resources to fight any patent war with WiLAN. This will make it difficult for WiLAN to fight some high profile cases.
Furthermore, WiLAN’s patents can be found to be invalid or unenforceable in the long term. There is a risk that patents that were previously profitable for WiLAN are no longer able to generate revenue. This could be because other companies use their resources to find better patent defenses for their products. The most significant inherent risk of WiLAN is their volatile revenue stream. Due to the litigation aspect of their business, they could go a significant period of time with no growth in revenue because all of their new streams of revenue were through litigation or negotiation of current patents. In this case, the market would likely over sell the stock significantly.
Valuation
Due to the nature of WiLAN’s business, it is not appropriate to value the company in comparison to other technology software companies. In addition, from the approximately six North American public comparable patent companies, three are not profitable and one is very volatile because it recently issued its IPO. The numbers of this industry also did not yield valuable comparables and therefore a comparable valuation method has not been employed.
Based on management forecasts, a more effective way to value the stock is according to earnings growth, using a conservative price/earnings forecast of 11.0x (WiLAN’s current multiple) and their estimated 2013 forward earnings per share of $0.69. The P/E estimate of 11.0x is conservative given that their 5 year BEst P/E ratio average is 18.7x and median is 14.0x. A sensitivity analysis of this data is shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4: Sensitivity Analysis
This price target of $7.59 is an implied return of 48.6% based on the March 29, 2012 closing price of $5.17. This is a conservative estimate compared to analysts’ estimates with their consensus at $8.72 (Figure 5). Explanations of why the stock is not trading in line with this forecast include WiLAN’s loss in a lawsuit against LG, their inability to complete the MOSAID merger, and lower than forecasted Q4 results.
Figure 5: Analyst Expectations
Conclusion
With a major driver of WiLAN’s growth being their ability, or inability, to succeed in current and future litigation and negotiation, revenue is uncertain and estimates can be very volatile. However, WiLAN does not include any possible revenue from litigation in their forecasts which reaffirms how conservative the DayOnBay estimate is. Even acknowledging the risks of the business model, the NAV model and forecasted growth without litigation drives the consensus ‘buy’ rating on this stock. I would adopt a long position in this stock and consider a straddle option strategy coming into earnings reports to benefit from the revenue volatility.
And on the NUNCHI front...
"...I tried to offer Fred an opportunity to say something beyond we're still working on it, but he didn't take the bait for whatever reason."
"To me it comes down to this... we'll know that Nunchi has value once they sell the idea/technology to someone and that customer or partner is announced. But given that they are "actively pursuing potential licensees and development partners", how long should we wait before it is safe to assume that Nunchi was/is essentially vaporware with really no value at all?"
"I'm afraid that I'm of this assumption right now, however I think most would agree that if we hear nothing significant before year-end, Nunchi will have proven itself worthless"
- Sinkman
"BTW, I am currently working on losing weight. While I have not yet reached my targeted goals, I can report that I've lost 12 pounds and expect to complete my dieting efforts sometime in the 3rd quarter. I will announce more details then."
EDIG Management/Board of Directors have always embarrassed us.
I've never had any respect for EDIG Management/BOD (with the possible exception of my jaded admiration for Robert Putnam's masterful "slickness"), but I soon lost any fondness for RP once he failed to meet his 60 day (2/15/2011) deadline for exercising his boatload of options.
I simply just "believed" in the patents, but even that came to a painful halt once I lost faith in Duane Morris' intentions.
It became obvious that the "big" defendants in both the Texas settlements and the Colorado Pre-Decision settlements had all settled with miniscule "with prejudice" amounts, and the "little" defendants had all settled with downright embarrassing "without prejudice" amounts.
It's sad to see the remaining shareholders holding onto the rails at $0.03-$0.04 for...
