VirnetX Holding Corp - Quarter Report: 2023 March (Form 10-Q)
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-Q
(Mark One)
☒ |
QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
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For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2023.
or
☐ |
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
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Commission File Number: 001-33852
VirnetX Holding Corporation
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
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77-0390628
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(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
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308 Dorla Court, Suite 206 Zephyr Cove, Nevada
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89448
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(Address of principal executive offices)
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(Zip Code)
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Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (775)
548-1785
Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report: N/A
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class
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Trading Symbol(s)
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Name of each exchange on which registered
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Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share
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VHC
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NYSE
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the
preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T
(§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging
growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer ☐
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Accelerated filer ☐
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Non-accelerated filer ☒
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Emerging growth company ☐
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Smaller reporting company ☒
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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised
financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
71,424,650 shares of the registrant’s Common Stock were
outstanding as of May 10, 2023.
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
We have included or incorporated by reference in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (this “Report”), and from time to time we may make statements that
may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). These
forward-looking statements are based upon our current expectations, estimates, assumptions, and beliefs concerning future events and conditions and may discuss, among other things, anticipated future performance (including sales and earnings),
products, expected growth, future business plans and costs, the impact of potential, ongoing litigation and the expectation of future stockholder distributions, and statements regarding the Company's efforts and ability to regain compliance with
the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) continued listing standard. Any statement that is not historical in nature is a forward- looking statement and may be identified by the use of words and phrases such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,”
“expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “predicts,” “projects,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will likely result in,” and similar expressions. These statements include our beliefs and statements regarding general industry and market conditions and growth
rates, as well as general domestic and international economic conditions. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties, and other
factors, many of which are outside our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements and from our historical results and experience. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to
those described in Item 1A - Risk Factors of this Report and elsewhere in this Report and those described from time to time in our future reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Readers are cautioned that it is not
possible to predict or identify all the risks, uncertainties and other factors that may affect future results and that the risks described herein should not be considered a complete list. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on
which such statement is made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Among others, the forward-looking statements appearing in this Quarterly Report that may not occur include statements that:
• |
In the VirnetX Inc. v. Apple, Inc. (Case Nos. 6:11-cv-00563-RWS, 6:12-cv-00855-RWS) (“Apple II”) litigation, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
(the “Federal Circuit”) in November 2019, affirmed-in-part, and reversed-in-part the judgment issued by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (the “district court”) in the case awarding VirnetX damages of $595.9
million. On October 30, 2020, after a trial in the district court, a jury returned a verdict in favor of VirnetX, awarding VirnetX over $502 million in damages. On January 15, 2021, the district court denied Apple’s motion for judgment as a
matter of law and affirmed the jury findings. Apple appealed to the Federal Circuit with regards to the judgement from the district court, and, March 31, 2023, the Federal Circuit issued its decision vacating the district court’s judgement in
this matter and remanding it back to the district court with instructions to dismiss the case as moot. We make statements in this quarterly report that we are evaluating all of our available options in this matter, including potentially
seeking rehearing or certiorari review and this may imply that the March 31, 2023, circuit decision may be reversed; however, we might not pursue options that could lead to reversal, or if we do we may not be successful. In addition, the
patents in this case are being challenged in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. If those challenges are successful, the award in the case may be reduced, eliminated and/or delayed for a lengthy period. The continuation of this
litigation is distracting to our management, expensive, and these distractions and expenses may continue.
|
• |
We have undertaken activities to commercialize our products and patent portfolio in and outside the United States including VirnetX One™, War Room™, VirnetX Matrix™,
GABRIEL Connection Technology™ and our Secured Domain Names. These statements may imply that the worldwide market for our commercialized products is large and will result in significant future licensing or software revenue for us. However,
commercialization of products such as ours is subject to significant obstacles and risks, may prevent significant future revenues for us.
|
EXCEPT AS REQUIRED BY LAW, WE UNDERTAKE NO OBLIGATION TO UPDATE OR REVISE ANY FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT AS A RESULT OF
NEW INFORMATION, FUTURE EVENTS OR OTHERWISE.
VIRNETX HOLDING CORPORATION
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2
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6
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15
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18
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32 |
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Item 6 — Exhibits |
33 | |
34 |
VIRNETX HOLDING CORPORATION
(in thousands, except share amounts)
As of
March 31,
2023
|
As of
December 31,
2022
|
|||||||
|
(unaudited)
|
|||||||
ASSETS |
||||||||
Current assets:
|
||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents
|
$
|
97,050
|
$
|
86,561
|
||||
Investments available for sale
|
52,367
|
65,462
|
||||||
Accounts receivables
|
4
|
14
|
||||||
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
|
614
|
224
|
||||||
Total current assets
|
150,035
|
152,261
|
||||||
Prepaid expenses and other assets
|
614
|
703
|
||||||
Property and equipment, net
|
10
|
11
|
||||||
Total assets
|
$
|
150,659
|
$
|
152,975
|
||||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
|
||||||||
Current liabilities:
|
||||||||
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities
|
$
|
1,692
|
$
|
373
|
||||
Accrued payroll and related expenses
|
365
|
311
|
||||||
Accrued dividends
|
71,429 | — | ||||||
Other liabilities, current
|
37
|
47
|
||||||
Total current liabilities
|
73,523
|
731
|
||||||
Other liabilities |
— | — | ||||||
Total liabilities |
73,523 | 731 | ||||||
Commitments and contingencies (Note 4)
|
|
|
||||||
Stockholders’ equity:
|
||||||||
Preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share Authorized: 10,000,000 shares at March 31, 2023 and December
31, 2022; Issued and outstanding: 0 shares at March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022
|
—
|
—
|
||||||
Common stock, par value $0.0001
per share Authorized: 100,000,000 shares at March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022; Issued and outstanding: 71,424,650
shares at March 31, 2023
and 71,424,650 at December 31, 2022
|
7
|
7
|
||||||
Additional paid-in capital
|
240,428
|
239,746
|
||||||
Accumulated deficit
|
(163,091
|
)
|
(87,195
|
)
|
||||
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
|
(208
|
)
|
(314
|
)
|
||||
Total stockholders’ equity
|
77,136
|
152,244
|
||||||
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity
|
$
|
150,659
|
$
|
152,975
|
See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.
VIRNETX HOLDING CORPORATION
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
Three Months Ended
|
||||||||
March 31,
2023
|
March 31,
2022
|
|||||||
Revenue
|
$
|
2
|
$
|
5
|
||||
Operating expense:
|
||||||||
Licensing costs
|
—
|
(4
|
)
|
|||||
Research and development
|
1,368
|
1,227
|
||||||
Selling, general and administrative
|
4,548
|
3,185
|
||||||
Total operating expense
|
5,916
|
4,408
|
||||||
Income (loss) from operations
|
(5,914
|
)
|
(4,403
|
)
|
||||
Interest and other income, net
|
1,369
|
24
|
||||||
Income (loss) before taxes
|
(4,545
|
)
|
(4,379
|
)
|
||||
Income tax (expense) benefit
|
78
|
1,059
|
||||||
Net income (loss)
|
$
|
(4,467
|
)
|
$
|
(3,320
|
)
|
||
Basic income (loss) per share
|
$
|
(0.06
|
)
|
$
|
(0.05
|
)
|
||
Diluted income (loss) per share
|
$
|
(0.06
|
)
|
$
|
(0.05
|
)
|
||
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic
|
71,425
|
71,233
|
||||||
Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted
|
71,425
|
71,233
|
See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.
VIRNETX HOLDING CORPORATION
(in thousands)
|
Three Months Ended
|
|||||||
|
March 31,
2023
|
March 31,
2022
|
||||||
Net income (loss)
|
$
|
(4,467
|
)
|
$
|
(3,320
|
)
|
||
Other comprehensive income (loss):
|
||||||||
Change in unrealized gain (loss) on investments, net of tax
|
107
|
(171
|
)
|
|||||
Change in foreign currency translation, net of tax
|
(1
|
)
|
(3
|
)
|
||||
Total other comprehensive income (loss)
|
106
|
(174
|
)
|
|||||
Comprehensive income (loss)
|
$
|
(4,361
|
)
|
$
|
(3,494
|
)
|
See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.
VIRNETX HOLDING CORPORATION
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
|
||||||||
2023
|
2022
|
|||||||
Total shareholders’ equity, beginning balances
|
$
|
152,244
|
$
|
185,449
|
||||
Common stock and additional paid-in capital:
|
||||||||
Beginning balances
|
239,753
|
236,452
|
||||||
Stock-based compensation
|
682
|
778
|
||||||
Ending balances
|
240,435
|
237,230
|
||||||
Accumulated deficit:
|
||||||||
Beginning balances
|
(87,195
|
)
|
(50,935
|
)
|
||||
Net (loss) income
|
(4,467
|
)
|
(3,320
|
)
|
||||
Dividends
|
(71,429 | ) | — | |||||
Ending balances
|
(163,091
|
)
|
(54,255
|
)
|
||||
Accumulated other comprehensive loss:
|
||||||||
Beginning balances
|
(314
|
)
|
(68
|
)
|
||||
Change in unrealized investment gain/loss, net
|
107
|
(171
|
)
|
|||||
Change in foreign currency translation, net
|
(1
|
)
|
(3
|
)
|
||||
Ending balances
|
(208
|
)
|
(242
|
)
|
||||
Total shareholders’ equity, ending balances
|
$
|
77,136
|
$
|
182,733
|
||||
Dividends per share |
$ | 1.00 | $ | — |
See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.
VIRNETX HOLDING CORPORATION
(in thousands)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
|
||||||||
2023
|
2022
|
|||||||
Cash flows from operating activities:
|
||||||||
Net (loss) income
|
$
|
(4,467
|
)
|
$
|
(3,320
|
)
|
||
Adjustments to reconcile net (loss) income to cash flows from operating activities:
|
||||||||
Depreciation
|
1
|
2
|
||||||
Deferred tax assets
|
—
|
(1,059
|
)
|
|||||
Bad debt
|
10
|
—
|
||||||
Stock-based compensation
|
682
|
778
|
||||||
Changes in assets and liabilities:
|
||||||||
Accounts receivables
|
—
|
5
|
||||||
Prepaid expenses and other assets
|
(301
|
)
|
(369
|
)
|
||||
Accounts payable
|
1,320
|
313
|
||||||
Accrued payroll and related expenses
|
54
|
60
|
||||||
Accrued licensing costs
|
—
|
(355
|
)
|
|||||
Other liabilities
|
(10 | ) | (17 | ) | ||||
Net cash (used in) operating activities
|
(2,711
|
)
|
(3,962
|
)
|
||||
Cash flows from investing activities:
|
||||||||
Purchase of investments
|
(16,638
|
)
|
(4,060
|
)
|
||||
Proceeds from sale or maturity of investments
|
29,838
|
2,412
|
||||||
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities
|
13,200
|
(1,648
|
)
|
|||||
Net change in cash and cash equivalents
|
10,489
|
(5,610
|
)
|
|||||
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period
|
86,561
|
142,018
|
||||||
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period
|
$
|
97,050
|
$
|
136,408
|
||||
Non-cash transactions
|
||||||||
Dividends approved and accrued on March 30, 2023, paid in April 2023
|
$ | 71,429 | $ | — |
See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.
VIRNETX HOLDING CORPORATION
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
Note 1 — Business Description
and Basis of Presentation
VirnetX Holding Corporation (the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is an Internet security software and technology company with patented technology for Zero Trust Network Access (“ZTNA”) based secure network
communications. VirnetX’s software and technology solutions, including its Secure Domain Name Registry and Technology, VirnetX One™, War Room™, VirnetX Matrix™, and Gabriel
Connection Technology™, are designed to be device- and location-independent, and enable a secure real-time communication environment for all types of enterprise applications, services, and critical infrastructures. Our technology generates secure
connections on a “single-click” basis, significantly simplifying the deployment of secure real-time communication solutions by eliminating the need for end-users to enter any encryption information. Our portfolio of intellectual property
is the foundation of our business model. We currently own approximately 205 total patents and pending applications, including 72 U.S. patents/patent applications and 133
foreign patents/validations/pending applications. Our patent portfolio is primarily focused on securing real-time communications over the Internet and related services, and is used in
all our technology and products, some of which were acquired by our principal operating subsidiary; VirnetX, Inc., from Leidos, Inc., or Leidos, (f/k/a Science Applications International Corporation, or SAIC) in 2006.
Our product portfolio includes sophisticated technologies, products and services that are available
for sale worldwide. Our next-generation, VirnetX One™ platform builds upon our patented Secure Domain Names and GABRIEL Connection Technology™ to further enhance the
security and efficiency of our patented secure communication links. VirnetX One™ is a security-as-a-service platform that protects enterprise applications, services, and
infrastructure from cyber-attacks. Our platform allows businesses and other enterprises of all sizes to add a “security umbrella” as an added layer on top of their existing infrastructure to further reduce risk and bolster security against
ever-growing cyberthreats to data, operating systems, other infrastructure products and gateway security controllers.
Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Unaudited Interim Financial Information
The accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as of
March 31, 2023, the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, the
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, and the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022 are unaudited. These unaudited
interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”). In our opinion, the unaudited interim consolidated financial statements include all
adjustments of a normal recurring nature necessary for the fair presentation of our financial position as of March 31, 2023, our results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, and our cash flows for the three months ended
March 31, 2023 and 2022. The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for a full year.
These unaudited interim consolidated financial statements
should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the SEC on March 31, 2023.
Use of Estimates
We prepare our consolidated financial statements in
accordance with U.S. GAAP. In doing so, we have to make estimates and assumptions that affect our reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses, as well as related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. In some cases, we
could reasonably have used different accounting policies and estimates. In some cases, changes in the accounting estimates are reasonably likely to occur from period to period. Accordingly, actual results could differ materially from our estimates.
To the extent that there are material differences between these estimates and actual results, our financial condition or results of operations will be affected. We base our estimates on past experience and other assumptions that we believe are
reasonable under the circumstances, and we evaluate these estimates on an ongoing basis. We refer to accounting estimates of this type as critical accounting policies and estimates, which we discuss further below. We have reviewed our critical
accounting policies and estimates with the audit committee of our Board of Directors.
Basis of Consolidation
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of
VirnetX Holding Corporation and our wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.
Leases
The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at
inception in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 842. Operating lease right-of-use (“ROU”) assets are included in Prepaid expenses, and other assets on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. ROU assets
represent the Company’s right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent the Company’s obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. ROU assets and lease liabilities are recognized at the commencement
date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term (see Note 8 – Leases).
Revenue Recognition
The Company derives revenue from licensing and royalty fees
from contracts with customers which can span several years. We account for this revenue in accordance with ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. A performance obligation is a promise in a contract to transfer a distinct good or
service to the customer. A contract’s transaction price is allocated to each distinct performance obligation and recognized as revenue when, or as, the performance obligation is satisfied. Our revenue arrangements may consist of multiple-element
arrangements, with revenue for each unit of accounting recognized as the product or service is delivered to the customer.
With the licensing of our patents, performance obligations are
generally satisfied at a point in time as work is complete when our patent rights are transferred to our customers. We generally have no further obligation to our customers regarding our technology.
Certain contracts may require our customers to enter into a
hosting arrangement with us and for these arrangements, revenue is recognized over time, generally over the life of the servicing contract.
The Company actively monitors and enforces its intellectual
property rights, including seeking appropriate compensation from third parties that utilize the Company’s intellectual property without a license. As a result, the Company may, from time to time, receive payments as part of a settlement or
compensation for a patent infringement dispute. Proceeds received are allocated to each element identified in the settlement or compensation, based on the fair value of each element. Generally, settlements and compensation may include the following
elements: the value of a license or royalty agreement, cost reimbursement, damages, and interest. Elements identified related to licensing and royalty are recognized as revenue. Elements identified as reimbursed costs are generally recorded as a
reduction to the reported expenses. Elements identified as damages or interest are generally recorded in other income in the condensed consolidated statement of operations.
Licensing Costs
Included in operating expenses in 2022 is a refund of
licensing costs we incurred in conjunction with a favorable court decision relating to a patent infringement case.
Contingent Gains
ASC Topic 450-30-25, Contingent Gains, prohibits recognition of
contingent gains until realized. Accordingly, we do not record contingent gains ahead of such realization. Management generally considers any such gains as realized only upon the collection of cash.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
We consider all highly liquid investments purchased with
maturities of three months or less at the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. Our cash and cash equivalents are not subject to significant interest rate risk due to the short maturities of these investments.
Investments
Investments are classified as available-for-sale and are
recorded at fair market value. Unrealized gains and losses are reported as other comprehensive income. Realized gains and losses are recorded in income in the period they are realized using specific identification of each security’s cost basis. We
invest our excess cash primarily in highly liquid debt instruments including corporate, government and federal agency securities, with contractual maturities less than two years. By policy, we limit the amount of credit exposure to any one issuer.
Property and Equipment
Property and equipment are stated at historical cost, less
accumulated depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization are computed using the accelerated and straight-line methods over the estimated useful lives of the assets, which range from
to seven years. Repair and maintenance costs are charged to
expense as incurred.Concentration of Credit Risk and Other Risks and Uncertainties
Our cash and cash equivalents are primarily maintained at two major financial institutions in the United States. Deposits held with these financial institutions may exceed the amount of insurance provided on
such deposits. A portion of those balances are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC. During the three months ended March 31, 2023, we had, at times, funds that were uninsured. We do not believe that we are subject to any
unusual financial risk beyond the normal risk associated with commercial banking relationships. We have not experienced any losses on our deposits of cash and cash equivalents.
Fair Value
The carrying amounts of our financial instruments, including
cash equivalents, accounts payable, and accrued liabilities, approximate fair value because of their generally short maturities.
Intangible Assets
We record intangible assets at cost, less accumulated
amortization. Amortization of intangible assets is provided over their estimated useful lives, which can range from 3 to 15 years, on either a straight-line basis or as revenue is generated by the assets.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
We identify and record impairment losses on long-lived assets
used in operations when events and changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset might not be recoverable, but not less than annually. Recoverability is measured by comparison of the anticipated future net undiscounted cash
flows to the related assets’ carrying value. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the projected discounted future net cash flows
arising from the asset.
Research and Development
Research and development costs include expenses paid to
outside development consultants and compensation related expenses for our engineering staff. Research and development costs are expensed as incurred.
Income Taxes
We account for income taxes using the asset and liability
method. The asset and liability method requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for expected future tax consequences of temporary differences that currently exist between the tax basis and financial reporting basis of our
assets and liabilities. We calculate current and deferred tax provisions based on estimates and assumptions that could differ from actual results reflected on the income tax returns filed during the following years. Adjustments based on filed
returns are recorded when identified in the subsequent years. The effect on deferred taxes for a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that the tax rate change is enacted. In assessing our deferred tax assets, we consider
whether it is more likely than not that all or some portion of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.
The 2017 U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act changes IRC Section 174, regarding capitalization of book research and development (“R&D”) expenses for income tax purposes.
Effective for tax years beginning in 2022, IRC Section 174 requires the capitalization of book R&D expenses which are capitalized and amortized over 5 years for domestic R&D expenses and over 15 years for foreign R&D expenses. To date
there has been limited guidance from the IRS on how to quantify the amount of book R&D expenses subject to capitalization, including the indirect expenses supporting the R&D function. Due to the limited guidance, some assumptions were
made in our estimates.
A valuation allowance is provided for deferred income tax
assets when, in our judgment, based upon currently available information and other factors, it is more likely than not that all or a portion of such deferred income tax assets will not be realized. The determination of the need for a valuation
allowance is based on an on-going evaluation of current information including, among other things, historical operating results, estimates of future earnings in different taxing jurisdictions and the expected timing of the reversals of temporary
differences. We believe the determination to record a valuation allowance to reduce a deferred income tax asset is a significant accounting estimate because it is based, among other things, on an estimate of future taxable income in the United
States and certain other jurisdictions, which is susceptible to change and may or may not occur, and because the impact of adjusting a valuation allowance may be material. In determining when to release the valuation allowance established against
our net deferred income tax assets, we consider all available evidence, both positive and negative. We continually assess our ability to generate sufficient taxable income during future periods in which our deferred tax assets may be realized. If
and when we believe it is more likely than not that we will recover our deferred tax assets, we will reverse the valuation allowance as an income tax benefit in our statements of operations.
We account for our uncertain tax positions in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which utilizes a two-step approach to evaluate tax positions. Step one,
recognition, requires evaluation of the tax position to determine if based solely on technical merits it is more likely than not to be sustained upon examination. Step two, measurement, is addressed only if a position is more likely than not to be
sustained. In step two, the tax benefit is measured as the largest amount of benefit, determined on a cumulative probability basis, which is more likely than not to be realized upon ultimate settlement with tax authorities. If a position does not
meet the more likely than not threshold for recognition in step one, no benefit is recorded until the first subsequent period in which the more likely than not standard is met, the issue is resolved with the taxing authority, or the statute of
limitations expires. Positions previously recognized are reversed if and when we subsequently determine the position no longer is more likely than not to be sustained. Evaluation of tax positions, their technical merits, and measurements using
cumulative probability are highly subjective management estimates. Actual results could differ materially from these estimates.
Stock-Based Compensation
We account for stock-based compensation using the fair value recognition method in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We recognize these compensation
costs on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the award, which is generally a vesting term of 4 years. We
recognize forfeitures, if any, when they occur. In addition, we record stock-based compensation expense for awards granted to non-employees at fair value of the consideration received or the fair value of the equity instruments issued, as they
vest, over the performance period (See Note 5 - Stock-Based Compensation).
Earnings per Share
Basic earnings per share are computed by dividing earnings
available to common stockholders by the weighted average number of outstanding common shares during the period. Diluted earnings per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period
increased to include the number of additional shares of common stock that would have been outstanding if the potentially dilutive securities had been issued.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
Fair value is the price that would result from an orderly
transaction between market participants at the measurement date. A fair value hierarchy prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets
or liabilities (Level 1 measurement) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurement). Level 2 measurements utilize either directly or indirectly observable inputs in markets other than quoted prices in active markets.
Our financial instruments are stated at amounts that equal,
or approximate, fair value. When we estimate fair value, we utilize market data or assumptions that we believe market participants would use in pricing the financial instrument, including assumptions about risk and inputs to the valuation
technique. We use valuation techniques, primarily the income and market approach, which maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs for recurring fair value measurements.
Mutual funds: Valued
at the quoted net asset value of shares held.
U.S.
agency and treasury securities:
Fair value measured at the closing price reported on the active market on which the individual securities are traded.
The following tables show the adjusted cost, gross unrealized
gains, gross unrealized losses, and fair value of our securities by significant investment category as of March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022.
March 31, 2023
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Adjusted Cost
|
Unrealized
Gains
|
Unrealized
Losses
|
Fair Value
|
Cash and Cash
Equivalents
|
Investments
Available for
Sale
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Cash
|
$
|
12,867
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
12,867
|
$
|
12,867
|
$
|
—
|
||||||||||||
Level 1:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mutual funds
|
67,667
|
—
|
—
|
67,667
|
67,667
|
—
|
||||||||||||||||||
U.S. agency and
treasury securities
|
69,071
|
25
|
(213
|
)
|
68,883
|
16,516
|
52,367
|
|||||||||||||||||
136,738
|
25
|
(213
|
)
|
136,550
|
84,183
|
52,367
|
||||||||||||||||||
Total
|
$
|
149,605
|
$
|
25
|
$ | (213 | ) |
$
|
149,417
|
$
|
97,050
|
$
|
52,367
|
December 31, 2022
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Adjusted Cost
|
Unrealized
Gains
|
Unrealized
Losses
|
Fair Value
|
Cash and Cash
Equivalents
|
Investments
Available for
Sale
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Cash
|
$
|
16,949
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
16,949
|
$
|
16,949
|
$
|
—
|
||||||||||||
Level 1:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mutual funds
|
66,493
|
—
|
—
|
66,493
|
66,493
|
—
|
||||||||||||||||||
U.S. agency and
treasury securities
|
68,958
|
9
|
(386
|
)
|
68,581
|
3,119
|
65,462
|
|||||||||||||||||
135,451
|
9
|
(386
|
)
|
135,074
|
69,612
|
65,462
|
||||||||||||||||||
Total
|
$
|
152,400
|
$
|
9
|
$
|
(386
|
)
|
$
|
152,023
|
$
|
86,561
|
$
|
65,462
|
New Accounting Pronouncements
In September 2022, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards
Update (“Update”) 2022-04, “Liabilities – Supplier Finance Programs (Subtopic 405-50): Disclosure of Supplier Finance Program Obligations”, which requires entities to disclose the key terms of supplier finance programs used in connection with
the purchase of goods and services along with information about their obligations under these programs. This Update does not affect the recognition, measurement or financial statement presentation of supplier finance program obligations. The
Update is effective for all entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022 and interim periods within those fiscal years, except for the rollforward requirement, which is effective for fiscal years beginning after December
15, 2023. We do not have a supplier finance program currently in place, and, therefore, there was no impact on our financial position or cash flows as a result.
