PRKR ParkerVision Inc (QB)

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

December 31, 2022 and 2021

1. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

ParkerVision, Inc. and its wholly-owned German subsidiary, ParkerVision GmbH (collectively “ParkerVision”, “we” or the “Company”) is in the business of innovating fundamental wireless hardware technologies and products. We have determined that our business currently operates under a single operating and reportable segment.

We have designed and developed proprietary radio frequency (“RF”) technologies and integrated circuits based on those technologies, and we license our technologies to others for use in wireless communication products.  We have expended significant financial and other resources to research and develop our RF technologies and to obtain patent protection for those technologies in the United States of America (“U.S.”) and certain foreign jurisdictions.  We believe certain patents protecting our proprietary technologies have been broadly infringed by others, and therefore the primary focus of our business plan is the enforcement of our intellectual property rights through patent licensing and infringement litigation efforts.  We currently have patent enforcement actions ongoing in various U.S. district courts against mobile handset, smart television and other WiFi product providers, as well as semiconductor suppliers for the infringement of a number of our RF patents.  We have made significant investments in developing and protecting our technologies, the returns on which are dependent upon the generation of future revenues for realization.

Basis of Presentation

Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. (“GAAP”).  Certain reclassifications have been made to prior period amounts to conform to the current period presentation.  The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of ParkerVision, Inc. and our wholly-owned German subsidiary, ParkerVision GmbH, after elimination of all intercompany transactions and accounts.

Use of Estimates in the Preparation of Financial Statements

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods.  The more significant estimates made by us include projected future cash flows and risk-adjusted discount rates for estimating the fair value of our contingent payment obligations, the volatility and estimated lives of share-based awards used in the estimate of the fair market value of share-based compensation, the assessment of recoverability of long-lived assets, the amortization periods for intangible and long-lived assets, and the valuation allowance for deferred taxes.  Actual results could differ from the estimates made.  We periodically evaluate estimates used in the preparation of the financial statements for continued reasonableness.  Appropriate adjustments, if any, to the estimates used are made prospectively based upon such periodic evaluation.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

We consider cash and cash equivalents to include cash on hand, interest-bearing deposits, overnight repurchase agreements and investments with original maturities of three months or less when purchased.

Intangible Assets

We capitalize outside legal costs and agency filing fees incurred in connection with securing the rights to our intellectual property.  Patents, copyrights, and other intangible assets are amortized using the straight-line method over their estimated period of benefit.  We estimate the economic lives of our patents and copyrights to be fifteen to twenty years.  Management evaluates the recoverability of intangible assets periodically and considers events or circumstances that may warrant revised estimates of useful lives or that may indicate impairment exists.  As part of our ongoing patent maintenance program, we will, from time to time, abandon a particular patent if we determine fees to maintain the patent exceed its expected recoverability.  The cost and accumulated amortization of abandoned intangible assets are removed from their respective accounts, and any resulting net loss is recognized in selling, general and administrative expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

Contingent Payment Obligations

We have accounted for our secured and unsecured contingent payment obligations as long-term debt in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 470-10-25, “Sales of Future Revenues or Various other Measures of Income.”  Our payment obligations are contingent upon the receipt of proceeds from patent enforcement and/or patent monetization actions.  We have elected to measure our contingent payment obligations at their estimated fair values in accordance with ASC 825, “Financial Instruments” based on the variable and contingent nature of the repayment provisions.  We have determined that the fair value of our secured and unsecured contingent payment obligations falls within Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy, which involves significant estimates, and assumptions including projected future patent-related proceeds and the risk-adjusted rate for discounting future cash flows (see Note 11).  Actual results could differ from the estimates made.  Changes in fair value, including the component related to imputed interest, are included in the accompanying consolidated statements of comprehensive loss under the heading “Change in fair value of contingent payment obligations.”

Leases

We have accounted for our finance and operating leases in accordance with ASC 842, “Leases” which requires the recognition of lease right-of-use (“ROU”) assets and lease liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets for finance and operating leases with initial lease terms of more than 12 months. At inception of a lease, we determine if an arrangement contains a lease and whether that lease meets the classification criteria of a finance or operating lease.  Some of our lease arrangements contain lease components (e.g., minimum rent payments) and non-lease components (e.g., services).  For certain equipment leases, we account for lease and non-lease components separately based on a relative fair market value basis.  For all other leases, we account for the lease and non-lease components (e.g., common area maintenance) on a combined basis.

For operating leases with terms greater than 12 months, we record the ROU asset and lease obligation at the present value of lease payments over the term using the implicit interest rate, when readily available, or our incremental borrowing rate for collateralized debt based on information available at the lease commencement date.  Certain of our leases include rental escalation clauses, renewal options and/or termination options that are factored into our determination of lease payments when it is reasonably certain that the option will be exercised.  We do not recognize ROU assets and lease liabilities for leases with terms at inception of twelve months or less.

