QPRC Quest Patent Research Corporation (QB)

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Overview

Our principal operations include the development, acquisition, licensing and enforcement of intellectual property rights that are either owned or controlled by us or one of our wholly owned subsidiaries. We currently own, control or manage eight intellectual property portfolios, which principally consist of patent rights. As part of our intellectual property asset management activities and in the ordinary course of our business, it has been necessary for either us or the intellectual property owner who we represent to initiate, and it is likely to continue to be necessary to initiate patent infringement lawsuits and engage in patent infringement litigation. To date, we have not generated any significant revenues from our intellectual property rights.

We seek to generate revenue from three sources:

Because of the nature of our business transactions to date, we recognize revenues from licensing upon execution of a license agreement following settlement of litigation and not over the life of the patent. Thus, we would recognize revenue when we receive the license fee or settlement payment. Although we intend to seek to develop portfolios of intellectual property rights that provide us for a continuing stream of revenue, to date we have not been successful in doing so, and we cannot give you any assurance that we will be able to generate any significant revenue from licenses that provide a continuing stream of revenue. Thus, to the extent that we continue to generate cash from single payment licenses, our revenue can, and is likely to, vary significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year. Our gross profit from license fees reflects any royalties which we pay in connection with our license.

Fees generated in connection with the management of litigation are paid to us by one of the third-party funding source in support of the litigation seeking to enforce our intellectual property rights. Our agreement with the funding source provides that the funding source pays the litigation costs and provides that this funding source receives a percentage of the recovery, thus reducing our recovery in connection with any settlement of the litigation. As a result, in connection with litigation funded by the third party, we would, if the litigation is successful, receive fees both for managing the litigation and from a license of the intellectual property, which will be net of that portion of the recovery payable to the funding source. Our gross profit from management fees reflects payments to third party support services providers which we pay in connection with management of the licensing program.

To a lesser extent, we generate revenue from sale of packaging materials based on our TurtlePak ^TM technology. Our gross profit from sales reflects the cost of contract manufacturing and labor. We did not generate any revenue from the TurtlePak ^TM Portfolio other than from the sale of products using our technology.

In March 2016, we entered into two funding agreements whereby a third party agreed to provide funds to us to enable us to implement a structured licensing program, including litigation if necessary, for the power management/bus control portfolio, which is owned by our subsidiary Semcon IP, Inc., and the anchor structure portfolio, which is owned by Mariner IC, Inc. These portfolios are two of the portfolios we acquired from Intellectual Ventures Assets 16 LLC (“Intellectual Ventures”) in October 2015. We engaged counsel on a partial contingency basis in connection with a proposed patent infringement action relating to these portfolios.

Following the execution of the funding agreements and the engagement of counsel, in April 2016, (i) Semcon brought patent infringement suits in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against Huawei Technologies, MediaTek Inc., STMicroelectronics Inc., Texas Instruments Incorporated and ZTE Corporation, and (ii) Mariner IC brought patent infringement suits in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against MediaTek Inc., Texas Instruments Incorporated, LG Electronics, Inc., Toshiba Corporation, and Funai Electric Co., Ltd.

Pursuant to the terms of the funding agreements and the partial contingency agreements with counsel, we do not have any liability or obligations with respect to the costs associated with prosecuting the actions, and we do not receive any payments for any assistance which we may provide in connection with the litigation. Both the funding source and counsel will participate in any recovery in these lawsuits.

Results of Operations

Three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015

Revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2016 were approximately $159,000, an increase of approximately $43,000, or 38%, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2015, which were approximately $116,000. The increase in revenue was primarily due to an increase in management fees of approximately $65,000 relating to our services in support of mobile data portfolio litigation which is paid by the firm that is providing the funding for the litigation.

Operating expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2016 increased by approximately $231,000, or 108%, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2015. Our principal operating expense for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015 were management support services, which were approximately $154,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and approximately $17,800 for the three months ended March 31, 2015. The increase in management support services was primarily due to an increase in support services relating to the mobile data portfolio litigation.

Other income for the three months ended March 31, 2015 included $32,182, reflecting the gain on the settlement of an account payable for less than the amount previously accrued. We did not realize a gain on settlement in the comparable period of 2016. Other income reflects interest expense of $83,158 for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and $4,075 for the three months ended March 31, 2015. The increase in interest expense reflects the interest accrued on our note to United Wireless Holdings, Inc.