Note 3 — Income Taxes
For the three months ended March 31, 2023, we recognized an income tax benefit of $78 on loss before taxes of $4,545, which is an effective tax rate of 1.71%. The effective rate is lower than the statutory federal rate primarily due to the change in valuation allowance. For the three months ended
March 31, 2022, we recognized an income tax benefit of $1,059 on loss before taxes of $4,379, an effective tax rate of 24.45%. The effective rate
is higher than the statutory federal rate primarily due to the effect of research and development tax credits. Management determined that a full valuation allowance should be provided against net deferred income tax assets at March 31, 2023.
Our tax years for 2005 and forward are subject to examination by the U.S. tax authority and various state tax authorities because we utilized the
NOLs and tax credits generated in those years in 2020. The statute of limitation for those years shall expire three years after the date of filing 2020 income tax returns.
We are required to
recognize the financial statement effects of a tax position when it is more likely than not, based on the technical merits, that the position will be sustained upon examination. At December 31, 2022 and March 31, 2023, we have no uncertain tax positions. Our policy is to recognize interest and penalties accrued on uncertain tax positions as a component of income tax
expense. We had no accrued interest or penalties related to uncertain tax positions at March 31, 2023.
Note 4 — Commitments and
Related Party Transactions
We lease our office under
an operating lease with a third party which expires on October 31, 2023 (see Note 8 - Leases).
We entered into a service
agreement for the use of an aircraft from K2 Investment Fund LLC (“LLC”) for business travel for employees of the Company. We incurred approximately $287
compared to $265 in fees and reimbursements to the LLC during the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. We pay for the
Company’s usage of the aircraft and have no rights to purchase. Our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Administrative Officer are the managing partners of the LLC and control the equity interests of the LLC. We entered into a 12-month non-exclusive agreement with the LLC for use of the plane at a rate of $8 per flight hour, with no minimum usage requirement. The agreement contains other terms and conditions and can be cancelled by either us or the LLC with 30 days’ notice. The agreement renews on an annual basis unless terminated by either party. Neither party has exercised their termination rights.
Note 5 — Stock Based
Compensation
Our stockholders are
being asked to approve the Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan (the “Amended 2013 Plan”) at our annual shareholders’ meeting in June 2023. Our shareholder-approved 2013 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Prior Plan”) expired March 29, 2023; no
further awards will be made under the Prior Plan, but the Amended 2013 Plan will govern awards granted under the Prior Plan.
Stock-based
compensation expense included in general and administrative expense was $371 and $466, and in research and development expense was $311 and $312, for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
During the three
months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, we did not grant any options or RSUs.
As of March 31, 2023,
the unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to unvested stock options and RSUs was $3,484 and $1,256, respectively, which will be amortized over an estimated weighted average period of approximately 2.47 and 2.18 years, respectively.
Note 6 — Equity
Common Stock
We issued no shares for options exercised during the three months ended March
31, 2023 or 2022, respectively. We issued no shares as a result of vesting RSUs during the three months ended March 31, 2023 or 2022.
Warrants
In
2020, we issued warrants for the purchase of 25,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $5.75 per share, exercisable on the date of grant, expiring in . The weighted average fair value at the grant date was $4.16 per warrant. The fair value at
the grant date was estimated utilizing the Black-Scholes valuation model with the following weighted average assumptions (i) dividend yield on our common stock of 0 percent (ii) expected stock price volatility of 97 percent (iii) a risk-free interest rate of 0.27 percent and (iv) and expected option term of 5
years.
Warrants
Issued
|
Exercise
Price
|
Outstanding
and
Exercisable
December 31,
2022
|
Issued
|
Exercised
|
Terminated /
Cancelled
|
Outstanding
and
Exercisable
March 31, 2023
|
Expiration
Date
|
||||||||||||||||||||
25,000
|
$
|
5.75
|
25,000
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
25,000
|
April 30, 2025
|
Note 7 — Litigation (all
dollar amounts in this section are expressed in thousands except for rates per device)
We have several
intellectual property infringement lawsuits pending in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“USCAFC”).
VirnetX Inc. v. Apple,
Inc. (Case 6:12-CV-00855-LED) (“Apple II”)
This case began on
November 6, 2012, when we filed a complaint against Apple in United States District Court (“USDC”) in which we alleged that Apple infringed on certain of our patents, (U.S. Patent Nos. 6,502,135, 7,418,504, 7,921,211 and 7,490,151). We sought
damages and injunctive relief. The accused products include the iPhone 5, iPod Touch 5th Generation, iPad 4th Generation, iPad mini, and the latest Macintosh computers. The USDC entered a Final Judgment and issued its Memorandum Opinion and Order
regarding post-trial motions, affirming the jury’s verdict of $502,600 and granting VirnetX motions for supplemental damages, a sunset
royalty, and the royalty rate of $1.20 per infringing iPhone, iPad and Mac products, pre-judgment and post-judgment interest and costs.
Apple filed a notice of appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“USCAFC”) in the Apple II case.
On October 9, 2018,
USCAFC docketed the appeal as Case No. 19-1050 - VirnetX Inc. v. Apple Inc. On November 22, 2019, the USCAFC issued an opinion affirming the district court’s findings that Apple is precluded from making certain invalidity arguments and that Apple
infringed the ‘135 and ‘151 patents; reversing the USDC’s finding that Apple infringed the ‘504 and ‘211 patents; and remanding the case for proceedings on damages. Apple sought panel and en banc rehearing, which the USCAFC denied on February 10,
2020.
On February 22, 2020,
the USDC issued a scheduling order for the parties to brief the court about the need for a new trial for recalculating the damages. We filed our motion for entry of judgment on February 28, 2020. The arguments on this matter were heard on April 14,
2020. In its order, unsealed on May 1, 2020, the USDC denied VirnetX’s motion for entry of a new judgment based on the prior jury verdict and ordered a new jury trial on damages. On August 10, 2020, the USDC granted Apple’s motion for continuance
and reset the date to October 26, 2020. On October 30, 2020, a jury returned a $502,800 verdict in favor of VirnetX based on Apple’s
infringement of two network security patents: VirnetX US Patents No. 6,502,135 and No. 7,490,151. The jury verdict called for damages of
$0.84 per accused device since the 2013 launch of Apple’s iOS 7 operating system and represents 598,629,580 infringing units from US sales only. On January 15, 2021, the USDC denied Apple’s motion for judgment as a matter of law, and on February 4, 2021, Apple filed a
notice of appeal to the USCAFC.
On February 22, 2021, the USCAFC docketed the appeal as Case No. 19-1672. Apple’s opening brief was filed on June 2, 2021. VirnetX filed its
responsive brief on July 26, 2021. Apple filed its reply brief on September 13, 2021. Oral arguments were held on September 8, 2022. On March 31, 2023, the USCAFC
issued its decision vacating the USDC’s judgement in this matter and remanding it back to the USDC with instructions to dismiss the case as moot. On April 20, 2023, VirnetX filed a motion to extend the time to file a petition for rehearing from
May 1, 2023, until June 5, 2023, and remains pending.
VirnetX Inc. v. Mangrove
Partners Master Fund, Ltd., Apple Inc. (USCAFC Case 20-2271) and VirnetX Inc. v. Mangrove Partners Master Fund, Ltd., Apple Inc., and Black Swamp, LLC (USCAFC Case 20-2272)
On September 15, 2020, we filed with the USCAFC an appeal of the invalidity findings by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) in inter-partes review proceedings IPR2015-01046 and IPR2016-00062
involving our U.S. Patent No. 6,502,135, and an appeal of the invalidity findings by the PTAB in inter-partes review proceedings IPR2015-1047, IPR2016- 00063, and IPR2016-00167 involving our U.S. Patent No. 7,490,151. On September 25, 2020, the
USCAFC issued an order consolidating the two appeals. On December 15, 2020, we filed a motion to vacate the PTAB decisions below and
to remand these appeals to the PTAB. On March 16, 2021, the USCAFC denied the motion without prejudice to us raising the challenges made in the motion in our opening brief. Our opening brief was filed on June 7, 2021.
On June 23, 2021, the USCAFC entered an order directing us (and parties in other appeals that raised Appointments Clause challenges) to file a
brief explaining how they believe their cases should proceed in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Arthrex, Inc., 141 S. Ct. 1970 (2021). On July 7, 2021, we filed a brief in response to the court’s order. Other parties,
including the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) filed their responses on July 21, 2021. On August 19, 2021, USCAFC issued an order remanding these appeals for the limited purpose of allowing VirnetX the opportunity to request rehearing
of the PTAB’s final written decisions by the Director of the USPTO. The USCAFC retained jurisdiction over the appeals in the meantime. On September 20, 2021, we filed our requests for Director rehearing with the USPTO. On October 29, 2021, our
requests for Director rehearing were denied. We subsequently filed an amended opening brief to the USCAFC on December 10, 2021, the other parties filed response briefs on February 2, 2022, and we filed a reply brief on February 22, 2022. All the
briefings have been completed. The oral arguments in this matter were held on September 8, 2022. On March 30, 2023, the USCAFC issued its decision affirming
PTAB’s decisions finding certain claims of the ‘135 patent and the ‘151 patent to be unpatentable. On April 19, 2023, VirnetX filed a motion to extend the time to file a petition for rehearing from May 15, 2023, until June 5, 2023. That motion
was granted on April 20, 2023.
VirnetX Inc. v. Hirshfeld (USCAFC Case 17-2593, -2594)
On September 22, 2017, we filed with the USCAFC an appeal of the invalidity findings by the PTAB in inter-partes review proceeding
IPR2016-00693 involving our U.S. Patent No. 7,418,504, and an appeal of the invalidity findings by the PTAB in inter-partes review proceeding IPR2016-00957 involving our U.S. Patent No. 7,921,211. On September 16, 2021, USCAFC issued an order
remanding these appeals for the limited purpose of allowing VirnetX the opportunity to request rehearing of the PTAB’s final written decisions by the Director of the USPTO. The USCAFC retained jurisdiction over the appeals in the meantime. On
October 18, 2021, we filed our requests for Director rehearing with the USPTO. On January 7, 2022, our requests for Director rehearing were denied. On January 21, 2022, we informed the USCAFC about the denial of Director rehearing and requested
that the court dismiss the appeal involving IPR2016-00957 as moot and vacate the PTAB’s underlying decision. On April 4, 2022, the USCAFC vacated the PTAB’s decision in IPR2016-00957 and remanded Appeal No. 17-2594 with instructions to dismiss.
In the April 4, 2022 order, the USCAFC further set a briefing schedule, in Appeal No. 17-2593. VirnetX filed its opening brief on September 12, 2022. The USPTO
filed its response brief on December 20, 2022. VirnetX filed its reply brief on February 14, 2023, and we currently await scheduling of oral arguments. VirnetX has filed a motion to hold this appeal in abeyance pending the disposition of any
petition for rehearing in the No. 20-2271, -2272 appeal, and pending the Supreme Court’s disposition of a pending petition for a writ of certiorari in Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., No. 22-639. That motion, filed on April 18, 2023, and remains pending.
VirnetX Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc. (USCAFC Case 19-1671)
On March 18, 2019, we filed with the USCAFC an appeal of the invalidity findings by the PTAB in inter-partes re-examination proceeding
95/001,679 involving our U.S. Patent No. 6,502,135. On October 5, 2021, USCAFC issued an order remanding these appeals for the limited purpose of allowing VirnetX the opportunity to request rehearing of the PTAB’s final written decisions by the
Director of the PTO. The USCAFC retained jurisdiction over the appeals in the meantime. Our request for Director rehearing with the PTO was filed on November 5, 2021. On January 10, 2022, our request for Director rehearing was denied. We
informed the USCAFC about the denial of Director rehearing. VirnetX’s opening brief was filed on June 23, 2022. The USPTO’s response brief was filed on August 2, 2022, and Cisco’s response brief was filed on September 2, 2022. VirnetX filed its
reply brief on October 7, 2022, and we currently await scheduling of oral arguments.
VirnetX Inc. v. Apple Inc. (USCAFC Case 22-1523) (“Apple Reexam I”)
On March 10, 2022, we filed with the USCAFC an appeal of the invalidity findings by the PTAB in inter-partes re-examination proceeding 95/001,682 involving our U.S. Patent No. 6,502,135. Our opening brief was
filed on August 22, 2022. Apple and USPTO each filed a response brief on December 28, 2022. VirnetX filed its reply brief on February 8, 2023, and we currently await scheduling of oral arguments. VirnetX has, however, filed a motion to hold
this appeal in abeyance pending the disposition of any petition for rehearing in the No. 20-2271, -2272 appeal, and pending the Supreme Court’s disposition of a pending petition for a writ of certiorari in Arthrex,
Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., No. 22-639. That motion, filed on April 18, 2023, and remains pending.
VirnetX Inc. v. Apple Inc. (USCAFC Case 22-1997) (“Apple Reexam II”)
On July 6, 2022, we filed with the USCAFC an appeal of the invalidity findings by the PTAB in inter-partes re-examination proceeding 95/001,697 involving our U.S. Patent No. 7,490,151.