Finance leases are included in property and equipment and other accrued expenses on the consolidated balance sheets.  Finance leases are recorded as an asset and an obligation at an amount equal to the present value of the minimum lease payments during the lease term.  Amortization expense and interest expense associated with finance leases are included in selling, general, and administrative expense and interest expense, respectively, on the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

Refer to Note 7 for additional disclosures related to our leases.

Convertible Debt

We have issued debt that is convertible, at the holder’s option, into shares of our common stock at fixed conversion prices.  Certain of the convertible notes were issued with conversion prices that were below market value of our common stock on the closing date resulting in a beneficial conversion feature which we recorded to equity with a corresponding discount to the debt that was amortized over the life of the notes as interest expense.

Effective January 1, 2021, we adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2020-06 "Debt - Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging - Contracts in Entity's Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity's Own Equity."  This ASU simplifies accounting for convertible instruments by removing major separation models required under current U.S. GAAP.  Consequently, more convertible debt instruments will be reported as a single liability instrument with no separate accounting for embedded conversion features.  The ASU removes certain settlement conditions that are required for equity contracts to qualify for the derivative scope exception, which will permit more equity contracts to qualify for the exception.  The ASU also simplifies the diluted earnings per share calculation in certain areas.  For smaller reporting companies, the ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, including interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020.  The ASU provides for a modified retrospective method of adoption whereby the guidance is applied to transactions outstanding at the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption with the cumulative effect of the change being recorded as an adjustment to beginning retained earnings.

Adoption of ASU 2020-06 resulted in an increase to our long-term debt of approximately $0.8 million, a decrease in additional paid-in-capital of approximately $1.1 million, and an adjustment to our beginning accumulated deficit of $0.3 million resulting from the elimination of the previously recognized beneficial conversion feature as a debt discount.

Revenue Recognition

We account for revenue under ASC 606, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers” which implements a common revenue standard that clarifies the principles for recognizing revenue.  This revenue recognition model provides a five-step analysis in determining when and how revenue is recognized. These steps include (1) identifying the contract with the customer, (2) identifying the performance obligations, (3) determining the transaction price, (4) allocating the transaction price to the performance obligations, and (5) recognizing revenue as the entity satisfies the performance obligation(s).

Our revenue is derived from patent licensing and settlement agreements.  We have an active monitoring and enforcement program with respect to our intellectual property rights that includes seeking appropriate compensation from third parties that utilize or have utilized our intellectual property without a license. As a result, we may receive payments as part of a settlement or in the form of court-awarded damages for a patent infringement dispute.  The timing and amount of revenue recognized from each licensee depend upon a variety of factors, including the specific terms of each agreement and the nature of the deliverables and obligations. Such agreements are often complex and may include multiple performance obligations.  These agreements can include performance obligations related to the settlement of past patent infringement liabilities, royalties on future covered products sold by licensees, access to a portfolio of technology as it exists at a point in time, and/or promises to provide technology updates to the portfolio during the term of the license.

Refer to Note 3 for additional disclosures related to our revenue.

Cost of Sales

Cost of sales includes amortization of intangible assets directly linked with revenue generating licensing activities.  Amortization expense for intangible assets that are not directly related to revenue generating licensing activities are included in selling, general, and administrative expenses in our consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

Accounting for Share-Based Compensation

We have various share-based compensation programs which provide for equity awards including stock options, restricted stock units (“RSUs”) and restricted stock awards (“RSAs”).  We calculate the fair value of share-based equity awards on the date of grant and recognize the calculated fair value as compensation expense over the requisite service periods of the related awards.  We estimate the fair value of stock option awards using the Black-Scholes option valuation model.  This valuation model requires the use of highly subjective assumptions and estimates including how long employees will retain their stock options before exercising them and the volatility of our common stock price over the expected life of the equity award. Such estimates, and the basis for our conclusions regarding such estimates, are outlined in detail in Note 15.  Estimates of fair value are not intended to predict actual future events or the value ultimately realized by persons who receive equity awards. We account for forfeitures of share-based awards as they occur.

Income Taxes

The provision for income taxes is based on loss before taxes as reported in the accompanying consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.  Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the financial statements or tax returns.  Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on differences between the financial statement carrying amounts and the tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse.  Valuation allowances are established to reduce deferred tax assets when, based on available objective evidence, it is more likely than not that the benefit of such assets will not be realized.  Our deferred tax assets exclude unrecognized tax benefits which do not meet a more-likely-than-not threshold for financial statement recognition for tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return.

Loss per Common Share

Basic loss per common share is determined based on the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during each year.  Diluted loss per common share is the same as basic loss per common share as all potential common shares are excluded from the calculation, as their effect is anti-dilutive.

The number of shares underlying outstanding options, warrants, and convertible notes at December 31, 2022 and 2021 were as follows (in thousands):

These potential shares were excluded from the computation of diluted loss per share as their effect would have been anti-dilutive.

