AS FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ON FEBRUARY 11, 2015
REGISTRATION NO. 333-__________
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-3
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
VUZIX CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
04-3392453
I.R.S. Employer Identification Number
2166 Brighton-Henrietta Townline Road
Rochester, New York 14623
(585) 359-5900
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code of registrant’s principal executive offices)
Paul J. Travers
Chief Executive Officer
2166 Brighton Henrietta Townline Road
Rochester, NY 14623
585-359-5900
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to:
Gregory Sichenzia, Esq.
Jeff Cahlon, Esq.
Sichenzia Ross Friedman Ference LLP
61 Broadway
New York, New York 10006
Phone: (212) 930-9700
Fax: (212) 930-9725
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the effective date of this registration statement.
If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box: ¨
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plants, check the following box: þ
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If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ¨
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ¨
If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ¨
If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
¨Large accelerated filer
¨Accelerated filer
¨Non-accelerated filer
þ Smaller reporting company
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
| Title of Class of Securities to be Registered | Amount To be Registered | Proposed Maximum Aggregate Price Per Share (1) | Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price | Amount of Registration Fee | ||||||||||
| Common Stock, $0.001 par value per share (2) | 4,962,600 shares | $ | 6.815 | $ | 33,820,119 | $ | 3,929.90 | |||||||
| Common Stock, $0.001 par value per share (3) | 850,732 shares | $ | 6.815 | $ | 5,797,739 | $ | 673.70 | |||||||
| Total number of securities to be registered | 5,813,332 shares | $ | 39,617,858 | $ | 4,603.60 |
(1) Estimated solely for purposes of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(c) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, using the average of the high and low prices as reported on the NASDAQ Capital Market on February 10, 2015.
(2) Represents shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock, offered by the selling stockholder.
(3) Represents shares of common stock issuable as dividends on shares of Series A Preferred Stock, offered by the selling stockholder.
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The registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until this Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
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The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. The selling stockholder may not sell these securities under this prospectus until the registration statement of which it is a part and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS, SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED FEBRUARY 11, 2015
VUZIX CORPORATION
5,813,332 Shares of Common Stock
This prospectus relates to the public offering of up to 5,813,332 shares of common stock of Vuzix Corporation by the selling stockholder, including 4,962,600 shares issuable upon conversion of outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock, and 850,732 shares issuable as dividends on shares of Series A Preferred Stock.
The selling stockholder may sell common stock from time to time in the principal market on which the stock is traded at the prevailing market price or in negotiated transactions.
We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of common stock by the selling stockholder. We will pay the expenses of registering these shares.
Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully the risk factors beginning on page 10 of this prospectus before purchasing any of the shares offered by this prospectus.
Our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “VUZI”. The last reported sale price of our common stock on the NASDAQ Capital Market on February 10, 2015, was $6.83 per share.
We may amend or supplement this prospectus from time to time by filing amendments or supplements as required. You should read the entire prospectus and any amendments or supplements carefully before you make your investment decision.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The date of this prospectus is_________, 2015.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
You may only rely on the information contained in this prospectus or that we have referred you to. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. This prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities other than the common stock offered by this prospectus. This prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any common stock in any circumstances in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful. Neither the delivery of this prospectus nor any sale made in connection with this prospectus shall, under any circumstances, create any implication that there has been no change in our affairs since the date of this prospectus or that the information contained by reference to this prospectus is correct as of any time after its date.
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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We file annual, quarterly and special reports, along with other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available to the public over the Internet at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. You may also read and copy any document we file at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the Public Reference Room.
This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the SEC to register the securities offered hereby under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. This prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement, including certain exhibits and schedules. You may obtain the registration statement and exhibits to the registration statement from the SEC at the address listed above or from the SEC’s internet site.
INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” information into this prospectus. This means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to another document filed separately with the SEC. The information that we incorporate by reference is considered to be part of this prospectus. Because we are incorporating by reference our future filings with the SEC, this prospectus is continually updated and those future filings may modify or supersede some or all of the information included or incorporated in this prospectus. This means that you must look at all of the SEC filings that we incorporate by reference to determine if any of the statements in this prospectus or in any document previously incorporated by reference have been modified or superseded. This prospectus incorporates by reference the documents listed below and any future filings we will make with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), (i) after the date of the initial registration statement and prior to effectiveness of the registration statement, and (ii) after the date of this prospectus, until the selling stockholder sells all of our securities registered under this prospectus:
| · | our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, filed with the SEC on April 9, 2014; |
| · | our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2014, filed with the SEC on May 15, 2014; |
| · | our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2014, filed with the SEC on August 14, 2014; |
| · | our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2014, filed with the SEC on November 14, 2014; |
| · | our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 20, 2014, February 27, 2014, June 4, 2014, June 30, 2014, October 9, 2014, December 5, 2014, January 2, 2015, January 8, 2015 and January 26, 2015; |
| · | our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A filed with the SEC on April 30, 2014; |
| · | the description of our common stock, which is contained in the registration statement on Form 8-A filed with the SEC on January 26, 2015 (File No. 001-35955). |
Notwithstanding the foregoing, information furnished under Items 2.02 and 7.01 of any Current Report on Form 8-K, including the related exhibits, is not incorporated by reference in this prospectus.
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The information about us contained in this prospectus should be read together with the information in the documents incorporated by reference. You may request a copy of any or all of these filings, at no cost, by writing or telephoning us at: Steven D. Ward, Vuzix Corporation, 2166 Brighton Henrietta Townline Road, Rochester, New York 14623, telephone number (585) 359-5900.
This summary highlights information contained elsewhere in this prospectus. You should read the entire prospectus carefully, including the section entitled “Risk Factors” before deciding to invest in our common stock. The terms “Vuzix,” the “Company,” “we,” “our” or “us” in this prospectus refer to Vuzix Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiariy, unless the context suggests otherwise.
About Vuzix
We are engaged in the design, manufacture, marketing and sale of wearable display and computing devices that are worn like eyeglasses and feature built-in video screens that enable the user to view video and digital content, such as movies, computer data, the Internet or video games. Our wearable display products, known commercially as Video Eyewear (also referred to as head mounted displays (or HMDs), Smart Glasses, wearable displays, video glasses, personal viewers, near-eye virtual displays, and near-eye displays or NEDs) contain micro video displays that offer users a portable high-quality viewing experience. Our Video Eyewear products provide virtual large high-resolution screens, fit in a user’s pocket or purse and can be viewed practically anywhere, anytime. They can also be used for virtual and augmented reality applications, in which the wearer is either immersed in a computer generated world or has their real world view augmented with computer generated information or graphics. In the fourth quarter of 2013, we started selling Smart Glasses, a new category of Video Eyewear that includes a wearable computer and has much of the capabilities of a smartphone, including wireless internet access, but that is worn like glasses. We produce both monocular and binocular Video Eyewear devices. Video Eyewear is designed to work with mobile electronic devices, such as cell phones, laptop computers, tablets, portable media players and gaming systems. Our Smart Glasses also work as standalone computer devices.
We reported net losses of $1,550,305 and $4,449,734 for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 and September 30, 2013, respectively. We reported a net loss of $10,146,228 for the year ended December 31, 2013, and we reported net income of $322,840 for the year ended December 31, 2012. The net income for 2012 included a gain on the sale of the assets that comprised our Tactical Defense Group in June 2012 (the “TDG Assets”) of $5,817,807. We had an accumulated deficit of $37,842,837 as of September 30, 2014.
Our principal executive offices are located at 2166 Brighton Henrietta Townline Road, Rochester, New York 14623. Our telephone number is (585) 359-5900. We maintain an Internet website at www.vuzix.com. The information contained on, connected to or that can be accessed via our website is not part of this prospectus. We have included our website address in this prospectus as an inactive textual reference only and not as an active hyperlink.
Recent Developments
On January 2, 2015 (the “Series A Closing Date”), we entered into and closed a Series A Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Series A Purchase Agreement”) with Intel Corporation (the “Series A Purchaser”), pursuant to which we issued and sold to the Series A Purchaser, an aggregate of 49,626 shares of the Company’s Series A Preferred Stock, at a purchase price of $500 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $24,813,000 (the “Series A Private Placement”). Each share of Series A Preferred Stock is convertible, at the option of the Series A Purchaser, into 100 shares of the Company’s common stock (determined by dividing the Series A Original Issue Price of $500 by the Series A Conversion Price. The Series A Conversion Price is $5.00, subject to adjustment in the event of stock splits, dividends or other combinations). The shares issuable upon conversion of the Series A Preferred Stock represent approximately 30% of our total outstanding stock, assuming full conversion of the Series A Preferred Stock.
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On December 30, 2014, the Company filed the Certificate of Designation for the Series A Preferred Stock (the “Certificate of Designation”) with the secretary of state of the state of Delaware.
Each share of Series A Preferred Stock is entitled to receive dividends at a rate of 6% per annum, compounded quarterly and payable in cash or in kind, at the Company’s sole discretion. In the event of the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, each share of Series A Preferred Stock is entitled to a liquidation preference equal to one times (1x) the Series A Purchaser’s original per share purchase price, plus a right to receive an additional liquidation distribution together with the common stock holders pro rata on an as converted basis, but not in excess of $1,000 per share in the aggregate (subject to adjustment for accrued but unpaid dividends and in the event of stock splits, dividends or other combinations). Each share of Series A Preferred Stock is entitled to vote with the holders of the Company’s common stock on matters presented to its stockholders, and is entitled to cast such number of votes equal to the whole number of shares of common stock into which such shares of Series A Preferred Stock are convertible. The holders of record of the Series A Preferred Stock will be entitled to nominate and elect 2 directors to the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board Election Right”), at least one of whom will be required to qualify as an “independent” director, as that term is used in applicable exchange listing rules. The Board Election Right with respect to the independent director will terminate on such date as the number of shares of Series A Preferred Stock then outstanding is less than 40% of the original amount purchased by the Series A Purchaser. The Board Election Right with respect to the second director shall terminate on such date as the number of shares of Series A Preferred Stock then outstanding is less than 20% of the original amount purchased by the Series A Purchaser. The Series A Purchaser has not yet exercised the Board Election Right. The Company also granted the Series A Purchaser the right to have a board observer at meetings of the Company’s Board of Directors and committees thereof.
For as long as at least 25% (or 12,406 shares) of the Series A Preferred Stock is outstanding, the Company may not, without the consent of holders of at least 60% of the then outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock, take certain actions, including but not limited to: (i) liquidate, dissolve, or wind up the business and affairs of the Company; (ii) amend, alter or repeal any provision of its charter or bylaws in a manner that adversely effects the rights of the Series A Preferred Stock; (iii) create or issue any capital stock that is equal to or senior to the Series A Preferred Stock with respect to preferences; (iv) create or issue any debt security, subject to certain exceptions; (v) pay off any debt obligation prior to its stated maturity date; or (vi) enter into any stockholders rights plan or similar arrangement or take other actions that may limit actions that holders of a majority of the Series A Preferred Stock can take under Section 203 (“Section 203”) of the Delaware General Corporation Law, as well as such other customary provisions protecting the rights of the holder of the Series A Preferred Stock, as are outlined in the Certificate of Designation.
The Series A Purchaser has the right to participate in any proposed issuance by the Company of its securities, subject to certain exceptions (the “Participation Right”). In the event the Series A Purchaser is not afforded the opportunity to exercise its Participation Right, the Series A Purchaser will have the right, but not the obligation, up to two times per calendar year, to acquire additional securities from the Company in such amount as is sufficient to maintain the Series A Purchaser’s ownership percentage in the Company, calculated immediately prior to such applicable financing, at a purchase price equal to the per share price of the Company’s securities in such applicable financing.