(1)...NUNCHI Vaporware.(this has now become downright laughable)
(2)...The USPTO Decision (to soon morph into a "non-decision", no doubt)
(3)...Round III (with Apple of course)
While knowing all too well that Jerry Polis (the emperor) has no clothes (er..uh..shares), it's difficult to pity the gangleaders who still defend the 18+ year Management/BOD who've squandered hundreds of millions of shareholder dollars keeping this ship of fools afloat, while still running off with the JABRA booty.
And for 12 years,I was right there on deck with them all.
FF says,"Nunchi is a technology development in progress." (LQTMS)
My questions:
Regarding Nunchi and related technology development, what is the understood sense of urgency for completion? By this I mean that while it is critical for all software and components to work well together, meet customer requirements, and be error-free... there must be some timeframe by which you feel it should be ready for market. Since you recently presented privately to potential partners during CES in January, is it safe to assume that basic development is 90-95% complete? How would you characterize the current state of progress? Are there any on-going discussions or negotiations with anyone at this point? Are there any plans yet to update shareholders and the general public regarding Nunchi progress during the next quarter (Apr-Jun) or before the end of the year?
Fred's answer:
Thank you for your inquiry. Nunchi is a technology development in progress. As such, we can seek licensing customers and development partners at any time. As I've indicated on multiple occasions, we are actively pursuing potential licensees and development partners. Any information regarding our progress will be released through official Company communications.
- Sinkman
Kool...
I would suspect that the vast majority of shareholders are aware of management's shortcomings over the past decade.
In hindsight, initiating intellectual property litigation on patent '774 in 1996 rather than in 2006 would have likely been the most expeditious and profitable alternative.
It is known by only a handful on this board that prior to 1996, had the company proactively discovered an easily repairable technical glitch with their (1993/1994) 10,000+ unit rollout of their first "portable handheld digital device using removeable flash memory"('774), it "may" have been a paradigm shift for both the industry and e.Digital shareholders.
For whatever reason, and in spite of sufficient funding to later litigate the construction claims of '774, management elected to sit it out while other companies profited from e.Digital's patent. It was only when it was too late, under the stewardship of Jim Collier, that the company pursued a fool's mission of again attempting to manufacture and market their own portable handheld digital device.
Later, and again instead of initiating patent litigation on '774, management chose to devise a new business model executed on the notion that another patent (MicroOS) would be the most expeditious conduit with which to profit from their intellectual property. The pollyanna notion of "our enemies becoming our partners" was to become more meaningful as future devices became more robust.
Worth a read.....
Re: 8/4/2011 post on LG by "ronran"... news this morning confirms...
in response to 8/4/2011 post on LG by "ronran" (an attorney on this board) is worth a re-read by jtdiii
posted on Mar 08, 12 08:47AM Use the IP Check tool [?]
7:14AM Wi-LAN provides litigation update; court ruled that LG did not infringe the patent on a claim construction issue and it granted LG's motion for summary judgment (WILN) 5.07 : In January 2010, WiLAN sued LG Electronics, Inc. and LG Electronics U.S.A. for infringement of WiLAN's V-Chip patent in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York. In 2011, LG moved for summary judgment on numerous non-infringement and invalidity defenses as well as other affirmative defenses. On March 7, 2012, U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan adopted most of the August 1, 2011 recommendations of U.S. Magistrate Judge Peck and issued a ruling in this case. The court ruled that LG did not infringe the patent on a claim construction issue and it granted LG's motion for summary judgment. The ruling is limited to only LG products with respect to patent infringement. It does not apply to the validity of the patent nor does it make any determinations regarding validity of the patent. The ruling does not affect WiLAN's existing license agreements or V-Chip licensing program. The Company is further studying Judge Kaplan's ruling and expects to file an appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
------------------------------------------------------------
I'm glad to see this PR, which confirms what Mr. Skippen stated in the conference call that was the subject of my prior post. The bottom line is that the validity of the patent is not affected, and the ruling applies only to LG --- plus, my recollection from the prior conference call is that revenues from LG are a relatively small part of WILN's overall package.