On October 17, 2022, we filed a motion to remand the appeal in light of the PTAB’s refusal to permit Director rehearing. On January 23, 2023, the USCAFC denied that motion without prejudice to the parties raising their arguments in the
merits briefs. VirnetX’s opening brief was filed on May 10, 2023, and remains pending.
VirnetX Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc. (USCAFC Case 22-2234)
On September 16, 2022, we filed with the USCAFC an appeal of the invalidity findings by the PTAB in inter-partes re-examination proceeding 95/001,851 involving our U.S. Patent No.
7,418,504. We filed our opening brief on February 28, 2023, and remains pending.
VirnetX Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc. (USCAFC Case 23-1765)
On April 7, 2023, we filed with the USCAFC an appeal of the invalidity findings by the PTAB in inter-partes re-examination proceeding 95/001,714 involving our U.S.
Patent No. 7,490,151. The certified list is due to be filed by the USPTO by May 30, 2023, and our opening brief will be due 60
days thereafter. In addition, on April 21, 2023, Cisco filed a cross-appeal. Cisco’s response brief was filed on May 10, 2023.
Other Legal Matters
One or more potential intellectual property infringement claims may also be available to us against certain other companies who have the resources to defend against any such claims. Although we
believe these potential claims are likely valid, commencing a lawsuit can be expensive and time-consuming, and there is no assurance that we could prevail on such potential claims if we made them. In addition, bringing a lawsuit may lead to
potential counterclaims which may distract our management and our other resources, including capital resources, from efforts to successfully commercialize our products.
Currently, we are not a
party to any other pending legal proceedings and are not aware of any proceeding threatened or contemplated against us.
Note 8 — Leases
We lease office space under an operating lease which expires on October 31, 2023. On March 31, 2023, the underlying ROU asset and lease liability totaled $31. On December 31, 2022, the underlying ROU asset and lease liability totaled $45. For the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, lease expense totaled $14 and $13, respectively.
We also lease a facility for corporate promotional and marketing purposes which was prepaid at inception and expires in 2025, as amended. On March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the ROU asset
totaled $573 and $648,
respectively. For the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, lease expense totaled $75 and $75, respectively.
Note 9 — Earnings Per Share
Basic earnings per share are based on the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted earnings per share are based on the
weighted average number of common shares and potentially dilutive common shares outstanding. Potential common shares outstanding principally include stock options, RSUs and warrants, excluding any potentially dilutive shares convertible at a price
higher than the closing price of our stock at the end of each reporting period. The following table shows the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022 (in thousands, except per share amounts):
Three Months Ended
March 31,
|
||||||||
2023
|
2022
|
|||||||
Numerator:
|
||||||||
Net (loss) income
|
$
|
(4,467
|
)
|
$
|
(3,320
|
)
|
||
Denominator:
|
||||||||
Weighted-average basic shares outstanding
|
71,425
|
71,233
|
||||||
Effect of dilutive securities
|
—
|
—
|
||||||
Weighted-average diluted shares
|
71,425
|
71,233
|
||||||
Basic (loss) earnings
per share
|
$
|
(0.06
|
)
|
$
|
(0.05
|
)
|
||
Diluted (loss) earnings
per share
|
$
|
(0.06
|
)
|
$
|
(0.05
|
)
|
We incurred a net loss for the three months ended March
31, 2023 and 2022; therefore, all potentially dilutive securities representing shares of common stock (7,353,129 in 2023 and 6,931,592 in 2022) were excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per share, because their effect would have been antidilutive.
Note 10 — Subsequent Events
In April
2023, the Company paid $71,429 for a special dividend of $1 per share. Additionally in April 2023, the Company paid $7,245 for a special
bonus to employees.
Company Overview
We are an Internet security software and technology company with patented technology for Zero Trust Network Access (“ZTNA”) based secure network communications. VirnetX’s software and
technology solutions, including its Secure Domain Name Registry and Technology, VirnetX One™, War Room™, VirnetX Matrix™, and Gabriel Connection Technology™, are designed to be device- and location-independent, and enable a secure real-time
communication environment for all types of enterprise applications, services, and critical infrastructures. Our technology generates secure connections on a “single-click” basis, significantly simplifying the deployment of secure real-time
communication solutions by eliminating the need for end-users to enter any encryption information. Our portfolio of intellectual property is the foundation of our business model. We currently own approximately 205 total patents and pending
applications, including 72 U.S. patents/patent applications and 133 foreign patents/validations/pending applications. Our patent portfolio is primarily focused on securing real-time communications over the Internet, and related services, and is
used in all our technology and products, some of which were acquired by our principal operating subsidiary; VirnetX, Inc., from Leidos, Inc., or Leidos, (f/k/a Science Applications International Corporation, or SAIC) in 2006.
Our product portfolio includes sophisticated technologies, products and services that are available for sale worldwide. Our next-generation, VirnetX One™ platform builds upon our patented
Secure Domain Names and GABRIEL Connection Technology™ to further enhance the security and efficiency of our patented secure communication links. VirnetX One™ is a security-as-a-service platform that protects enterprise applications, services,
and infrastructure from cyber-attacks. Our platform allows businesses and other enterprises of all sizes to add a “security umbrella” as an added layer on top of their existing infrastructure to further reduce risk and bolster security against
ever-growing cyberthreats to data, operating systems, other infrastructure products and gateway security controllers.
Our War Room™ software product provides safe and secure video conferencing meeting environment where sensitive communications and data is invisible to those not authorized to view it. War Room™
validates permissions of all the users, and devices requesting access to any secure meeting room prior to granting access. We believe our War Room™ will be an attractive solution for government and law enforcement agencies as well as all
professional sectors such as legal, financial, and medical where limiting access to confidential data is a critical requirement.
Our VirnetX Matrix™ product provides superior security for internet-enabled enterprise applications and their connected devices, and for control systems currently deployed by those enterprises
(e.g., file servers, data back-up systems, VPN/firewalls). VirnetX Matrix™ provides a true “zero-trust” access protection, “single-click” ease of use, and is a highly-effective added layer of protection that is deployed simply, without the need
for changes to an enterprise’s existing, in-place infrastructure. We believe VirnetX Matrix™ is an attractive solution for all businesses, cloud and on-premise application service providers, and OEMs, looking to improve visibility and management
of their networks to mitigate morphing attacks on their networks and for real time access and control of their users.
Our GABRIEL Collaboration Suite™ is a set of communication applications and tools that use our GABRIEL Secure Communication Platform™. It enables seamless and secure cross platform
communications between devices that are enrolled in our “VIRNETX SECURED” network and have our software installed.
During the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023, the Company engaged in discussions with certain third-parties to pitch the capabilities of VirnetX One™. The Company believes
that these parties have interest to secure devices and systems in areas such as healthcare, finance, legal, oil and gas, medical, law enforcement, national defense and related support industries. Although there can be no assurance in this regard,
the Company believes that there are opportunities for Company products sales directly to, resale arrangements with and/or adoption as vendor standards by, one or more of these third parties.
We have an ongoing licensing program under which we offer licenses to a portion of our patent portfolio, technology, and software, including our secure domain name registry service, to domain
infrastructure providers, communication service providers as well as to system integrators. Our GABRIEL Connection Technology™ License is offered to original equipment manufacturer (“OEM”) customers who want to adopt the GABRIEL Connection
Technology™ as their solution for establishing secure connections using secure domain names within their products. We have developed GABRIEL Connection Technology™ Software Development Kit (“SDK”) to assist with rapid integration of these
techniques into existing software implementations. Customers who want to develop their own implementation of the VirnetX patented techniques for supporting secure domain names, or other techniques that are covered by our patent portfolio for
establishing secure communication links, can purchase a patent license. The number of patents licensed, and therefore the cost of the patent license to the customer, will depend upon which of the patents are used in a particular product or
service. These licenses will typically include an initial license fee, as well as an ongoing royalty.
We expect to continue to launch new and enhanced security platforms, software products, and services based on our GABRIEL Connection Technology™. We will provide updates to new and existing
customers as they are released to the public. Many small and medium businesses have installed our software products in their corporate networks. We intend to continue to expand our customer base with targeted promotions and direct sales
initiatives.
Our employees include the core development team behind our patent portfolio, technology, and software. Some members of this team have worked together for over twenty years and were on same team
that invented and developed this technology while working at Leidos. The team has continued its research and development work and expanded the set of patents we acquired in 2006 from Leidos, into a larger patent portfolio. This portfolio now
serves as the foundation of our products, services, and our licensing business. It is expected to generate most of our future revenue in license fees and royalties. We intend to continue our efforts to develop new products and technologies and
further strengthen and expand our patent portfolio. We intend to continue using an outsourced and leveraged model to maintain efficiency and manage costs as we grow our licensing business by, for example, offering incentives to early licensing
targets or asserting our rights for use of our patents.
New Accounting Pronouncements
In September 2022, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“Update”) 2022-04, “Liabilities – Supplier Finance Programs
(Subtopic 405-50): Disclosure of Supplier Finance Program Obligations”, which requires entities to disclose the key terms of supplier finance programs used in connection with the purchase of goods and services along with information about their
obligations under these programs. This Update does not affect the recognition, measurement or financial statement presentation of supplier finance program obligations. The Update is effective for all entities for fiscal years beginning after
December 15, 2022 and interim periods within those fiscal years, except for the rollforward requirement, which is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023. We do not have a supplier finance program currently in place, and,
therefore, there was no impact on our financial position or cash flows as a result.
NYSE Deficiency
On May 12, 2023, we received a written notification from the NYSE that as of May 11, 2023, we are not in compliance with the continued listing standard set
forth in Section 802.01C of the NYSE Listed Company Manual because the average closing price of our common stock was less than $1.00 per share over a consecutive 30 trading-day period. Pursuant to Section 802.01C, we can regain compliance
with the minimum share price requirement if, on the last trading-day of any calendar month, our common stock has a closing share price, and a 30 trading-day average closing share price, of at least $1.00. If we do not regain compliance
within six months, NYSE may commence suspension and delisting procedures with respect to our common stock. If shares of our common stock are delisted from the NYSE, there may be no public market for our common shares. Any over-the-counter
or other public market that does develop would likely be characterized by decreased liquidity and greater volatility, which may materially and adversely affect the value of our common shares. We intend to notify NYSE that we intend to cure
the continued listing standard deficiency and to return to compliance with Section 802.01C. However, our common stock share price may not meet the applicable requirements during the cure period ending on November 12, 2023 and there can be
no assurances that further options to cure the deficiency that we may consider can or will be effectuated as an alternative to proceeding to delisting.
There can be no assurance that we regain compliance with the NYSE continued listing standard. Any potential delisting of our common stock from the NYSE would
likely result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility for our common stock and would adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital or enter into strategic transactions. As of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q, we have not yet regained compliance with either of the above-mentioned NYSE continued listing standard.
Results of Operation
Three Months Ended March 31, 2023
Compared with the Three Months Ended March 31, 2022
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
Revenue
We recognized revenue of $2 and $5, in the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022 respectively.
Licensing Costs
Licensing costs of $4 for the three months ended March 31, 2022 is a refund of licensing costs we incurred in conjunction with a favorable court decision relating to a patent infringement case.
Research and Development Expenses
Our research and development expenses increased by $141 to $1,368 for the three months ended March 31, 2023, from $1,227 for the three months ended March 31, 2022. The increase in 2023 was primarily due to higher
engineering employee benefits.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Our selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $1,363 to $4,548 for the three months ended March 31, 2023, from $3,185 for the three months ended March 31, 2022. The increase is primarily due to
increased legal fees and outside services.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of March 31, 2023, our cash and cash equivalents totaled approximately $97,050 and our short-term investments totaled approximately $52,367, compared to cash and cash equivalents of approximately $86,561 and
short-term investments of approximately $65,462 at December 31, 2022, respectively. Working capital was $76,512 at March 31, 2023, and $151,530 at December 31, 2022.
We expect that our cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments as of March 31, 2023, will be sufficient to fund our current level of operating expense, including legal expenses, our recently declared
dividend and provide related working capital for the foreseeable future. Over the longer term, we expect to derive the majority of our future revenue from license fees and royalties associated with our patent portfolio, technology, software and
secure domain name registry in the United States and other markets around the world.
Dividends
On March 30, 2023, we declared a one-time cash dividend of $1 per share of common stock, payable on April 17, 2023 to shareholders of record as of the close of
business on April 10, 2023. The timing and amount of future dividends, if any, will depend on market conditions, corporate business and financial considerations and regulatory requirements.
Income Taxes
For the three months ended March 31, 2023, we recognized an income tax benefit of $78 on loss before taxes of $4,545, which is an effective tax rate of 1.71%. The effective rate is lower than the statutory federal
rate primarily due to the change in valuation allowance. For the three months ended March 31, 2022, we recognized an income tax benefit of $1,059 on loss before taxes of $4,379, an effective tax rate of 24.45%. The effective rate is higher than
the statutory federal rate primarily due to the effect of research and development tax credits. Management determined that a full valuation allowance should be provided against net deferred income tax assets at March 31, 2023.