Additionally, the Company’s Board of Directors approved the Series A Private Placement for purposes of Section 203, which prohibits transactions with interested stockholders under Delaware state law. The Board of Directors approved the exemption of the Series A Purchaser from Section 203 with respect to any future business combinations or other transactions covered by Section 203 and, for such purposes, the Series A Purchaser will not be deemed an “interested stockholder”. Furthermore, the Board of Directors has waived any claims based on the corporate opportunity doctrine under Delaware state law or with respect to any duty of the Series A Purchaser, the directors appointed pursuant to the Board Election Right or the board observer, to disclose any information regarding the Series A Purchaser that may be of interest to the Company or permit the Company to participate in any projects or investments based on such information.
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In connection with the Series A Private Placement, the Company entered into an investor’s rights agreement (the “Rights Agreement”) with the Series A Purchaser, pursuant to which the Company agreed to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) the “resale” registration statement of which this prospectus is a part covering all shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the Series A Preferred Stock sold in the Series A Private Placement on or before February 14, 2015 (the “Filing Date”). The Company has agreed to use its best efforts to have the registration statement declared effective by May 31, 2015 (the “Effectiveness Date”).
The Company will be obligated to pay to the Series A Purchaser a fee of 0.5% per month of the Series A Purchaser’s investment, payable in cash, for every thirty (30) day period up to a maximum of 10% upon the occurrence of certain events, including (i) following the Filing Date that the registration statement has not been filed and (ii) following the Effectiveness Date that the registration statement has not been declared effective; provided, however, that the Company will not be obligated to pay any such liquidated damages if the Company is unable to fulfill its registration obligations as a result of rules, regulations, positions or releases issued or actions taken by the SEC pursuant to its authority with respect to “Rule 415”, promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
In addition, the parties agreed to use their commercially reasonable efforts within the 45-day period following the Series A Closing Date, to negotiate in good faith a collaborative development agreement pursuant to which they would collaborate with respect to certain key technologies of the Company, and the Company would grant certain rights to the Series A Purchaser to be a lead partner in commercializing such technologies in certain markets to be agreed upon.
In connection with the Series A Private Placement, each of the holders of notes issued by the Company on June 3, 2014 (the “June 2014 Notes”) agreed to irrevocably waive their rights to anti-dilution protection under Section 5(b) of the June 2014 Notes in the event the Company issues additional securities at a per share price lower than the conversion price of the June 2014 Notes (the “June 2014 Note Waiver”). The obligations of the holder of the June 2014 Notes under the June 2014 Note Waiver will be binding on all assignees of the June 2014 Notes. Additionally, holders of the June 2014 Notes waived their rights of participation with respect to the June 2014 Private Placement and agreed to subordinate their participation rights to the Series A Purchaser’s Participation Right.
In connection with the Series A Private Placement, holders of approximately 86% of outstanding warrants issued by the Company in its public offering on July 30, 2013 and in connection with the conversion by certain holders of the Company’s outstanding debt in connection with the Company’s public offering (collectively, the “July 2013 Warrants”) agreed to irrevocably waive their rights to anti-dilution protection under Section 2(b) of the July 2013 Warrants in the event the Company issues additional securities at a per share price lower than the exercise price of the July 2013 Warrants (the “July 2013 Warrant Waiver”). The obligations of the holder of the July 2013 Warrants under the July 2013 Warrant Waiver will be binding on all assignees of the July 2013 Warrants.
In the event any assignee of the June Notes or the July 2013 Warrants refuse to honor the June Note Waiver or the July 2013Warrant Waiver, as the case may be, and the Company is ordered and obligated to issue additional shares to such assignees, the Series A Purchaser will have the right to receive additional shares of common stock (or an adjustment to the conversion price for the Series A Preferred Stock) in order to maintain the Series A Purchaser’s percentage of ownership in the Company on such date.
About this Offering
This prospectus includes the resale of 5,813,332 shares of common stock, consisting of (i) 4,962,600 shares issuable upon conversion of outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock, and (ii) 850,732 shares issuable as dividends on shares of Series A Preferred Stock. The number of shares issuable as dividends on shares of Series A Preferred Stock was estimated based on 3 years of payments of dividends in shares of common stock, valued based on an assumed market price of $5.25, the closing price of our common stock on January 15, 2015.
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An investment in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following information about these risks, together with the other information contained in this prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus, before investing in our common stock. Our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected by any of these risk factors, which could result in a decline in the market price of our common stock, causing you to lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Related to Our Business
Our independent registered auditors have expressed substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
The independent registered public accounting report for our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2013 includes an explanatory paragraph regarding substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Our plans with respect to addressing these matters are discussed in greater detail under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditional and Results of Operations-Liquidity and Capital Resources” and in Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements and Note 2 of our condensed consolidated financial statements for the nine month period ending September 30, 2014 included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2014, incorporated by reference in this prospectus. Our future viability is dependent on our ability to execute these plans successfully. The Series A Private Placement (see “Recent Developments”) significantly improved our cash position and liquidity. We now believe our existing cash position will be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditures for at least the next 12 months and the foreseeable future based on management’s current operating plans.
We have incurred net losses since our inception and if we continue to incur net losses in the foreseeable future the market price of our common stock may decline.
We reported net losses of $1,550,305 and $4,449,734 for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 and September 30, 2013, respectively. We reported a net loss of $10,146,228 for the year ended December 31, 2013, and we reported net income of $322,840 for the year ended December 31, 2012. The net income for 2012 included a gain on the sale of the TDG Assets of $5,817,807. We have an accumulated deficit of $37,842,837 as of September 30, 2014.
We may not achieve or maintain profitability in the future. In particular, we expect that our expenses relating to sales and marketing and product development and support, as well as our general and administrative costs, may increase, requiring us to increase sales in order to achieve and maintain profitability. If we do not achieve and maintain profitability, our financial condition will ultimately be materially and adversely affected and we would eventually be required to raise additional capital. We may not be able to raise any necessary capital on commercially reasonable terms or at all. If we fail to achieve or maintain profitability on a quarterly or annual basis within the timeframe expected by investors, the market price of our common stock may decline.
In preparing our consolidated financial statements, our management determined that our disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting were ineffective as of December 31, 2013 and our disclosure controls and procedures were ineffective as of September 30, 2014 which could result in material misstatements in our financial statements.
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Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over our financial reporting, as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. As of September 30, 2014, our management has determined that our disclosure controls and procedures were ineffective, and as of December 31, 2013, our management has determined that our disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting were ineffective because of material weaknesses including a financial reporting and close process that does not ensure accurate financial reporting on a timely basis, limited segregation of duties, lack of adequate monitoring of subsidiaries, and weaknesses in our inventory control.
We intend to implement remedial measures designed to address the ineffectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls during our 2015 financial year. With the closing of the Series A Private Placement we now have the financial resources to permit the hiring of additional staff and the development, assessment, implementation and testing of the changes in controls and procedures that we believe are necessary to conclude that the material weakness has been remediated. If these remedial measures are insufficient to address the ineffectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls, or if other material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal control are discovered or occur in the future and the ineffectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls continues, we may fail to meet our future reporting obligations on a timely basis, our consolidated financial statements may contain material misstatements, we could be required to restate our prior period financial results, our operating results may be harmed, and we may be subject to class action litigation. Any failure to address the ineffectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures could also adversely affect the results of the periodic management evaluations regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and our disclosure controls and procedures that are required to be included in our annual report on Form 10-K. Internal control deficiencies and ineffective disclosure controls and procedures could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information. We can give no assurance that the measures we plan to take in the future will remediate the ineffectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures or that any material weaknesses or restatements of financial results will not arise in the future due to a failure to implement and maintain adequate internal control over financial reporting or adequate disclosure controls and procedures or circumvention of these controls. In addition, even if we are successful in strengthening our controls and procedures, in the future those controls and procedures may not be adequate to prevent or identify irregularities or errors or to facilitate the fair presentation of our consolidated financial statements.
Prior to the sale of the TDG Assets in June 2012, we depended on defense related engineering contracts and the sales of specialized products to defense customers for up to 60% of our sales each year and as a result our sales and our revenues have materially declined and may not return to their pre-2012 levels or increase unless we develop new markets and products.
Since inception, a substantial portion of our sales have been derived from the sale of night vision display drive electronics to two suppliers to the U.S. government. As a result of our sale of the assets that comprised our Tactical Defense Group in June 2012 (the “TDG Assets”), we no longer sell night vision display drive electronics, which has materially reduced our revenue and cash flow and could materially adversely affect our ability to achieve or maintain profitability in the future.
The next largest source of our revenues has been sales directly to the U.S. Department of Defense, primarily for research and development engineering programs. Such sales amounted to 17% and 11% of our sales in 2013 and 2012, respectively, and portions of this revenue have been reported in revenues from discontinued operations for 2012. As a result of the sale of the TDG Assets, we will no longer be performing general engineering services for the U.S. Government and/or its defense contractors, but rather only waveguide related services, unless so requested by the buyer of the TDG Assets. Under our Asset Purchase Agreement with the purchaser of the TDG Assets, all future U.S. government sales of waveguide development and related engineering services by us must be approved by the buyer. For the nine month period ending September 30, 2014, such sales to the US government were 13% of our total sales. We have no long-term contracts with the U.S. government for engineering services on our waveguide technologies. We expect to submit proposals for additional development contract funding in cooperation with the buyer. However, development contract funding is subject to legislative authorization and, even if funds are appropriated, such funds may be withdrawn based on changes in government priorities.
We may not be successful in obtaining new government waveguide research, development and engineering services programs or future waveguide based new product sales. Our inability to obtain sales from general non-waveguide related government engineering services contracts could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and would likely cause us to delay or slow our growth plans, resulting in lower net sales than projected and adversely affecting our liquidity and profitability.
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We operate in a highly competitive market and the size and resources of some of our competitors may allow them to compete more effectively than we can, which could result in a loss of our market share and a decrease in our revenue and profitability.
The market for display devices, including Video Eyewear, is highly competitive. Further, we expect competition to intensify in the future as existing competitors introduce new and more competitive offerings alongside their existing products, and as new market entrants introduce new products into our markets. We compete against established, well-known diversified consumer electronic manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics Co., Sony Corporation, and Toshiba Corporation, and large software and other products companies such as Google and Microsoft. Many of our current competitors have substantial market share, diversified product lines, well-established supply and distribution systems, strong worldwide brand recognition and greater financial, marketing, research and development and other resources than we do. In addition, many of our existing and potential competitors enjoy substantial competitive advantages, such as:
| · | longer operating histories; |
| · | the capacity to leverage their sales efforts and marketing expenditures across a broader portfolio of products; |
| · | broader distribution and established relationships with channel partners; |
| · | access to larger established customer bases; |
| · | greater resources to make acquisitions; |
| · | larger intellectual property portfolios; and |
| · | the ability to bundle competitive offerings with other products and services. |
Moreover, smartphones, tablets and new wearable devices with ever growing larger video display screens and computing power have significantly improved the mobile personal computing experience. It is possible that, in the future, the manufacturers of these devices, such as Apple Inc., Samsung, LG, and others may design or develop products similar to ours. In addition to competition or potential competition from large, established companies, new companies may emerge and offer competitive products. Increased competition may result in pricing pressures and reduced profit margins and may impede our ability to increase the sales of our products, any of which could substantially harm our business and results of operations.