2. LIQUIDITY AND GOING CONCERN

The accompanying consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022 were prepared assuming we will continue as a going concern, which contemplates that we will continue in operation and will be able to realize our assets and settle our liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business for a period of at least one year from the issuance date of these consolidated financial statements.  These consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments to reflect the possible future effects on the recoverability and classification of assets or the amounts and classification of liabilities that could result should we be unable to continue as a going concern.

We have incurred significant losses from operations and negative cash flows in every year since inception and have utilized the proceeds from the sales of our equity and equity-linked securities and our contingent funding arrangements with third parties to fund our operations, including our litigation costs.  For the year ended December 31, 2022, we incurred a net loss of approximately $9.8 million and negative cash flows from operations of approximately $3.0 million.  At December 31, 2022, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $443.2 million. These circumstances raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue to operate as a going concern for a period of one year after the issuance date of these consolidated financial statements.

We had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $0.1 million at December 31, 2022.  We received an additional $0.8 million in proceeds from debt and equity financings in January 2023 (see Note 18).  Our remaining capital resources will be used to fund our current obligations and ongoing operating costs; however, these resources will not be sufficient to meet our liquidity needs for the next twelve months and we will be required to seek additional capital.

Our business plan is currently focused solely on our patent enforcement and technology licensing objectives.  The timing and amount of proceeds from our patent enforcement actions are difficult to predict and there can be no assurance we will receive any proceeds from these enforcement actions. Refer to Note 13 for a complete discussion of our patent enforcement proceedings.

Significant portions of our litigation costs to date have been funded by contingent payment arrangements with legal counsel.  Fee discounts offered by legal counsel in exchange for contingent payments upon successful outcome in our litigation are not recognized in expense until such time that the related proceeds on which the contingent fees are payable are considered probable.  Contingent fees vary based on each firm’s specific fee agreement.  We currently have contingent fee arrangements in place for all of our active cases. In addition to our contingent fee agreements with legal counsel, we have secured and unsecured contingent payment obligations to litigation funders that have priority payments due from patent-related proceeds.

In March 2023, we received $25.0 million in proceeds from a patent license and settlement agreement (see Note 18).  These proceeds are expected to be used entirely for the payment of contingent legal fees and expenses and the repayment of principal on our secured contingent payment obligation and therefore our ability to meet our liquidity needs for the twelve months after the issuance date  of these financial statements is dependent upon one or more of (i) our ability to successfully negotiate future licensing agreements and/or settlements relating to the use of our technologies by others in excess of our contingent payment obligations; and/or (ii) our ability to raise additional capital from the sale of debt or equity securities or other financing arrangements.  We are currently in discussions with Brickell regarding restructuring of our contingent payment obligation, including additional new capital.  There can be no assurance that a favorable restructuring of our Brickell obligation will be achieved at all, or in a manner that provides significant future benefit to us.  

The long-term continuation of our business plan is dependent upon our ability to secure sufficient financing to support our business, and our ability to generate revenues and/or patent-related proceeds sufficient to offset expenses and meet our contingent payment obligation and other long-term debt repayment obligations.  Failure to generate sufficient revenues, raise additional capital through debt or equity financings, and/or reduce operating costs could have a material adverse effect on our ability to meet our short and long-term liquidity needs and achieve our intended long-term business objectives.

3. REVENUE

During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we recognized $0.93 million and $0.14 million of revenue, respectively, derived from contracts with licensees.  The contracts provide access to specified patented technologies as they exist at a point in time, and we have no obligation to provide any future updates.  The consideration received by us was negotiated as part of a settlement of patent litigation where no prior license agreement existed.  The performance obligations were satisfied upon our dismissal of patent enforcement actions with each licensee which was contingent upon our receipt of the negotiated and agreed-upon lump-sum payments from the licensees.  The contracts included no variable consideration.  All consideration received was recorded to licensing revenue as there were no other material components of the contracts.  No contract assets or liabilities exist as of December 31, 2022.

Prepaid services at December 31, 2022 and 2021 include approximately $0.2 million and $0.5 million, respectively, of consulting services paid in shares of stock or warrants to purchase shares of stock in the future.

Amortization expense for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 was approximately $0.30 million and $0.35 million, respectively.  For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we recorded losses on the disposal of intangible assets of approximately $0.1 million and $0.03 million, respectively.

Future estimated amortization expense for intangible assets that have remaining unamortized amounts as of December 31, 2022 is as follows (in thousands):

Advances include amounts received from litigation counsel as advanced reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses expected to be incurred by us.

7. LEASES

We lease our office and other facilities and certain office equipment under long-term, non-cancelable operating leases.  No new finance or operating leases commenced during the years ended December 31, 2022 or 2021 except with respect to a sublease agreement for our Lake Mary facility in 2021.  The sublease was accounted for as an operating lease and expired in November 2022 in connection with the expiration of our corresponding Lake Mary facility lease.