As a result of the foregoing, we realized net loss of approximately $371,000, or $0.001 per share (basic and diluted), for the three months ended March 31, 2016, compared to net loss of $73,000, or $0.000 per share (basic and diluted), for the three months ended March 31, 2015.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

At March 31, 2016, we had current assets of approximately $331,000, and current liabilities of approximately $1,661,796. Our current liabilities include $1,000,000 payment due to Intellectual Ventures on account of the purchase price of the patent portfolios we purchased from Intellectual Ventures and loans payable of $163,000 and accrued interest of $236,688 due to former directors and minority stockholders. Our agreement with United Wireless requires United Wireless to lend us the funds to make the payments to Intellectual Ventures. As of March 31, 2016, we have an accumulated deficit of approximately $14,800,000 and a negative working capital of approximately $1,330,000. Other than salary to our chief executive officer, we do not contemplate any other material operating expense in the near future other than normal general and administrative expenses, including expenses relating to our status as a public company filing reports with the SEC. 

We cannot assure you that we will be successful in generating future revenues, in obtaining additional debt or equity financing or that such additional debt or equity financing will be available on terms acceptable to us, if at all, or that we will be able to obtain any third party funding in connection with any of our intellectual property portfolios. We have no credit facilities.

We have an agreement with a funding source which is providing litigation financing in connection with our pending litigation relating to our mobile data portfolio, and we have two agreements with a second funding source which is providing litigation financing in connection with our pending litigation relating to our power management/bus control and anchor structure portfolios. We cannot predict the success of any pending or future litigation. Our obligations to United Wireless are not contingent upon the success of any litigation. If we fail to generate a sufficient recovery in these actions (net of any portion of any recovery payable to the funding source or our legal counsel) in a timely manner to enable us to pay United Wireless on the present loans and the additional loans which United Wireless has agreed to make to us, we would be in default under our agreements with United Wireless which could result in United Wireless obtaining ownership of the three subsidiaries which own the patent rights we acquired from Intellectual Ventures. Our agreements with the funding sources provide that the funding sources will participate in any recovery which is generated. We believe that our financial condition, our history of losses and negative cash flow from operations, and our low stock price make it difficult for us to raise funds in the debt or equity markets.

As noted below, there is a substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. 

Significant Accounting Policies and Estimates

The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon our financial statements that have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities. On an on-going basis, we evaluate our estimates including the allowance for doubtful accounts, the salability and recoverability of our products, income taxes and contingencies. We base our estimates on historical experience and on other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form our basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Management believes the following critical accounting policies affect the significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of the financial statements.

Principles of Consolidation

The condensed consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with US GAAP and present the financial statements of the Company and our wholly-owned subsidiary. In the preparation of our consolidated financial statements, intercompany transactions and balances are eliminated.

Use of Estimates and Assumptions

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

We adopted Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures”, for assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis. ASC 820 establishes a common definition for fair value to be applied to existing US GAAP that require the use of fair value measurements which establishes a framework for measuring fair value and expands disclosure about such fair value measurements.

ASC 820 defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Additionally, ASC 820 requires the use of valuation techniques that maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. These inputs are prioritized below:

In addition, FASB ASC 825-10-25 “Fair Value Option” was effective for January 1, 2008. ASC 825-10-25 expands opportunities to use fair value measurements in financial reporting and permits entities to choose to measure many financial instruments and certain other items at fair value.

Stock-based Compensation

The Company accounts for share-based awards issued to employees in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 718, “Compensation-Stock Compensation.” Accordingly, employee share-based payment compensation is measured at the grant date, based on the fair value of the award, and is recognized as an expense over the requisite service period, which is normally the vesting period. Share-based compensation to directors is treated in the same manner as share-based compensation to employees, regardless of whether the directors are also employees. The Company accounts for share-based compensation to persons other than employees in accordance with FASB ASC 505-50. Equity instruments issued to other than employees are valued at the earlier of a commitment date or upon completion of the services, based on the fair value of the equity instruments and is recognized as expense over the service period. The Company estimates the fair value of share-based payments using the Black Scholes option-pricing model for common stock options and warrants and the closing price of the Company’s common stock for common share issuances.