Our lack of long-term purchase orders and commitments from our customers may lead to a rapid decline in our sales and profitability.
All of our customers issue purchase orders solely in their own discretion, often shortly before the requested date of shipment. Our customers are generally able to cancel orders (without penalty) or delay the delivery of products on relatively short notice. In addition, our current customers may decide not to purchase products from us for any reason. If those customers do not continue to purchase our products, our sales volume and profitability could decline rapidly with little or no warning.
We cannot rely on long-term purchase orders or commitments to protect us from the negative financial effects of a decline in demand for our products. We typically plan our production and inventory levels based on internal forecasts of customer demand, which are highly unpredictable and can fluctuate substantially. The uncertainty of product orders makes it difficult for us to forecast our sales and allocate our resources in a manner consistent with our actual sales. Moreover, our expense levels and the amounts we invest in capital equipment and new product development costs are based in part on our expectations of future sales and, if our expectations regarding future sales are inaccurate, we may be unable to reduce costs in a timely manner to adjust for sales shortfalls. Furthermore, because we have depended on a small number of customers for the majority of our sales, the ramifications of these risks is greater than if we had a greater number of customers. As a result of our lack of long-term purchase orders and purchase commitments, we may experience a rapid decline in our sales and profitability.
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As a result of these and other factors, investors should not rely on our revenues and our operating results for any one quarter or year as an indication of our future revenues or operating results. If our quarterly revenues or results of operations fall below expectations of investors or public market analysts, the price of our common stock could fall substantially.
If any of our major customers on whom we depend fails to pay us amounts owed in a timely manner, we could suffer a significant decline in cash flow and liquidity which, in turn, could cause us to fail to pay our liabilities and render us unable to purchase adequate inventory to sustain or expand our sales volume.
Our accounts receivable represented approximately 6%, 13% and 14% of our total current assets as of September 30, 2014, December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively. As of September 30, 2014 one government customer owed us just under 34% of our total accounts receivable. At certain times there can be substantial amounts and concentrations of our accounts receivable, and if any of our major customers fails to pay us amounts owed in a timely manner, we could suffer a significant decline in cash flow and liquidity which could adversely affect our ability to pay our liabilities and to purchase inventory to sustain or expand our current sales volume and adversely affect our ability to continue our business.
In addition, the portions of our business sold through distributors and retail stores is characterized by long periods for collection from our customers and short periods for payment to our suppliers, the combination of which may cause us to have liquidity problems. We experience an average accounts settlement period ranging from one month to as high as two and half months from the time we deliver our products to the time we receive payment from our customers. In contrast, we typically need to place certain deposits and advances with our suppliers on a portion of the purchase price. Because our payment cycle is considerably shorter than our receivable collection cycle, we may experience working capital shortages. Working capital management, including prompt and diligent billing and collection, is an important factor in our results of operations and liquidity. System problems, industry trends, our customers’ liquidity problems or payment practices or other issues may extend our collection period, which would adversely impact our liquidity, our ability to pay our liabilities and to purchase inventory to sustain or expand our current sales volume, and adversely affect our ability to continue our business.
If we do not effectively maintain and further develop our sales channels for our consumer focused products, including developing and supporting our retail sales channel and distributors, our business could be harmed.
We depend upon effective sales channels to reach the consumers who are the ultimate purchasers of our Video Eyewear products. In the United States, we primarily sell our products directly through a mix of retail channels and specialty retailers, and we reach certain U.S. markets through distributors. In international markets, we primarily sell directly to consumers or through distributors who in turn sell to local retailers.
We depend on our distributors to reach certain market segments in the United States and to reach our international retailers. Our distributors generally offer products from several different manufacturers. Accordingly, we are at risk that these distributors may give higher priority to selling other companies’ products. If we were to lose the services of a distributor, we might need to find another distributor in that area, and there can be no assurance of our ability to do so in a timely manner or on favorable terms. Further, our distributors build inventories in anticipation of future sales, and if such sales do not occur as rapidly as they anticipate, our distributors will decrease the size of their future product orders. We are also subject to the risks of our distributors encountering financial difficulties, which could impede their effectiveness and also expose us to financial risk if they are unable to pay for the products they purchase from us. Any reduction in sales by our current distributors, loss of key distributors or decrease in revenue from our distributors could adversely affect our revenue, operating results and financial condition.
Our future growth and profitability may be adversely affected if our marketing initiatives are not effective in generating sufficient levels of brand awareness.
Our future growth and profitability from our consumer, commercial and industrial products will depend in large part upon the effectiveness and efficiency of our marketing efforts, including our ability to:
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| · | create awareness of our brand and products, including general awareness of Video Eyewear and the new Smart Glasses product category; |
| · | convert consumer awareness into actual product purchases; |
| · | identify the most effective and efficient levels of spending for marketing expenditures in our new target market; |
| · | effectively manage marketing costs (including creative and media) in order to maintain acceptable operating margins and return on marketing investment; |
| · | successfully offer to sell our products or license our technology to third party companies for sale under their own brand name as OEM partners; and |
| · | select the right markets in which to market our products. |
Our planned marketing expenditures may not result in increased total sales or generate sufficient levels of product and brand name awareness. We may not be able to manage our marketing expenditures on a cost-effective basis.
If we fail to accurately forecast seasonal demand for our consumer Video Eyewear products, our results of operations for the entire fiscal year may be materially adversely affected.
Historically, a high percentage of our consumer Video Eyewear product annual sales have been attributable to the winter holiday selling season. Like many manufacturers of consumer electronics products, we must make merchandising and inventory decisions for the winter holiday selling season well in advance of actual sales. Further compounding the difficulty of this forecasting are other fluctuations in demand for the consumer electronics products that work with our Video Eyewear products, often due to the same seasonal influences, as well as technological advances and new models which are often introduced later in the calendar year. Inaccurate projections of demand or deviations in the demand for our products may cause large fluctuations in our fourth quarter results and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations for the entire fiscal year.
In contrast, a substantial portion of our expenses are personnel related and include salaries, stock-based compensation, benefits and research and development expenses, which are not seasonal in nature. Accordingly, in the event of revenue shortfalls, we are generally unable to mitigate the negative impact on our results from operations in the short term.
Our products require ongoing research and development and we may experience technical problems or delays, which could lead our business to fail.
Our research and development efforts remain subject to all of the risks associated with the development of new products based on emerging and innovative technologies, including, for example, unexpected technical problems or the possible insufficiency of funds for completing development of these products. If we experience technical problems or delays, further improvements in our products and the introduction of future products could be delayed, and we could incur significant additional expenses and our business may fail.
We believe that since the closing of the Series A Private Placement we have sufficient funds to maintain our current levels of expenditure for research and development of new products and technologies, and to obtain and maintain patents and other intellectual property rights in these technologies. If we cannot obtain any necessary future additional capital when needed, we might be forced to reduce our research and development efforts which could materially and adversely affect our business. If we attempt to raise capital in an offering of shares of our common stock, preferred stock, convertible securities or warrants, our then-existing stockholders’ interests will be diluted.
We depend on advances in technology by other companies and if those advances do not materialize, some of our anticipated new products could be delayed or cancelled.
We rely on and will continue to rely on technologies (including microdisplays) that are developed and produced by other companies. The commercial success of certain of our planned future products will depend in part on advances in these and other technologies by other companies. We may, from time to time, contract with and support companies developing key technologies in order to accelerate the development of them for our specific uses. Such activities might not result in useful technologies or components for us. We are attempting to mitigate this risk by exploring ways to develop our own microdisplay technologies using LED scanning displays, but there can be no assurance that we will be successful in doing so.
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If we fail to keep pace with changing technologies, our business and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.
Rapidly changing customer requirements, evolving technologies and industry standards characterize the consumer electronics, wireless phone, and display industries. To achieve our goals, we need to enhance our existing products and develop and market new products that keep pace with continuing changes in industry standards, requirements and customer preferences. If we cannot keep pace with these changes, our business could suffer. For example, the market segment for our new Smart Glass Video Eyewear, a hands-free cloud computing product that we recently began shipping in late 2013, may not develop or may take longer to develop than we anticipate which may impact our ability to grow revenues.
If microdisplay-based personal displays do not gain some reasonable level of acceptance in the market for mobile displays, our business strategy may fail.
The mobile display market is dominated by displays larger than one-inch, most of which are based on direct view liquid crystal display, or LCD and organic light emitting display, or OLED technology. A number of companies have made and continue to make substantial investments in, and are conducting research to improve characteristics of, small direct view LCDs. Many of the leading manufacturers of these larger direct view LCDs, including LG Electronics, Royal Philips Electronics, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Sony Corporation, HiMax, Omnivision, Citizen, and Sharp Corporation, are large, established companies with global marketing capabilities, widespread brand recognition and extensive financial resources. Advances in direct view LCD and OLED technology or other technologies may overcome their current limitations and permit them to remain or become more attractive technologies for personal viewing applications, which could limit the potential market for our Video Eyewear technology and cause our business strategy to fail.
Another product incorporating recently developed technology is a handheld projector that utilizes microdisplays and optics to project digital images onto any nearby viewing surface, such as a wall. These devices are referred to as pocket projectors or Pico projectors and are designed to overcome the limitations of the native small screen on smartphones and other mobile devices. As a result we view Pico projector as an competitive alternative to our mobile displays. Pico projectors use either liquid crystal on silicon displays (LCOS) or color lasers to create their image. To date, we believe Pico projectors have had higher unit sales than Video Eyewear primarily because of their cost advantage, which results from their requiring only a single display. Pico projectors have recently been incorporated into cellular phones in an effort to produce a shareable large screen that is easier to view.
It is difficult to assess or predict with any certainty the potential size, timing and viability of market opportunities for our microdisplay-based Video Eyewear products or their market acceptance. Market acceptance of Video Eyewear technology will depend, in part, upon consumer acceptance of near-to-eye displays and upon microdisplay technology providing benefits comparable to or greater than those provided by alternative direct view display technology at a competitive price. Video Eyewear products work best when used close to the eye, which may not be acceptable to consumers. Such acceptance may depend on the relative complexity, reliability, usefulness and cost-effectiveness of our near-eye display products compared to other display products available in the market or that may be developed by our competitors. In addition, our products are not designed for a shared experience amongst multiple viewers at the same time. Potential customers may be reluctant to adopt our Video Eyewear products because of concerns surrounding perceived risks relating to use and the fact that it is a new technology. If consumers fail to accept near-to-eye displays in the numbers we anticipate or as soon as we anticipate, the sales of our Video Eyewear products and our results of operations would be adversely affected and our business strategy may fail.
There are a number of competing providers of microdisplay-based personal display technology, including smart glasses, and we may fail to capture a substantial portion of the personal display market.