Lease expense for operating leases is generally recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term and is included in operating expenses on the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss.  We recognized operating lease costs of $0.04 million for each of the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.  Rental income recognized of $0.11 million and $0.05 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, is included in “Interest and other income” in the accompanying consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

8. Notes Payable

Note Payable to a Related Party

We have an unsecured promissory note payable of $0.6 million to Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein, & Fox, PLLC (“SKGF”), a related party (see Note 16), for outstanding unpaid fees for legal services.  The note, as amended, accrues interest at 4% per annum and provides for monthly payments of principal and interest of $12,500 with a final balloon payment of approximately $0.02 million due at the maturity date of April 30, 2027.  We are currently in compliance with all the terms of the note, as amended.  For each of the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we recognized interest expense of approximately $0.03 million related to this note.

At December 31, 2022, the aggregate maturities of our notes payable are as follows (in thousands):

The estimated fair value of our notes payable at December 31, 2022 is approximately $0.47 million based on a risk-adjusted discount rate.

9. Convertible Notes

Our convertible notes represent five-year promissory notes that are convertible, at the holders’ option, into shares of our common stock at fixed conversion prices.  Interest payments are made on a quarterly basis and are payable, at our option and subject to certain equity conditions, in either cash, shares of our common stock, or a combination thereof.  The number of shares issued for interest is determined by dividing the interest payment amount by the closing price of our common stock on the trading day immediately prior to the scheduled interest payment date.  To date, all interest payments on the convertible notes have been made in shares of our common stock.  We have recognized the convertible notes as debt in our consolidated financial statements.  The fixed conversion prices of certain of the notes were below the market value of our common stock on the closing date resulting in the recognition of a beneficial conversion feature that was recorded as a discount on the convertible notes with a corresponding increase to additional paid in capital.  Upon our adoption of ASU 2020-06 on January 1, 2021, the previously recognized beneficial conversion feature was eliminated resulting in an increase in convertible notes of $0.8 million (see Note 1).

Convertible notes payable at December 31, 2022 and 2021, consist of the following (in thousands):

¹ The maturity date may be extended by one-year increments for up to an additional ten years at the holder’s option at a reduced interest rate of 2%.

At December 31, 2022, we estimate our convertible notes have an aggregate fair value of approximately $3.4 million and would be categorized within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy.

10. Contingent Payment Obligations

Our secured contingent payment obligation represents the estimated fair value of our repayment obligation to Brickell Key Investments, LP (“Brickell”) under a February 2016 funding agreement, as amended from time to time (the “CPIA”).  To date, we have received aggregate proceeds of $18 million in exchange for Brickell’s right to reimbursement and compensation from gross proceeds resulting from patent enforcement and other patent monetization actions.  No proceeds were received from Brickell in 2022 or 2021.  To date, we have repaid an aggregate of $3.3 million under the CPIA from patent license and settlement proceeds.

Brickell is entitled to priority payment of 100% of proceeds received by us, after reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses and legal contingent fees, from all patent-related actions until such time that Brickell has been paid its remaining principal of approximately $14.7 million.  Thereafter, Brickell is entitled to a significant portion of remaining proceeds from all patent-related actions until such time that Brickell has been repaid its minimum return.  The minimum return is determined as a multiple of the funded amount that increases over time.  The estimated minimum return due to Brickell was approximately $56.9 million and $48.8 million as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.  In addition, Brickell is entitled to a pro rata portion of proceeds from specified legal actions to the extent aggregate proceeds from those actions exceed the minimum return.

Brickell holds a senior security interest in the majority of our assets until such time as the specified minimum return is paid, in which case, the security interest will be released except with respect to the patents and proceeds related to specific legal actions.  The security interest is enforceable by Brickell in the event that we are in default under the agreement which would occur if (i) we fail, after notice, to pay proceeds to Brickell, (ii) we become insolvent or insolvency proceedings are commenced (and not subsequently discharged) with respect to us, (iii) our creditors commence actions against us (which are not subsequently discharged) that affect our material assets, (iv) we, without Brickell’s consent, incur indebtedness other than immaterial ordinary course indebtedness, or (v) there is an uncured non-compliance of our obligations or misrepresentations under the agreement.  As of December 31, 2022, we are in compliance with our obligations under this agreement.

In addition, in the event of a change in control of the Company, Brickell has the right to be paid its return as defined under the CPIA based on the transaction price for the change in control event.

We have elected to measure our secured contingent payment obligation at its estimated fair value based on probability-weighted estimated cash outflows, discounted back to present value using a discount rate determined in accordance with accepted valuation methods (see Note 11). The secured contingent payment obligation is remeasured to fair value at each reporting period with changes recorded in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss until the contingency is resolved.

