I don't want to turn this thread to a RMBS discussion forum, I brought up other IP companies as examples since I have been relatively successful at making money from such and add to my stable of IP type companies from time to time (IDCC was the last). It takes quite a lot of time to vet out what IP is owned by whom and what it is worth, and more importantly, try and understand what the market may think such IP is worth. If you have not looked at the bu$$ recently, you may want to look again since I think you are under the impression that they have not used the foot print they created to advance their technology. the bu$$ is spending between $25 to $30 MM a year on R&D as compared to a little over a million by WAVC in the last four quarters.
Since I make a living in the IP field I have developed a short set of questions to which I attempt to get answers, I have long ago recognized that correct and meaningful answers to all these queries is fantasy, so I accept the fact that part of the decision is speculation, and thus the prior history of management and the company becomes an important part in the investment decision making process. Profligate use of public money without showing results for years is often a big starting minus. These questions are specifically:
1. Does it work?
2. Is it protectable and what is the IP ownership
3. Is there a demonstrated predecessor need?
4. Is it sufficiently better than alternatives? (what I termed "twice as good at half the price")
5. Will it be used?
6. Are there potentially better future competitive alternatives?
I actually learned of WAVX in its infancy in 1987/8 or so when a mutual acquaintance introduced me to Sprague in order to review a display technology I was working on (unfortunately, it did not meet the criterion "twice as good at half the price", and after spending 15 minutes on that, the other two hours were spent on WAVX' plans). At that time, Sprague was obsessed with the potential of micropayments for I-net information bits. The I-net however went after the model of "numbers of eye balls" rather than payments for services, and corrupted the potential consumer with free access to essentially all information. I don't know when security issues and the Embassy suite per se finally became the new cornerstone since I have not followed WAVX since early 2000. In some prior work I run into some of the encryption patents, but they did not impress me at the time as critical to consumer computing products, since they all involved, at least to this untrained eye, third parties surrogates (that held in essence the encryption keys as well as archives of encrypted secure documents for the business customer)
The recent explosion in volume, of course, redrew my attention to that fallen angel, so I came to this board in the hope of getting a fast education, however, most of what I get is acrimonious snippets and intellectual stinginess on the part of most. Though few generous souls did volunteer important information on WAVX IP.
I think that an intelligent approach would divide the issue of computer security into the business and consumer world, I doubt the same solutions would work for both. If there is an interest in a cogent discussion of these six queries, I'll be happy to continue through challenging accepted views, to try and elucidate the answers. I have no interest whatsoever in cyber quibbling, though, I had my share of that during the hey days of fighting the floorless bandits.
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