Long-Lived Assets

We review for impairment whenever events or circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of assets may not be recoverable, pursuant to guidance established in ASC 360-10-35-15, “Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets”. We recognize an impairment loss when the sum of expected undiscounted future cash flows is less than the carrying amount of the asset. The amount of impairment is measured as the difference between the asset’s estimated fair value and its book value.

Revenue Recognition

We recognize revenue in accordance with ASC Topic 605, “Revenue Recognition”. Revenue is recognized when (i) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, (ii) all obligations have been substantially performed, (iii) amounts are fixed or determinable and (iv) collectability of amounts is reasonably assured.

We consider our licensing and enforcement activities as one unit of accounting under ASC 605-25, “Multiple-Element Arrangements” as the delivered items do not have value to customers on a standalone basis, there are no undelivered elements and there is no general right of return relative to the license. Under ASC 605-25, the appropriate recognition of revenue is determined for the combined deliverables as a single unit of accounting and revenue is recognized upon delivery of the final elements, including the license for past and future use and the release. Also due to the fact that the settlement element and license element for past and future use are the major central business, we do not present these two elements as different revenue streams in its statement of operations. We do not expect to provide licenses that do not provide some form of settlement or release.

Cost of Revenue

Cost of revenues mainly includes expenses incurred in connection with our patent enforcement activities, such as legal fees, consulting costs, patent maintenance, royalty fees for acquired patents and other related expenses. Cost of revenue does not include expenses related to product development, patent amortization, integration or support, as these are included in general and administrative expenses.

Inventor/Former Owner Royalties and Contingent Legal/Litigation Finance Expenses

In connection with the investment in certain patents and patent rights, certain of our operating subsidiaries may execute related agreements which grant to the inventors and/or former owners of the respective patents or patent rights, the right to receive a percentage of future net revenues (as defined in the respective agreements) generated as a result of licensing and otherwise enforcing the respective patents or patent portfolios.

Our operating subsidiaries may retain the services of law firms that specialize in patent licensing and enforcement and patent law in connection with their licensing and enforcement activities. These law firms may be retained on a contingent fee basis whereby such law firms are paid a percentage of any negotiated fees, settlements or judgments awarded.

Our operating subsidiaries may engage with funding sources that specialize in providing financing for patent licensing and enforcement. These litigation finance firms may be engaged on a non-recourse basis whereby such litigation finance firms are paid a percentage of any negotiated fees, settlements or judgments awarded in exchange for providing funding for a legal fees and out of pocket expenses incurred as a result of the licensing and enforcement activities.

The economic terms of the inventor agreements, operating agreements, contingent legal fee arrangements and litigation financing agreements associated with the patent portfolios owned or controlled by our operating subsidiaries, if any, including royalty rates, contingent fee rates and other terms, vary across the patent portfolios owned or controlled by such operating subsidiaries. Inventor/former owner royalties, payments to non-controlling interests, contingent legal fees expenses and litigation finance expenses fluctuate period to period, based on the amount of revenues recognized each period, the terms and conditions of revenue agreements executed each period and the mix of specific patent portfolios with varying economic terms and obligations generating revenues each period. Inventor/former owner royalties, contingent legal fees expenses and litigation finance expenses will continue to fluctuate and may continue to vary significantly period to period, based primarily on these factors.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Management does not anticipate that the recently issued but not yet effective accounting pronouncements will materially impact the Company’s financial condition.

Going Concern

We have an accumulated deficit of $14,796,297 and negative working capital of $1,330,000 as of March 31, 2016. Because of our continuing losses, our working capital deficiency, the uncertainty of future revenue, our obligations to Intellectual Ventures and United Wireless, our low stock price and the absence of a trading market in our common stock, our ability to raise funds in equity market or from lenders is severely impaired, and we may not be able to continue as a going concern. Although we may seek to raise funds and to obtain third party funding for litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights, the availability of such funds in uncertain. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

Off-balance Sheet Arrangements

We have not entered into any other financial guarantees or other commitments to guarantee the payment obligations of any third parties. We have not entered into any derivative contracts that are indexed to our shares and classified as stockholder’s equity or that are not reflected in our consolidated financial statements. Furthermore, we do not have any retained or contingent interest in assets transferred to an unconsolidated entity that serves as credit, liquidity or market risk support to such entity.