 

Our unsecured contingent payment obligations represent amounts payable to others from future patent-related proceeds including (i) a termination fee due to a litigation funder (“Termination Fee”) and (ii) contingent payment rights (“CPRs”) issued to accredited investors primarily in connection with equity financings.  We have elected to measure these unsecured contingent payment obligations at their estimated fair value based on probability-weighted estimated cash outflows, discounted back to present value using a discount rate determined in accordance with accepted valuation methods.  The unsecured contingent payment obligations will be remeasured to fair value at each reporting period with changes recorded in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss until the contingency is resolved (see Note 11).

 

The Termination Fee is a result of $1.0 million in advances received under a letter agreement with a third-party funder.  Based on the terms of the letter agreement, if a final funding arrangement was not executed by March 31, 2020, we would be obligated to pay, from future patent-related proceeds, an aggregate termination payment equal to five times the advances received, or approximately $5.0 million.  We did not consummate a funding agreement and accordingly the advances were recorded as an unsecured contingent payment obligation at March 31, 2020, when the Termination Fee obligation was incurred.  As of  December 31, 2022, the estimated fair value of unsecured contingent payment obligations related to the Termination Fee is $2.4 million.

The CPRs represent the estimated fair value of rights provided to accredited investors who purchased shares of our common stock in 2020 and 2021 and the fair value of a right issued to a third-party in connection with a service agreement during the year ended December 31, 2020.  During the year ended December 31, 2021, we received aggregate proceeds of $1.1 million from the sale of common stock with contingent payment rights, of which approximately $0.4 million was allocated to the CPRs.  No sales of common stock with contingent payment rights were completed during the year ended December 31, 2022.  The terms of the CPRs provide that we will pay each investor an allocated portion of our net proceeds from patent-related actions, after taking into account fees and expenses payable to law firms representing us and amounts payable to Brickell.  The investors’ allocated portion of net proceeds will be determined by multiplying the net proceeds recovered by us (up to $10 million) by the quotient of such investors’ subscription amount divided by $10 million, up to an amount equal to each investor’s subscription amount, or an aggregate of $5.8 million.  As of  December 31, 2022, the estimated fair value of our unsecured contingent payment obligations related to the CPRs is $2.7 million.

11. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements” establishes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation methods used to measure fair value.  The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are as follows:

The following table summarizes financial assets and financial liabilities carried at fair value and measured on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, segregated by classification within the fair value hierarchy (in thousands):

For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, we had no transfers of assets or liabilities between the levels of the hierarchy.

The fair values of our secured and unsecured contingent payment obligations were estimated using a probability-weighted income approach based on various cash flow scenarios as to the outcome of patent-related actions both in terms of timing and amount, discounted to present value using a risk-adjusted rate.  We used a risk-adjusted discount rate of 18.41% at  December 31, 2022, based on a risk-free rate of 4.41% as adjusted by 8% for credit risk and 6% for litigation inherent risk.

The following table provides quantitative information about the significant unobservable inputs used in the measurement of fair value for both the secured and unsecured contingent payment obligations at  December 31, 2022, including the lowest and highest undiscounted payout scenarios as well as a weighted average payout scenario based on relative undiscounted fair value of each cash flow scenario.

We evaluate the estimates and assumptions used in determining the fair value of our contingent payment obligations each reporting period and make any adjustments prospectively based on those evaluations.  Changes in any of these Level 3 inputs could result in a significantly higher or lower fair value measurement.

12. INCOME TAXES AND TAX STATUS

Our net losses before income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 are from domestic operations as well as losses from our wholly-owned German subsidiary.  We elected to treat our German subsidiary as a disregarded entity for purposes of income taxes and accordingly, the losses from our German subsidiary have been included in our operating results.

No current or deferred tax provision or benefit was recorded in 2022 or 2021 as a result of current losses and fully deferred tax valuation allowances for all periods.  We have recorded a valuation allowance to state our deferred tax assets at their estimated net realizable value due to the uncertainty related to realization of these assets through future taxable income.

A reconciliation between the provision for income taxes and the expected tax benefit using the federal statutory rate of 21% for each of the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively are as follows (in thousands):

Our deferred tax assets and liabilities relate to the following sources and differences between financial accounting and the tax bases of our assets and liabilities at December 31, 2022 and 2021 (in thousands):

Upon adoption of ASU 2020-06 on January 1, 2021 (see Note 9), the difference between the financial accounting and tax bases, net of tax effect, of unrecognized tax benefit related to the beneficial conversion feature of convertible debt was eliminated.

At December 31, 2022, we had cumulative net operating loss (“NOL”) carry-forwards for income tax purposes of $300.8 million, of which $260.1 million is subject to expiration in varying amounts from 2023 to 2037. At December 31, 2022, we also had research and development tax credit carryforwards of $5.4 million, which expire in varying amounts from 2023 through 2038.

