As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 14, 2016

 

Registration No. 333- _______

 

 

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FORM S-3

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PARKERVISION, INC.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

 

 

Copies to:
David Alan Miller, Esq.
Graubard Miller
405 Lexington Avenue, 11^th Floor
New York, New York 10174
Telephone: (212) 818-8800
Fax: (212) 818-8881

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this Registration Statement.

 

If the only securities being registered on this form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box. [ ]

 

If any of the securities being registered on this form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box. [X]

 

If this form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, please check the following box and list the Securities Act of 1933 registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. [ ]

 

If this form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box and list the Securities Act of 1933 registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. [ ]

 

If this form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box. [ ]

 

If this form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box. [ ]

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

(1)

Omitted pursuant to General Instruction II.D of Form S-3 and Rule 457(o) promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.  The proposed amount to be registered, maximum offering price per unit and maximum aggregate offering price per class of security will be determined from time to time by the registrant in connection with the issuance by the registrant of the securities registered hereunder.

(2)

This registration statement covers such indeterminate number of shares of common stock and preferred stock, such indeterminate number of warrants to purchase common stock, preferred stock or other securities offered hereby and such indeterminate principal amount of debt securities of the registrant as have an aggregate initial offering price not to exceed $15,000,000. The securities registered hereunder are to be issued from time to time at prices to be determined. The securities registered hereunder also include such indeterminate number of shares of common stock and preferred stock as may be issued upon conversion or exchange of preferred stock or debt securities that provide for conversion or exchange, upon exercise of warrants or pursuant to the antidilution provisions of any such securities. In addition, pursuant to Rule 416 under the Securities Act, the shares being registered hereunder include such indeterminate number of shares of common stock and preferred stock as may be issuable with respect to the securities being registered hereunder as a result of stock splits, stock dividends or similar transactions. This registration statement also relates to the rights to purchase a fraction of a share of Series E preferred stock that are attached to all shares of the registrant’s common stock pursuant to the Shareholder Rights Agreement, dated as of November 21, 2005 and amended as of November 20, 2015. Until the occurrence of events described in the Shareholder Rights Agreement, the rights are not exercisable, are evidenced by the registrant’s common stock certificates and are transferable with and only with the registrant’s common stock.

(3)	Calculated pursuant to Rule 457(o) promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

The registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

 

Prospectus

 

PARKERVISION, INC.

 

$15,000,000

 

COMMON STOCK, PREFERRED STOCK,

WARRANTS AND DEBT SECURITIES

 

By this prospectus, we will offer and sell from time to time shares of our common stock and preferred stock, warrants and debt securities at an aggregate initial offering price not to exceed $15,000,000.  The debt securities that we may offer may consist of senior debt securities or subordinated debt securities, in each case consisting of notes or other evidence of indebtedness in one or more series.  The warrants that we may offer will consist of warrants to purchase any of the other securities that may be sold under this prospectus.  The securities offered under this prospectus may be offered separately, together, or in separate series, and in amounts, at prices and on terms to be determined at the time of sale.  We will provide the specific terms of these securities in supplements to this prospectus.  You should read this prospectus and any supplements carefully before you invest.

 

We expect to use the net proceeds from the sale of the securities offered hereby to fund working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, and other general corporate purposes.

 

Our common stock is listed for trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “PRKR.”  On November 9, 2016, the last reported sale price of our common stock was $3.25. As of November 9, 2016, the aggregate market value of our outstanding voting and nonvoting common equity held by non-affiliates was $35,947,116, based on a last sale price of $3.25 per share of our common stock and 13,100,344 outstanding shares of our common stock held by non-affiliates as of such date.  As of the date hereof, excluding the securities offered hereby, none of our securities have been sold pursuant to General Instruction I.B.6 of Form S-3 during the preceding 12 months.

 

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk.  See the section entitled “Risk Factors” appearing on page 9 in this prospectus and elsewhere in any supplements for a discussion of information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities.

 

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus.  Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

This prospectus may not be used to consummate the sale of any securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement relating to the securities offered.

 

The date of this prospectus is November [•], 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY	1
RISK FACTORS	9
NOTE ON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS	14
USE OF PROCEEDS	14
RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES	15
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK	15
DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS	18
DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES	20
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION OF SHELF SECURITIES	27
LEGAL MATTERS	28
EXPERTS	29
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION	29

 

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You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus.  We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information.  We are not making an offer of these securities in any state where the offer is not permitted.

 

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PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

 

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) using a “shelf” registration process.  Under this shelf process, we may, from time to time, sell or issue any of the combination of securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings with a maximum aggregate offering price of up to $15,000,000.

 

This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer.  Each time we sell securities, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering.  The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus.  You should read both this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, together with the additional information described below under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”

 

You should not assume that the information appearing in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front cover of this prospectus.  You should not assume that the information contained in the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the respective dates of those documents.  Our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects may have changed since that date.

 

References in this prospectus to “ParkerVision,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to ParkerVision, Inc., a Florida corporation.

 

Company Summary

 

General

 

We are in the business of innovating fundamental wireless technologies.   We design, develop and market our proprietary radio frequency (“RF”) technologies and products for use in wireless communication products and applications. We have expended significant financial and other resources to research and develop our RF technologies and to obtain patent protection for those technologies in the United States (“U.S.”) and certain foreign jurisdictions.  We believe certain patents protecting our proprietary technologies have been broadly infringed by others and therefore our business plan includes enforcement of our intellectual property rights through patent infringement litigation and licensing efforts.

 

We were incorporated under the laws of the State of Florida on August 22, 1989.  Our executive offices are located at 7915 Baymeadows Way, Suite 400, Jacksonville, Florida 32256.  Our telephone number is (904) 732-6100.

 

Recent Developments

 

Patent License and Settlement Agreement with Samsung

 

On July 15, 2016, we entered into a patent license and settlement agreement with Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and its affiliates, or collectively “Samsung.”  Under the terms of the agreement, we granted Samsung a perpetual, worldwide license to our current patent portfolio, subject to certain exclusions.   We also agreed to terminate Samsung from the U.S. International Trade Commission, or “ITC,” investigation and to dismiss our claims against Samsung in two district court cases.   Refer to “ITC Complaint and Other Litigation” for a further discussion of these cases.

ITC Complaint and Other Litigation

 

In December 2015, we filed a complaint with the ITC, alleging that Apple, Inc., or “Apple,” LG Electronics, Inc., LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc., and LG Electronics MobileComm U.S.A., Inc., or collectively “LG,”  Samsung, and Qualcomm Incorporated, or “Qualcomm,” have engaged in unfair trade practices by unlawfully importing into the U.S. and selling various products that infringe certain of our patents. The complaint requested that the ITC bar the defendants from continuing to import and sell infringing products in the U.S. In December 2015, we also filed a corresponding patent infringement complaint in the Middle District of Florida against these same defendants seeking undisclosed damages for the alleged infringement of four of our patents. In January 2016, the ITC instituted an investigation based on our complaint. Following the ITC institution decision, in February 2016, the corresponding district court case against these defendants and the ongoing district court proceeding against Qualcomm, HTC (HTC Corporation and HTC America, Inc.), and Samsung that was filed in 2014 were stayed pending the outcome of the ITC proceedings.  In July 2016, we filed a motion to dismiss Samsung from the ITC action and both district court infringement cases as a result of a patent license and settlement agreement reached between the parties.  The actions are still ongoing with respect to the remaining parties with a hearing scheduled for March 2017.

