Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)

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SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014
Nature Of Business And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies Policies  
Use of Estimates and Assumptions

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with US GAAP 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 periods. The significant estimates and assumptions made in the preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements include the valuation of warrants and stock-based payments, deferred income taxes, income tax payable and valuation of other investments, valuation of accrued expenses and marketable securities.  Actual results could be materially different from those estimates, upon which the carrying values were based.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company places cash investments in high quality financial institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC").  At December 31, 2014, the Company maintained cash balance of $17,143,000 in excess of FDIC limits.

 

The Company considers all highly liquid short-term investments purchased with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents.

 

Cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 are composed of: 

 

    December 31, 2014     December 31, 2013  
             
Cash   $ 2,984,000     $ 1,903,000  
Money market fund     14,678,000       17,035,000  
Total   $ 17,662,000     $ 18,938,000  
Marketable Securities

Marketable securities are classified as available-for-sale and are recorded at fair market value.  Unrealized gain and losses are reported as other comprehensive income or loss.  Realized gains and losses are reclassified from other comprehensive income or loss to net income or loss in the period they are realized.  At December 31, 2014, the Company's marketable securities consist of two corporate bonds (face value $1,000,000) with a 3.9% and 4.5% coupon and term of greater than three months when purchased.  At December 31, 2013, the Company’s marketable securities consisted of one bond (face value $500,000) with a 6% coupon which was sold during 2014 for a realized loss of $51,000.  The Company’s marketable securities mature in 2021 and it is not the intention of the Company to hold such securities until maturity.

Patents

The Company owns patents that relate to various technologies.  The Company capitalizes the costs associated with acquisition, registration and maintenance of its acquired patents and amortizes these assets over their remaining useful lives on a straight-line basis.  Any further payments made to maintain or develop the patents would be capitalized and amortized over the balance of the useful life for the patents.

Impairment of long-lived assets

Intangible assets with finite lives are tested for impairment whenever events or circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable.  Accordingly, the Company records impairment losses on long-lived assets used in operations or expected to be disposed of when indicators of impairment exist and the undiscounted cash flows expected to be derived from those assets are less than carrying amounts of these assets.  At December 31, 2014 and 2013, there was no impairment to the Company’s patents or other investments held by the Company.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

The Company uses estimates to determine the amount of the allowance for doubtful accounts necessary to reduce accounts receivable to their expected net realizable value.  There was no allowance for doubtful accounts at December 31, 2014 and 2013.

Revenue Recognition

The Company recognizes revenue received from the licensing of its intellectual property in accordance with Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 104, "Revenue Recognition" ("SAB No. 104") and related authoritative pronouncements. Revenue is recognized when (i) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, (ii) all obligations have been performed pursuant to the terms of the applicable license agreement, (iii) amounts are fixed or determinable, and (iv) collectability of amounts is reasonably assured.  The Company relies on royalty reports received from third party licensees to record its revenue.  From time to time the Company may audit royalties reported from licensees as the Company did with respect to Cisco Systems, Inc. (see Note L). Any adjusted royalty revenue as a result of such audits is recorded by the Company in the period in which such adjustment is agreed to by the Company and the licensee or otherwise determined.

INCOME TAXES

The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 740, “Income Taxes” (ASC 740), which requires the Company to use the assets and liability method of accounting for income taxes. Under the assets and liability method, deferred income taxes are recognized for the tax consequences of temporary differences by applying enacted statutory tax rates applicable to future years to differences between financial statement carrying amounts and the tax bases of existing assets and liabilities and operating loss and tax credit carry forward. Under this

 

accounting standard, the effect on deferred income taxes of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. A valuation allowance is recognized if it is more likely than not that some portion, or all of, a deferred tax asset will not be realized.

 

ASC 740-10, “Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes,” defines uncertainty in income taxes and the evaluation of a tax position as a two-step process. The first step is to determine whether it is more likely than not that a tax position will be sustained upon examination, including the resolution of any related appeals or litigation based on the technical merits of that position. The second step is to measure a tax position that meets the more-likely-than-not threshold to determine the amount of benefit to be recognized in the financial statements. A tax position is measured at the largest amount of benefit that is greater than 50 percent likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. Tax positions that previously failed to meet the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold should be recognized in the first subsequent period in which the threshold is met. Previously recognized tax positions that no longer meet the more-likely-than-not criteria should be de-recognized in the first subsequent financial reporting period in which the threshold is no longer met.

