CORRESP 1 filename1.htm Unassociated Document
 
 
July 25, 2008

 
VIA EDGAR
 
Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20549
     
Attention:
  
Kari Jin
Kathleen Collins
   
Re:
  
Document Security Systems, Inc. (the “Company”)
Form 10-K for Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2007 Filed March 17, 2008
 
Dear Staff:
 
On behalf of Document Security Systems, Inc., this letter responds to the comments of the staff (the “Staff”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) to the filing of the above-referenced annual report (the “Filing”), which were included in the Staff’s letter dated July 11, 2008 (the “Staff Letter”).
 
In this letter, we have reproduced your comments and have followed each comment with our response. The numbered paragraphs of this letter set forth below correspond to the numbered paragraphs of the Staff Letter. References in the responses to “we,” “our,” “Company” or “us” mean Document Security Systems, Inc.

Note 5, Intangible Assets, page F-11

1.  We note your response to our prior comment 3 where you indicate that the Company’s underlying basis for capitalizing legal defense costs is your expectation that your patent infringement suit against the ECB will be successful. We note, however, that at the point you began capitalizing such costs you had not yet successfully defended your patents. TPA 2260.03 and paragraph 247 of Concepts Statement No. 6 state that costs of successfully defending a patent may be capitalized if they are part of the cost of retaining and obtaining the future benefit of the patent. Accordingly, it is still not clear why the Company believes that capitalization of your legal defense costs is appropriate and how you overcame the notion that these costs are costs of successfully defending the Company’s patent. Please provide further analysis to support your conclusions.
 
Response:
 
The Company’s decision to capitalize its patent defense costs is based on the assumption that the patent infringement lawsuit against the ECB will ultimately be successful. The Company has committed significant resources and funds to its patent litigation and our assumption of success is based, in part, on the following factors: (1) extensive due diligence performed prior to the litigation by the Company and legal counsel that was the basis of the decision to litigate; (2) the analysis and opinions of industry experts, and legal counsel, and (3) an established timeline and record of communications between the Company and its predecessors and the potential infringing parties and their affiliates and partners regarding the infringed technologies. Furthermore, the Company has recently had its assessment of success validated by recent due diligence performed by potential investors and their counsel who seek to partner with the Company in the current and future litigation actions.
 

 
Because the patent defense costs are incurred before the outcome of the litigation is known, these costs are capitalized unless the outcome of litigation is not successful, or an impairment with respect to the patent occurs. If the Company is unsuccessful in the litigation, all patent defense costs that the Company previously capitalized would then be expensed. The Company believes that the corresponding principal applies to the guidance provided in TPA 2260.03 and paragraph 247 of Concepts Statement No. 6, and therefore, the capitalization of costs would be appropriate in all periods prior to, and after, a successful outcome of the litigation.
 
2.  We note your response to our prior comment 4 in your letter dated May 9, 2008 where you indicate that the Company’s impairment analysis is based on potential damage claims you expect to receive and that you determine such amounts based on published circulation rates of the Euro banknote throughout the EU and a royalty rate that the Company is earning from other technology licensed in the EU. Please tell us how you considered the guidance in paragraphs 7 and 16-21 of SFAS 144 in determining that a cash flow analysis based on circulation rates is an appropriate basis for your impairment test. Also, please explain further how you determined the circulation rates (in total and by individual country) and how you applied such rates in concluding the potential damages to be received upon settlement of $80 -180 million. In addition, please provide a breakdown of the potential settlement by country. Also, explain further the source of your royalty rate assumptions and how you apply such rates to your impairment analysis.
 
Response:
 
The Company uses the potential proceeds from its litigation with the ECB as the primary source of future cash flows directly associated with its capitalized patent defense cost. The Company believes that there are additional infringers of the technology that it may pursue in the future, depending on the outcomes of its lawsuit with the ECB.

The tables below detail the Company’s assumptions used in determining the potential proceeds from its ECB Litigation, either through settlement or from court assessed damages in its impairment analysis. Table 1 utilizes data published by the ECB on the volume of Euro banknotes produced during each year, and data published by a market research group, Pira International, to determine the range and types of cost incurred in the production of such banknotes. Using the two figures, the Company determines the estimated high and low total costs of the production of the Euro banknotes in each year of infringement, and then applies a royalty rate to those estimated production costs to determine the amount that would be due to the Company if the ECB had licensed the technology from the Company on the Company’s standard licensing terms. The Company uses a royalty rate of 5%, which is the rate that the Company has used for its international licensees, including European licensees, for similar technologies. The Company validated the appropriateness of its assumed royalty rate against the costs incurred by the Euro printers for similar security technologies (as published by Pira International). Due to the variability in the estimated costs of banknote production, as published by Pira International, the Company uses a simple average of potential proceeds to the Company of approximately $150,000,000.

