DSS Inc (DSS)

[coolerheadsprevail]

So using some high level numbers for Novell, even say on $900 million in revenue and 10% of that. At a RR of 4% that is $3.6 million in revenue to DSS. He'll even at 5% of total revenues that is $1.8 million. These numbers are not immaterial to a company like DSS which has lost money prior to the merger.

That is precisely the problem. As I have stated previously, although Novell is certainly not the goliath that FB is (with LNKD a notch below FB), Novell as an entity is exponentially larger than both JIVE and BVSN combined. This is why I was concerned when no 8-K was issued by DSS re: the Novell settlement.

DSS mgmt (via their email communication to Justin Giles as he reported in his most recent SA article) also confirmed that in their determination, the Novell settlement was not material enough to merit an 8-K based upon SEC regs -- and keep in mind that the Novell settlement was agreed to on 7/18/13, which means that 2.5 months of royalties will hit in Q3, for which DSS is asserting this amount to be immaterial for the quarter.

According to your numbers, if only 10% of Novell's revenues were on the table, annual royalties to Bascom would be ~$3.6M, with monthly being ~$300k and quarterly being ~$900k. And, as you observed, with only the legacy business providing ongoing operating results, the only other contributors to earnings at ths time are the piddly royalty streams from JIVE and BVSN, which have been shown to be immaterial. As such, a settlement agreement that equates to $300k/mo or $900k/qtr or $3.6M per year for a company like DSS at this time is ABSOLUTELY MATERIAL.

Therefore, the only conclusion I can draw at this time (again, all speculation based upon very limited actual data points) is that the infringing revenue base for Novell must logically be much less than 10%.

But again, the prizes here are -- and have ALWAYS been -- FB and LNKD (with Salesforce again once the suit is re-filed)...