 

In October 2016, ParkerVision GmbH filed a complaint against Apple, Apple Distribution International and Apple Retail Germany B.V. & Co. KG seeking damages and injunctive relief for the alleged infringement of the same European patent cited in the June 2016 case against LG. A hearing has been scheduled for May 2017.

 

All of our current litigation, including the ITC investigation, is being funded under third-party litigation funding arrangements (see discussion below) and contingency funding relationships with legal counsel.

 

Litigation Funding

 

In February 2016, we entered into an agreement with Brickell Key Investments LP, or “BKI,” a special purpose fund under the management of Juridica Asset Management Limited, to fund the ITC and related district court action, or the “Funded Actions.” We received $11 million from BKI to be used primarily for payment of legal fees and expenses for the Funded Actions. Under the terms of the funding agreement, we will reimburse and compensate BKI from gross proceeds generated from our patent assets, including the Funded Actions and our other patent enforcement actions and patent monetization activities, up to an agreed minimum return. Thereafter, BKI is entitled to a prorated portion of proceeds solely from the Funded Actions and only to the extent the proceeds from Funded Actions exceed the specified minimum return.

 

In May, 2016, BKI exercised its right under the agreement to fund an additional $2 million, or the “Additional Funds,” to be used to pay our legal fees and expenses in connection with specified future patent enforcement actions. The agreement was amended to provide that one-half of the Additional Funds will be restricted for a specific use with the remainder usable by us for working capital purposes. The amendment also provides that BKI will be compensated for the Additional Funds on substantially the same terms and conditions set forth in the original agreement. The legal fees and expenses for our German complaint filed in June 2016 will be funded with the Additional Funds received from BKI.

In connection with the BKI agreement, in February 2016, we issued BKI a warrant for the purchase of up to 250,000 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $3.50 per share. In connection with the amendment to the agreement, on May 27, 2016, we exchanged BKI’s warrant for a new warrant, or the “BKI warrant,” to purchase up to 350,000 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $2.00 per share. The BKI warrant is exercisable for five years from the date of issuance.

 

We granted BKI a senior security interest in our assets until such time as the specified minimum return has been paid, at which time, the security interest will be released except with respect to the proceeds and patents specific to the Funded Actions. The security interest is enforceable by BKI in the event that we are in default under the agreement.

 

All of the funds received from Samsung as a result of our recent patent license and settlement agreement with them were paid to BKI as reimbursement under the funding agreement.

 

Private Placement

 

On July 6, 2016, we consummated the sale of 1,090,909 shares of our common stock in a private placement, or the “July private placement,” at a price of $2.75 per share, pursuant to a securities purchase agreement dated July 6, 2016 with an accredited investor. The sale of the shares generated total gross proceeds of approximately $3.0 million. The total number of shares sold in the July private placement represented 9.3% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock immediately prior to the entry into the securities purchase agreement.

 

Warrant Exchange

 

On July 8, 2016, we entered into an agreement with 1624 PV, LLC, or “1624,” for the exchange of all of the warrants held by them. 1624 agreed to exchange three common stock purchase warrants each entitling 1624 to acquire up to 188,406 shares of our common stock at exercise prices of $15, $25 and $35, respectively, and expiring on January 15, 2018, for a new common stock purchase warrant entitling 1624 to acquire up to 200,000 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $3.25 per share and expiring on June 16, 2018. The new warrant is substantially in the form of the old warrants, except for the changes described above.  As a result of the exchange, the number of shares of our common stock subject to warrants decreased by 365,218 shares.

 

Development of Our Business

 

Our business has been primarily focused on the development, marketing and legal enforcement of our RF technologies for mobile and other wireless products and applications. Our technologies represent among other things, unique, proprietary methods for processing RF waveforms in wireless applications. Our technologies apply to both transmit and receive functions of transmitters, receivers, and transceivers as well as other related RF communications functions. A portion of our transmit technology is marketed as Direct2Power™, or d2p™, and enables the transformation of a baseband data signal to an RF carrier waveform, at the desired RF power output level, in a single unified operation. A portion of our receiver technology is marketed as Direct2Data™, or d2d™, and enables the direct conversion of an RF carrier to a baseband data signal, as well as enabling the direct conversion of a baseband signal to a modulated RF carrier signal. This technology is also referred to as energy transfer sampling down conversion and/or pulse-shaping up conversion. We have developed these and a number of additional innovations which are protected by the intellectual property we have secured in various patent families for RF and related functions in RF-based communications.

Prior to 2005, our business was primarily focused on our direct conversion transceiver technology. Our business plan included efforts to license the technology as well as the development and sale of retail wireless networking products that incorporated the technology. In 2005, we exited our retail business activities in order to better focus on our licensing efforts and on product and component development, manufacturing and sales. This strategy coincided with the introduction of a new family of wireless technologies, the transmit, or d2p, technology family. Our primary target market became the mobile handset industry and over the next several years we focused our marketing and sales efforts within this industry.

 

In 2007, we entered into a licensing and engineering services agreement with VIA Telecom, Inc., or “VIA,” a CDMA baseband provider, under the terms of which VIA had the right to manufacture devices based on our technology and pay us a per unit royalty for the license. However, the license also provided us with the right to manufacture and sell such devices ourselves to third parties. Starting in 2009, because VIA had not manufactured any royalty-producing devices under this agreement, we began working with VIA on the joint development of reference platforms that incorporated our RF products and VIA’s baseband processors without the exchange of intellectual property rights. We also worked with VIA to co-develop a sample 3G mobile handset which verified our technology in a working implementation and tested our technology’s performance. The results of these efforts were utilized to market our product to VIA’s customers. Starting in 2010, we modified our circuit layout and packaging to meet design requirements of specific VIA customers. In 2013, we entered into a formal development agreement with VIA whereby we would compensate VIA for the resources required for their development and ongoing support and maintenance of the custom interfaces between our products for a specific customer. Pursuant to the development agreement, VIA completed the custom interface for certain of its baseband processors. In 2014, we terminated our formal development agreement with VIA prior to VIA’s completion of the interface to its latest model baseband processor due to the uncertainty of the specific customer’s future use of the VIA baseband in its products. VIA subsequently sold its CDMA-based mobile assets, including its baseband processors, to Intel Corporation, or “Intel,” in 2015.

 

Our lack of tenure in the mobile handset industry coupled with the unique nature of our technology resulted in lengthy and intense technology evaluation and due diligence efforts by potential customers. Furthermore, in order to utilize our technology in a mobile handset application, our RF chipsets must interface with the baseband processor that generates the data to be transmitted and/or received. Although our technology is capable of interfacing with any baseband processor, the development of the interface between the baseband processor and our chipset requires a cooperative effort with the baseband provider. Accordingly, our marketing efforts were dependent on the activities of third parties. In addition, we believe our technology has been broadly infringed by other participants in our primary market thereby reducing the competitive advantage of our technologies. We believe these factors hindered our sales efforts, particularly in our primary market.