In addition to competing with direct view displays, we also compete with microdisplay-based personal display technologies that have been developed by other companies. Our primary personal display competitors include Carl Zeiss, Inc., Sony, Epson, Google, Brother International, 5DT Inc., eMagin Corporation, Kopin Corporation (Kopin), MicroVision, Inc. (Microvision), Lumus Ltd. (Lumus), Kaiser Electro Optics Inc., Toshiba, TDG Acquisition Company, LLC (the purchaser of the TDG Assets, now operating as Six15 Technologies) in certain markets, and Accupix of Korea. Oculus, a new startup company that was purchased by Facebook in March 2014, intends to introduce a very wide field of view head-worn goggle system. In September 2014, Samsung announced its intention to introduce a virtual reality, or VR product, its Gear VR, which allows its Note 4 smart phone to be mounted in a head worn goggle frame to create an Oculus content compatible immersive VR system. Numerous other start-up companies have announced their intentions to offer AR smart glass and VR products and developer kits in the near future. Recently, Razer demonstrated its Open-Source VR Gaming head worn goggle system similar to the Oculus developer kit, and Carl Zeiss demonstrated its VR One, a head worn goggle for existing smart phones with larger direct view screens for VR applications, like the Samsung Gear VR. Further, industry blogs have speculated that companies such as Apple and Microsoft may offer or support VR and AR Video Eyewear products in the near future. In January 2015, Microsoft introduced its Hololens project, a head worn AR smart glass helmet with transparent holographic optics. No pricing, technical details, or release date has been made other than developer kits will be available in 2015. The Gear VR and Zeiss VR One utilize the wearer’s existing smart phone rather than microdisplays which reduces the cost of these systems substantially. Most of our competitors have greater financial, marketing, distribution and technical resources than we do. Moreover, our competitors may succeed in developing new microdisplay-based personal display technologies and near-eye products that are more affordable or have more or more desirable features than our technology. If our products are unable to capture a reasonable portion of the personal display market, our business strategy may fail.
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Our business and products are subject to government regulation and we may incur additional compliance costs or, if we fail to comply with applicable regulations, may incur fines or be forced to suspend or cease operations.
Our products must comply with certain requirements of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulating electromagnetic radiation in order to be sold in the United States and with comparable requirements of the regulatory authorities of the European Union, or EU, China and other jurisdictions in order to be sold in those jurisdictions. Our smart glass products include wireless radios and receivers which require additional emission testing. We are also subject to various governmental regulations related to toxic, volatile, and other hazardous chemicals used in the third party components incorporated into our products, including the Restriction of Certain Hazardous Substances Directive, or RoHS, issued by the EU effective July 1, 2006. This directive restricts the distribution of products within the EU that exceed very low maximum concentration values of certain substances, including lead.
We believe that all our current products comply with the regulations of the jurisdictions in which they are sold. From time to time, our products are subject to new domestic and international requirements. Compliance with regulations enacted in the future could substantially increase our cost of doing business or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and our business. Any inability by us to comply with regulations in the future could result in the imposition of fines or in the suspension or cessation of our operations or sales in the applicable jurisdictions. Any such inability by us to comply with regulations may also result in our not being permitted, or limit our ability to ship our products, which would adversely affect our revenue and ability to achieve or maintain profitability.
If we fail to comply with environmental requirements, our business, financial condition, operating results and reputation could be adversely affected.
We are subject to various environmental laws and regulations including laws governing the hazardous material content of our products and laws relating to the collection of and recycling of electrical and electronic equipment. Examples of these laws and regulations include the EU Restrictions of Hazardous Substances Directive, or the RoHS Directive, and the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive, or the WEEE Directive, as well as the implementing legislation of the EU member states. Similar laws and regulations have been passed or are pending in China, South Korea, Norway and Japan and may be enacted in other regions, including in the United States, and we are, or may in the future be, subject to these laws and regulations.
The RoHS Directive and the similar laws of other jurisdictions ban the use of certain hazardous materials such as lead, mercury and cadmium in the manufacture of electrical equipment, including our products. Although we have policies and procedures in place requiring our contract manufacturers and major component suppliers to comply with the RoHS Directive requirements, we cannot assure you that our manufacturers and suppliers consistently comply with these requirements. In addition, if there are changes to these or other laws (or their interpretation) or if new similar laws are passed in other jurisdictions, we may be required to re-engineer our products to use components compatible with these regulations. This re-engineering and component substitution could result in additional costs to us or disrupt our operations or logistics.
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The WEEE Directive requires electronic goods producers to be responsible for the collection, recycling and treatment of such products. Changes in interpretation of the directive may cause us to incur costs or have additional regulatory requirements to meet in the future in order to comply with this directive, or with any similar laws adopted in other jurisdictions. Our failure to comply with past, present and future similar laws could result in reduced sales of our products, substantial product inventory write-offs, reputational damage, penalties and other sanctions, which could harm our business and financial condition. We also expect that our products will be affected by new environmental laws and regulations on an ongoing basis. To date, our expenditures for environmental compliance have not had a material impact on our results of operations or cash flows and, although we cannot predict the future impact of such laws or regulations, they will likely result in additional costs and may increase penalties associated with violations or require us to change the content of our products or how they are manufactured, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.
New regulations related to conflict minerals may cause us to incur additional expenses and could limit the supply and increase the costs of certain metals used in the manufacturing of our products.
As a public company, we are subject to new requirements under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, or the Dodd-Frank Act, that require us to diligence, disclose and report whether or not our products contain conflict minerals. The implementation of these new requirements could adversely affect the sourcing, availability and pricing of the materials used in the manufacture of components used in our products. In addition, we have and will continue to incur additional costs to comply with the disclosure requirements, including costs related to conducting diligence procedures to determine the sources of conflict minerals that may be used or necessary to the production of our products and, if applicable, potential changes to products, processes or sources of supply as a consequence of such verification activities. It is also possible that we may face reputational harm if we determine that certain of our products contain minerals not determined to be conflict free or if we are unable to alter our products, processes or sources of supply to avoid such materials.
Our products will likely experience rapidly declining unit prices and we may not be able to offset that decline with production cost decreases or higher unit sales.
In the markets in which we expect to compete, prices of established consumer electronics display products tend to decline significantly over time. In order to maintain our profit margins over the long term, we believe that we will need to continuously develop product enhancements and new technologies that will either slow price declines of our products or reduce the cost of producing and delivering our products. While we anticipate many opportunities to reduce production costs over time, we may not be able to reduce our component costs. We expect to attempt to offset the anticipated decrease in our average selling price by introducing new products, increasing our sales volumes or adjusting our product mix. If we fail to do so, our results of operations will be materially and adversely affected.
If we cannot obtain and maintain appropriate patent and other intellectual property rights protection for our technology, our business will suffer.
The value of our personal display, smart glass and related technologies is dependent on our ability to secure and maintain appropriate patent and other intellectual property rights protection. We intend to continue to pursue additional patent protection for our new products and technology. Although we own many patents covering our technology that have already been issued, we may not be able to obtain additional patents that we apply for, our patents may be found invalid if challenged and our patents may not afford the degree of protection that we desire or require.
Any patent or trademark owned by us may be challenged and invalidated or circumvented. Patents may not issue from any of our pending or future patent applications. Any claims and issued patents or pending patent applications may not be broad or strong enough to adequately protect our business. Effective intellectual property protection may be unavailable or limited in certain foreign countries.
Unauthorized parties may attempt to copy or otherwise use aspects of our processes and products that we regard as proprietary. Policing unauthorized use of our proprietary information and technology is difficult and our efforts to do so may not prevent misappropriation of our technologies. We may become engaged in litigation to protect or enforce our patent and other intellectual property rights or in International Trade Commission proceedings to abate the importation of goods that would compete unfairly with our products and, if unsuccessful, these actions could result in the loss of patent or other intellectual property rights protection for the key technologies on which our business strategy depends.
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We rely in part on unpatented proprietary technology, and others may independently develop the same or similar technology or otherwise obtain access to our unpatented technology. We require employees, consultants, financial advisors, suppliers and strategic partners to enter into confidentiality agreements, but these agreements may not provide sufficient protection for our trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary information
Our products could infringe on the intellectual property rights of others.
Companies in the consumer electronics, wireless communications, semiconductor and display industries steadfastly pursue and protect intellectual property rights. This has resulted in considerable and costly litigation to determine the validity of patents and claims by third parties of infringement of patents or other intellectual property rights. Our products could be found to infringe on the intellectual property rights of others. Other companies may hold or obtain patents or inventions or other proprietary rights in technology necessary for our business. Periodically, other companies inquire about our products and technology in their attempts to assess whether we violate their intellectual property rights. If we are forced to defend against infringement claims, we may face costly litigation, diversion of technical and management personnel, and product shipment delays, even if the allegations of infringement are unwarranted. If there is a successful claim of infringement against us and we are unable to develop non-infringing technology or license the infringed or similar technology on a timely basis, or if we are required to cease using one or more of our business or product names due to a successful trademark infringement claim against us, it could adversely affect our business.
Our intellectual property rights and proprietary rights may not adequately protect our products.
Our commercial success will depend substantially on our ability to obtain patents and other intellectual property rights and maintain adequate legal protection for our products in the United States and other countries. We will be able to protect our intellectual property from unauthorized use by third parties only to the extent that these assets are covered by valid and enforceable patents, trademarks, copyrights or other intellectual property rights, or are effectively maintained as trade secrets. As of the date of this filing, we have 37 issued patents and 12 patent applications pending. We apply for patents covering our products, services, technologies and designs, as we deem appropriate. We may fail to apply for patents on important products, services, technologies or designs in a timely fashion, or at all. We do not know whether any of our patent applications will result in the issuance of any patents. Even if patents are issued, they may not be sufficient to protect our products, services, technologies, or designs. Our existing and future patents may not be sufficiently broad to prevent others from developing competing products, services technologies, or designs. Intellectual property protection and patent rights outside of the United States are even less predictable. As a result, the validity and enforceability of patents cannot be predicted with certainty. Moreover, we cannot be certain whether:
| · | we were the first to conceive of or invent the inventions covered by each of our issued patents and pending patent applications; |
| · | we were the first to reduce to practice inventions covered by each of our issued patents and pending patent applications; |
| · | we were the first to file patent applications for these inventions; |
| · | others will independently develop similar or alternative products, technologies, services or designs or duplicate any of our products, technologies, services or designs; |
| · | any patents issued to us will provide us with any competitive advantages, or will be challenged by third parties; |
| · | we will develop additional proprietary products, services, technologies or designs that are patentable; or |
| · | the patents of others will have an adverse effect on our business. |
The patents we own or license and those that may be issued to us in the future may be challenged, invalidated, rendered unenforceable or circumvented, and the rights granted under any issued patents may not provide us with proprietary protection or competitive advantages. Moreover, third parties could practice our inventions in territories where we do not have patent protection or in territories where they could obtain a compulsory license to our technology where patented. Such third parties may then try to import products made using our inventions into the United States or other territories. We cannot ensure that any of our pending patent applications will result in issued patents, or even if issued, predict the breadth, validity and enforceability of the claims upheld in our and other companies’ patents.
We have registered and applied to register certain of our trademarks in several jurisdictions worldwide. In some jurisdictions where we have applied to register our trademarks, other applications or registrations exist for the same, similar or otherwise related products or services. If we are not successful in arguing that there is no likelihood of confusion between our marks and the marks that are the subject of the other applications or registrations owned by third parties, our applications may be denied, preventing us from obtaining trademark registrations and adequate protection for our marks in the relevant jurisdictions, which could impact our ability to build our brand identity and market our products and services in those jurisdictions. Whether or not our application is denied, third parties may claim that our trademarks infringe their rights. As a result, we could be forced to pay significant settlement costs or cease the use of these trademarks and associated elements of our brand in the United States or other jurisdictions.