Our ability to benefit from the tax credit carry-forwards could be limited under certain provisions of the Internal Revenue Code if there are ownership changes of more than 50%, as defined by Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (“Section 382”).  Under Section 382, an ownership change may limit the amount of NOL, capital loss and R&D credit carry-forwards that can be used annually to offset future taxable income and tax, respectively.  In general, an ownership change, as defined by Section 382, results from transactions increasing the ownership of certain shareholders or public groups in the stock of a corporation by more than 50 percentage points over a three-year period.  We conduct a study annually of our ownership changes.  Based on the results of our studies, we have determined that we do not have any ownership changes on or prior to December 31, 2022 which would result in limitations of our NOL, capital loss or R&D credit carry-forwards under Section 382.

Future changes in the unrecognized tax benefit will have no impact on the effective tax rate so long as we maintain a full valuation allowance.

Our policy is that we recognize interest and penalties accrued on any unrecognized tax benefits as a component of our income tax expense.  We do not have any accrued interest or penalties associated with any unrecognized tax benefits.  For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we did not incur any income tax-related interest income, expense or penalties. 

13. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Legal Proceedings

From time to time, we are subject to legal proceedings and claims which arise in the ordinary course of our business.  These proceedings include patent enforcement actions initiated by us against others for the infringement of our technologies, as well as proceedings brought by others against us at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“PTAB”) in an attempt to invalidate certain of our patent claims.

The majority of our litigation, including our PTAB proceedings, is being paid for through contingency fee arrangements with our litigation counsel as well as third-party litigation financing.  In general, litigation counsel is entitled to recoup on a priority basis, from litigation proceeds, any out-of-pocket expenses incurred. Following reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses, litigation counsel is generally entitled to a percentage of remaining proceeds based on the terms of the specific arrangement between us, counsel and our third-party litigation funder.

ParkerVision v. Qualcomm (Middle District of Florida-Orlando Division) - Appealed to U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

We have appealed certain  March 2022 rulings by the Middle District of Florida in our patent infringement complaint against Qualcomm Incorporated and Qualcomm Atheros, Inc. (collectively “Qualcomm”).  Appellate court briefs have been filed by both parties and we are awaiting a hearing date in this matter.  

The patent infringement case was filed in the Middle District of Florida in May 2014. The case was stayed in February 2016 pending decisions in other cases, including the appeal of a PTAB proceeding with regard to U.S. patent 6,091,940 (“the ‘940 Patent”) asserted in this case.  In March 2017, the PTAB ruled in our favor on three of the six petitions (the method claims), ruled in Qualcomm’s favor on two of the six petitions (the apparatus claims) and issued a split decision on the claims covered in the sixth petition.  In September 2018, the Federal Circuit upheld the PTAB’s decision with regard to the ‘940 Patent and, in January 2019, the court lifted the stay in this case.  In July 2019, the court issued an order that granted our proposed selection of patent claims from four asserted patents, including the ‘940 Patent, and denied Qualcomm’s request to limit the claims and patents.  The court also agreed that we may elect to pursue accused products that were at issue at the time the case was stayed, as well as new products that were released by Qualcomm during the pendency of the stay.  In September 2019, Qualcomm filed a motion for partial summary judgment in an attempt to exclude certain patents from the case, including the ‘940 Patent.  The court denied this motion in January 2020.  

In April 2020, the court issued its claim construction order in which the court adopted our proposed construction for seven of the ten disputed terms and adopted slightly modified versions of our proposed construction for the remaining terms.  Due to the impact of COVID-19, a number of the scheduled deadlines in this case were moved including the trial commencement date which was rescheduled from December 2020 to May 2021.  In October 2020, our damages expert submitted a report supporting our damages ask of $1.3 billion for Qualcomm’s unauthorized use of our technology.  Such amount excludes additional amounts requested by us for interest and enhanced damages for willful infringement.  Ultimately, the amount of damages, if any, will be determined by the court.  Discovery was expected to close in December 2020; however, the court allowed us to designate a substitute expert due to medical issues with one of our experts in the case.  Accordingly, the close of discovery was delayed until January 2021.  As a result of these delays, the court rescheduled the trial commencement date from May 3, 2021 to July 6, 2021.

In March 2021, the court further delayed the trial date citing backlog due to the pandemic, among other factors.  A new trial date was not set and the court indicated the case was unlikely to be tried before November or December 2021.  Fact and expert discovery was completed, expert reports were submitted, and summary judgment and Daubert briefings were submitted by the parties.  Joint pre-trial statements were submitted in May 2021.  In March 2021, the court granted Qualcomm’s motion to strike certain of our 2020 infringement contentions.  As a result of this ruling, in July 2021, we filed a joint motion for entry of a judgment of non-infringement of our Patent No. 7,865,177 (“the ‘177 Patent”), subject to appeal.