Contractual Obligations
There have been no material changes to the contractual obligations disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
None.
Interest Rate Risk
We invest our excess cash primarily in highly liquid instruments including time deposits, money market funds, and U.S. agency and treasury securities. We seek to limit the amount of our credit exposure to any one
issuer.
Investments in fixed rate instruments carry a degree of interest rate risk. Fixed rate securities may have their fair market value adversely impacted due to a rise in interest rates. Due in part to these factors,
our income from investments may decrease in the future.
We considered the historical volatility of short-term interest rates and determined that it was reasonably possible that an adverse change of 100 basis points could be experienced in the near term but would have an
immaterial impact in the fair value of our marketable securities, which generally mature within eighteen months of March 31, 2023.
Other Market Risks
We considered the historical volatility of our stock prices and determined that it was reasonably possible that the fair market value of our stock price could increase or decrease substantially in the near term and
could have a material impact to our consolidated balance sheets and statement of operations with respect to future stock-based compensation costs and other equity transactions.
Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of
our disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as of March 31, 2023.
The purpose of this evaluation was to determine whether as of March 31, 2023 our disclosure controls and procedures were effective to provide reasonable assurance that the information we are required to disclose in
our filings with the SEC, (i) is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and (ii) accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief
Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Based on their evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that as of March 31, 2023, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting.
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended March 31, 2023, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
We have not experienced any material impact to our internal controls over financial reporting despite the fact that most of our employees are working remotely; we are continually monitoring and assessing the impact on our internal controls to
minimize the impact on their design and operating effectiveness.
ITEM 1 — LEGAL PROCEEDINGS – (See Note 7 — Litigation in the “Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements”)
Our operations and financial results are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including those described below, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of
operations, cash flows, and the trading price of our common and capital stock. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below in addition to the other information set forth in this Report, including in “Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes, before making any investment in our common stock. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only
ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial may also adversely affect our business. If any of these risk factors occur, you could lose substantial value or your entire
investment in our shares.
Summary Risk Factors
An investment in our common stock involves a high degree of risk, and the following is a summary of key risk factors when considering an investment.
You should read this summary together with the more detailed description of each risk factor contained in the subheadings further below.
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Our business has been, and may continue to be, negatively affected by shareholders intent upon alternate business strategies.
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We may not generate significant sales revenues from our new software products and services.
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We are involved and will continue to be involved in litigation defending our patent portfolio, which can be time-consuming and costly, and we cannot anticipate the results.
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We may not be able to capitalize on market opportunities related to our product strategy, our licensing strategy or our patent portfolio.
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If we are not able to adequately protect our patent rights and trade secrets, our business would be negatively impacted.
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Because our business is conducted or expected to be conducted in an environment that is subject to rapid change, we may be subject to various developments in regulation, law, and consumer preferences to
which we may not be able to adapt successfully.
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Our exposure to outside influences beyond our control, including new legislation, court rulings or actions by the USPTO could adversely affect our licensing and enforcement activities and results of
operations.
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New legislation, regulations or court rulings related to enforcing patents could harm our business and operating results.
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Privacy and data security concerns, and data collection and transfer restrictions and related domestic or foreign regulations may limit the use and adoption of our solutions and adversely affect our
business.
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If we are unable to expand our revenue sources or establish, sustain, grow, or replace relationships with a diversified customer base, our revenues may be limited.
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We have limited technical resources and are at an early stage in commercialization of our software products.
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Our international expansion will subject us to additional costs and risks, and our plans may not be successful.
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Risks Related to Our Business and Our Financial Reporting
Our business has been, and may continue to be, negatively affected by shareholders intent upon alternate business strategies.
Responding to actions by activist shareholders is costly and time-consuming, has diverted some the attention of management, our board of directors and our employees, and may be disruptive to
our operations. Additionally, perceived uncertainties as to our future direction as a result of shareholder activism may lead to the perception of a change in the direction of our business or other instability, which may be exploited by our
competitors, cause concern to our current or potential customers, and make it more difficult to attract and retain qualified personnel. Additionally, if customers choose to delay, defer or reduce transactions with us or do business with our
competitors instead of us, then our business, financial condition and operating results would be adversely affected. In addition, our share price could experience periods of increased volatility as a result of shareholder activism.
We may not generate significant sales revenues from our new software products and services.
In March and April 2022, we launched War Room™ and VirnetX Matrix™ on our VirnetX One™ platform in the U.S. We currently expect to launch these products in Asia Pacific and Europe in fiscal
year 2023. We also intend to continue to introduce new products on our VirnetX One™ platform in the future. The introduction and launch of new products is subject to significant costs, risks of slow market acceptance, and variable costs and
timing of customer acquisition. While we believe our software products will be attractive to businesses, government agencies, cloud and on-premise application service providers, and OEMs, if we are unable to overcome these risks, we may never
generate significant revenue from the sales of these products.
We are involved and will continue to be involved in litigation defending our patent portfolio, which can be time-consuming and costly,
and we cannot anticipate the results.
We spend a significant amount of our financial and management resources to pursue our current litigation. We believe that this litigation and others that we may pursue in the future could
continue for years and consume significant financial and management resources. The counterparties to our litigation include large, well-financed companies with substantially greater resources than us. Patent litigation is risky, and the outcome
is uncertain, and we cannot assure you that any of our current or future litigation matters will result in a favorable outcome for us. In addition, even if we obtain favorable interim rulings or verdicts, they may be inconsistent with the
ultimate resolution of the dispute. For example, the USCAFC issued its decision affirming PTAB’s decisions finding certain claims of certain patents to be unpatentable and in Apple II the federal circuit issued its decision vacating the district
court’s judgment in the matter and remanding back to the district court with instruction to dismiss the case as moot, which has resulted in volatility in our stock price. Furthermore, any awards we receive may be subject to obligations to Leidos
and fee arrangements with outside counsel. Also, we cannot assure you that we will not be exposed to claims or sanctions against us which may be costly or impossible for us to defend. Unfavorable or adverse outcomes may result in losses,
exhaustion of financial resources, volatility in our stock price or other adverse effects, which could reduce our ability to return cash to our shareholders by way of distributions or otherwise to develop and commercialize our products.
We may not be able to capitalize on market opportunities related to our product strategy, our licensing strategy or our patent portfolio.
A large part of our business strategy includes licensing our patents and technology to other companies in order to reach a larger end-user base than we could reach through direct sales and
marketing efforts; as such, our business strategy and revenues may depend on intellectual property licensing fees and royalties for the majority of our revenues. We currently derive minimal revenue from licensing activities, and royalties, and we
cannot assure you that we will successfully capitalize on our market opportunities or that this portion of our business strategy will succeed.
Although to date we have entered into a limited number of settlement and license agreements, we may not be successful in entering into further licensing relationships, or if we are successful
in entering into such relationships, the acquisition of them may be expensive, and they, as well as our existing settlement and our existing and pending license agreements may not generate the financial results, we expect.
Factors that may affect our ability to execute our current business strategy include, but are not limited to, the following:
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Third parties may challenge the validity of our patents;
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The pendency of our various litigations may cause potential licensees not to do business with us;
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Our patents may expire before we can make our business strategy successful;
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We face, and we expect to continue to face, intense competition from new and established competitors who may have superior products and services or better marketing, financial or other capacities than we
do; and
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It is possible that one or more of our potential customers or licensees develops or otherwise sources products or technologies similar to, competitive with or superior to ours.
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If we are not able to adequately protect our patent rights and trade secrets, our business would be negatively impacted.
We believe our patents are valid, enforceable, and valuable. Notwithstanding this belief, third parties may make claims of infringement with respect to our products or services or invalidity
claims with respect to our patents or become aware of our trade secrets by way of leaks from bad actors within or outside of our employee base or otherwise, and such claims could give rise to material cost for defense or settlement or both, and
such claims or leaks could jeopardize or substantially delay a successful outcome of litigation we are or may become involved in, divert resources away from our other activities, limit or cease our related revenues, or otherwise materially and
adversely affect our business. Additionally, several of our patents are currently, and other patents may in the future be, subject to USPTO post-grant inter partes review proceedings (“IPR”) which may result in all, or part of these patents being
invalidated, or the claims of our patents being limited. Unfavorable or adverse outcomes in our litigation or IPRs or material leaks of trade secrets may result in losses, exhaustion of financial resources, reduction in our ability to protect our
intellectual property rights, or other adverse effects, which could encumber our ability to develop and commercialize our products. Even if we are successful in protecting our intellectual property rights, they may not ultimately provide us with
any competitive advantages and may be less valuable than we currently expect. These risks may be heightened in countries other than the United States where laws regarding patent protection are less developed and may be negatively affected by the
fact that legal standards in the United States and elsewhere for protection of intellectual property rights in Internet-related businesses are uncertain and still evolving. In addition, there are a significant number of United States and foreign
patents and patent applications in our areas of interest, and we expect that significant litigation in these areas will continue and will add uncertainty to the value of certain patents and other intellectual property rights in our areas of
interest. If we are unable to protect our intellectual property rights or otherwise realize value from them, our business would be negatively affected.
We can provide no assurances that the licensing of our essential security patents under FRAND will be successful.
At the request of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (“ETSI”), and the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (“ATIS”), we agreed to update our licensing
declaration to ETSI and ATIS under their respective Intellectual Property Rights policies. This was in response to our Statement of Patent Holder identifying a group of our patents and patent applications that we believe are or may become
essential to certain developing specifications in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution (“LTE”), Systems Architecture Evolution project. We will make available a non-exclusive patent license under FRAND (fair, reasonable and
non- discriminatory terms, and conditions, with compensation) for the patents identified by us that are or become essential to applicants desiring to implement the Technical Specifications identified by us, as set forth in the updated licensing
declaration under the ATIS and ETSI Intellectual Property Rights policies. Our licensing declarations under the ATIS and ETSI Intellectual Property Rights policies may limit our flexibility in determining royalties and license terms for certain
of our patents. Consequently, we cannot assure you that the licensing of the essential security patents will be successful or that third parties will be willing to enter into licenses with us on reasonable terms or at all, which could have an
adverse effect on our business and harm our competitive position.
Because our business is conducted or expected to be conducted in an environment that is subject to rapid change, we may be subject to various developments
in regulation, law, and consumer preferences to which we may not be able to adapt successfully.
The current regulatory environment for our products and services remains unclear. We can give no assurance that our planned product offerings will be in compliance with laws and regulations of
local, state, United States federal or foreign authorities. Further, we can give no assurance that we will not unintentionally violate such laws or regulations or that such laws or regulations will not be modified, or that new laws or regulations
will be enacted in the future which would cause us to be in violation of such laws or regulations. For example, Voice-Over-Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) services are not currently subject to all the same regulations that apply to traditional
telephony, but it is possible that similar regulations may be applied to VoIP in the future and that these could result in substantial costs to us which could adversely affect the marketability of our products and planned products related to
VoIP. For further example, the use of the Internet and private Internet Protocol (“IP”) networks for communication is largely unregulated within the United States, but may become regulated in the future; additionally, several foreign governments
have enacted measures that could restrict or prohibit voice communications services over the Internet or private IP networks.
Our business depends on the growth of instant messaging, VoIP, mobile services, streaming video, file transfer and remote desktop and other next-generation Internet-based applications. A
decline in the use of these applications due to complexity or cost relative to alternate traditional or newly developed communications channels, or development of alternative technologies, could cause a material decline in the number of users in
these areas.
More aggressive domestic or international regulation of the Internet in general, and Internet telephony providers and services specifically, may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition,
operating results, and future prospects.
Our exposure to outside influences beyond our control, including new legislation, court rulings or actions by the USPTO, could adversely affect our
licensing and enforcement activities and results of operations.
Our licensing and enforcement activities are subject to numerous risks from outside influences, including the following:
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New legislation, regulations or rules related to obtaining patents or enforcing patents could significantly increase our operating costs and decrease our revenue. For instance, the United States Supreme
Court has modified some tests used by the USPTO in granting patents during the past 20 years which may decrease the likelihood that we will be able to obtain patents and increase the likelihood of challenge of any patents we obtain or
license. In addition, in 2012, the United States enacted sweeping changes to the United States patent system under the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, including changes that transition the United States from a “first-to-invent” system
to a “first to file” system and alter the processes for challenging issued patents;
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More patent applications are filed each year resulting in longer delays in getting patents issued by the USPTO;
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Federal courts are becoming more crowded, and as a result, patent enforcement litigation is taking longer; and
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As patent enforcement becomes more prevalent, it may become more difficult for us to voluntarily license our patents.