 

In 2011, through analysis of conference papers and tear down reports, we concluded that Qualcomm’s products were infringing our energy transfer sampling down conversion technology. Based on our belief that our technology is widely-deployed in the mobile handset market as a result of infringement of our patents, we began to more vigorously pursue an intellectual property licensing strategy which included enforcement actions. We filed our first patent infringement lawsuit against Qualcomm in July 2011, or the “Qualcomm I Action.” In 2013, a jury ruled in our favor and awarded us $173 million in damages. In 2014, the district court overturned this jury decision and in 2015, the appellate court upheld the district court’s ruling. On March 28, 2016, the Supreme Court of the United States denied our petition requesting a review of the appellate court’s decision. Despite the courts’ decisions in the Qualcomm I Action, we continue to believe that certain of our technologies are broadly infringed and have wide-spread application in the industry.

We plan to continue to vigorously pursue the successful commercialization of those technologies through every means available to us. We have a patent infringement case pending against Qualcomm and HTC filed in 2014 and a third infringement case pending against Apple, LG, and Qualcomm filed in December 2015. These cases have been stayed pending the resolution of our ITC action. Samsung has been dismissed as a defendant in these cases as a result of our recent patent license and settlement agreement with them.  See “Recent Developments” above.

 

In addition to our licensing and related enforcement efforts, we began to shift our primary target market for products. In 2013, we focused our product development efforts on internally developed component products that target markets that use less integrated RF transceivers than the mobile handset market. In 2015 and 2016, we further leveraged our investment in these components by creating a line of WiFi end user products based on these internally-developed components and technologies.

 

Strategy

 

We have a three-part growth strategy for commercializing our innovations that includes intellectual property licensing and/or product ventures, intellectual property enforcement, and product and component development, manufacturing and sales.

 

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Intellectual Property Licensing and Product Ventures. In 2014, we launched a licensing/product venture campaign to explore licensing and joint product development opportunities with wireless communications companies that make, use or sell chipsets and/or products that incorporate RF. We believe there are a number of communications companies that can benefit from the use of the RF technologies we have developed, whether through a license or, in certain cases, a joint product venture that would include licensing rights. During 2014 and 2015, 3LP Advisors, LLC, or “3LP,” managed our licensing operations under a licensing services agreement with us, largely on a commission basis. We terminated our agreement with 3LP effective December 31, 2015, but continue to commit both internal and external resources toward a domestic and international licensing program.  In July 2016, Samsung entered into an agreement for the license of our current patent portfolio on a worldwide basis, subject to certain exclusions.  See “Recent Developments.”

 

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Intellectual Property Enforcement. We are involved in litigation against others in order to protect and defend our intellectual property rights. We are currently involved in a number of patent infringement cases in various forums against Qualcomm and certain of their customers, including Apple, HTC, and LG for the unauthorized use of certain of our patents. We recently entered into a patent license and settlement agreement with Samsung as a result of our enforcement actions.  See “Recent Developments” and “General Business” above for a more complete discussion of our patent-related legal proceedings and settlement agreement.

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Product and Component Sales and Services. Our product development and marketing efforts for components are focused on our RF technologies in communications industries that do not use highly integrated semiconductors, such as infrastructure, industrial and military applications. In 2014, we established a network of sales representatives throughout the U.S. and Asia and also initiated production of component products in order to provide inventory to support our sales efforts.  Sales of these component products to date have been nominal; however a number of customers who have purchased sample products and evaluation kits have indicated that they are in the process of, or intend to, design these components into their current or next generation products.  These component products, which use our patented technology, are also the basis for an end user product line that is currently under development. We also offer, from time to time, engineering design and consulting services, for negotiated fees, to assist customers in designing and/or testing various wireless products.

From 2005 to 2015, we generated no licensing revenue from our RF technologies and our product and services revenue has been nominal to date.  We began recognizing licensing revenues in 2016 as a result of our recent patent license and settlement agreement with Samsung.  Our ability to generate revenues sufficient to offset costs and our contingent repayment obligations is subject to our ability to successfully enforce and defend our intellectual property rights and to secure new product and/or licensing customers for our technologies and products.

 

We believe the investments we make in new technology innovations and obtaining intellectual property rights on those innovations are critical business processes and, as such, we have and will continue to devote substantial resources to research and development for this purpose. We protect our intellectual property rights by securing patent protection and, where necessary, defending those patents against infringement by others. We also continue to invest in the development of products incorporating our intellectual property.

 

Products and Services

 

Our current products include a modulator/demodulator component that incorporates our proprietary technologies, as well as a small number of supporting components that are used in the assembly of wireless devices. We also have working prototypes of a WiFi product line and have initiated market testing of these products.  In addition, we offer engineering design and consulting services to third parties for negotiated fees to assist them in developing and/or testing products. As discussed above, we previously designed and produced RF chipsets that interface specifically with baseband processors produced by VIA. However, in 2014, we terminated our formal development agreement with VIA and in 2015 VIA’s CDMA assets, including its baseband processors, were sold to Intel.

 

We anticipate our future business will include licensing of our intellectual property, the joint development and/or sale of integrated circuits based on our technology for incorporation into wireless devices designed and manufactured by our customers, and the sale of products and components developed and manufactured by us. In addition, from time to time, we may provide engineering consulting and design services to our customers, for a negotiated fee, to assist them in developing and testing prototypes and/or products incorporating our wireless technologies.

 

Our technology is capable of being incorporated for any of the mobile handset standards, as well as numerous other communications protocols such as WiFi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, and GPS. By pursuing both licensing and product opportunities, we believe our technologies can be deployed in multiple markets that incorporate RF transmitters, receivers, and/or transceivers, including mobile handsets, tablets, femtocells, digital television, machine-to-machine, RF identification, cable modems, satellite communication, and infrastructure, among others. In order to secure proper compensation for the unauthorized use of our technologies by others, our licensing efforts also include enforcement actions against parties in these markets who we believe have already deployed products that infringe certain of our patented technologies.

Competitive Position

 

We operate in a highly competitive industry against companies with substantially greater financial, technical, and sales and marketing resources. Our technologies face competition from incumbent providers of transceivers, such as Broadcom, Fujitsu, Intel, MediaTek, NVidia, Qualcomm, STMicroelectronics, Marvell, Texas Instruments, and others, as well as incumbent providers of power amplifiers, including companies such as Anadigics, Qorvo, and Skyworks, among others. Each of our competitors, however, also has the potential of becoming a licensing or product customer for our technologies. Competition in our industry is generally based on price and technological performance.

 

To date, we are unaware of any competing or emerging RF technologies, other than infringing products, that provide all the simultaneous benefits that certain of our technologies enable. Our unique technologies process RF carriers in a more optimal manner than prior traditional technologies, thereby allowing the creation of handsets and other products that have extended battery life, lower operating temperatures, more easily incorporate multiple air interface standards and frequencies in smaller form factors, improve operational performance, and reduce manufacturing costs. One or more of these benefits enable some of the key features that can be found in high volume wireless products. Our technologies provide such attractive benefits, in part, because of their unique operational and/or circuit architectures. The benefits our technologies enable include highly accurate transmission and reception of RF carriers that use less power than traditional architectures and components, thereby extending battery life, reducing heat and enabling certain size, cost, performance, and packaging advantages.