Naturally, all of us would have preferred to see the Judge reverse the recommendation of the magistrate, but realistically, that occurs in only a very small percentage of cases. The fact of the matter is that no lawyer or company wins every case, and this is one of those times that WILN is just going to be required to move forward on the hand it has been dealt, which, as indicated above, will likely be an appeal.
The less-than-good news is that there will now be a delay, probably the better part of a year or perhaps more, for the appeal process to take place. The good news, as Mr. Skippen previously related, is that, in the interim, legal expenses for the LG case will be only a fraction of what would otherwise be incurred.
In summary, this is a setback, but by no means is it a major defeat for WILN in any kind of overall sense. My expectation is that it will be initially blown out of proportion by investors, so that the stock price will suffer to some degree in the short term. However, assuming WILN can start to perform again by generating new licensing deals and developing some of its other new avenues, the longer term still looks bright.
Best wishes to all.
http://agoracom.com/ir/wilan/forums/discussion/topics/522924-8-4-2011-post-on-lg-by-ronran-an-attorney-on-this-board-is-worth-a-re-read/messages/1656395#message
WiLAN generates record revenue/earnings+20% dividend increase.
WiLAN Reports Fiscal Year 2011 Financial Results
Company generates record revenue and earnings Company announces 20% dividend increase
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
OTTAWA, CANADA--(Marketwire - March 7, 2012) - Wi-LAN Inc. ("WiLAN" or the "Company") (TSX:WIN)(NASDAQ:WILN) today announced financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011. All financial information in this press release is reported in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise indicated.
Fiscal Year 2011 Highlights
• Record revenues of $105.8 million, an increase of 115% as compared to $49.2 million in the twelve month period ended December 31, 2010.
• Record adjusted earnings* of $71.5 million, or 58 cents per share, as compared to adjusted earnings of $4.8 million, or 5 cents per share, in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010.
• Record GAAP earnings of $31.8 million, or 26 cents per share on a basic level, as compared to a GAAP loss of $21.6 million, or 21 cents per share on a basic level, in the same period last year.
• Signed licenses with 19 companies, including Intel Corporation, Broadcom Corporation, and Motorola Mobility, bringing the total number of companies licensed to 258.
• Signed a renewal license agreement with Cisco Systems.
• Subsidiary, Gladios IP, signed licensing partnerships with six organizations.
• More than doubled the Company's patent portfolio to over 3,000 issued and pending patents.
• Listed its shares on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on June 1, 2011.
• Returned $13.5 million to shareholders in share buyback and dividend payments.
• Generated $57.1 million in cash from operations; held cash and cash equivalents and short- term investments of $433.7 million at year end.
• Doubled annual dividend to CDN
.10 per common share in February 2011.
"Fiscal 2011 was a defining year for WiLAN. Achievements across all areas of our business launched WiLAN into a new league," said Jim Skippen, President & CEO.
"License agreements signed during the year contributed to the more than doubling of our revenues, to over $105 million, and positioned the Company to generate significant future revenues. Strategic patent acquisitions completed during the year more than doubled the size of our patent portfolio," added Skippen.
Skippen continued, "With our large and valuable patent portfolio, expert team, significant backlog and very strong financial position, we are well positioned to deliver strong revenue and earnings in the years to come."
It's remarkable that none of the "verifiable" value that springs from this board EVER finds it's way to the "other" venue.
The posts subitted by many here might be considered by open minded onlookers as some of the best "true" due diligence accomplished to date.
The 2 contrasting track records speak for themselves.
And yet those "others" who we know are visiting (and posting here), never think this newfound information is ever worthy of sharing "elsewhere".
That said, I'm glad to see present stockholders enjoying this unexplained rise in share price (regardless of the anemic volume).
Funny that ...
When the share price goes down,it's always "those darn MMs"
When the share price goes up,it's always "somebody knows something".
Hopefully, even a positive USPTO decision will not be as newly "limiting" for further litigation as it appears now.
nicmar...
I assume your post was "tonque in cheek" regarding your referral to my electing to keep both my phone number and actual non-screen name anonymous on this message board.