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New legislation, regulations or court rulings related to enforcing patents could harm our business and operating results.
Intellectual property is the subject of intense scrutiny by the courts, legislatures, and executive branches of governments around the world. Various patent offices, governments or
intergovernmental bodies may implement new legislation, regulations or rulings that impact the patent enforcement process, or the rights of patent holders and such changes could negatively affect licensing efforts and/or litigations. For example,
limitations on the ability to bring patent enforcement claims, limitations on potential liability for patent infringement, lower evidentiary standards for invalidating patents, increases in the cost to resolve patent disputes and other similar
developments could negatively affect our ability to assert our patent or other intellectual property rights.
It is impossible to determine the extent of the impact of any new laws, regulations or initiatives that may be proposed, or whether any of the proposals will become enacted as laws. Compliance
with any new or existing laws or regulations could be difficult and expensive, affect the manner in which we conduct our business and negatively impact our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations.
If we experience security breaches or incidents, we could be exposed to liability and our reputation and business could suffer.
We expect to retain certain confidential and proprietary customer information in our secure data centers and secure domain name registry, as well as personal data and other confidential and
proprietary information relating to our business. It will be critical to our business strategy that our facilities and infrastructure remain secure and are perceived by the marketplace to be secure. Our secure domain name registry operations will
also depend on our ability to maintain our computer and telecommunications equipment in effective working order and to reasonably protect our systems against interruption, and potentially depend on protection by other registrars in the shared
registration system. The secure domain name servers that we will operate will be critical hardware to our registry services operations. Additionally, we maintain confidential and proprietary business information, including trade secrets. We
expect to have to expend significant time and money to maintain or increase the security of our products, facilities, and infrastructure. Security technologies are constantly being tested by computer professionals, academics and “hackers.”
Advances in computer capabilities and the techniques for attacking security solutions, new discoveries in the field of cryptography or other events or developments could result in compromises or breaches of our security measures and could make
some or all our products obsolete or unmarketable. Likewise, we may need to dedicate engineering and other resources to eliminate security vulnerabilities and may find it necessary or appropriate to repair or replace products already sold or
licensed to our customers. Despite the security measures that we and our service providers utilize, our infrastructure and that of our service providers may be vulnerable to physical break-ins, ransomware, computer viruses, other malicious code
attacks by hackers, phishing attacks, social engineering, or similar disruptive problems. Any disruption or security breach or incident that we or our service providers suffer or are perceived to suffer, including any such disruption, breach or
incident resulting in a loss of, or damage to, data or systems, or inappropriate disclosure, access, loss, or other processing of confidential, financial, proprietary or personal information, including data related to our personnel, could result
in loss, disclosure or other unauthorized processing of such data, could delay our research and development or commercialization efforts, could compel us to comply with breach notification laws and regulations, subject us to mandatory corrective
action, and otherwise subject us to liability under laws and regulations that protect the privacy and security of personal information. It is possible that we may have to expend additional financial and other resources to address such problems.
The increase in remote work by our personnel and those of third parties, in recent years has resulted in increased vulnerability to cyber-attacks. As a provider of Internet security software and technology, we may be the target of dedicated
efforts by hackers and other third parties to overcome or defeat our security measures. Any physical or electronic break-in or other security breach or incident or compromise impacting our products or any information stored at our secure data
centers and domain name registration systems, including any compromise due to human error or employee or contractor malfeasance, may jeopardize the security of information stored on our premises or in the computer systems and networks of our
customers. Additionally, any such data security incident, or the perception that one has occurred could also result in adverse publicity, harm to our reputation and competitive position, and therefore adversely affect the market’s perception of
the security of electronic commerce and communications over IP networks as well as the security or reliability of our services.
A security breach or other security incident, or the perception any such event has occurred, could require a substantial level of financial resources to address and otherwise respond to, may be
difficult to identify or address in a timely manner, and could result in claims, investigations, inquiries, and other proceedings or actions by private parties or governmental entities that may divert management’s attention and require the
expenditure of significant time and resources, and which may cause us to incur substantial fines, penalties, or other liability and related legal and other costs. Any actual or perceived security breach or other security incident may also harm
our reputation, result in a loss of customers, and make it more difficult or impossible for us to successfully market to others. Any of the foregoing matters could harm our operating results and financial condition.
Privacy and data security concerns, and data collection and transfer restrictions and related domestic or foreign regulations may limit the use and
adoption of our solutions and adversely affect our business.
Personal privacy, information security, and data protection are significant issues in the United States, Europe, and many other jurisdictions where we have operations or offer our products. The
regulatory framework governing the collection, processing, storage and use of confidential and proprietary business information and personal data is rapidly evolving. The United States federal and various state and foreign governments have
adopted or proposed requirements regarding the collection, distribution, use, security and storage of personally identifiable information and other data relating to individuals, and federal and state consumer protection laws are being applied to
enforce regulations related to the online collection, use and dissemination of data.
Further, many foreign countries and governmental bodies, including the European Union (“EU”), where we conduct business, have laws and regulations concerning the collection and use of personal
data obtained from their residents or by businesses operating within their jurisdiction. These laws and regulations often are more restrictive than those in the United States. Laws and regulations in these jurisdictions apply broadly to the
collection, use, storage, disclosure, and security of data that identifies or may be used to identify or locate an individual, such as names, email addresses and, in some jurisdictions, IP addresses.
We also expect that there will continue to be new proposed laws, regulations and industry standards concerning privacy, data protection and information security in the United States, the EU,
and other jurisdictions. For example, the European Commission adopted a General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”) that became fully effective on May 25, 2018, superseding prior EU data protection legislation, imposing more stringent EU data
protection requirements, and providing for greater penalties for noncompliance. The United Kingdom has enacted a Data Protection Act and legislation referred to as the UK GDPR that substantially implements the GDPR, and provides for a penalty
regime similar to the GDPR. We may be required to incur substantial expense in order to make significant changes to our product and business operations in connection with obtaining and maintaining compliance with the GDPR and similar legislation,
such as the UK GDPR and UK Data Protection Act, all of which may adversely affect our revenue and product sales. California has enacted legislation, the California Consumer Privacy Act (the “CCPA”) that, among other things, requires covered
companies to provide disclosures to California consumers, and afford such consumers abilities to opt-out of certain sales of personal information. The CCPA was modified and expanded by the California Privacy Rights Act (the “CPRA”), which was
approved by California voters in the November 2020 election. Additionally, other U.S. states continue to propose, and in certain cases adopt, privacy-focused legislation. For example, Virginia, Colorado, Utah, and Connecticut have all enacted
legislation that has become, or will become, effective in 2023. Iowa and Indiana have enacted similar legislation that becomes effective in 2025 and 2026, respectively. We cannot yet fully determine the impact these or future laws, regulations
and standards may have on our business, but they may require us to modify our data processing practices and policies and to incur substantial costs and expenses in an effort to comply. Privacy, data protection and information security laws and
regulations are often subject to differing interpretations, may be inconsistent among jurisdictions, and may be alleged to be inconsistent with our current or future practices. Additionally, we may be bound by contractual requirements applicable
to our collection, use, processing, and disclosure of various types of data, including personal data, and may be bound by, or voluntarily comply with, self-regulatory or other industry standards relating to these matters. These and other
requirements could reduce demand for our products, increase our costs, impair our ability to grow our business, or restrict our ability to store and process data or, in some cases, impact our ability to offer our service in some locations and may
subject us to liability. Any failure or perceived failure to comply with applicable laws, regulations, industry standards, and contractual obligations may adversely affect our business. Further, in view of new or modified federal, state, or
foreign laws and regulations, industry standards, contractual obligations and other legal obligations, or any changes in their interpretation, we may find it necessary or desirable to fundamentally change our business activities and practices or
to expend significant resources to modify our product and otherwise adapt to these changes. We may be unable to make such changes and modifications in a commercially reasonable manner or at all, and our ability to develop new products and
features could be limited.
The costs of compliance with and other burdens imposed by laws, regulations and standards may limit the use and adoption of our service and reduce overall demand for it, or lead to significant
fines, penalties, or liabilities for any noncompliance. Privacy, information security, and data protection concerns, whether valid or not valid, may inhibit market adoption of our platform, particularly in certain industries and foreign countries.
We expect that we will experience long and unpredictable sales cycles, which may impact our operating results.
The sales cycle between initial customer contact and execution of a contract or license agreement with a customer or purchaser of our products can vary widely. We expect that our sales cycles
will be long and unpredictable due to several factors, including but not limited to:
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The need to educate potential customers about our patent rights and our product and service capabilities;
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Our customers’ willingness to invest potentially substantial resources and modify their network infrastructures to take advantage of our products;
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Our customers’ budgetary constraints;
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The timing of our customers’ budget cycles;
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Delays caused by customers’ internal review processes; and
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Long sales cycles that may increase the risk that our financial resources are exhausted before we are able to generate significant revenue.
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In addition, potential customers of our products include local, state, federal and foreign government authorities. Sales to government authorities can be extended and unpredictable. Government
authorities generally have complex budgeting, purchasing, and regulatory processes that govern their capital spending, and their spending is likely to be adversely impacted by economic conditions. In addition, in many instances, sales to
government authorities may require field trials and may be delayed by the time it takes for government officials to evaluate multiple competing bids, negotiate terms, and award contracts.
For these reasons, the sales cycle associated with our products is subject to a number of significant risks that are beyond our control. Consequently, if customer orders are not realized or
delayed, our revenues and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
If we are unable to expand our revenue sources or establish, sustain, grow, or replace relationships with a diversified customer base, our revenues may be
limited.
We currently generate revenue from a limited number of customers that have entered into settlement and license agreements. Our software products and services currently generate limited revenue,
and it will take time for us to grow our installed user base and generate new customers. Additionally, there is no guarantee that we will be able to derive revenue from new customers, sustain or increase revenue from existing customers or replace
customers from whom we currently generate revenue. As a result, our revenue may be limited or static, or it may cease entirely.
We have limited technical resources and are at an early stage in commercialization of our VirnetX One™ platform and software products.
Part of our business includes the internal development of commercial products we seek to monetize. This aspect of our business may require significant capital, time and resources and we cannot
guarantee that it will be successful or meet our expectations. As such, we have a small technical team, which may limit our ability to rapidly adapt our product to customer requirements or add new product features to maintain our competitive edge
and drive adoption.
Based on the scale of our technical resources, our limited historical financial data upon which to base our projected revenue or planned operating expenses related to our software products and services, we may not be able to effectively:
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Generate revenues or profit from product sales;
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Drive adoption of our products;
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Attract and retain customers for our products;
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Provide appropriate levels of customer training and support for our products;
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Implement an effective marketing strategy to promote awareness of our products;
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Focus our research and development efforts in areas that generate returns on our efforts;
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Anticipate and adapt to changes in our market; or
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Protect our products from any system failures or other breaches.
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In addition, a high percentage of our expenses are and will continue to be fixed. Accordingly, if we do not generate revenue as and when anticipated, our losses may be
greater than expected and our operating results will suffer.
Our products are highly technical and may contain undetected errors, which could cause harm to our reputation and adversely affect our business.
Our products are highly technical and complex and, when deployed, may contain errors or defects. Despite testing, some errors in our products may only be discovered after a product has been
installed and used by customers. Any errors or defects discovered in our products after commercial release could result in failure to achieve market acceptance, loss of revenue or delay in revenue recognition, loss of customers and increased
service and warranty cost, any of which could adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition. In addition, we could face claims for product liability, tort, or breach of warranty, including claims relating to changes to
our products made by our channel partners. The performance of our products could have unforeseen or unknown adverse effects on the networks over which they are delivered as well as on third-party applications and services that utilize our
services, which could result in legal claims against us, harming our business. Furthermore, we expect to provide implementation, consulting, and other technical services in connection with the implementation and ongoing maintenance of our
products, which typically involves working with sophisticated software, computing, and communications systems. We expect that our contracts with customers will contain provisions relating to warranty disclaimers and liability limitations, which
may not be upheld. Defending a lawsuit, regardless of its merit, is costly and may divert management’s attention and adversely affect the market’s perception of us and our products. In addition, if our business liability insurance coverage proves
inadequate or future coverage is unavailable on acceptable terms or at all, our business, operating results, and financial condition could be adversely impacted.
Malfunctions of third-party communications infrastructure, hardware and software expose us to a variety of risks that we cannot control.