 

We believe the most significant hurdle to the licensing and/or sale of our technologies and products is the widespread use of certain of our technologies in infringing products produced by companies with significantly greater financial, technical and sales and marketing resources. In some cases, the disruptive nature of our technologies, the required integration of our technologies with other sub-systems in semiconductor systems on-chip, and our lack of tenure in the markets we are targeting provide further hurdles to adoption. We believe we can gain adoption and/or secure licensing agreements with unauthorized current users of one or more of our technologies, and therefore compete, based on a solid and defensible patent portfolio and the advantages enabled by our unique circuit architectures. Our circuit architectures are capable of being compliant with all current mobile phone and numerous other wireless industry standards and can be configured to accept all standard baseband data interfaces with the cooperation of the baseband processor providers. In addition, we believe that one or more of our technologies’ abilities to provide improved power efficiencies, highly accurate RF carrier waveforms, reduced cost, smaller form factors and better manufacturing yields, provides a sought-after solution to existing problems in applications for 3G, 4G, and next-generation mobile wireless standards, as well as in other applications that use wireless and wired RF where we believe our technologies can provide an attractive solution.

 

Patents and Trademarks

 

We consider our intellectual property, including patents, patent applications, trademarks, and trade secrets to be significant to our competitive positioning. We have a program to file applications for and obtain patents, copyrights, and trademarks in the U.S. and in selected foreign countries where we believe filing for such protection is appropriate to establish and maintain our proprietary rights in our technology and products. As of September 30, 2016, we had 197 U.S. and 90 foreign patents related to our RF technologies. In addition, we have approximately 35 U.S. and foreign patent applications pending. We estimate the economic lives of our patents to be fifteen to twenty years and our current portfolio of issued patents have expirations ranging from 2018 to 2032.

From time to time, we obtain licenses from others for standard industry circuit designs that are integrated into our own integrated circuits as supporting components that are peripheral to our core technologies. We believe there are multiple sources for these types of standard circuits and we estimate the economic lives of the licenses to be two to five years based on estimated technological obsolescence.

 

Research and Development

 

For the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014, and 2013 we spent approximately $2.5 million, $4.3 million, $7.3 million, and $9.3 million, respectively, on Company-sponsored research and development activities. Our research and development efforts have been, and are expected to continue to be, devoted to the development and advancement of RF technologies, including the development of prototype integrated circuits for proof of concept purposes, the development of production-ready silicon samples, reference designs and products for specific applications, and the creation of test programs for quality control testing of our chipsets and/or products.

 

Employees

 

As of September 30, 2016, we had 22 full-time and 3 part-time employees, of which 13 are employed in engineering research and development and 12 are employed in executive management, sales, marketing, finance, and administration. Our employees are not represented by a labor union. We consider our employee relations satisfactory.

RISK FACTORS

 

You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below and other information included in our filings with the SEC which are incorporated herein by reference. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial may also impair our business operations. Our business, financial condition or results of operation could be materially adversely affected by any of these risks. The trading price of our common stock could decline because of any one of these risks, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

 

Our financial condition raises substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern.

 

 Our independent registered certified public accounting firm has included in their audit opinion on our financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2015 a statement with respect to substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern. Our financial statements have been prepared assuming we will continue to operate as a going concern, which contemplates the realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. If we become unable to continue as a going concern, we may have to liquidate our assets and the values we receive for our assets in liquidation or dissolution could be significantly lower than the values reflected in our financial statements. The substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern may adversely affect our ability to negotiate reasonable terms with our suppliers and may adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital in the future.

 

We have had a history of losses which may ultimately compromise our ability to implement our business plan and continue in operation.

 

We have had losses in each year since our inception in 1989, and continue to have an accumulated deficit which, at September 30, 2016, was approximately $346.5 million. Our net losses for the nine months ended Sept 30, 2016 and for the year ended December 31, 2015 were approximately $15.8 million and $17.1 million, respectively. To date, our technologies and products have not produced revenues sufficient to cover operating, research and development and overhead costs. We will continue to make expenditures on patent protection and enforcement, research and development, marketing, and general operations in order to secure and fulfill any contracts that we achieve for the sale of our products or technologies. Our revenues in 2016 will not bring us to profitability and our current capital resources may not be sufficient to sustain our operations through 2016.  If we are not able to generate sufficient revenues or obtain sufficient capital resources, we will not be able to implement our business plan and investors will suffer a loss in their investment. This may also result in a change in our business strategies.

 

We expect to need additional capital in the future. Failure to raise such additional capital may prevent us from implementing our business plan as currently formulated.

 

Because we have had net losses and, to date, have not generated positive cash flow from operations, we have funded our operating losses from the sale of equity securities from time to time and from loans from a litigation funding party. We anticipate that our business plan will continue to require significant expenditures for patent protection, research and development, marketing, and general operations. Furthermore, we expect that the implementation of significant cost reduction measures in order to reduce our cash needs may jeopardize our operations and future growth plans. Our current unrestricted capital resources include cash and available-for-sale securities of $1.1 million at September 30, 2016. We received $10 million in February 2016 and an additional $1 million in May 2016 under a litigation funding arrangement; however, these funds are for specified use in patent enforcement actions initiated in December 2015 and June 2016. Furthermore, our funding party is entitled to priority reimbursement and compensation from any litigation settlements, licenses and other patent-related proceeds. Without the generation of sufficient revenues and/or the receipt of proceeds sufficient to reimburse our litigation funder, our current capital resources will not be sufficient to meet our working capital needs for 2016, and we may require additional capital to fund our operations. Financing, if any, may be in the form of additional litigation funding arrangements or additional sales of equity securities, including common or preferred stock. Additional litigation funding arrangements will result in further reductions in the amount of net proceeds from litigation and/or licensing activities retained by us. The sale of preferred stock may result in the imposition of operational limitations and other covenants and payment obligations, any of which may be burdensome to us. The sale of equity securities, including common or preferred stock, may result in dilution to the current shareholders’ ownership. The long-term continuation of our business plan is dependent upon the generation of sufficient revenues from patent enforcement actions or the sale or license of our products or technologies, additional funding, reducing expenses or a combination of the foregoing. The failure to generate sufficient revenues, raise capital or reduce expenses will have a material adverse effect on our ability to achieve our long-term business objectives.

If our patents and intellectual property rights do not provide us with the anticipated market protections, our competitive position, business, and prospects will be impaired.

 

We rely on our intellectual property rights, including patents and patent applications, to provide competitive advantage and protect us from theft of our intellectual property. We believe that our patents are for entirely new technologies and that our patents are valid, enforceable and valuable. However, third parties have made claims of invalidity with respect to certain of our patents and other similar claims may be brought in the future. For example, in the Qualcomm I Action, the appellate court ruled that ten of eleven patent claims that were subject of our Qualcomm I Action were invalid. If our patents are shown not to be as broad as currently believed, or are otherwise challenged such that some or all of the protection is lost, we will suffer adverse effects from the loss of competitive advantage and our ability to offer unique products and technologies. As a result, there would be an adverse impact on our financial condition and business prospects. Furthermore, defending against challenges to our patents may give rise to material costs for defense and divert resources away from our other activities.