WiLAN and IDCC have different internal litigation structures.
For right now, all I care about is LG and Nokia.
I think that the LG decision (Judge Kaplan overturning the initial magistrate judge's "ruling") will come about shortly as soon as the USPTO ruling is finalized..(it has been going on for 2 years now which is normal for the USPTO)
There "may" be a reason as to why the 'conference' in the NY Court case (LG)was not rescheduled from the original 1/15/2012(?) date. The request for the conference came from Judge Kaplan just 2 weeks before Christmas, and the 1/15/2012(?) date was hardly sufficient notice for the actual assigned trial attorneys...(JMHO)..Who knows?.
I also believe that the Nokia renewal will be forthcoming soon, and that WiLAN "could" have agreed to a lesser renewal had they wanted to. (JMHO)
The pending cases with Apple, etal (and RIM) may take time, but I believe that the WiLAN USA entity (run by Matt Pasulka in Miami, formerly VP, Litigation in Ottawa) may be a much faster process (the RIM litigation in Florida) than that which litigants are experencing NOW in East Texas (no longer the "rocket docket").
Finally, all of WiLAN's agreements came about through "settlements". The defendants don't want to prolong litigation (and perhaps lose), anymore than WiLAN does.
Thsi final point mitigates the relevance of your post about defendants thinking they will "save money" by prolonging endless litigation, but I suppose the opposite can be argued as well
All JMHO...
jtdiii
XXXX XXXXXX
FWIW/FYI...My email to Tyler Burns. (jtdiii)
To Tyler Burns..
I have been a "substantial" WiLAN (WILN:Nasdaq) Investor since early May 2011. One of the more positive and noteworthy informal conference calls by Jim Skippen occurred back in August of 2011 at The Cannacord Conference...
Please feel free to compare the actual transcript with my summations below, but I feel reasonably confident that the following ten (10) points Jim Skippen made on the conference call are "directionally" accurate.
(1)...Our patent portfolio has been cherry picked, we only get the wheat and not the chaff.
(2)...We have a much larger % usage of valuable patents in the portfolio than is typical
(3)...We have exactly as many good patents as you would find in the average portfolio.
(4)...Our deepest and strongest portfolio for essential patents is 4G/LTE. We looked closely at the Nortel patents and we have more than twice as many 4G patents as Nortel did.
(5)...We have more than 10 "patent families" that are essential to practicing LTE.
(6)...Future growth is coming from 4G in the future and we haven't even started deploying the patents.
(7)...We've been given advice about selling the LTE like IDCC is doing, but we haven't been talking much about it been keeping it quiet and building up the portfolio.
(8)...There are many licensing programs that we believe we can layer on our current revenue.
(9)...We are very excited about prospects in the LTE space, we have never had such a powerful portfolio.
(10)...If we could license the patents that we are trying to license right now for the typical royalties, we would have $1.3B in additional revenue that we can generate incrementally over what we've got, and it will continue to grow revenue steadily
Tyler, I am painfully aware of both the share price and P/E erosion since that wonderful day in August (just 6 months ago), and I am not emailing you to belabor the disastrous (yet hopefully temporary) consequences of the Mosaid takeover and the LG setback.
That said, I have a number of reasonable questions to which I would greatly appreciate thoughtful answers.
(A)... What response do you have to the above "declarations" that Mr. Skippen made last August ( at The Cannacord Conference) ?
(B) ...Obviously, WiLAN is "grossly underachieving" it's own patent "peer group" in terms of P/E ratio..To what do you attribute this?
(C)...It has been my own personal observation that the level of questions posed to Mr. Skippen by Analysts attending the latest WiLAN Earnings Conference Calls could be characterized as "enabling milquetoast softballs", based on my frequent monitoring of earnings conference calls of other public companies. To what do you attribute this?
(D)...In Mr. Skippen's latest public speaking engagement, he began to characterize WiLAN's future revenues as "lumpy", a term that he "used to use" in characterizing the revenue model of others in our peer group. What explanation do you give for this change in attitude?