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Even in those jurisdictions where we are able to register our trademarks, competitors may adopt or apply to register similar trademarks to ours, may register domain names that mimic ours or incorporate our trademarks, or may purchase keywords that are identical or confusingly similar to our brand names as terms in Internet search engine advertising programs, which could impede our ability to build our brand identity and lead to confusion among potential customers of our products and services. If we are not successful in proving that we have prior rights in our marks and arguing that there is a likelihood of confusion between our marks and the marks of these third parties, our inability to prevent these third parties from use may negatively impact the strength, value and effectiveness of our brand names and our ability to market our products and prevent consumer confusion.
The laws of certain countries do not protect intellectual property and proprietary rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States and, therefore, in certain jurisdictions, we may be unable to protect our products, services, technologies and designs adequately against unauthorized third-party copying, infringement or use, which could adversely affect our competitive position. To protect or enforce our intellectual property rights, we may initiate proceedings or litigation against third parties. Such proceedings or litigation may be necessary to protect our trade secrets or know-how, products, technologies, designs, brands, reputation, likeness, authorship works or other intellectual property rights. Such proceedings or litigation also may be necessary to determine the enforceability, scope and validity of the proprietary rights of others. Any proceedings or lawsuits that we initiate could be expensive, take significant time and divert management’s attention from other business concerns. Additionally, we may provoke third parties to assert claims against us. These claims could invalidate or narrow the scope of our own intellectual property rights. We may not prevail in any proceedings or lawsuits that we initiate and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may be commercially valuable. The occurrence of any of these events may adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
If we are unable to anticipate consumer preferences and successfully develop attractive products, we might not be able to maintain or increase our revenue and profitability.
Our success depends on our ability to identify and originate product trends as well as to anticipate and react to changing customer demands in a timely manner. If we are unable to introduce new products or novel technologies in a timely manner or our new products or technologies are not accepted by customers, our competitors may introduce more attractive products, which could hurt our competitive position. Our new products might not receive customer acceptance if their preferences shift to other products, and our future success depends in part on our ability to anticipate and respond to these changes. Failure to anticipate and respond in a timely manner to changing customer preferences could lead to, among other things, lower revenue and excess inventory levels.
As we continually seek to enhance our products, we may incur additional costs to incorporate new or revised features. We might not be able to, or determine that it is not in our interests to, raise prices to compensate for these additional costs.
If our customers are not satisfied with our technical support or software updates on some of our products, they may choose not to purchase our products, either of which would adversely impact our business and operating results.
Our business relies, in part, on our customers’ satisfaction with the technical support and software updates we provide to support our products. If we fail to provide technical support services that are responsive, satisfy our customers’ expectations and resolve issues that they encounter with our products, customers may choose not to purchase additional products and we may face brand and reputational harm, which could adversely affect our operating results.
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If we lose our rights under our third-party technology licenses, our operations could be adversely affected.
Our business depends in part on technology rights licensed from third parties. We could lose our exclusivity or other rights to use the technology under our licenses if we fail to comply with the terms and performance requirements of the licenses. In addition, certain licensors may terminate a license upon our breach and have the right to consent to sublicense arrangements. If we were to lose our rights under any of these licenses, or if we were unable to obtain required consents to future sublicenses, we could lose a competitive advantage in the market, and may even lose the ability to commercialize certain products or technologies completely. Either of these results could substantially decrease our revenues.
Our products may be subject to future health and safety regulations that could increase our development and production costs.
Products incorporating microdisplays and wearable computers could become subject to new health and safety regulations that would reduce our ability to commercialize these near-eye display products. Compliance with any such new regulations could increase our cost to develop and produce products using the microdisplay display engine and adversely affect our financial results.
We may be subject to product liability or warranty claims that could result in significant direct or indirect costs, or we could experience greater returns from retailers than expected, which could harm our business and operating results.
We generally provide a 12-month warranty on all of our products, except in the European Union, or EU, where we provide a two-year warranty on all of our products. The occurrence of any material defects in our products could make us liable for damages and warranty claims in excess of our current reserves. In addition, we could incur significant costs to correct any defects, warranty claims or other problems, including costs related to product recalls. Any negative publicity related to the perceived quality and safety of our products could affect our brand image, decrease retailer, distributor and customer demand, and adversely affect our operating results and financial condition. Also, while our warranty is limited to repairs and returns, warranty claims may result in litigation, the occurrence of which could adversely affect our business and operating results.
Our dependence on sales to distributors increases the risks of managing our supply chain and may result in excess inventory or inventory shortages.
We expect the majority of our distributor relationships for our Video Eyewear and Smart Glasses products and their accessories to involve distributors taking inventory positions and reselling to multiple customers. Under some typical distributor relationships, we would not recognize revenue until the distributors sell the product through to their end user customers and receive payment thereon; however, at this time we do not currently enter into these types of arrangements. Our distributor relationships may reduce our ability to forecast sales and increase risks to our business. Since our distributors would act as intermediaries between us and the end user customers or resellers, we would be required to rely on our distributors to accurately report inventory levels and production forecasts. This may require us to manage a more complex supply chain and monitor the financial condition and credit worthiness of our distributors and their major end user customers. Our failure to manage one or more of these risks could result in excess inventory or shortages that could adversely impact our operating results and financial condition.
Our operating results may be adversely impacted by worldwide political and economic uncertainties and specific conditions in the markets we address.
In the recent past, the economy in the United States and elsewhere has experienced periods of slower economic activity, large government debt levels and operating deficits, increased energy costs, decreased consumer confidence, reduced corporate profits and capital spending, and adverse business conditions. Any worsening of the current global economic and financial conditions could materially adversely affect (i) our ability to raise, or the cost of, needed capital, and (ii) demand for our current and future products. We cannot predict the timing, strength, or duration of any economic slowdown or subsequent economic recovery, worldwide, or in the display industry.
Our results of operations may suffer if we are not able to successfully manage our increasing exposure to foreign exchange rate risks.
A substantial majority of our sales and cost of components are denominated in U.S. dollars. As our business grows both our sales and production costs may increasingly be denominated in other currencies. Where such sales or production costs are denominated in other currencies, they are converted to U.S. dollars for the purpose of calculating any sales or costs to us. Our sales may decrease as a result of any appreciation of the U.S. dollar against these other currencies.
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The majority of our current expenditures are incurred in U.S. dollars and many of our components come from countries that currently peg their currency against the U.S. dollar. If the pegged exchange rates should change adversely or be allowed to float up, additional U.S. dollars will be required to fund our purchases of these components.
Although we do not currently enter into currency option contracts or engage in other hedging activities, we may do so in the future. There is no assurance that we will undertake any such hedging activities or that, if we do so, they will be successful in reducing the risks to us of our exposure to foreign currency fluctuations.
Due to our significant level of international operations, including the use of foreign contract manufactures, we are subject to international operational, financial, legal and political risks which could harm our operating results.
We purchase product components from our suppliers, engage third party contract manufacturing firms to perform electronic circuit board and cable assemblies, and, up until most recently, have performed the final assembly of our products ourselves in our Rochester, New York facility. In September 2014, we began the final assembly of our M100 Smart Glasses product in China. We expect to continue to perform final assembly of certain of our Video Eyewear products ourselves over the short term and use our Rochester facility primarily for the final assembly initial production runs of new products. However, if our volume increases and cost effective third party sourcing becomes feasible, we anticipate that we may outsource the bulk of the final assembly, with the possible exception of certain critical optical and display components. Accordingly, a substantial part of our operations, including manufacturing of certain components used in our products and most recently the M100 Smart Glasses, are outside of the United States and many of our customers and suppliers have some or all of their operations in countries other than the United States. Risks associated with our doing business outside of the United States include:
| · | compliance burdens and costs with a wide variety of foreign laws and regulations, particularly labor, environmental and other laws and regulations that govern our operations in those countries; |
| · | legal uncertainties regarding foreign taxes, tariffs, quotas, export controls, export licenses, import controls and other trade barriers; |
| · | economic instability and high levels of inflation in the countries of our suppliers and customers, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, causing delays or reductions in orders for their products and therefore our sales; |
| · | political instability in the countries in which our suppliers operate, particularly in China, Korea and Taiwan; |
| · | changes or volatility in currency exchange rates. |
| · | difficulties in collecting accounts receivable and longer accounts receivable payment cycles; and |
| · | potentially adverse tax consequences. |
Any of these factors could harm our own, our suppliers’ and our customers’ international operations and businesses and impair our and their ability to continue expanding into international markets.
We could be adversely affected by violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act or similar anti-bribery laws in other jurisdictions in which we operate.
The global nature of our business and the significance of our international revenue create various domestic and local regulatory challenges and subject us to risks associated with our international operations. The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or the FCPA, the U.K. Bribery Act 2010, or the U.K. Bribery Act, and similar anti-bribery and anticorruption laws in other jurisdictions generally prohibit U.S.-based companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to non-U.S. officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business, directing business to another, or securing an advantage. In addition, U.S. public companies are required to maintain records that accurately and fairly represent their transactions and have an adequate system of internal accounting controls. Under the FCPA, U.S. companies may be held liable for the corrupt actions taken by directors, officers, employees, agents, or other strategic or local partners or representatives. As such, if we or our intermediaries fail to comply with the requirements of the FCPA or similar legislation, governmental authorities in the United States and elsewhere could seek to impose substantial civil and/or criminal fines and penalties which could have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, operating results and financial condition.
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We operate in areas of the world that experience corruption by government officials to some degree and, in certain circumstances, compliance with anti-bribery and anticorruption laws may conflict with local customs and practices. Our global operations require us to import and export to and from several countries, which geographically expands our compliance obligations. In addition, changes in such laws could result in increased regulatory requirements and compliance costs which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. We cannot be assured that our employees or other agents will not engage in prohibited conduct and render us responsible under the FCPA or the U.K. Bribery Act or other anti-bribery or anticorruption laws. If we are found to be in violation of the FCPA, the U.K. Bribery Act or other anti-bribery or anticorruption laws (either due to acts or inadvertence of our employees, or due to the acts or inadvertence of others), we could suffer criminal or civil penalties or other sanctions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We are subject to governmental export and import controls and economic sanctions laws that could subject us to liability and impair our ability to compete in international markets.
The U.S. and various foreign governments have imposed controls, export license requirements and restrictions on the import or export of some technologies. Our products are subject to U.S. export controls, including the Commerce Department’s Export Administration Regulations and various economic and trade sanctions regulations established by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Controls, and exports of our products must be made in compliance with these laws. Furthermore, U.S. export control laws and economic sanctions prohibit the provision of products and services to countries, governments, and persons targeted by U.S. sanctions. Even though we take precautions to prevent our products from being provided to targets of U.S. sanctions, our products, including our firmware updates, could be provided to those targets or provided by our customers despite such precautions. Any such provision could have negative consequences, including government investigations, penalties and reputational harm. Our failure to obtain required import or export approval for our products could harm our international and domestic sales and adversely affect our revenue.
If our estimates or judgments relating to our critical accounting policies prove to be incorrect, our operating results could be adversely affected.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, as provided in the section titled “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations” in the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus. The results of these estimates form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets, liabilities and equity, and the amount of revenue and expenses that are not readily apparent from other sources. Our operating results may be adversely affected if our assumptions change or if actual circumstances differ from those in our assumptions, which could cause our operating results to fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors, resulting in a decline in our stock price. Significant assumptions and estimates used in preparing our consolidated financial statements include those related to revenue recognition, stock-based compensation expense, software development costs, derivatives and fair value measurements, excess and obsolete inventory write-downs, warranty reserves, and long-lived assets.
We are exposed to increased regulatory oversight and incur increased costs as a result of being a public company whose common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market.