 

Our litigation can be time-consuming, costly and we cannot anticipate the results.

 

Since 2011, we have spent a significant amount of our financial and management resources to pursue patent infringement litigation against third parties. We believe this litigation, and others that we may in the future determine to pursue, could continue to consume management and financial resources for long periods of time. There can be no assurance that our current or future litigation matters will ultimately result in a favorable outcome for us. In addition, even if we obtain favorable interim rulings or verdicts in particular litigation matters, they may not be predictive of the ultimate resolution of the matter. Unfavorable outcomes could result in exhaustion of our financial resources and could otherwise hinder our ability to pursue licensing and/or product opportunities for our technologies which would have a material adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and business prospects. We have contingent fee arrangements in place with others to reduce our litigation related expenditures; however any litigation-based, or other patent related, amounts collected by us will be subject to contingency payments to our legal counsel and other funding parties which will reduce the amount retained by us.

We are subject to outside influences beyond our control, including new legislation that could adversely affect our licensing and enforcement activities and have an adverse impact on the execution of our business plan.

 

Our licensing and enforcement activities are subject to numerous risks from outside influences, including new legislation, regulations and rules related to obtaining or enforcing patents. For instance, the U.S. recently enacted sweeping changes to the U.S. patent system including changes that transition the U.S. from a “first-to-invent” to a “first to file” system and that alter the processes for challenging issued patents. To the extent that we are unable to secure patent protection for our future technologies and/or our current patents are challenged such that some or all of our protection is lost, we will suffer adverse effects to our ability to offer unique products and technologies. As a result, there would be an adverse impact on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows and our ability to execute our business plan.

 

Our industry is subject to rapid technological changes which if we are unable to match or surpass, will result in a loss of competitive advantage and market opportunity.

 

Because of the rapid technological development that regularly occurs in the wireless technology industry, we must continually devote substantial resources to developing and improving our technology and introducing new product offerings. For example, in the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and in the fiscal years 2015 and 2014, we spent approximately $2.5 million, $4.3 million and $7.3 million, respectively, on research and development and, we expect to continue to spend a significant amount in this area in the future. These efforts and expenditures are necessary to establish market share and, ultimately, to generate revenues. If another company offers better products or technologies, a competitive position or market window opportunity may be lost, and therefore our revenues or revenue potential may be adversely affected.

 

If our technologies and/or products are not commercially accepted, our developmental investment will be lost and our ability to do business will be impaired.

 

There can be no assurance that our research and development will produce commercially viable technologies and products, or that our technologies and products will be established in the market as improvements over current competitive offerings. If our existing or new technologies and products are not commercially accepted, the funds expended will not be recoverable, and our competitive and financial position will be adversely affected. In addition, perception of our business prospects will be impaired with an adverse impact on our ability to do business and to attract capital and employees.

 

Our business is highly reliant on our business relationships with baseband suppliers for support of the interface of their product to our technology and the support of our sales and marketing efforts to their customers, the failure of which will have an adverse impact on our business.

 

The successful commercialization of our products will be impacted, in part, by factors outside of our control including the success and timing of product development and sales support activities of the suppliers of baseband processors with which our products interface. Delays in or failure of a baseband supplier’s product development or sales support activities, such as occurred in the case of our relationship with VIA, will hinder the commercialization of our products which will have an adverse impact on our ability to generate revenues and recover development expenses.

 

We rely, in large part, on key business and sales relationships for the successful commercialization of our products, which if not developed or maintained, will have an adverse impact on achieving market awareness and acceptance and will result in a loss of business opportunity.

 

To achieve a wide market awareness and acceptance of our products and technologies, as part of our business strategy, we will attempt to enter into a variety of business relationships with other companies which will incorporate our technologies into their products and/or market products based on our technologies. The successful commercialization of our products and technologies will depend in part on our ability to meet obligations under contracts with respect to the products and related development requirements. The failure to develop or maintain these business relationships will limit the commercialization of our products and technologies which will have an adverse impact on our business development and our ability to generate revenues and recover development expenses.

We are highly dependent on Mr. Jeffrey Parker as our chief executive officer. If his services were lost, it would have an adverse impact on the execution of our business plan.

 

Because of Mr. Parker’s leadership position in the company and the respect he has garnered in both the industry in which we operate and the investment community, the loss of his services might be seen as an impediment to the execution of our business plan. If Mr. Parker was no longer available to the company, investors might experience an adverse impact on their investment. We currently have an employment agreement and maintain key-employee life insurance for our benefit for Mr. Parker.

 

If we are unable to attract or retain key executives and other highly skilled employees, we will not be able to execute our current business plans.

 

Our business is very specialized, and therefore it is dependent on having skilled and specialized key executives and other employees to conduct our research, development and customer support activities. The inability to obtain or retain these key executives and other specialized employees would have an adverse impact on the research, development and technical customer support activities that our products require. These activities are instrumental to the successful execution of our business plan.

 

Our outstanding options, warrants, and restricted share units may affect the market price and liquidity of the common stock.

 

At September 30, 2016, we had 13,100,344 shares of common stock outstanding and had 1,350,846 options, warrants, and restricted share units outstanding for the purchase and/or issuance of additional shares of common stock. Of these outstanding equity instruments, 959,396 were exercisable as of September 30, 2016. All of the shares of common stock underlying these securities are registered for sale to the holder or for public resale by the holder. The amount of common stock available for the sales may have an adverse impact on our ability to raise capital and may affect the price and liquidity of the common stock in the public market. In addition, the issuance of these shares of common stock will have a dilutive effect on current shareholders’ ownership.

 

The price of our common stock may be subject to substantial volatility.

 

The trading price of our common stock has been and may continue to be volatile. Between September 30, 2014 and September 30, 2016 (after giving effect to the one-for-ten reverse stock split completed on March 29, 2016), the reported high and low sales prices for our common stock ranged between $1.50 and $13.30 per share. The price of our common stock may continue to be volatile as a result of a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control. These factors include, but are not limited to, developments in outstanding litigations, our performance and prospects, general conditions of the markets in which we compete, and economic and financial conditions. Such volatility could materially and adversely affect the market price of our common stock in future periods.

There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain compliance with the listing standards for trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market or another national securities exchange.

 

From April 21, 2015 to April 15, 2016, we were not in compliance with the NASDAQ minimum bid price requirement of $1. While we were able to regain compliance with this requirement, there can be no assurance that we will be able to continue maintain such compliance, or that we will be able to maintain compliance with NASDAQ’s other continued listing standards. If we are unable to maintain compliance, our common stock may no longer be listed on NASDAQ or another national securities exchange and the liquidity and market price of our common stock may be adversely affected.

 

We do not currently pay dividends on our common stock and thus stockholders must look to appreciation of our common stock to realize a gain on their investments.