(E)...It has been over a year now since WiLAN has announced a major settlement, and the shareholders' anticipation of the Nokia renewal is now beginning to "grow hair on it". Since the Nokia agreement expired on 12/31/2011(?), what comments do you have as to the reasons for this delay. Isn't such a delay a "material event"?
(F)...With the latest revelations in the "White Space" arena, why hasn't WiLAN's IR/PR entities taken a more proactive role in informing the public of WiLAN's anticipated participation in this critically important area?
(G)...The recent dearth of volume (together with the eroding share price) would indicate that the upcoming earnings conference call will be a dismal one. That said, the analysts covering WiLAN continue to project aggressive targets for the shareprice. Although the price targets have been mitigated somewhat of late, the targets are "still" substantially above the current share price. How do you explain the obvious disconnect between the retail shareholders' "unrest" with the ongoing positive outlooks of the analysts?
(H)...How do you access WiLAN's threshold for determining the measure of a "material event" with those of other public companies in WiLAN's peer group? Given that WiLAN hasn't announced any settlements in over a year, it is becoming difficult for a "rational" investor to fathom that there has been a complete absence of settlements regardless of their scope.
(I)...WiLAN's recent filing in Florida against RIM seemed long overdue. Was this accelerated due to RIM's recent BOD/Management changes?
(J)...Please comment on the genesis of WiLAN USA, and for what specific purpose was this development initiated?
(K)...How do you explain the recent downward pressure on the share price?
Tyler, I could easily come up with more questions, many of which you would be unable and/or unwilling to answer. I also realize that the above (A-K) questions may also fall into that category.
I'm reasonably certain that the upcoming "dividend increase announcement" has already been baked into the shareprice. If that topic proves to be "the best part" of the conference call, then the shareprice will continue it's downward pressure....
There are numerous retail shareholders who have been WiLAN investors for a far longer period than myself. I can't begin to imagine their justifiable angst. Given that the retail investor is still the dominant aggregate shareholder, the mood has evolved into the "pitchforks and torches" stage.
WiLAN would appear to have just about everything going for it...(1) a constant guaranteed income, (2) $200 million in cash, (3) No debt , (4) A remarkably high employee to revenue ratio, (5) A low P/E ratio (6) Canada'a CEO of the Year , and most importantly (7)...the above ten (10) "quotes" from WiLAN CEO Jim Skippen at The Cannacord Conference last August....
Tyler, it's time for WiLAN to walk the walk. The silence is deafening. I remain hopeful that WiLAN's recent BOD "Strategy Session" will result in some forthcoming positive news.
At your earliest convenience, please respond via email and/or phone at XXX-XXX-XXXX
Best Regards
XXXX XXXXXX (jtdiii)
Flash Being Phased Out From Mobile Devices (my bolding)
http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1083764--steve-jobs-wins-flash-being-phased-out-from-mobile-devices?bn=1
Steve Jobs Wins: Flash being phased out from mobile devices
Published On Wed Nov 9 2011
Jobs, the late founder of Apple, famously vowed its devices would never use the Flash programs.
Adobe Inc. is phasing out its popular video- and interactivity-enabling plug-in for mobile devices in order to focus on desktop-based upgrades, the software maker announced on Wednesday.
This represents a major victory for advocates of HTML5, the latest iteration of the web programming standard, based on publicly shared, not privately owned, code.
Adobe also announced a “restructuring of resources,” including the loss of 100 jobs at its Ottawa offices, part of 750 job cuts in North America and Europe, at its Fourth Quarter results meeting on Monday.
Following the upcoming release of Flash 11.1, Adobe, “will no longer adapt Flash Player for mobile devices to new browser, OS version or device configurations,” wrote Danny Winokur, Adobe vice president and general manager of interactive development, on the Flash blog.
Jobs, the late founder of Apple, famously vowed its devices would never accept Flash plug-ins.
Shortly after introducing the iPad last year, Jobs spelled out his antipathy in an open letter.