In January 2022, the court held a hearing to allow the parties to present their respective positions on three outstanding motions.  The court indicated that upon its ruling on these motions, a pre-trial conference would be scheduled and a trial date set.  On March 9, 2022, the court ruled with respect to one of these motions granting Qualcomm’s motion to strike and exclude opinions regarding the alleged infringement and validity issues.  This court order precluded the presentation of infringement and validity opinions by both of our experts at trial.  On March 22, 2022, the court issued an order granting Qualcomm’s motion for summary judgment ruling that Qualcomm does not infringe the remaining three patents in this case.  On April 20, 2022, we filed a notice of appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.  As a result of the court’s summary judgment motion in favor of Qualcomm, Qualcomm has the right to petition the court for its fees and costs.  The court has granted a Qualcomm motion to delay such a petition until 30 days following the appellate court’s decision.  We are represented in this case on a full contingency fee basis.

ParkerVision v. Apple and Qualcomm (Middle District of Florida-Jacksonville Division)

In December 2015, we filed a patent infringement complaint in the Middle District of Florida against Apple Inc. (“Apple”), LG Electronics, Inc., LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc., and LG Electronics MobileComm U.S.A., Inc. (collectively “LG”), Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Samsung Electronics America, Inc., Samsung Telecommunications America LLC, and Samsung Semiconductor, Inc. (collectively “Samsung”), and Qualcomm alleging infringement of four of our patents.  In February 2016, the district court proceedings were stayed pending resolution of a corresponding case filed at the International Trade Commission (“ITC”).  In July 2016, we entered into a patent license and settlement agreement with Samsung and, as a result, Samsung was dismissed from the district court action.  In March 2017, we filed a motion to terminate the ITC proceedings and a corresponding motion to lift the stay in the district court case.  This motion was granted in May 2017.  In July 2017, we filed a motion to dismiss LG from the district court case and re-filed our claims against LG in the District of New Jersey (see ParkerVision v. LG below).  Also in July 2017, Qualcomm filed a motion to change venue to the Southern District of California, and Apple filed a motion to dismiss for improper venue. In March 2018, the district court ruled against the Qualcomm and Apple motions.  The parties also filed a joint motion in March 2018 to eliminate three of the four patents in the case in order to expedite proceedings leaving our U.S. patent 9,118,528 as the only remaining patent in this case.  A claim construction hearing was held on August 31, 2018. In July 2019, the court issued its claim construction order in which the court adopted our proposed claim construction for two of the six terms and the “plain and ordinary meaning” on the remaining terms.  In addition, the court denied a motion filed by Apple for summary judgment.  Fact discovery has closed in this case and a jury trial was scheduled to begin in August 2020.  In March 2020, as a result of the impact of COVID-19, the parties filed a motion requesting an extension of certain deadlines in the case.  In April 2020, the court stayed this proceeding pending the outcome of the infringement case against Qualcomm in the Orlando Division of the Middle District of Florida, which is currently pending an appeal.  

ParkerVision v. LG (District of New Jersey)

In July 2017, we filed a patent infringement complaint in the District of New Jersey against LG for the alleged infringement of four patents previously asserted against LG in the Middle District of Florida (see ParkerVision v. Apple and Qualcomm above).  We elected to dismiss the case in the Middle District of Florida and re-file in New Jersey as a result of a Supreme Court ruling regarding proper venue.  In March 2018, the court stayed this case pending a final decision in ParkerVision v. Apple and Qualcomm in the Middle District of Florida.  As part of this stay, LG has agreed to be bound by the final claim construction decision in that case.

ParkerVision v. Intel (Western District of Texas)

In February 2020, we filed a patent infringement complaint in the Western District of Texas against Intel Corporation (“Intel”) alleging infringement of eight of our patents.  The complaint was amended in May 2020 to add two additional patents. In June 2020, we requested that one of the patents be dropped from this case and filed a second case in the Western District of Texas that included this dismissed patent (see ParkerVision v. Intel II below).  Intel’s response to our complaint was filed in June 2020 denying infringement and claiming invalidity of the patents. Intel also filed a motion to transfer venue which the court denied.  In July 2020 and September 2020, Intel filed petitions for Inter Partes Review ("IPR") against two of the patents in this case and in January 2021, the PTAB instituted proceedings with regard to these two petitions (see Intel v. ParkerVision (PTAB) below).

The court issued its claim construction ruling in January 2021 in which the majority of the disputed claim terms were decided in our favor.  The case was scheduled for trial beginning February 7, 2022.  In April 2021, we filed an amended complaint to include additional Intel semiconductors and products, including WiFi devices, to the complaint.  The court suggested that, given the number of patents at issue, the case would be separated into two trials and, as a result of the added products, the first trial date was moved to June 2022.

In January 2022, the PTAB issued its ruling on the IPRs (see Intel v. ParkerVision (PTAB) below).  In February 2022, the parties filed a joint motion with respect to both Intel cases whereby the first case would be narrowed to six total patents asserted against Intel cellular products.  These same six patents would be also asserted in the second Intel case, along with one additional patent from the second case, against Intel WiFi and Bluetooth products.  As a result of the restructuring of the two cases, the trial date was moved to October 2022.  In March 2022, due to discovery delays, the court agreed to move the trial commencement date to December 5, 2022.  In March 2022, Intel filed a motion requesting further claim construction which we opposed, and the court denied.  In May 2022, we filed a motion to amend our complaint to add willful infringement based on information obtained during discovery.  The court granted this motion in June 2022 and we filed an amended complaint.  As a result of additional discovery allowed by the court, the trial date was rescheduled from December 5, 2022 to February 6, 2023.  