 

United States federal, state and local income tax returns prior to 2011 are not subject to examination by any applicable tax authorities.

Stock-based compensation

The Company accounts for its stock-based compensation at fair value estimated on the grant date using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. See Note G[1] for further discussion of the Company’s stock-based compensation.

Earnings/Loss per Share

The Company reports earnings (loss) per share in accordance with US GAAP, which requires presentation of basic and diluted earnings (loss) per share in conjunction with the disclosure of the methodology used in computing such earnings per share. Basic earnings (loss) per share excludes dilution and is computed by dividing income (loss) available to common shareholders by the weighted average common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share takes into account the potential dilution that could occur if securities or other contracts, such as warrants and options to purchase common stock were exercised. Common stock equivalents having an anti-dilutive effect on earnings per share are excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings per share. Diluted loss per share is the same as basic loss per share since the addition of any contingently issuable shares would be anti-dilutive.

Financial Instruments

US GAAP regarding fair value of financial instruments and related fair value measurements define fair value, establish a three-level valuation hierarchy that requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value.

 

The three levels of inputs are defined as follows:

 

Level 1 inputs to the valuation methodology are quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in active markets.

 

Level 2 inputs to the valuation methodology include quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, and inputs that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the financial instrument.

 

Level 3 inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable.

 

The Company’s financial assets subject to fair value measurements and the necessary disclosures are as follows:

 

 

    Fair Value as of     Fair Value Measurements at December 31, 2014 Using Fair Value Hierarchy  
    December 31, 2014     Level 1     Level 2     Level 3  
Cash and cash equivalents   $ 17,662,000     $ 17,662,000     $     $  
Corporate bond     1,079,000       1,079,000              
Total   $ 18,741,000     $ 18,741,000     $     $  

 

 

    Fair Value as of     Fair Value Measurements at December 31, 2013 Using Fair Value Hierarchy  
    December 31, 2013     Level 1     Level 2     Level 3  
Cash and cash equivalents   $ 18,938,000     $ 18,938,000     $     $  
Corporate bond     530,000       530,000              
Total   $ 19,468,000     $ 19,468,000     $     $  

 

 

The carrying value of cash, marketable securities, royalty receivable, other assets, accounts payable, and accrued expenses approximates fair value because of the short period of time between the origination of such instruments and their expected realization and their current market rates of interest.  It was not practicable to determine the fair value of the Company’s investment in Lifestreams Technologies Corporation as it has no readily determinable market value (See Note D).

Recently issued accounting standards

In February 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2015, Consolidation (Topic 810):  Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis, which is intended to improve targeted areas of consolidation guidance for legal entities such as limited partnerships, limited liability corporations, and securitization structures.  This ASU will be effective for periods beginning after December 15, 2015 for public companies.  Management is evaluating the potential impact, if any, on the Company’s financial position and results of operations.

 

In June 2014, FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers”. The update gives entities a single comprehensive model to use in reporting information about the amount and timing of revenue resulting from contracts to provide goods or services to customers. The ASU, which would apply to any entity that enters into contracts to provide goods or services, would supersede the revenue recognition requirements in Topic 605, Revenue Recognition, and most industry-specific guidance throughout the Industry Topics of the Codification. Additionally, the update would supersede some cost guidance included in Subtopic 605-35, Revenue Recognition – Construction-Type and Production-Type Contracts. The update removes inconsistencies and weaknesses in revenue requirements and provides a more robust framework for addressing revenue issues and more useful information to users of financial statements through improved disclosure requirements. In addition, the update improves comparability of revenue recognition practices across entities, industries, jurisdictions, and capital markets and simplifies the preparation of financial statements by reducing the number of requirements to which an entity must refer. The update is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within that reporting period. The Company is currently reviewing the provisions of this ASU to determine if there will be any impact on its results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.