As a public company, we incur and will continue to incur costs associated with our public company reporting requirements and corporate governance requirements, including meeting the additional requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as rules implemented by the SEC and the NASDAQ Stock Market. These rules and regulations have increased over the last decade, and will continue to increase, and will continue to make, certain activities more time consuming and costly. Further, we will be incurring costs in connection with hiring additional accounting, financial and compliance staff with appropriate public company experience and technical accounting knowledge. Any of these expenses could harm our business, operating results and financial condition. In January 2015, our common stock was approved for listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market, as a result of which we will incur increased costs associated with satisfying the listing requirements and rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market.
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Any significant disruption to our ecommerce business could result in lost sales.
Our sales through our ecommerce channel have been growing. Sales through vuzix.com and our related EU, UK and Japanese web stores generally have higher profit margins. Online sales are subject to a number of risks. System interruptions or delays could cause potential customers to fail to purchase our products and could harm our brand. The operation of our direct to consumer ecommerce business through vuzix.com depends on our ability to maintain the efficient and uninterrupted operation of online order-taking and fulfillment operations. Our ecommerce operations subject us to certain risks that could have an adverse effect on our operating results, including risks related to the computer systems that operate our website and related support systems, such as system failures, viruses, computer hackers and similar disruptions. If we are unable to continually add software and hardware, effectively upgrade our systems and network infrastructure and take other steps to improve the efficiency of our systems, system interruptions or delays could occur that adversely affect our operating results.
We utilize third party vendors for our customer-facing ecommerce technology, portions of our order management system and fulfillment internationally. We depend on our technology vendors to manage “up-time” of the front-end ecommerce store, manage the intake of our orders, and export orders for fulfillment. In the future, we could begin to run all or a greater portion of our ecommerce components ourselves rather than use third party vendors. Any failure on the part of our third party ecommerce vendors or in our ability to transition third party services effectively could result in lost sales and harm our business.
Failure to adequately protect customer data could harm our brand and our reputation in the marketplace.
Changing regulations and laws governing the Internet, data privacy, data protection and ecommerce transactions (including taxation, pricing and electronic communications) could impede the growth of our ecommerce business, increase our cost of doing business and limit our ability to collect and use information collected from our customers. Further, new regulations limiting our ability to collect, use and disclose customer data, or imposing additional requirements with respect to the retention and security of customer data, could limit our marketing activities and could adversely affect our business and financial condition.
In connection with our ecommerce services, we process, store and transmit customer data. We also collect customer data through certain marketing activities. Failure to prevent or mitigate data loss or other security breaches, including breaches of our vendors’ technology and systems, could expose us or our customers to a risk of loss or misuse of such information, adversely affect our operating results, result in litigation or potential liability for us and otherwise harm our business. Further, we are subject to general business regulations and laws, as well as regulations and laws specifically governing the Internet, ecommerce and electronic devices. Existing and future laws and regulations, or new interpretations of these laws, may adversely affect our ability to conduct our ecommerce business.
We may lose the services of key management personnel and may not be able to attract and retain other necessary personnel.
Changes in our management could have an adverse effect on our business. This is especially an issue while our staff is small. We are dependent upon the active participation of several key management personnel, including Paul J. Travers, our President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Travers is critical to the strategic direction and overall management of our company as well as our research and development process. Mr. Travers is an at-will employee and there are no vesting restrictions on any of the common stock that he owns other than on some incentive stock options representing less than 2% of his total holdings. The loss of Mr. Travers could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. We do not carry key person life insurance on any of our senior management or other key personnel other than our CEO. While we have life insurance coverage on our CEO, we do not believe the coverage would be sufficient to completely protect us against losses we may suffer if his services were to become unavailable to us in the future. Our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Grant Russell, a Canadian citizen, currently has his principal residence in Vancouver, Canada and a second residence in Rochester, New York. If he becomes unable to legally or efficiently travel to and work in the United States, his ability to perform some of his duties could be materially adversely affected.
We must hire highly skilled technical personnel as employees and as independent contractors in order to develop our products. The competition for highly skilled technical, managerial and other personnel is at times intense. Our recruiting and retention success is substantially dependent on our ability to offer competitive salaries and benefits to our employees. We must compete with companies that possess greater financial and other resources than we do and that may be more attractive to potential employees and contractors. To be competitive, we may have to increase the compensation, bonuses, stock options and other fringe benefits offered to employees in order to attract and retain such personnel. The costs of retaining or attracting new personnel may have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results. If we fail to attract and retain the technical and managerial personnel we need to be successful, our business, operating results and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
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Our failure to effectively manage growth could harm our business.
Although, as a result of the sale of the TDG Assets, our product portfolio has recently been reduced, we have regularly expanded the number and types of products we sell, and we will endeavor to further expand our product portfolio. We must replace and regularly introduce on a timely basis new products and technologies, enhance existing products, and effectively stimulate customer demand for new products and upgraded versions of our existing products.
The replacement and expansion of our products places a significant strain on our management, operations and engineering resources. Specifically, the areas that are strained most by these activities include the following:
| · | New Product Launch: With the growth of our product portfolio, we will experience increased complexity in coordinating product development, manufacturing, and shipping. As this complexity increases, it places a strain on our ability to accurately coordinate the commercial launch of our products with adequate supply to meet anticipated customer demand and effectively market to stimulate demand and market acceptance. We have experienced delays in the past. If we are unable to scale and improve our product launch coordination, we could frustrate our customers and lose possible retail shelf space and product sales; |
| · | Existing Products Impacted by New Introductions: The introduction of new products or product enhancements may shorten the life cycle of our existing products, or replace sales of some of our current products, thereby offsetting the benefit of even a successful product introduction, and may cause customers to defer purchasing our existing products in anticipation of the new products and potentially lead to challenges in managing inventory of existing products. We may also provide price protection to some of our retailers as a result of our new product introductions. If we fail to effectively manage new product introductions, our revenue and profitability may be harmed; |
| · | Forecasting, Planning and Supply Chain Logistics: With the growth of our product portfolio, we will experience increased complexity in forecasting customer demand, in planning for production, and in transportation and logistics management. If we are unable to scale and improve our forecasting, planning and logistics management, we could frustrate our customers, lose product sales or accumulate excess inventory; and |
| · | Support Processes: To manage the growth of our operations, we will need to continue to improve our transaction processing, operational and financial systems, and procedures and controls to effectively manage the increased complexity. If we are unable to scale and improve these areas, the consequences could include: delays in shipment of product, degradation in levels of customer support, lost sales, decreased cash flows, and increased inventory. These difficulties could harm or limit our ability to increase our sales. |
Our facilities and information systems and those of our key suppliers could be damaged as a result of disasters or unpredictable events, which could have an adverse effect on our business operations.
We operate the majority of our business from one location in the Rochester, New York area. We also rely on third party manufacturing plants in Asia and third party logistics, sales and marketing facilities in Japan and England, and in other parts of the world to provide key components of our Video Eyewear products and services necessary for our operations. If major disasters such as earthquakes, fires, floods, wars, terrorist attacks, computer viruses, transportation disasters or other events occur in any of these locations, or our information systems or communications network or those of any of our key component suppliers breaks down or operates improperly as a result of such events, our facilities or those of our key suppliers may be seriously damaged, and we may have to stop or delay production and shipment of our products. We may also incur expenses relating to such damages. If production or shipment of our products or components is stopped or delayed or if we incur any increased expenses as a result of damage to our facilities, our business, operating results and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
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A failure of our information technology systems could materially adversely affect our business.
A failure or prolonged interruption in our information technology systems that compromises our ability to meet our customers' needs, or impairs our ability to record, process and report accurate information to the SEC could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.
A breach of our cyber security systems could materially adversely affect our business.
A breach that compromises our proprietary data or our ability to meet our customers’ needs or impairs our ability to record, process and report accurate information could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.
Terrorism and the uncertainty of future terrorist attacks or war could reduce consumer confidence which could adversely affect our operating results.
Terrorist acts or acts of war may cause damage or disruption to our facilities, information systems, vendors, employees and customers, which could significantly harm our sales and results of operations. In the future, fears of war or additional acts of terrorism may have a negative effect on consumer confidence or consumer discretionary spending patterns, as well as have an adverse effect on the economy in general. This impact may be particularly harmful to our business because we expect to rely heavily on discretionary consumer spending and consumer confidence levels.
Risks Related to Manufacturing
We do not manufacture our own microdisplays, one of the key components of our Video Eyewear and Smart Glasses products, and we may not be able to obtain the microdisplays we need.
We do not currently own or operate any manufacturing facilities for microdisplays, one of the key components in our Video Eyewear products. We currently purchase almost all of the microdisplays used in our products from Kopin. Our relationship with Kopin generally is on a purchase order basis and Kopin does not have a contractual obligation to provide adequate supply or acceptable pricing to us on a long-term basis. Kopin could discontinue sourcing merchandise for us at any time. If Kopin were to discontinue its relationships with us, or discontinue providing specific products to us, and we are unable to contract with a new supplier that can meet our requirements, or if Kopin or such other supplier were to suffer a disruption in their production, we could experience disruption of our inventory flow, a decrease in sales and the possible need to redesign our products. Any such event could disrupt our operations and have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Recently several new LCOS and alternative OLED suppliers have begun offering microdisplays suitable for use in our products. These manufacturers include Syndiant, Texas Instruments, OmniVision, HiMax, eMagin, Silicon Microdisplay, Sony, Omnivision, Citizen and others. With new tooling and electronics any one of these alternative displays could be incorporated into our products but our costs of production could be higher and make our products uneconomic for the marketplace.
Certain other components and services necessary for the manufacture of our products are available from only a limited number of sources, and other components and services are only available from a single source.
If we lose access to components from a particular supplier, or experience a significant disruption in the supply of products and components from a current supplier, we may be unable to locate alternative suppliers of comparable quality at an acceptable price, or at all, and our business could be materially and adversely affected. In addition, if we experience a significant increase in demand for our products, our suppliers might not have the capacity or elect to meet our needs as they allocate components to other customers. Identifying a suitable supplier is an involved process that requires us to become satisfied with the supplier’s quality control, responsiveness and service, financial stability and labor and other ethical practices, and if we seek to source materials from new suppliers there can be no assurance that we could do so in a manner that does not disrupt the manufacture and sale of our products. Our reliance on single source, or a limited number of, suppliers involves a number of additional risks, including risks related to:
| · | supplier capacity constraints; |
| · | price increases; |
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| · | timely delivery; |
| · | component quality; |
| · | failure of a key supplier to remain in business and adjust to market conditions; |
| · | delays in, or the inability to execute on, a supplier roadmap for components and technologies; and |
| · | natural disasters, fire, acts of terrorism or other catastrophic events. |
Our inability to obtain sufficient quantities of high quality components or services on a timely basis could result in future manufacturing delays, increased costs and ultimately in reduced or delayed sales or lost orders which could materially and adversely affect our operating results.
We do not control our contract manufacturers or suppliers, or require them to comply with a formal code of conduct, and actions that they might take could harm our reputation and sales.