 

We do not currently pay dividends on our common stock and intend to retain our cash and future earnings, if any, to fund our business plan. Our future dividend policy is within the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon various factors, including our business, financial condition, results of operations and capital requirements. We therefore cannot offer any assurance that our board of directors will determine to pay special or regular dividends in the future. Accordingly, unless our board of directors determines to pay dividends, stockholders will be required to look to appreciation of our common stock to realize a gain on their investment. There can be no assurance that this appreciation will occur.

 

Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and by-laws could have effects that conflict with the interest of shareholders.

 

Some provisions in our certificate of incorporation and by-laws could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire control of us. For example, our board of directors is divided into three classes with directors having staggered terms of office, our board of directors has the ability to issue preferred stock without shareholder approval, and there are advance notification provisions for director nominations and submissions of proposals from shareholders to a vote by all the shareholders under the by-laws. Florida law also has anti-takeover provisions in its corporate statute.

 

We have a shareholder protection rights plan that may delay or discourage someone from making an offer to purchase the company without prior consultation with the board of directors and management, which may conflict with the interests of some of the shareholders.

 

On November 17, 2005, as amended on November 20, 2015, our board of directors adopted a shareholder protection rights plan which called for the issuance, on November 29, 2005, as a dividend, of rights to acquire fractional shares of preferred stock. The rights are attached to the shares of common stock and transfer with them. In the future the rights may become exchangeable for shares of preferred stock with various provisions that may discourage a takeover bid. Additionally, the rights have what are known as “flip-in” and “flip-over” provisions that could make any acquisition of the company more costly. The principal objective of the plan is to cause someone interested in acquiring the company to negotiate with the board of directors rather than launch an unsolicited bid. This plan may limit, prevent, or discourage a takeover offer that some shareholders may find more advantageous than a negotiated transaction. A negotiated transaction may not be in the best interests of the shareholders.

NOTE ON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

Some of the statements contained in this prospectus and incorporated by reference herein are forward-looking statements that relate to possible future events, our future performance and our future operations. In some cases, you can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “plans,” “future,” “intends,” “could,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make regarding: expected operating results; anticipated levels of capital expenditures; product development and commercialization; litigation; and strategies for risk management, intellectual property protection and capturing intellectual property value.

 

These statements are only our predictions. We cannot guarantee future results, levels of activities, performance or achievements. Our actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements for many reasons, including as a result of the risks described from time to time in our SEC filings and those risks identified under sections entitled “Risk Factors” in any prospectus supplement. Important factors, among others, that may affect our actual results include:

 

We are under no duty to update or revise any of the forward-looking statements or risk factors to conform them to actual results or to changes in our expectations.

 

USE OF PROCEEDS

 

Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, the net proceeds from the sale of the securities offered hereby will be used to fund working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, and other general corporate purposes.

RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES

 

Our deficiency (excess) of earnings to fixed charges for the indicated periods are set forth below. The information set forth below should be read in conjunction with the financial information incorporated by reference herein.

 

(Amounts in thousands of dollars)

 

(A)	Due to our losses from continuing operations, the ratio coverage is less than 1:1.

 

This table sets forth our ratio of earnings to fixed charges on a historical basis for the periods indicated. The ratios are calculated by dividing earnings by fixed charges. For the purposes of computing the ratio of earnings to fixed charges, earnings consist of pretax losses from continuing operations plus fixed charges. Fixed charges consist of interest expense and an estimate of interest inherent in rental expense.

We had no shares of preferred stock outstanding for any period presented. As a result, the ratio of earnings to combined fixed charges and preferred stock dividends is the same as the ratio of earnings to fixed charges.

 

DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

 

The following description of our common stock and our preferred stock is a summary. You should refer to our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws for the actual terms of our capital stock.

 

Common Stock

 

We are authorized to issue up to 20,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.01 par value per share. As of November 9, 2016, there were 13,100,344 shares of our common stock outstanding. Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote per share on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders and may not cumulate votes for the election of directors. Common stockholders have the right to receive dividends when, as, and if declared by the board of directors from funds legally available therefore. Holders of common stock have no preemptive rights and have no rights to convert their common stock into any other securities. Our common stock is subject to the express terms of our preferred stock and any series thereof.

Preferred Stock

 

We are authorized to issue up to 15,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $1.00 par value per share. As of November 9, 2016, there were no preferred shares issued or outstanding. The shares of preferred stock have such rights and preferences as our board of directors shall determine, from time to time. The issuance of preferred stock, while providing desirable flexibility in connection with possible acquisition and other corporate purposes, could have the effect of making it more difficult for a third party to acquire, or discourage a third party from acquiring, a majority of our outstanding common stock. Our board of directors may issue preferred stock with voting and conversion rights that could adversely affect the voting power of the holders of our common stock or holders of other series of preferred stock.

 

If we offer a series of preferred stock, we will describe the specific terms of that series in a prospectus supplement, including:

 

The description of the terms of a series of preferred stock to be set forth in an applicable prospectus supplement will not be complete and will be subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to the certificate of designation relating to that series of preferred stock. The registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part will include the certificate of designation as an exhibit or as a document incorporated by reference.

 

Any preferred stock will, when issued, be fully paid and non-assessable.

 

Series E Preferred Stock

 

On November 17, 2005, the board of directors designated 100,000 shares of authorized preferred stock as the Series E Preferred Stock in conjunction with its adoption of a Shareholder Protection Rights Plan (as described below).  As of November 9, 2016, there were no shares of this series issued and outstanding.  The following description of the Series E Preferred Stock, and any description of this series included in a prospectus supplement, may not be complete and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to the certificate of designations, which was filed with the SEC on November 22, 2005 as Exhibit 4.02 to a Current Report on Form 8-K.

 

Certain rights of this series of preferred stock are defined in terms of a “Reference Package.”  The “Reference Package” is initially 1,000 shares of common stock, as adjusted for stock dividends, subdivisions and combinations.

 

The holders of full or fractional shares of this series are entitled to receive dividends, when and as declared by the board of directors, on each date that dividends or other distributions (other than dividends or distributions payable in our common stock) are payable on or in respect of common stock comprising part of the Reference Package, in an amount per whole share of this series equal to the aggregate amount of dividends or other distributions that would be payable on such date to a holder of the Reference Package.  In addition, on the last day of March, June, September and December in each year, the holders of this series are entitled to receive dividends in an amount per whole share of this series equal to the excess (if any) of $100 over the aggregate dividends paid per whole share of this series during the three-month period ending on such last day. Dividends on each full and each fractional share of this series are cumulative from the date such full or fractional share is originally issued.

In the event of any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our affairs, whether voluntary or involuntary, the holders of full and fractional shares of this series shall be entitled, before any distribution or payment is made on any date to the holders of the common stock or any other stock of ours ranking junior to this series upon liquidation, to be paid in full an amount per whole share of this series equal to the greater of $100 or the aggregate amount distributed or to be distributed in connection with such liquidation, dissolution or winding up to a holder of the Reference Package, together with accrued dividends to such distribution or payment date, whether or not earned or declared.