“Adobe has characterized our decision as being primarily business driven — they say we want to protect our App Store — but in reality it is based on technology issues,” Jobs wrote. “Adobe claims that we are a closed system, and that Flash is open, but in fact the opposite is true.”
As well, he wrote, Flash is the main reason Mac computers crash, is a drain on batteries and was designed for traditional desktop computers, not touchscreens.
“The mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards — all areas where Flash falls short,” wrote Jobs.
“Flash was invented in an era when the Internet was much less mature than it is now,” says London, Ont. independent tech analyst Carmi Levy. “Flash allowed designers to create rich, immersive web experiences.”
It is “a relic of the pre-iPhone, pre-tablet Internet,” he adds. RIM established close ties with Adobe Flash during the development of its PlayBook tablet.
In a pre-release review of the PlayBook in April, Wired magazine found that Flash-based games bogged down or crashed the browser. RIM made several changes prior to shipping its tablet, but the problems underlined the difficulties many mobile platforms have encountered with Adobe’s plug-in.
“Unfortunately for RIM, one of the key tech pillars it built its products on is no longer valid,” says Levy. “It’s a lesson to all tech CEOs, to always look forward, not backward.”Last year, Dean Hachamovitch, general manager of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, declared in a blog post that HTML5 is “the future of the web,” because it allows video to run without separate plug-ins.
Microsoft is currently developing and testing Windows 8, a significant upgrade to its operating system. It allows users to choose between tablet-style touch and traditional keyboard-and-mouse browsing.
According to posts on Microsoft developer blogs, the accompanying upgrade to Internet Explorer is built entirely around HTML5, so that it can live comfortably on both mobile and desktop devices.
Tech industry observers believe these moves also spell the end for Silverlight, Microsoft’s answer to Flash, for desktop applications. It appears likely that Microsoft will abandon the plug-in once it releases Silverlight 5 later this month.
In the rapidly accelerating transition to HTML5-based browsing, consumers will get a smoother, faster online experience. But, behind the scenes, this will affect businesses that rely on video.
For example, Netflix, which uses Silverlight to enable streaming video, has been looking at alternatives to traditional plug-ins for the last 12 months. Advertisers and news organizations who built their multimedia offerings on Flash will also need to adapt.
The demise of Flash is creating new opportunities for developers everywhere, concludes Levy, because HTML5 code is available to anyone, it needs no extras, and works across all operating systems, opening up to a wide audience.As Levy says, “The Internet grew up just a little more because of this.”
"iiidtj" is NOT jtdiii...eom.
FWIW..Apple and Google in talks with InterDigital.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-20/google-said-to-be-among-companies-considering-interdigital-bid.html
FWIW.per Dev Bhangui.WiLAN to benefit from IDCC action?
Dev Bhangui
InterDigital Valuation Inspires Higher Multiples for Patent holders like WiLAN
? Yesterday Wi-LAN jumped 8-9% on the news that Interdigital (IDCC) is up for sale. IDCC jumped from ~US$41.00 to ~US$53.00 at the open.
? IDCC will be represented by EverCore, investment bankers known for fetching the highest multiples for their clients, based on recent deals. Street grapevine chatter has it that Google may be looking at IDCC after losing in Nortel patent auction.
? With Apple versus HTC patents fight heating up and Eric Schmidt backing up HTC, GOOG will need 4G patents horsepower to help protect all its customers and users of Android OS.
? We believe Wi-LAN will continue to be in demand as a stock and believe that U.S. brokerages will launch coverage in the near term with an elevated target price. The street also has increasing confidence in WIN management execution capability based on several recent high profile settlements.
? The stock is currently sitting at $8.36 (WIN-TSX) and US$8.75 (WILN-NASDAQ). Based on current IDCC valuation and multiples, WIN should be trading at $13+ levels.
? While the stock may be in a temporary news lull, we do expect WIN to be newsbound beyond summer and expect enough tailwinds to warrant us looking at raising our target price. We currently have a Strong Buy recommendation and $10.00 per share target price.