We do not control our contract manufacturers or suppliers, including their labor, environmental or other practices, or require them to comply with a formal code of conduct. Though we conduct periodic visits to some of our contract manufacturers and suppliers, these visits are not so frequent or thorough enough to detect non-compliance with applicable laws and good industry practices. A violation of labor, environmental or other laws by our contract manufacturers or suppliers, or a failure of these parties to follow ethical business practices, could lead to negative publicity and harm our reputation. In addition, we may choose to seek alternative manufacturers or suppliers if these violations or failures were to occur. Identifying and qualifying new manufacturers or suppliers can be time consuming and we might not be able to substitute suitable alternatives in a timely manner or at an acceptable cost. Other consumer products companies have faced significant criticism for the actions of their manufacturers and suppliers, and we could face such criticism ourselves. Any of these events could adversely affect our brand, harm our reputation, reduce demand for our products and harm our ability to meet demand if we need to identify alternative manufacturers or suppliers.
We depend on third parties to provide integrated circuit chip sets and other critical components for use in our products.
We do not manufacture the integrated circuit chip sets, optics, microdisplays, backlights, printed circuit boards or other electronic components which are used in our products. Instead, we purchase them from third party suppliers or rely on third party independent contractors for these integrated circuit chip sets and other critical components, some of which are customized or specially made for us. We also may use third parties to assemble all or portions of our products. Some of these third party contractors and suppliers are small companies with limited financial resources. If any of these third party contractors or suppliers were unable or unwilling to supply these integrated circuit chip sets or other critical components to us, we would be unable to manufacture and sell our products until a replacement supplier could be found. We cannot assure investors that a replacement third party contractor or supplier could be found on reasonable terms or in a timely manner. Any interruption in our ability to manufacture and distribute our products could cause our display business to be unsuccessful and the value of investors’ investment in us may decline.
The consumer electronics industry is subject to significant fluctuations in the availability of components. If we do not properly anticipate the need for critical components, we may be unable to meet the demands of our customers and end-users.
The availability of certain of the components that we require to produce our Video Eyewear and Smart Glasses products may decrease. As the availability of components decreases, the cost of acquiring those components ordinarily increases. High growth product categories such as the consumer electronics and mobile phone markets have experienced chronic shortages of components during periods of exceptionally high demand. If we do not properly anticipate the need for or procure critical components, we may pay higher prices for those components, our gross margins may decrease and we may be unable to meet the demands of our customers and end-users, which could reduce our competitiveness, cause a decline in our market share and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
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Unanticipated disruptions in our operations or slowdowns by our suppliers, distributors and shipping companies could adversely affect our ability to deliver our products and service our customers.
Our ability to provide high quality customer service, process and fulfill orders and manage inventory depends on the efficient, timely and uninterrupted performance of our manufacturing and distribution facilities and our management information systems and the facilities and systems of our third party suppliers, distributors and shipping companies.
Any material disruption or slowdown in the operation of our manufacturing and distribution facilities or our management information systems, or comparable disruptions or slowdowns suffered by our principal suppliers, distributors or shippers could cause delays in our ability to receive, process and fulfill customer orders and may cause orders to be canceled, lost or delivered late, goods to be returned or receipt of goods to be refused. If any of these events occur, our sales and operating results could be materially and adversely affected.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
The rights of holders of common stock may be impaired by the possible future issuance of additional preferred stock.
Our board of directors has the right, without approval of the holders of our common stock, to issue additional preferred stock with voting, dividend, conversion, liquidation and other rights which could adversely affect the voting power and equity interest of the holders of common stock, which could be issued with the right to more than one vote per share, and could be utilized as a method of discouraging, delaying or preventing a change of control. The possible negative impact on takeover attempts could adversely affect the price of our common stock. Although we have no present intention to issue any shares of preferred stock other than the Series A Preferred Stock currently outstanding or to create any additional series of preferred stock, we may issue these shares in the future.
Price adjustment and anti-dilution provisions in some of our outstanding warrants may make it more difficult and expensive for us to raise additional capital in the future and may result in further dilution to investors.
The warrants sold in our August 2013 public equity offering initially provided that the exercise price will adjust to the lowest price per share at which we sell or issue or are deemed to sell or issue additional shares (with certain exceptions) (a “full-ratchet” adjustment). Additionally these same warrants initially contained full-ratchet anti-dilution protection providing for an increase in the number of shares issuable upon the exercise of the warrants upon the issuance of any common stock, securities convertible into common stock or certain other issuances at a price below the then-existing exercise price of the warrants (with certain exceptions). In connection with the Series A Private Placement, such anti-dilutions rights were permanently waived with respect to 86% of the outstanding warrants, such that a total of 592,789 warrants still have this right. Because these anti-dilution and price adjustment provisions will have the effect of lowering the price at which shares of our common stock are issued upon exercise of the warrants, and increasing the number of shares received upon such exercises, if we are unable to raise additional capital at an effective price per share that is higher than the exercise price of these warrants, these provisions may make it more difficult and more expensive for us to raise capital in the future. In addition, the existence of these price adjustment provisions cause the warrant to be a derivative that require us to report a derivative liability on our balance sheet, which reduces our reported net stockholders’ equity. This derivative liability must be adjusted quarterly based on mark-to-market valuations, which are impacted by the market price of our common stock, as well as other factors. These quarterly derivative adjustments have resulted in significant swings in our reported net loss or income each quarter. The negative financial reporting implications of these derivative price adjustments may make it more difficult and more expensive for us to raise capital in the future.
Additional stock offerings in the future may dilute then existing stockholders’ percentage ownership of our company.
Given our plans and expectations that we may need additional capital and personnel, we may need to issue additional shares of common stock or securities convertible or exercisable for shares of common stock, including convertible preferred stock, convertible notes, stock options or warrants. The issuance of additional securities in the future will dilute the percentage ownership of then existing stockholders.
We have not paid dividends in the past and do not expect to pay dividends in the future on our common stock.
We have never paid cash dividends on our common stock and do not anticipate paying cash dividends in the foreseeable future. The payment of dividends on our common stock will depend on earnings, financial condition, debt covenants in place, and other business and economic factors affecting us at such time as our board of directors may consider relevant. If we do not pay dividends, our common stock may be less valuable because a return on a stockholders’ investment will only occur if our stock price appreciates. In addition, the holder of our outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock is entitled to certain dividends prior to payments of dividends to holders of common stock.
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If securities analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common stock depends in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our stock or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price would likely decline. Securities analysts have only recently commenced research coverage on us. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our stock could decrease, which might cause our stock price and trading volume to decline.
Our issuance of common stock upon conversion of convertible notes or preferred stock or exercise of warrants or options may depress the price of our common stock.
As of February 10, 2015, we have issued and outstanding 12,261,137 shares of common stock, 49,626 shares of Series A Preferred Stock convertible into 4,962,600 shares of common stock, an aggregate of $2,037,500 in principal amount of convertible notes convertible into an aggregate of 905,556 shares of common stock, warrants to purchase 4,740,910 shares of common stock, and options to purchase 720,551 shares of common stock. The issuance of shares of common stock upon conversion of convertible notes or preferred stock, or exercise of outstanding warrants or options could result in substantial dilution to our stockholders, which may have a negative effect on the price of our common stock.
The interests
of the holder of our Series A Preferred Stock, which holds shares representing approximately 30% of the voting power of our stock
and has the right to nominate and elect two directors, may conflict with the interests of our other stockholders.
On January 2, 2015, we entered into and closed a Series A Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement, pursuant to which we issued and sold to Intel Corporation (the “Series A Purchaser”) 49,626 shares of Series A Preferred Stock (see “Recent Developments”). Each share of Series A Preferred Stock is convertible into 100 shares of common stock and votes on an-converted basis with the common stock. The shares issuable upon conversion of the Series A Preferred Stock currently represent approximately 30% of the total voting power of our outstanding stock. The Series A Purchaser will be able to vote this significant amount of shares with respect to any matter submitted to stockholders for a vote. In addition, pursuant to the Board Election Right, the Series A Purchaser is entitled to nominate and elect two additional directors to the Company’s Board of Directors, one of whom is required to qualify as an “independent” director, as that term is used in applicable exchange listing rules. The Series A Purchaser has not yet exercised the Board Election Right, but if it does so, the Series A Purchaser will have increased influence over matters considered by the Board of Directors. The Series A Purchaser may exercise its stockholder rights in a way that it believes is in its best interests, which may conflict with the interests of our other stockholders.
Sales of common stock by the selling stockholder may depress the price of our common stock.
The shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock currently represent approximately 30% of our outstanding common stock, giving effect to conversion of such shares of Series A Preferred Stock. The resale of these shares of common stock is covered by this prospectus. Such resales by the selling stockholder under this prospectus (or sales of such shares by the selling stockholder under Rule 144, when available) may depress the price of our common stock.
This prospectus and the documents and information incorporated by reference in this prospectus include forward-looking statements. These statements are based on our management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning:
| · | our possible or assumed future results of operations; |
| · | our business strategies; |
| · | our ability to attract and retain customers; |
| · | our ability to sell additional products and services to customers; |
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| · | our cash needs and financing plans; |
| · | our competitive position; |
| · | our industry environment; |
| · | our potential growth opportunities; |
| · | expected technological advances by us or by third parties and our ability to leverage them; |
| · | the effects of future regulation; and |
| · | the effects of competition. |
All statements in this prospectus and the documents and information incorporated by reference in this prospectus that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. We may, in some cases, use terms such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “projects,” “should,” “will,” “would” or similar expressions or the negative of such items that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are made based on management’s beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date the statements are made and we undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as may be required by applicable law. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.
This prospectus relates to shares of our common stock that may be offered and sold from time to time by the selling stockholder. We will not receive any of the proceeds resulting from the sale of common stock by the selling stockholder.
This prospectus relates to the offering by the selling stockholder of up to 5,813,332 shares of common stock, including 4,962,600 shares issuable upon conversion of outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock and 850,732 shares issuable as dividends on shares of Series A Preferred Stock.
The following table sets forth, based on information provided to us by the selling stockholder or known to us, the name of the selling stockholder, the nature of any position, office or other material relationship, if any, which the selling stockholder has had, within the past three years, with us or with any of our predecessors or affiliates, and the number of shares of our common stock beneficially owned by the stockholder before this offering. The number of shares owned are those beneficially owned, as determined under the rules of the SEC, and the information is not necessarily indicative of beneficial ownership for any other purpose. Under these rules, beneficial ownership includes any shares of common stock as to which a person has sole or shared voting power or investment power and any shares of common stock which the person has the right to acquire within 60 days through the exercise of any option, warrant or right, through conversion of any security or pursuant to the automatic termination of a power of attorney or revocation of a trust, discretionary account or similar arrangement. The selling stockholder is not a broker-dealer or an affiliate of a broker-dealer.
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We have assumed all shares of common stock reflected on the table will be sold from time to time in the offering covered by this prospectus. Because the selling stockholder may offer all or any portions of the shares of common stock listed in the table below, no estimate can be given as to the amount of those shares of common stock covered by this prospectus that will be held by the selling stockholder upon the termination of the offering.
| Selling Stockholder | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned Before Offering | Number of Shares Offered | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned After Offering | Percentage of Shares Beneficially Owned After Offering |
| Intel Corporation | 4,962,600 (1) | 5,813,332 (2) | 0 | 0 |
(1) Represents shares issuable upon conversion of outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock.
(2) Represents 4,962,600 shares issuable upon conversion of outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock and 850,732 shares issuable as dividends on shares of Series A Preferred Stock. The 850,732 shares issuable as dividends on shares of Series A Preferred Stock was estimated based on 3 years of payments of dividends in shares of common stock, valued based on an assumed market price of $5.25, the closing price of our common stock on January 15, 2015.
