Mickey--I have hesitated to reply to your questions about the 8K because I don't want to come across as someone who is trying to lecture you on what you should do. As you may remember, I have followed this stock for too long. Because of that, I recall your posts from the run up in 1999 and how you were relying on the Goldberg statements about "engine and transmission" and "hockey stick" and maybe made some investment decisions on how those statements supported your view or hope that the stock should go to the moon. There is a common danger from our human nature, not only in the realm of investments, but in life in general, for people to have a hope or make a conclusion first and then take people's statements in too rosy a light because they badly want their hope to come true. In reality, however, those statements may not really support that person's conclusion or hope. Think about our days in high school. Maybe we had a crush on a girl and believed we were in love. The girl knew it but didn't have the same feelings. In order not to hurt our feelings, she might say something nice. Because we had such a crush and so badly wanted to be in love with her, we'd take that statement and think that she was in love with us as well. Now our friends, who would be more objective, would try to tell us that she really wasn't in love with us but was just trying to be nice. Now we wouldn't want to believe our friends so we would come up with all of these reasons why she really was in love with us. Finally, of course, when we found out she was going steady with the high school quarterback, we'd really be hurt.
With regard to the 8K you keep posting about, I do not think that there is any reason to conclude that it means IDCC came to some sort of a firm deal with Nokia. IDCC could have released it for the reasons that Data posted. Also, remember that Judge Batts issued her injunction on Mar. 20. IDCC released the "substantial progress" 8K on March 24. IDCC very well may have wanted to release something to soften the likely impact of the Batts ruling on IDCC's share price. Or maybe they thought they had an agreement with Nokia and Nokia pulled out after the Batts decision. Also, remember Merritt's later statement that Nokia had made them an offer of the type that the company would have accepted in the past. Perhaps Nokia had never offered anything in the past and by making an offer to IDCC, IDCC took the view that they and Nokia had made substantial progress in their negotiations. You see, one can make a number of conclusions from that statement. I certainly have not concluded from that statement that IDCC and Nokia had reached a settlement of any sort. In fact, my conclusion would be the contrary. And, in my opinion as a lawyer, I don't think that 8K exposed them to any liabilty.
With that said, I believe that Nokia and IDCC will settle. In my view, it probably will be on the eve of the beginning of the IDCC/Nokia trial at the ITC. I think Judge Luckhern will conduct a settlement discussion before then. Given all that Nokia has done to delay that proceeding already, I don't think that they will want to go the full route or do anything to further piss off the judge.
Mickey, I really do wish you well and it was good to see you post. Please, be careful. IMHO
AI
