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Investments
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015
Investments, Debt and Equity Securities [Abstract]  
Investments

NOTE 5 — INVESTMENTS

 

During 2014 and 2013 DSS Technology Management made a series of investments in VirtualAgility, Inc. (“VirtualAgility”), a developer of programming platforms that facilitate the creation of business applications without programming or coding. The initial investment consisted of a $200,000 non-recourse note plus an equity stake of 1/8 of 7% of the outstanding common stock of VirtualAgility, for a total cash investment of $250,000. The non-recourse note is eligible for a preferred return of $1,250,000, plus a variable return of 1.875% based on gross proceeds, if any, derived from VirtualAgility’s patent portfolio. In addition, VirtualAgility granted DSS Technology Management a total of seven additional options to make additional quarterly investments of $250,000 apiece, under the same terms as the first investment. If all of such options are exercised, DSS Technology Management will have invested an aggregate of $2,000,000, consisting of $1,600,000 in non-recourse notes that would be eligible for an aggregate preferred return of $10,000,000 plus up to 15% of variable returns and, based on the current capitalization of VirtualAgility, DSS Technology Management would also own approximately 7% of the outstanding common stock of VirtualAgility. In May 2013, DSS Technology Management created a subsidiary called VirtualAgility Technology Investment, LLC (“VATI”) and transferred its ownership of the VirtualAgility investment and future investment options to VATI. Also in May 2013, a third-party investor became a 40% member of VATI. In exchange, the investor contributed $250,000 into VATI which was used to exercise one of the investment options in VirtualAgility per the terms described above. As of July 1, 2013, DSS Technology Management owned 60% of VATI. In conjunction with its acquisition accounting, the Company assessed the fair value of the VirtualAgility investment, including the expected exercise of future investment options as of the acquisition date, at approximately $10,750,000, which became the cost basis of the investment as of July 1, 2013. In August 2013, the Company contributed $250,000 into VATI which used the funds to make an additional investment in VirtualAgility per the terms described above. In November 2013, the other member of VATI contributed $250,000 into VATI which used the funds to make an additional investment in VirtualAgility per the terms described above. On February 14, 2014, DSS Technology Management contributed $250,000 into VATI which used the funds to make an additional investment in VirtualAgility per the terms described above. In May 2014, the other member of VATI contributed $250,000 into VATI which used the funds to make an additional investment in VirtualAgility per the terms described above. As of June 30, 2014, VATI owned 657,119 shares of common stock of VirtualAgility. As of June 30, 2014, investment in VATI was approximately $11,750,000 and DSS Technology Management owned 60% of VATI.

 

VirtualAgility was the plaintiff in a patent infringement lawsuit against Salesforce.com, Inc. et al. In May of 2014, Salesforce.Com, Inc. filed a petition with the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) requesting covered business method patent review of claims 1-21 of U.S. Patent No. 8,095,413 B1, which was the patent being asserted by VirtualAgility in the lawsuit (the “413 Patent”), alleging that claims 1-21 of the 413 Patent are unpatentable. On September 16, 2014, the PTAB issued a written decision holding that challenged claims 1-21 of the 413 Patent are unpatentable, and also denied VirtualAgility’s contingent motion to amend the challenged claims. As a result of the PTAB’s decision, the Company estimated that its investment in VATI was impaired and as a result, the Company recorded an impairment of its investment in the gross amount of approximately $11,750,000 of which 40%, or $4,700,000 of such investment was attributable to a noncontrolling interest, which equated to a net impairment charge during the third quarter of 2014 of approximately $7,050,000. In June 2015, pursuant to a confidential Stock Redemption and Settlement Agreement, VATI sold its entire ownership interest in VirtualAgility to VirtualAgility for $200,000.

  

In January and February 2014, DSS Technology Management made investments of $100,000 and $400,000, respectively, to purchase an aggregate of 594,530 shares of common stock of Express Mobile, Inc. (“Express Mobile”), which represented approximately 6% of the outstanding common stock of Express Mobile at the time of investment. Express Mobile is a developer of custom mobile applications and websites. The investments were recorded using the cost method. In accordance with paragraphs 16 through 19 of FASB ASC 825-10-50 the Company determined that it is not practicable to estimate the fair value of these investments since Express Mobile is a privately-held company that is not subject to the same disclosure regulations as U.S. public companies, and as such, the basis for an estimated fair value is subject to the completeness, quality, timing and accuracy of data received from Express Mobile. In December 2015, based on discussions with Express Mobile management and the Company’s understanding of the status of Express Mobile’s business, the Company determined that the investment was impaired and recognized an impairment loss of $500,000.