In Table 2, the Company further analyses the potential proceeds to the Company by country according to published circulation rates of the Euro banknote in the various European Union countries. The Company uses circulation rates as opposed to production origins of the Euro notes since the infringement occurs in the use of the banknote, and such, any production imported from a non-Euro country, or a Euro country in which the Company’s patent has been held to be invalid, would still be subject to infringement in any country in which the Company’s patent is valid. Using these circulation rates, the Company estimates what percentage of the $150,000,000 potential royalty would be due from each country to determine the estimated cash flow, and assigns an error factor based on the degree of uncertainty as to the timing and potential amount of proceeds.


Table 1:

           
Estimated production
     
           
costs (@ $0.11 per)
 
Estimated Royalty @5%
 
Year
 
 
 
Euros Produced (a)
 
(b)
 
( c)
 
pre-2002
                 
launch
         
14,890,000,000
 
$
1,637,900,000
 
$
81,895,000
 
     
2002
   
4,780,000,000
 
$
525,800,000
 
$
26,290,000
 
     
2003
   
3,092,000,000
 
$
340,120,000
 
$
17,006,000
 
     
2004
   
1,579,000,000
 
$
173,690,000
 
$
8,684,500
 
     
2005
   
3,630,000,000
 
$
399,300,000
 
$
19,965,000
 
     
2006
   
7,000,000,000
 
$
770,000,000
 
$
38,500,000
 
     
2007
   
6,300,000,000
 
$
693,000,000
 
$
34,650,000
 
Totals
         
41,271,000,000
 
$
4,539,810,000
 
$
192,340,500
 
                           
 
             
Estimated production
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
costs (@$0.0525 per)
 
Estimated Royalty @5%
 
Year
 
 
 
 
Euros Produced (a)
 
(b)
 
(c)
 
pre-2002
                         
launch
         
14,890,000,000
 
$
781,725,000
 
$
39,086,250
 
     
2002
   
4,780,000,000
 
$
250,950,000
 
$
12,547,500
 
     
2003
   
3,092,000,000
 
$
162,330,000
 
$
8,116,500
 
     
2004
   
1,579,000,000
 
$
82,897,500
 
$
4,144,875
 
     
2005
   
3,630,000,000
 
$
190,575,000
 
$
9,528,750
 
     
2006
   
7,000,000,000
 
$
367,500,000
 
$
18,375,000
 
     
2007
   
6,300,000,000
 
$
330,750,000
 
$
16,537,500
 
Total
         
41,271,000,000
 
$
2,166,727,500
 
$
108,336,375
 


(a)- Production statistics published by the European Central Bank http://www.ecb.eu/bc/faqbc/figures/html/index.en.html

(b) -Figures derived from "The Future of Banknote Printing II"- by Pira International, 2006, including page 36; and "The Future of Global Markets for Security Printing- Strategic Five Year Forecasts and Directory of Printers and Suppliers"- by Pira International

( c) -Figures derived from "The Future of Banknote Printing II"- by Pira International, 2006, Tables 2.1 and 2.2, page 11.


 
Table 2:

 
 
 
 
5 Yr Projected Cash Flow
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Total
Estimated
Percent of
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Error
 
 Discounted
 
 
 
 
 
 Potential
 
Euro
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Discount
 
Cash
 
Undiscounted
 
 
 
 Proceeds
 
Circulation
 
2008
 
2009
 2010
2011
 
2012
 
2013
 
Factor
 
 Projection
 
Total
 
   
(d)
 
(e)
                                  
European Patent EP 0455750
                                      
Confirmed Valid
                                          
Germany-
   
150,000,000
   
27.08
%
         
$
40,620,000
               
15
%
 
6,093,000
 
$
40,620,000
 
Netherlands
   
150,000,000
   
5.13
%
         
$
7,695,000
               
15
%
 
1,154,250
 
$
7,695,000
 
                                                             
Pending Confirmation Valid
                                                   
-
       
Spain
   
150,000,000
   
9.97
%
         
$
14,955,000
               
10
%
 
1,495,500
 
$
14,955,000
 
Italy
   
150,000,000
   
16.40
%
         
$
24,600,000
               
10
%
 
2,460,000
 
$
24,600,000
 
Belgium
   
150,000,000
   
3.20
%
         
$
4,800,000
               
10
%
 
480,000
 
$
4,800,000
 
Invalid
                                                   
-
       
England
         
0.00
%
       
-
-
 
-
   
-
   
-
   
0
%
 
-
 
$
-
 
France
         
18.99
%
             
-
               
0
%
 
-
       
 
               
-
   
-
-
$
92,670,000
   
-
   
-
         
11,682,750
 
$
92,670,000
 
 
 
Discounted Cash Flow
             
11,682,750
                         
$
11,682,750
 

 
Thank you for your assistance in this matter. Please feel free to call me at (585) 325-3610 if you have any questions about this matter.
 
Respectfully submitted,
 
DOCUMENT SECURITY SYSTEMS, INC.
 
 
By: /s/ Patrick White                  
Patrick White
Chief Executive Officer