 

This series shall rank junior to all other series or classes of our preferred stock, now existing or hereafter created, as to payment of dividends and the distribution of assets, unless the terms of any such other series or class shall provide otherwise.

 

Each whole share of this series shall, on any matter, vote as a class with any other capital stock comprising part of the Reference Package and voting on such matter and shall have the number of votes thereon that a holder of the Reference Package would have.

 

Shareholder Protection Rights Plan

 

We have a Shareholder Protection Rights Agreement (“Rights Agreement”), originally adopted on November 21, 2005 and amended on November 20, 2015, pursuant to which we issued, on November 29, 2005, as a dividend, one right to acquire a fraction of a share of Series E Preferred Stock for each then outstanding share of common stock.  Each share of common stock issued by us after such date also has included, and any subsequent shares of common stock issued by us prior to the Separation Time (as defined in the Rights Agreement) will include, an attached right.  The following description of the Rights Agreement, and any description of the Rights Agreement included in a prospectus supplement, may not be complete and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to the terms and provisions of the Rights Agreement, which was filed with the SEC on November 22, 2005 as Exhibit 4.01 to a Current Report on Form 8-K.

 

The principal objective of the Rights Agreement is to cause someone interested in acquiring us to negotiate with our board of directors rather than launch an unsolicited or hostile bid.  The Rights Agreement subjects a potential acquirer to substantial voting and economic dilution.

 

The rights initially are not exercisable and trade with our common stock.  In the future, the rights may become exercisable with various provisions that may discourage a takeover bid.  If a potential acquirer initiates a takeover bid or becomes the beneficial owner of 15% or more of our common stock, the rights will separate from the common stock.  Upon separation, the holders of the rights may exercise their rights at an exercise price of $14.50 per right (the “Exercise Price”), subject to adjustment and payable in cash.  Additionally, the rights have what are known as “flip-in” and “flip-over” provisions that could make any acquisition of us more costly to the potential acquirer. The “flip-in” provision provides that, in the event a potential acquirer acquires 15% or more of the outstanding shares of our common stock, upon payment of the exercise price, the holders of the rights will receive from us that number of shares of common stock having an aggregate market price equal to twice the Exercise Price, as adjusted. The “flip-over” provision allows the holder to purchase that number of shares of common/voting equity of a successor entity, if we are not the surviving corporation in a business combination, with an aggregate market price equal to twice the Exercise Price.

We have the right to substitute for any of our shares of common stock that we are obligated to issue, shares of Series E Preferred Stock at a ratio of one thousandth of a share of Series E Preferred Stock for each share of common stock.

 

The rights may be redeemed upon approval of the board of directors at a redemption price of $0.01. The Rights Agreement expires on November 20, 2020.

 

Classified Board; Director Nominations; Special Meetings

 

Our board of directors is divided into three classes, with only one class of directors elected at each annual meeting, and our shareholders may remove our directors only for cause. Nominations for our board of directors may be made by our board or by any holder of common stock.  A shareholder entitled to vote for the election of directors may nominate a person for election as director only if the shareholder provides written notice of his nomination to our secretary not later than 120 days in advance of the same day and month that our proxy statement was released to shareholders in connection with the previous year’s annual meeting of shareholders or, if no annual meeting was held in the previous year, then by the end of the fiscal year to which the annual meeting in which the nomination will be made relates.  A special meeting of our shareholders may be called only by our board of directors or our chief executive officer.  These provisions and the board of directors’ right to issue shares of our preferred stock from time to time, in one or more classes or series without stockholder approval, are intended to enhance the likelihood of continuity and stability in the composition of the policies formulated by our board of directors. These provisions are also intended to discourage some tactics that may be used in proxy fights.

 

Transfer Agent and Registrar

 

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, 6201 15^th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY  11219, and can be reached at (800) 937-5449.  The transfer agent and registrar for any series of preferred stock will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS

 

We may issue warrants for the purchase of preferred stock, common stock or debt securities, or any combination of these securities. Warrants may be issued independently or together with other securities and may be attached to or separate from any offered securities. Each series of warrants will be issued under a separate warrant agreement to be entered into between a warrant agent and us. The warrant agent will act solely as our agent in connection with the warrants and will not have any obligation or relationship of agency or trust for or with any holders or beneficial owners of warrants. The following outlines some of the general terms and provisions of the warrants that we may issue from time to time. Additional terms of the warrants and the applicable warrant agreement will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. The following description, and any description of the warrants included in a prospectus supplement, may not be complete and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to the terms and provisions of the applicable warrant agreement, which we will file with the SEC in connection with any offering of warrants.

Debt Warrants

 

The prospectus supplement relating to a particular issue of warrants exercisable for debt securities will describe the terms of those warrants, including the following:

 

 

Stock Warrants

 

The prospectus supplement relating to a particular issue of warrants exercisable for common stock or preferred stock will describe the terms of the common stock warrants and preferred stock warrants, including the following:

 

 

Exercise of Warrants

 

Each warrant will entitle the holder of the warrant to purchase at the exercise price set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement the principal amount of debt securities or shares of common stock or preferred stock being offered. Holders may exercise warrants at any time up to the close of business on the expiration date set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. After the close of business on the expiration date, unexercised warrants will be void. Holders may exercise warrants as set forth in the prospectus supplement relating to the warrants being offered.

 

Until a holder exercises the warrants to purchase any securities underlying the warrants, the holder will not have any rights as a holder of the underlying securities by virtue of ownership of warrants.

 

DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES

 

We may offer any combination of senior debt securities or subordinated debt securities.  We may issue the senior debt securities and the subordinated debt securities under separate indentures between us, as issuer, and the trustee or trustees identified in a prospectus supplement.  Further information regarding the trustee may be provided in the prospectus supplement.  The form for each type of indenture is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.

 

The prospectus supplement will describe the particular terms of any debt securities we may offer and may supplement the terms summarized below.  The following summaries of the debt securities and the indentures are not complete.  We urge you to read the indentures filed as exhibits to the registration statement that includes this prospectus and the description of the additional terms of the debt securities included in the prospectus supplement.

 

General

 

Within the total dollar amount of this shelf registration statement, we may issue an unlimited principal amount of debt securities in separate series.  We may specify a maximum aggregate principal amount for the debt securities of any series.  The debt securities will have terms that are consistent with the indentures.  Senior debt securities will be unsubordinated obligations and will rank equal with all our other unsubordinated debt.  Subordinated debt securities will be paid only if all payments due under our senior indebtedness, including any outstanding senior debt securities, have been made.

 

The indentures might not limit the amount of other debt that we may incur or whether that debt is senior to the debt securities offered by this prospectus, and might not contain financial or similar restrictive covenants.  The indentures might not contain any provision to protect holders of debt securities against a sudden or dramatic decline in our ability to pay our debt.

The prospectus supplement will describe the debt securities and the price or prices at which we will offer the debt securities.  The description will include:

 

EXPERTS

 

The financial statements incorporated in this Prospectus by reference to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 have been so incorporated in reliance on the report (which contains an explanatory paragraph relating to our ability to continue as a going concern as described in Note 2 to the financial statements) of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered certified public accounting firm, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.

