ASM - KOP IV AND FINAL
Conversations with Brian Kiernan and Harry Campagna after the meeting!
BK - In a conversation about 802 products and whether they were a part of the 1.2 billion chart, he stated that there are 2 products. One of the products merges into the IP for the terminal and will help drive licensing. The 802.11 product is a stand alone and will provide separate revenue but is a very small percentage at this point in time of the chart (200 million ?). The real monster of the market is the 3G cell phone market which is probably one of the largest, if not the largest, out there.
HG - I asked would we have trouble collecting on IP in China? He replied, that is a difficult question. There was recently a headline about a 6 billion sale in China by a US manufacturer. I have a very large rolladex and got busy and found out that this company had to provide 6 times as much machinery as warrented in the deal to get the business so essentially it became a lost leader for them - not a profit.
Poison Pill - the poison pill was established sometime in 1999 in the 250 dollar range as a result of quite a few things happening back at that time. It is under review right now and the board will take a look at it in light of our current strengths and our future potential in the market. I asked the same question that I asked of him last year - whether it would be easy for a potential suitor to get around it. He again stated that I can show the research that I have on my desk and it will not be a picnic for anybody to try and do so and very likely not to succeed.
On a Buyout - we would certainly evaluate a buyout if it was one for fair value. After all, I am the fifth largest stockholder in this company counting all institutions, mutual funds etc. It would be to my great advantage to entertain such a buyout but, I repeat, no one will ever succeed in a buyout if it is not one of fair value for all shareholders. Ain't gonna happen!!
I was interested in finding out more about the man who took his dry cleaning dispute to the Supreme Court of the United States. This is what he told me. He had a patent on a unique color that was providing a very nice living to him for 30 years. This color was good for years and would not fade. One or more thieves (a la Nokia) came in with knockoffs that were of inferior quality that lasted 6 months and undercut him in price. He said, it wasn't right and I was not going to accept anything but full restitution. And, as you know, he went to the Supreme Court and won his suit.
It was no different when ERICY took advantage of IDCC over a decade ago. Our board did not want to fight saying that we were too small to take them on. Those people had our shareholders money and it belongs to us! We are not running a charitable institution here. HC also said, it is the right thing to do
(at last years ASM you may recall that HC told me that ERICY hated his guts for his aggressive posture). He said that we would not be standing here today if we did not take that course of action!
My Measure of The Man -
I know there are many that are critical of HC, for whatever reason. But, I believe that he deserves the lion's share of credit for providing the foundation for where we are today. He provided his personal money to keep a bankrupt IDCC afloat. His leadership in leading the fights against Motorola (although flawed), ERICY, and Nokia have provided the cash and respect for our IPR which is now the success upon which you and I are building our dreams. Yes, this company is personal to HC. If I did what he did, I think it would be personal to me too. That aside, my wife and I can sleep well at night knowing that there is a moat around the IDCC castle with a ferocious junkyard bulldog on the drawbridge. With UB executing, you can count on HC covering his back. I believe this team will get us to the Princeton 50 and the Houston 100 very soon.
I am appreciative of all your kind remarks about my reporting but, believe me, your contributions are of more substantive value and have kept me long and strong in this stock. In the end, it is about teamwork. Each member provides the expertise that is his/her strength. I was a walk-on on Joe Paterno's team in 1960 (unsuccessfully I might add) and one of the things that he always preached was "give me a team of lesser talented players who play to the optimum as a team and I will beat a team that has superior talent that does not play well as a team". I think we have the kind of team that plays very well together.
Signing off for now!
AI
