COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES |
6 Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||
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Jun. 30, 2017 | |||||||||||||||||
| Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] | |||||||||||||||||
| Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block] | NOTE 11 — COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Royalty The Company entered into the initial trademark license agreement with Monster, Inc. (formerly Monster Cable Products, Inc.) effective July 7, 2010. In 2012, the agreement was amended giving the Company exclusive rights to utilize the name “Monster Digital” on memory products for a period of 25 years (expires July 7, 2035) under the following payment schedule of royalties to Monster, Inc. This license agreement contains various termination clauses that include (i) change in control, (ii) breach of contract and (iii) insolvency, among others. The Company is required to remit royalty payments to Monster, Inc. on or before the 30th day following the end of each calendar quarter. At any time during the term of the agreement, a permanent license may be negotiated. The royalty schedule became effective in August 2011 and was further amended in April 2012. As amended, royalties under this contract are as follows:
Effective July 1, 2014, the royalty rate on certain products was reduced from 4% to 2% for a period of 12 months, based on a mutual understanding between the Company and the licensor. For the three months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016, royalty expense amounted to approximately $125,000 and $71,000, respectively. For the six months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016, royalty expense amounted to approximately $250,000 and $121,000, respectively, and is included as a component of selling and marketing expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. At June 30, 2017, $250,000 is due for royalties and the Company is not in compliance with the royalty payment schedule. Operating Lease The Company occupied executive offices in Simi Valley, CA pursuant to a lease through January 31, 2018. Effective as of March 31, 2017, the Company terminated the lease by mutually accepted and favorable terms with the lessor. Effective April 1, 2017, the Company entered into a one year lease for warehouse space in Ontario, CA. Customer Payment Agreement In July 2015, the Company entered into an agreement with a customer under which the Company will pay the customer a total of $835,000 owed to the customer for promotional and other credits related to sales that occurred in 2014. The credits were accrued as contra-sales in 2014. Under the terms of the agreement, there is no interest and the Company will make 12 monthly payments of $65,000 beginning in August 2015, and one final payment of $65,000 in August 2016. The Company is not in compliance with the payment agreement and the balance owed is $57,000 at June 30, 2017. In January 2017, the Company entered into an agreement with a customer under which the Company settled an amount due of $1.84 million for $1.5 million, recording a $341,000 deferred gain and recognizing a current period gain of $68,000. The settlement included an initial payment of $250,000 with the remaining balance to be paid in monthly installments through December 2018. The Company is not in compliance with the payment agreement and the balance owed is $1.2 million at June 30, 2017. Legal Matters The Company is subject to certain legal proceedings and claims arising in connection with the normal course of its business. In the opinion of management, the reserve established for the three cases noted below is adequate so that the claims will have no material adverse effect on its consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows. On February 16, 2016, the Company received a letter from GoPro, Inc., or GoPro, alleging that the Company infringes on at least five U.S. patents held by GoPro, and requesting that the Company confirms in writing that it will permanently cease the sale and distribution of its Villain camera, along with any camera accessories, including the waterproof camera case and standard housing. The five patents specifically identified by GoPro in the letter were U.S. Patent No. D710,921: camera housing design, U.S. Patent No. D702,747: camera housing design, U.S. Patent No. D740,875: camera housing design, U.S. Patent No. D737,879: camera design and U.S. Patent No. 721,935: camera design. Based upon our preliminary review of these patents, the Company believes it has some defenses to GoPro’s allegations, although there can be no assurance that the Company will be successful in defending against these allegations or reaching a business resolution that is satisfactory to us. In addition, we have begun marketing and selling the camera under the name “Monster Vision” and phasing out the “Villain” name. We have had no correspondence from GoPro since instituting the name change. The supplier of the Company’s Villain camera has contractually represented and warranted that it owns or has paid royalties to any and all intellectual property, designs, software, hardware, packaging, components, manuals and any other portion, part or element that is or may be subject to the Villain name and the parts and accessories thereof sourced by the supplier. This supplier has contractually agreed to pay any claims, damages, or costs that the Company suffers as a result of the patent infringement or a violation of international, U.S. or state laws or regulations as detailed in the prior sentence. |