Our business will depend upon, among other things, the capacity, reliability, security, and unimpeded access of the infrastructure owned by third parties that we will use to deploy our
offerings. We have no control over the operation, quality, or maintenance of a significant portion of that infrastructure or whether those third parties will upgrade or improve their equipment. We depend on these companies to maintain the
operational integrity of our connections. If one or more of these companies is unable or unwilling to supply or expand its levels of service to us in the future, our operations could be severely interrupted. Also, to the extent that the number of
users of networks utilizing our current or future products suddenly increases, the technology platform and secure hosting services which will be required to accommodate a higher volume of traffic may result in slower response times or service
interruptions. System interruptions or increases in response time could result in a loss of potential or existing users and, if sustained or repeated, could reduce the appeal of the networks to users. In addition, users depend on real-time
communications; outages caused by increased traffic could result in delays and system failures. These types of occurrences could cause users to perceive that our solution does not function properly and could therefore adversely affect our ability
to attract and retain licensees, strategic partners, and customers.
System failure or interruption or our failure to meet increasing demands on our systems could harm our business.
The success of our license and service offerings will depend on the uninterrupted operation of various systems, secure data centers and other computer and communication networks that we
establish. To the extent, the number of users of networks utilizing our future products suddenly increases, the technology platform and hosting services which will be required to accommodate a higher volume of traffic may result in slower
response times, service interruptions or delays or system failures. Our systems and operations will also be vulnerable to damage or interruption from, among other things:
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Power loss, transmission cable cuts and other telecommunications failures;
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Damage or interruption caused by fire, earthquake, and other natural disasters;
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Computer viruses or software defects; and
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Physical or electronic break-ins, sabotage, intentional acts of vandalism, terrorist attacks and other events beyond our control.
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System interruptions or failures and increases or delays in response time could result in a loss of potential or existing users and, if sustained or repeated, could reduce the appeal of the
networks to users. These types of occurrences could cause users to perceive that our solution does not function properly and could therefore adversely affect our ability to attract and retain licensees, strategic partners, and customers.
Any significant problem with our systems or operations could result in lost revenue, customer dissatisfaction or lawsuits against us. A failure in the operation of our secure domain name
registration system could result in the inability of one or more registrars to register and maintain secure domain names for a period of time. A failure in the operation or update of the master directory that we plan to maintain could result in
deletion or discontinuation of assigned secure domain names for a period of time. The inability of the registrar systems we establish, including our back-office billing and collections infrastructure, and telecommunications systems to meet the
demands of an increasing number of secure domain name requests could result in substantial degradation in our customer support service and our ability to process registration requests in a timely manner.
Our ability to sell our solutions will be dependent on the quality of our technical support, and our failure to deliver high-quality technical support
services could have a material adverse effect on our sales and results of operations.
If we do not effectively assist our customers in deploying our products, succeed in helping our customers quickly resolve post deployment issues and provide effective ongoing support, or if
potential customers perceive that we may not be able achieve to the foregoing, our ability to sell our products would be adversely affected, and our reputation with current and potential customers could be harmed. In addition, as we expand our
operations internationally, our technical support team will face additional challenges, including those associated with delivering support, training, and documentation in languages other than English. Our failure to deliver and maintain
high-quality technical support services to our customers could result in customers choosing to use our competitors’ products and support services instead of ours in the future.
Our international expansion will subject us to additional costs and risks, and our plans may not be successful.
We expect to expand our presence internationally in Japan and elsewhere through third party arrangements such as international partnerships, joint ventures and potentially establishing
international subsidiaries and offices. Our international expansion may present challenges and risks, including those inherent in international operations, to us and may require significant attention from management. For example, the COVID-19
pandemic has and could continue to disrupt and slow our international expansion and partnership efforts, as our international partners’ businesses could continue to be disrupted. We may not be successful in our international partnerships,
expansion efforts, and we may incur significant operating expenses in our efforts to expand internationally.
Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock
We do not regularly pay dividends on our common stock and thus stockholders must look to appreciation of our common stock to realize a gain on their
investments.
Our 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, capital
requirements, and investment opportunities. We therefore cannot make assurances that our Board of Directors will determine to pay regular or special 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, which may not occur.
The exercise of our outstanding stock options, warrants, and RSUs and issuance of new shares would result in a dilution of our current stockholders’
voting power and an increase in the number of shares eligible for future resale in the public market which may negatively impact the market price of our stock.
The exercise of our outstanding vested stock options, warrants, and RSUs would dilute the ownership interests of our existing stockholders. As of March 31, 2023, we had outstanding options,
warrants and RSUs to purchase an aggregate of 7,353,129 shares of common stock representing approximately 10% of our total shares outstanding of which 5,398,199 were vested and therefore exercisable. To the extent outstanding stock options or
warrants are exercised, additional shares of common stock will be issued, existing stockholders’ percentage voting interests will decline and the number of shares eligible for resale in the public market will increase. Such increase may have a
negative effect on the value or market trading price of our common stock.
Because ownership of our common stock is concentrated, investors may have limited influence on stockholder decisions.
As of March 31, 2023, our executive officers and directors beneficially owned approximately 14% of our outstanding common stock. Because of their beneficial ownership interest, our officers and
directors could significantly influence stockholder actions of which you disapprove or that are contrary to your interests. This ability to exercise significant influence could prevent or significantly delay another company from acquiring or
merging with us.
Our protective provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws could make it difficult for a third party to successfully
acquire us even if you would like to sell your stock to them.
We have a number of protective provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws that could delay, discourage, or prevent a third party from acquiring control of us
without the approval of our Board of Directors. These protective provisions include:
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A staggered Board of Directors: This means that only one or two directors (since we have a five-person Board of Directors) will be up for election at any given annual meeting. This has the effect of
delaying the ability of stockholders to affect a change in control of us because it would take two annual meetings to effectively replace a majority of the Board of Directors.
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Blank check preferred stock: Our Board of Directors has the authority to establish the rights, preferences, and privileges of our 10,000,000 authorized, but unissued, shares of preferred stock. Therefore,
this stock may be issued at the discretion of our Board of Directors with preferences over your shares of our common stock in a manner that is materially dilutive to you. In addition, blank check preferred stock can be used to create a
“poison pill” which is designed to deter a hostile bidder from buying a controlling interest in our stock without the approval of our Board of Directors. We have not adopted such a “poison pill;” but our Board of Directors has the
ability to do so in the future, very rapidly and without stockholder approval.
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Advance notice requirements for director nominations and for business to be brought before stockholder meetings: Stockholders wishing to submit director nominations or raise matters to a vote of the
stockholders must provide notice to us within very specific date windows and in very specific form in order to have the matter voted on at a stockholder meeting. This has the effect of giving our Board of Directors and management more
time to react to stockholder proposals generally and could also have the effect of permitting us to disregard a stockholder proposal to the extent such proposal is not submitted in accordance with the bylaws.
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No stockholder actions by written consent: No stockholder or group of stockholders may take action by written consent. Along with the advance notice requirements described above, this provision also gives
our Board of Directors and management more time to react to proposed stockholder actions.
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Super majority requirement for stockholder amendments to the bylaws: Stockholder proposals to alter or amend our bylaws or to adopt new bylaws can only be approved by the affirmative vote of at least 66
2/3% of the outstanding shares of our common stock.
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No ability of stockholders to call a special meeting of the stockholders: A special meeting of the stockholders, other than as required by statute, may be called at any time by the Board of Directors, or
by the chairman of the board, or by the president, but a special meeting may not be called by any other person or persons and any power of stockholders to call a special meeting of stockholders is specifically denied. This could mean
that stockholders, even those who represent a significant percentage of our shares of common stock, may need to wait for the annual meeting before nominating directors or raising other business proposals to be voted on by the
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In addition, the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law govern us. These provisions may prohibit large stockholders, particularly those owning 15%
or more of our outstanding voting stock, from merging or combining with us for a certain period of time.
These and other provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our bylaws and under Delaware law could discourage potential takeover attempts, reduce the price that
investors might be willing to pay for shares of our common stock in the future and result in the market price being lower than it would be without these provisions.
Our amended and restated bylaws designate a state or federal court located within the State of Delaware as the exclusive forum for substantially all
disputes between us and our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to choose the judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or employees.
Our amended and restated bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the sole and exclusive forum for (1) any derivative action or proceeding
brought on our behalf, (2) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, stockholders, officers, or other employees to us or our stockholders, (3) any action arising pursuant to any provision of the
Delaware General Corporation Law, or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws or (4) any other action asserting a claim that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine shall be the Court of Chancery
of the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery does not have jurisdiction, another State court in Delaware or the federal district court for the District of Delaware), in all cases subject to the court having jurisdiction over
indispensable parties named as defendants.
However, notwithstanding the exclusive forum provisions, our amended and restated bylaws explicitly state that they would not preclude the filing of claims brought to enforce any liability or
duty created under federal securities laws, including the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.
Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our securities shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to this provision. This exclusive-forum provision
may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum of its choosing for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits against us and our directors, officers, and other employees.
If a court were to find this exclusive-forum provision in our amended and restated bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving the dispute in other jurisdictions, which could
harm our results of operations.
We are not in compliance with the continued listing standard set forth in Section 802.01C of the NYSE Listed Company Manual, and,
as a result, shares of our common stock may be delisted from the NYSE.
On May 12, 2023, we received a written notification from the NYSE that as of May 11, 2023, we are not in compliance with the continued listing standard set forth in
Section 802.01C of the NYSE Listed Company Manual because the average closing price of our common stock was less than $1.00 per share over a consecutive 30 trading-day period. Pursuant to Section 802.01C, we can regain compliance with the minimum
share price requirement if, on the last trading-day of any calendar month, our common stock has a closing share price, and a 30 trading-day average closing share price, of at least $1.00. If we do not regain compliance within six months, NYSE may
commence suspension and delisting procedures with respect to our common stock. If shares of our common stock are delisted from the NYSE, there may be no public market for our common shares. Any over-the-counter or other public market that does
develop would likely be characterized by decreased liquidity and greater volatility, which may materially and adversely affect the value of our common shares. We intend to notify NYSE that we intend to cure the continued listing standard
deficiency and to return to compliance with Section 802.01C. However, our common stock share price may not meet the applicable requirements during the cure period ending on November 12, 2023 and there can be no assurances that further options to
cure the deficiency that we may consider can or will be effectuated as an alternative to proceeding to delisting.
A delisting of our common stock could negatively impact our company and holders of our common stock, including by reducing the willingness of investors to hold our
common stock because of the resulting decreased price, liquidity and trading of our common stock, limited availability of price quotations, and reduced news and analyst coverage. These developments may also require brokers trading in our common
stock to adhere to more stringent rules and may limit our ability to raise capital by issuing additional shares of common stock in the future. Delisting may adversely impact the perception of our financial condition, cause reputational harm with
investors, our employees and parties conducting business with us, and limit our access to debt and equity financing. The perceived decrease in value of employee equity incentive awards may reduce their effectiveness in encouraging performance and
retention.
General Risk Factors
We may need to raise additional capital to support our business growth, and this capital may be dilutive, may cause our stock price to
drop or may not be available on acceptable terms, if at all.
We may need to raise additional capital, which may not be available to us when needed or may not be available on terms acceptable to us, to support our business growth or to respond to business
opportunities, challenges, or unforeseen circumstances, including sales under our past and any future shelf registration statements. Our ability to obtain additional capital, if and when required, will depend on our business plans, investor
demand, our operating performance, the condition of the capital markets, the terms of our current contractual obligations and other factors.
If we raise additional funds through the issuance of equity, equity-linked or debt securities, including those under our past and any future shelf registration statements, those securities may
have rights, preferences, or privileges senior to the rights of our common stock, and our existing stockholders may experience dilution. Additionally, we are unable to predict the future success of any future offerings. Sales of a substantial
number of shares of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that these sales or other financings might occur, could depress the market price of our common stock, and could also impair our ability to raise capital through the sale
of additional equity securities. If we issue debt securities or incur indebtedness, we could experience increased future payment obligations and a need to comply with restrictive covenants, such as limitations on our ability to incur additional
debt, limitations on our ability to acquire, sell or license intellectual property rights and other operating restrictions that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. If we are unable to obtain additional capital or are
unable to obtain additional capital on satisfactory terms, our ability to continue to support our business growth or to respond to business opportunities, challenges, or other circumstances could be adversely affected, and our business may be
harmed.
The departure of Kendall Larsen, our Chief Executive Officer and President, and/or other key personnel could compromise our ability to execute our
strategic plan and materially harm our business.
Our success depends on the skills, experience, and performance of our key personnel. Due to the specialized nature of our business and limited staff, we are particularly dependent on Kendall
Larsen, our Chief Executive Officer and President. We have no employment agreements with any of our key executives that prevent them from leaving us at any time. In addition, we do not maintain key person life insurance for any of our officers or
key employees. The loss of Mr. Larsen, or our failure to retain other key personnel or plan for the succession of key personnel, would jeopardize our ability to execute our strategic plan and materially harm our business.
We will need to recruit and retain additional qualified personnel to successfully grow our business.