 

 

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

 

We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available to the public over the Internet at the SEC's web site at http://www.sec.gov. You may also read and copy any document we file with the SEC at the SEC's public reference room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information about the public reference room.

 

The SEC allows us to incorporate by reference the information we file with it, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus, and information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede this information. This prospectus incorporates by reference our documents listed below and any future filings we make with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act until all of the securities are sold.

 

·

Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 (filed on March 30, 2016 and amended on April 27, 2016);

 

·

Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2016 (filed on May 16, 2016), June 30, 2016 (filed on August 15, 2016), and September 30, 2016 (filed on November 14, 2016);

 

·

Current Reports on Form 8-K dated January 15, 2016 (filed on January 19, 2016), January 21, 2016 (filed on January 21, 2016), January 25, 2016 (filed on January 25, 2016), February 25, 2016 (filed on February 26, 2016), March 24, 2016 (filed on March 29, 2016), April 14, 2016 (filed on April 15, 2016), May 27, 2016 (filed on May 31, 2016), June 1, 2016 (filed on June 6, 2016), July 6, 2016 (filed on July 7, 2016), July 8, 2016 (filed on July 8, 2016),  July 15, 2016 (filed on July 18, 2016), August 12, 2016 (filed on August 18, 2016); and August 15, 2016 (filed on August 22, 2016);

 

·

Proxy Statement dated June 24, 2016, used in connection with the annual meeting of shareholders that was held on August 12, 2016; and

 

·

Form 8-A effective on November 30, 1993 and Form 8-A effective on November 22, 2005, as amended, registering our common stock and our rights to purchase our Series E Preferred Stock, respectively, under Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act.

 

Any statement contained in a document filed before the date of this prospectus and incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this prospectus. Any information that we file after the date of this prospectus with the SEC will automatically update and supersede the information contained in this prospectus. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we are not incorporating any document or portion thereof or information deemed to have been furnished and not filed in accordance with SEC rule.

We will provide you with a copy of any or all of the information that has been incorporated by reference in this prospectus, without charge, upon written or oral request directed to ParkerVision, Inc., Attention: Investor Relations, 7915 Baymeadows Way, Suite 400, Jacksonville, Florida 32256, telephone number (904) 732-6100.

PART II

 

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

 

Item 14.

Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.

 

The estimated expenses in connection with the sale of the securities being registered hereby, are as follows:

 

 

Item 15.

Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

 

The laws of the Florida permit the indemnification of directors, employees, officers and agents of Florida corporations. Our articles of incorporation and bylaws provide that we shall indemnify to the fullest extent permitted by Florida law any person whom we indemnify under that law.

 

The provisions of Florida law that authorize indemnification do not eliminate the duty of care of a director. In appropriate circumstances, equitable remedies such as injunctive or other forms of non-monetary relief will remain available. In addition, each director will continue to be subject to liability for (a) violations of criminal laws, unless the director has reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was lawful or had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful, (b) deriving an improper personal benefit from a transaction, (c) voting for or assenting to an unlawful distribution and (d) willful misconduct or conscious disregard for our best interests in a proceeding by or in our right to procure a judgment in its favor or in a proceeding by or in the right of a stockholder. The statute does not affect a director's responsibilities under any other law, such as the federal securities laws.

 

We have entered into indemnification and reimbursement agreements with each of our directors.

 

The effect of the foregoing is to require us to indemnify our officers and directors for any claim arising against such persons in their official capacities if such person acted in good faith and in a manner that he or she reasonably believed to be in or not contrary to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful.

 

We have directors and officers insurance which includes insurance for claims against these persons brought under securities laws.

 

To the extent that we indemnify our management for liabilities arising under securities laws, we have been informed by the SEC that this indemnification is against public policy and is therefore unenforceable.

 

Item 16.

Exhibits

 

A list of the exhibits required by Item 601 of Regulation S-K to be filed as part of this registration statement is set forth in the Exhibit Index on page II-7.

 

Item 17.

Undertakings

 

(a)	The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

(1)

To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

 

 

 

 

Provided, however, that:

 

Paragraphs (1)(i), (1)(ii) and (1)(iii) of this section do not apply if the registration statement is on Form S-3 and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration statement.

 

 

(3)

To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

 

(5)

(i)         That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:

 

 

(6)

That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities:

 

The undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

 

 

 

 

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, hereunto duly authorized, in Jacksonville, Florida on November 14, 2016.

 

	PARKERVISION, INC
	By:	/s/ Jeffrey L. Parker
		Name:  Jeffrey L. Parker
		Title: Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

 

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Jeffrey L. Parker, Cynthia Poehlman, and David F. Sorrells, and each of them, with full power to act without the other, such person's true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and re-substitution, for him and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign this Registration Statement, any and all amendments thereto (including post-effective amendments), any subsequent Registration Statements pursuant to Rule 462 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and any amendments thereto and to file the same, with exhibits and schedules thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange  Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing necessary or desirable to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, or their or his substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

Signatures			Title	Date
By:	/s/ Jeffrey L. Parker		Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board (Principal Executive Officer)	November 14, 2016
	Jeffrey L. Parker
By:	/s/ Cynthia L. Poehlman		Chief Financial Officer and Secretary (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)	November 14, 2016
	Cynthia L. Poehlman
By:	/s/ David F. Sorrells		Chief Technical Officer and Director	November 14, 2016
	David F. Sorrells
By:	/s/ William A. Hightower		Director	November 14, 2016
	William A. Hightower

Signatures			Title	Date
By:	/s/ John Metcalf		Director	November 14, 2016
	John Metcalf
By:	/s/ Robert G. Sterne		Director	November 14, 2016
	Robert G. Sterne
By:	/s/ Nam P. Suh		Director	November 14, 2016
	Nam P. Suh
By:	/s/ Papken S. Der Torossian		Director	November 14, 2016
	Papken S. Der Torossian

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit No.

Description

 

1.1	Form of Underwriting Agreement or other similar agreement**

 

4.1	Specimen Common Stock Certificate (1)

 

4.2	Form of Certificate of Designation of Preferred Stock**

 

4.3	Form of Warrant**

 

4.4	Form of Indenture for Senior Debt Securities between the Registrant and Trustee to be designated*

 

4.5	Form of Indenture for Subordinated Debt Securities between the Registrant and Trustee to be designated*

 

5.1	Opinion of Graubard Miller*

 

10.1	Form of Securities Purchase Agreement or other similar agreement**

 

12.1	Computation of ratio of earnings to fixed charges*

 

23.1	Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP*

 

23.2	Consent of Graubard Miller (included in its opinion filed as Exhibit 5.1).

 

24	Power of Attorney (set forth on signature page)

 

25	Form T-1 Statement of Eligibility under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, of the Trustee under an indenture***

 

---

*	Filed herewith.

 

**	To be filed, if applicable, subsequent to the effectiveness of this Registration Statement by an amendment to this Registration Statement or by incorporation by reference through a Current Report on Form 8-K filed in connection with an offering of securities.

 

***	To be filed subsequent to the effectiveness of this Registration Statement pursuant to Section 305(b)(2) of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended.

 

(1)	Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of Registration Statement No. 33-70588-A.