The selling stockholder of the securities and any of its pledgees, assignees and successors-in-interest may, from time to time, sell any or all of their securities covered hereby on the NASDAQ Capital Market or any other stock exchange, market or trading facility on which the securities are traded or in private transactions. These sales may be at fixed or negotiated prices. The selling stockholder may use any one or more of the following methods when selling securities:
| · | ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which the broker-dealer solicits purchasers; |
| · | block trades in which the broker-dealer will attempt to sell the securities as agent but may position and resell a portion of the block as principal to facilitate the transaction; |
| · | purchases by a broker-dealer as principal and resale by the broker-dealer for its account; |
| · | an exchange distribution in accordance with the rules of the applicable exchange; |
| · | privately negotiated transactions; |
| · | settlement of short sales entered into after the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part; |
| · | in transactions through broker-dealers that agree with the selling stockholder to sell a specified number of such securities at a stipulated price per security; |
| · | through the writing or settlement of options or other hedging transactions, whether through an options exchange or otherwise; |
| · | a combination of any such methods of sale; or |
| · | any other method permitted pursuant to applicable law. |
The selling stockholder may also sell securities under Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), if available, rather than under this prospectus.
Broker-dealers engaged by the selling stockholder may arrange for other brokers-dealers to participate in sales. Broker-dealers may receive commissions or discounts from the selling stockholder (or, if any broker-dealer acts as agent for the purchaser of securities, from the purchaser) in amounts to be negotiated, but, except as set forth in a supplement to this prospectus, in the case of an agency transaction not in excess of a customary brokerage commission in compliance with FINRA Rule 2440; and in the case of a principal transaction a markup or markdown in compliance with FINRA IM-2440.
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In connection with the sale of the securities or interests therein, the selling stockholder may enter into hedging transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions, which may in turn engage in short sales of the securities in the course of hedging the positions they assume. The selling stockholder may also sell securities short and deliver these securities to close out its short positions, or loan or pledge the securities to broker-dealers that in turn may sell these securities. The selling stockholder may also enter into option or other transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions or create one or more derivative securities which require the delivery to such broker-dealer or other financial institution of securities offered by this prospectus, which securities such broker-dealer or other financial institution may resell pursuant to this prospectus (as supplemented or amended to reflect such transaction).
The selling stockholder and any broker-dealers or agents that are involved in selling the securities may be deemed to be “underwriters” within the meaning of the Securities Act in connection with such sales. In such event, any commissions received by such broker-dealers or agents and any profit on the resale of the securities purchased by them may be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts under the Securities Act. The selling stockholder has informed the Company that it does not have any written or oral agreement or understanding, directly or indirectly, with any person to distribute the securities. In no event shall any broker-dealer receive fees, commissions and markups which, in the aggregate, would exceed eight percent (8%).
The Company is required to pay certain fees and expenses incurred by the Company incident to the registration of the securities. The Company has agreed to indemnify the selling stockholder against certain losses, claims, damages and liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.
Because the selling stockholder may be deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act, it will be subject to the prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act including Rule 172 thereunder. In addition, any securities covered by this prospectus which qualify for sale pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act may be sold under Rule 144 rather than under this prospectus. The selling stockholder has advised us that there is no underwriter or coordinating broker acting in connection with the proposed sale of the resale securities by the selling stockholder.
We agreed to keep this prospectus effective until all of the securities have been sold pursuant to this prospectus or Rule 144 under the Securities Act. The resale securities will be sold only through registered or licensed brokers or dealers if required under applicable state securities laws. In addition, in certain states, the resale securities covered hereby may not be sold unless they have been registered or qualified for sale in the applicable state or an exemption from the registration or qualification requirement is available and is complied with.
Under applicable rules and regulations under the Exchange Act, any person engaged in the distribution of the resale securities may not simultaneously engage in market making activities with respect to the common stock for the applicable restricted period, as defined in Regulation M, prior to the commencement of the distribution. In addition, the selling stockholder will be subject to applicable provisions of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations thereunder, including Regulation M, which may limit the timing of purchases and sales of securities of the common stock by the selling stockholder or any other person. We will make copies of this prospectus available to the selling stockholder and have informed it of the need to deliver a copy of this prospectus to each purchaser at or prior to the time of the sale (including by compliance with Rule 172 under the Securities Act).
Offer Restrictions-Canada
This prospectus is not and under no circumstances is to be construed as a prospectus, advertisement or a public offering of the common stock under Canadian securities laws. The securities being registered hereunder have not been and will not be qualified by a prospectus for the offer or sale to the public in Canada under applicable Canadian securities laws. No securities commission or similar regulatory authority in Canada has reviewed this prospectus or in any way passed upon the merits of the securities being registered hereunder and any representation to the contrary is an offence.
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The validity of the shares of common stock offered hereby will be passed upon for us by Sichenzia Ross Friedman Ference LLP, New York, New York. Sichenzia Ross Friedman Ference LLP owns 20,000 shares of our common stock.
The consolidated financial statements of Vuzix Corporation as of December 31, 2013 and 2012 and for each of the years in the two-year period ended December 31, 2013 appearing in Vuzix Corporation’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, have been audited by EFP Rotenberg, LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in its report thereon, included therein, and incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements are incorporated herein by reference in reliance upon such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
DISCLOSURE OF COMMISSION POSITION ON INDEMNIFICATION FOR SECURITIES ACT LIABILITIES
Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law provides that a corporation may indemnify directors and officers as well as other employees and individuals against expenses including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement in connection with various actions, suits or proceedings, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative other than an action by or in the right of the corporation, a derivative action, if they acted in good faith and in a manner they reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, if they had no reasonable cause to believe their conduct was unlawful. A similar standard is applicable in the case of derivative actions, except that indemnification only extends to expenses including attorneys’ fees incurred in connection with the defense or settlement of such actions, and the statute requires court approval before there can be any indemnification where the person seeking indemnification has been found liable to the corporation. The statute provides that it is not exclusive of other indemnification that may be granted by a corporation's certificate of incorporation, bylaws, agreement, a vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise.
Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and By-Laws provide that we will indemnify and hold harmless, to the fullest extent permitted by Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, as amended from time to time, each person that such section grants us the power to indemnify.
The Delaware General Corporation Law permits a corporation to provide in its certificate of incorporation that a director of the corporation shall not be personally liable to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except for liability for:
| · | any breach of the director's duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders; |
| · | acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law; |
| · | payments of unlawful dividends or unlawful stock repurchases or redemptions; or |
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| · | any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. |
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, offices or controlling persons of ours, pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, we have been advised that, in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act, and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by us of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of ours in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered hereunder, we will, unless in the opinion of our counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by us is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN THE PROSPECTUS
Item 14. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.
We will pay all expenses in connection with the registration and sale of the common stock by the selling stockholder. The estimated expenses of issuance and distribution are set forth below.
| SEC filing fee | $ | 4,604 | ||
| Legal expenses | $ | 50,000 | * | |
| Accounting expenses | $ | 20,000 | * | |
| Miscellaneous | $ | 65,000 | * | |
| Total | $ | 139,604 | * |
* Estimate
Item 15. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law provides that a corporation may indemnify directors and officers as well as other employees and individuals against expenses including attorneys' fees, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement in connection with various actions, suits or proceedings, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative other than an action by or in the right of the corporation, a derivative action, if they acted in good faith and in a manner they reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, if they had no reasonable cause to believe their conduct was unlawful. A similar standard is applicable in the case of derivative actions, except that indemnification only extends to expenses including attorneys' fees incurred in connection with the defense or settlement of such actions, and the statute requires court approval before there can be any indemnification where the person seeking indemnification has been found liable to the corporation. The statute provides that it is not exclusive of other indemnification that may be granted by a corporation's certificate of incorporation, bylaws, agreement, a vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise.
Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and By-Laws provide that we will indemnify and hold harmless, to the fullest extent permitted by Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, as amended from time to time, each person that such section grants us the power to indemnify.
The Delaware General Corporation Law permits a corporation to provide in its certificate of incorporation that a director of the corporation shall not be personally liable to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except for liability for:
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| · | any breach of the director's duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders; |
| · | acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law; |
| · | payments of unlawful dividends or unlawful stock repurchases or redemptions; or |
| · | any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. |
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, offices or controlling persons of ours, pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, we have been advised that, in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act, and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by us of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of ours in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered hereunder, we will, unless in the opinion of our counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by us is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
Item 16. Exhibits.
1. The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:
(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933.
(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement.
(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement.
Provided, however, that paragraphs (1)(i) and (1)(ii) of this section do not apply if the registration statement is on Form S-3, Form S-8 or Form F-3, and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement.
2. The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
3. The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered that remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
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4. The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
5. The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for the purposes of determining liability to any purchaser:
(i) If the registrant is relying on Rule 430B:
(A) For purposes of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and
(B) Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference in the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date; or
(ii) If the registrant is subject to Rule 430C, each prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) as part of a registration statement relating to an offering, other than registration statements relying on Rule 430B or other than prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A, shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used after effectiveness. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such first use, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such date of first use.
6. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the undersigned registrant according the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the undersigned registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
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Item 17. Exhibits.
| Exhibit | ||
| Number | Description of Document | |
| 4.1 | Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (incorporated by reference to the Amendment No. 3 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed October 16, 2009). | |
| 4.2 | Certificate of Amendment to Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (incorporated by reference to Current Report on Form 8-K filed February 7, 2013). | |
| 4.3 | Certificate of Amendment to Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (incorporated by reference to Current Report on Form 8-K filed June 30, 2014). | |
| 4.4 | Certificate of Designation of Series A Preferred Stock (incorporated by reference to Current Report on Form 8-K filed January 2, 2015). | |
| 4.5 | Amended and Restated Bylaws (incorporated by reference to Amendment No. 3 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed October 16, 2009). | |
| 5.1 | Opinion of Sichenzia Ross Friedman Ference LLP* | |
| 23.1 | Consent of EFP Rotenberg, LLP* | |
| 23.2 | Consent of Sichenzia Ross Friedman Ference LLP (contained in Exhibit 5.1)* |
*Filed herewith
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for fling on Form S-3 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Rochester, State of New York, on February 11, 2015.
| Vuzix Corporation | ||
| By: | /s/ Paul J. Travers | |
| Paul J. Travers | ||
| Its: | Chief Executive Officer | |
| (Principal Executive Officer) | ||
| By: | /s/ Grant Russell | |
| Grant Russell | ||
| Its: | Chief Financial Officer | |
| (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | ||
Each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Paul J. Travers and Grant Russell, and each of them severally, as his true and lawful attorney in fact and agent, with full powers of substitution and resubstitution, for him and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any or all amendments (including post effective amendments) to the Registration Statement, and to sign any registration statement for the same offering covered by this Registration Statement that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and all post effective amendments thereto, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and all documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorney-in-fact and agent, each acting alone, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact and agent, each acting alone, or his or her substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| /s/ Paul J. Travers | February 11, 2015 | |
| Paul J. Travers | ||
| Chief Executive Officer and Director (principal executive officer) | ||
| /s/ Grant Russell | February 11, 2015 | |
| Chief Financial Officer and Director (principal financial and accounting officer) |
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| /s/ William Lee | February 11, 2015 | |
| William Lee | ||
| Director | ||
| /s/ Alexander Ruckdaeschel | February 11, 2015 | |
| Alexander Ruckdaeschel | ||
| Director | ||
| /s/ Michael Scott | February 11, 2015 | |
| Michael Scott | ||
| Director |
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