Our future success will depend, in part, on our ability to attract and retain qualified engineering, operations, marketing, sales and executive personnel. Inability to attract and retain such
personnel could adversely affect our business. Competition for engineering, operations, marketing, sales, and executive personnel is intense, particularly in the technology and Internet sectors and in the regions where we conduct our business. We
may need to invest significant amounts of cash and equity to attract and retain employees and expend significant time and resources to identify, recruit, train and integrate such employees, and we may never realize returns on these investments.
Additionally, we can provide no assurance that we will attract or retain such personnel.
We have incurred and will continue to incur significant costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management will be required to
continue to devote substantial time to various compliance initiatives.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, as well as other rules implemented by the SEC and the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”),
impose various requirements on public companies, including requiring changes in corporate governance practices. These and proposed corporate governance laws and regulations under consideration may further increase our compliance costs. If
compliance with these various legal and regulatory requirements diverts our management’s attention from other business concerns, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results. The
Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we assess the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting annually and disclosure controls and procedures quarterly. If we are unable to assert in any future reporting
periods that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, we could lose investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, which would have an adverse effect on our share price.
There are inherent uncertainties involved in estimates, judgments and assumptions used in the preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S.
GAAP. Any changes in estimates, judgments and assumptions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results.
The preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP involves making estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect reported amounts of assets (including intangible assets),
liabilities and related reserves, revenues, expenses, and income. Estimates, judgments, and assumptions are inherently subject to change in the future, and any such changes could result in corresponding changes to the amounts of assets,
liabilities, revenues, expenses, and income. Any such changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results.
Our results of operations and financial condition could be materially affected by the enactment of legislation implementing changes in the U.S. or foreign
taxation of international business activities or the adoption of other tax reform policies.
As we expand the scale of our international business activities, any changes in the U.S. or foreign taxation of such activities may increase our worldwide effective tax rate and harm our
business, results of operations, and financial condition. For example, the current administration has proposed to increase the U.S. corporate income tax rate, increase U.S. taxation of international business operations, and impose a global
minimum tax which has agreement from, many countries and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Also, starting in fiscal year 2022, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 requires taxpayers to capitalize research and development
expenditures and to amortize domestic expenditures over five years and foreign expenditures over fifteen years. If Congress does not modify or repeal this provision, it may reduce our cash flows. Further, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the
“IRA”) became effective beginning on January 1, 2023, which imposes, among others, a 15% alternative minimum income tax on certain corporations and a 1% excise tax on certain stock buybacks. We do not currently expect that the IRA will have a
material impact on our income tax liability. Other countries have recently proposed or recommended changes to existing tax laws or have enacted new laws that could impact our tax obligations in countries where we do business or cause us to change
the way we operate our business. The impact of future changes to U.S. and foreign tax law on our business is uncertain and could be adverse, and we will continue to monitor and assess the impact of any such changes on our future tax provisions.
War, terrorism, other acts of violence, or natural or manmade disasters as well as macroeconomic conditions may affect the markets in which we operate, our clients and our
service delivery.
Our business may be adversely affected by instability, disruption, or destruction in a geographic region in which we operate, regardless of cause, including war, terrorism, riot, civil
insurrection, or social unrest, and natural or manmade disasters, including famine, flood, fire, earthquake, storm, or pandemic events and spread of disease, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Our business may also be adversely affected by further
downturn in macroeconomic conditions, including rising inflation and interest rates, global political and economic uncertainty and tensions, such as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict as well as any related political or economic response,
counter responses or otherwise, financial services sector instability, a reduction in business confidence and activity, financial market volatility, and other factors. Such events can adversely affect our operations or the economy as a whole and
may cause our customers to delay their decisions on spending for the services we provide and perpetuate significant changes in regional and global economic conditions and cycles. These events may also pose risks to our personnel and to physical
facilities and operations, which could adversely affect our financial results.
Trading in our common stock is limited and the price of our common shares may be subject to substantial volatility.
Our common stock is currently listed on the NYSE and was previously listed on the NYSE American LLC (formerly the NYSE MKT LLC). Over the past years, the market price of our common stock has
experienced significant fluctuations. Between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023, the adjusted closing price on the NYSE for our common stock ranged between $1.03 and $2.18 per share. The price of our common stock may continue to be volatile as a
result of several factors, some of which are beyond our control. These factors include, but not limited to, the following:
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Developments or lack thereof in any then-outstanding litigation;
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Quarterly variations in our operating results;
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Large purchases or sales of common stock or derivative transactions related to our stock;
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Actual or anticipated announcements of new products or services by us or competitors;
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General conditions in the markets in which we compete; and
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General social, political, economic, and financial conditions, including the significant volatility in the global financial markets.
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In addition, we believe there has been and may continue to be substantial trading in derivatives of our stock, including short selling activity or related similar activities, which are beyond
our control, and which may be beyond the full control of the SEC and Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority or “FINRA.” While the SEC and FINRA rules prohibit some forms of short selling and other activities that may result in stock price
manipulation, such activity may nonetheless occur without detection or enforcement. We have held conversations with regulators concerning trading activity in our stock; however, there can be no assurance that should there be any illegal
manipulation in the trading of our stock, it will be detected, prosecuted, or successfully eradicated. Significant short selling market manipulation could cause our stock trading price to decline, to become more volatile, or both. For more
information regarding trading in our common stock and listing on the NYSE, see additional risk factors included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
The market price of our common stock has been and may continue to be volatile, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
The trading price of our common stock has been historically volatile and is likely to continue to be volatile. Factors that could cause fluctuations in the market price of our common stock
include, but are not limited to the following:
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Price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market from time to time, including fluctuations due to general economic uncertainty or negative market sentiment;
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Volatility in the market prices and trading volumes of companies in our industry or companies that investors consider comparable;
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Changes in operating performance and stock market valuations of other companies generally, or those in our industry;
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Sales of shares of our common stock by us or our stockholders;
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Failure of securities analysts to maintain coverage of us, changes in financial estimates by securities analysts who follow us, or our failure to meet these estimates or the expectations of investors;
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The financial projections we may provide to the public, any changes in those projections or our failure to meet those projections;
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Announcements by us or our competitors of new products or services;
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The public’s reaction to court rulings, our press releases, other public announcements, and filings with the SEC;
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Rumors and market speculation involving us or other companies in our industry;
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Actual or anticipated changes in our results of operations;
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Actual or anticipated developments in our business, our competitors’ businesses, or the competitive landscape generally;
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Litigation involving us, our industry or both, or investigations by regulators into our operations or those of our competitors;
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Announced or completed acquisitions of businesses or technologies by us or our competitors;
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New laws or regulations or new interpretations of existing laws or regulations applicable to our business;
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Changes in accounting standards, policies, guidelines, interpretations, or principles;
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Any significant change in our management;
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Other events or factors, including those resulting from war, incidents of terrorism, pandemics, or responses to these events; and
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General economic conditions such as rising inflation or interest rates in the United States and slow or negative growth of our markets.
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Further, in recent years the stock markets have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many
companies. These fluctuations often have been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. In addition, the stock prices of many technology companies have experienced wide fluctuations that have often been
unrelated to the operating performance of those companies. These broad market and industry fluctuations, as well as general economic, political and market conditions such as recessions, government shutdowns, global pandemics (such as the COVID-19
pandemic), interest rate changes the stability of the EU including, but not limited to, effects from the exit of the United Kingdom, the Russia-Ukraine conflict or international currency fluctuations, may cause the market price of our common
stock to decline. In the past, following periods of volatility in the overall market and the market price of a particular company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been instituted against these companies.
We have broad discretion in how we apply our funds, and we may not use these funds effectively, which could affect our results of operations and cause our
stock price to decline.
Our management has broad discretion in the application of our existing cash, cash equivalents and investments and could spend these funds in ways that do not improve our results of operations
or enhance the value of our common stock. Pending their use, we may invest our available funds in a manner that does not produce income or that loses value. The failure by our management to apply our available funds effectively could result in
financial losses that could cause the price of our common stock to decline and delay the development of our products.
In addition, an entity that, among other things, is or holds itself out as being engaged primarily, or proposes to engage primarily, in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, trading,
or holding certain types of securities would be deemed an Investment Company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”). If we do not manage our investments and business in a manner that meets the requirements for an exemption
under the 1940 Act, we may be deemed to be an investment company under the 1940 Act and subject to additional limitations on operating our business including limitations on the issuance of securities, which may make it difficult for us to raise
capital.
The market price of our common stock may decline because our operating results may not be consistent and may be difficult to predict.
Our operating results have fluctuated in the past due to several factors. We expect that our future operating results may also fluctuate due to the same or similar factors. We had a net loss of
$4.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2023. We had a net loss of $36.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. We had a net loss of $42.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. As of March 31, 2023, we had an accumulated
deficit of $163.1 million. The following include some of the factors that may cause our operating results to fluctuate:
•
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The outcome of actions to enforce our intellectual property rights currently in progress or that we may undertake in the future, and the timing thereof such as Apple II;
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•
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The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our sales cycle and results;
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•
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The amount and timing of receipt of license fees from potential infringers, licensees, or customers;
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•
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The rate of adoption of our patented technologies;
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•
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The number of new license arrangements we may execute, or that may expire, within a particular period and the scope of those licenses, including the number of our patents which are licensed, the extent of
prior infringement of our patent rights, royalty rates, timing of payment obligations, expiration date etc.;
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•
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The success of a licensee in selling products that use our patented technologies; and
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•
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The amount and timing of expenses related to our patent filings and enforcement proceedings, including litigation, related to our intellectual property rights.
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These fluctuations may make our business particularly difficult to manage, adversely affect our business and operating results, make our operating results difficult for investors to predict
and, further, cause our results to fall below investor’s expectations and adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
On May 12, 2023, we received a written notification (the “Notice”) from
the NYSE that as of May 11, 2023, we are not in compliance with the continued listing standard set forth in Section 802.01C of the NYSE Listed Company Manual because the average closing price of our common stock was less than $1.00 per share
over a consecutive 30 trading-day period.
Pursuant to Section 802.01C, we have a period of six months following the receipt of the Notice to regain compliance with the minimum price criteria. In accordance
with Section 802.01C, we plan to notify the NYSE within 10 business days of our receipt of the Notice of our intent to cure the deficiency, which may include, if necessary, effecting a reverse stock split, subject to approval by our board of
directors and stockholders. We are already undertaking business initiatives and other actions that we believe will increase stockholder value and drive share price increases.
We may regain compliance with the minimum price criteria at any time during the six-month cure period if, on the last trading day of any calendar month during the
cure period, we have (i) a closing share price of at least $1.00, and (ii) an average closing share price of at least $1.00 over the 30 trading-day period ending on the last trading day of that month.
The Notice has no immediate impact on the listing of our common stock, which will continue to be listed and traded on the NYSE during this period, subject to our
compliance with the other continued listing requirements of the NYSE.
The Notice does not affect our business operations or reporting obligations with the SEC. We fully intend to regain compliance and will take necessary action to
ensure that our common stock is not delisted.
Incorporated by reference herein
|
||||||
Exhibit
Number
|
Description
|
Form
|
Exhibit No.
|
Filing Date
|
File No.
|
Filed Herewith
|
Amended and Restated Bylaws of VirnetX Holding Corporation.
|
8-K
|
3.1
|
January 27, 2023
|
001-33852
|
||
Cooperation Letter Agreement, dated March 29, 2023, among The Radoff Family Foundation, Bradley L. Radoff, JEC II Associates, LLC, Michael Torok and VirnetX Holding
Corporation.
|
8-K
|
10.1
|
March 30, 2023
|
001-33852
|
||
Warrant to Purchase Shares of Common Stock of the Company by and between the Company and Odeon Capital Group LLC, dated as of April 29, 2020.
|
x
|
|||||
Certification of the President and Chief Executive Officer, pursuant to
Exchange Act Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act of 2002.
|
x
|
|||||
Certification of the Chief Financial Officer, pursuant to Exchange Act Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
|
x | |||||
Certification of the President and Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
|
x | |||||
Certification of the Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
|
x | |||||
101.INS
|
Inline XBRL Instance Document.
|
x | ||||
101.SCH
|
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document.
|
x | ||||
101.CAL
|
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document.
|
x | ||||
101.DEF
|
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document.
|
x | ||||
101.LAB
|
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document.
|
x | ||||
101.PRE
|
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document.
|
x | ||||
104 |
Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101).
|
x |
** |
This exhibit is furnished herewith, but not deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise subject to liability under that section. Such certifications will not be deemed to
be incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, except to the extent that we explicitly incorporate them by reference.
|
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
VIRNETX HOLDING CORPORATION
|
|||
By:
|
/s/ Kendall Larsen
|
||
Name
|
Kendall Larsen
|
||
Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer)
|
|||
By:
|
/s/ Katherine Allanson
|
||
Name
|
Katherine Allanson
|
||
Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)
|
|||
Date: May 15, 2023
|
34