Beginning in November 2022, the parties filed a number of pre-trial motions.  The court held hearings on these pre-trial motions in January 2023.  The court issued its written orders with regard to these motions immediately prior to the February 6, 2023 trial start date.  As a result of the court's pre-trial rulings, the potential damages in the case decreased significantly.  On February 7, 2023, the parties resolved their outstanding dispute and we have dismissed all pending actions against Intel (see Note 18).

ParkerVision v. Intel II (Western District of Texas)

In  June 2020, to reduce the number of claims in ParkerVision v. Intel, we filed a second patent infringement complaint in the Western District of Texas against Intel that included a single patent that we voluntarily dismissed from the original case.  In July 2020, we amended our complaint adding two more patents to the case.  Intel responded to the complaint denying infringement and claiming invalidity of the patents.  In January 2021, Intel filed a petition for IPR against one of the patents in this case and in July 2021, the PTAB instituted proceedings with regard to this petition (see Intel v. ParkerVision (PTAB) below).  We filed an amended complaint in 2021 adding Intel WiFi and Bluetooth products to the case.  Two claim construction hearings were held in June 2021 and July 2021 and the court’s claim construction ruling was largely decided in our favor.  The case was scheduled for trial in October 2022.  In February 2022, the parties filed a joint motion which provided that the Intel II case would assert the same six patents from the first Intel case, provided none of the patents were invalidated in the first case, as well as one additional patent, depending on the outcome of the pending IPR proceeding.  On February 7, 2023, the parties resolved their outstanding dispute and we have dismissed all pending actions against Intel (see Note 18).

Intel v. ParkerVision (PTAB)

Intel filed IPR petitions against U.S. patent 7,539,474 (“the ‘474 Patent”) and U.S. patent 7,110,444 ("the ‘444 Patent") which were both asserted in ParkerVision v. Intel.  Intel also filed a petition for IPR against U.S. patent 8,190,108 (“the ‘108 patent”) which is asserted in ParkerVision v. Intel II.  In January 2021, the PTAB issued its decision to institute IPR proceedings for the ‘444 Patent and the ‘474 Patent.  An oral hearing was held on November 1, 2021 and final decisions from the PTAB on the ‘474 Patent and the ‘444 Patent were issued in January 2022. The PTAB ruled against us with respect to the single challenged claim of the ‘444 Patent and ruled in our favor with respect to the seven challenged claims of the ‘474 Patent.  The ‘444 Patent has subsequently been excluded from the narrowed claims asserted in ParkerVision v. Intel.  In July 2022, we appealed the PTAB decision on the '444 Patent to the Federal Circuit. 

In July 2021, the PTAB issued its decision to institute IPR proceedings for the ‘108 Patent.  We filed our response to this petition in October 2021 and an oral hearing was scheduled for April 2022.  A final decision from the PTAB was issued in June 2022 in which the PTAB ruled against us with respect to all of the challenged claims of the '108 Patent.  We filed a notice of appeal with the Federal Circuit with respect to this IPR decision.  Following the parties' resolution of outstanding disputes (see ParkerVision v. Intel above), Intel withdrew as a party to these appeals.

Additional Patent Infringement Cases – Western District of Texas

ParkerVision filed a number of additional patent cases in the Western District of Texas in 2020 including cases against (i) TCL Industries Holdings Co., Ltd, a Chinese company, TCL Electronics Holdings Ltd., Shenzhen TCL New Technology Co., Ltd, TCL King Electrical Appliances (Huizhou) Co., Ltd., TCL Moka Int’l Ltd. and TCL Moka Manufacturing S.A. DE C.V. (collectively “TCL”), (ii) Hisense Co., Ltd. and Hisense Visual Technology Co., Ltd (collectively “Hisense”), a Chinese company, (iii) Buffalo Inc., a Japanese company (“Buffalo”) and (iv) Zyxel Communications Corporation, a Chinese multinational electronics company headquartered in Taiwan, (“Zyxel”).  Each case alleged infringement of the same ten patents by products that incorporate modules containing certain WiFi semiconductors manufactured by Realtek and/or MediaTek.  In May 2021, a case alleging infringement of the same ten patents was filed against LG Electronics, a South Korean company ("LGE").  Each of the defendants have filed responses denying infringement and claiming invalidity of the patents, among other defenses.  A second case was filed against Hisense in June 2021 alleging infringement of two additional patents and a second case was filed against TCL in November 2022 alleging infringement of the same two additional patents.  In November 2022, patent infringement actions were also filed against Taiwanese companies, Realtek Semiconductor Corp. ("Realtek") and MediaTek Inc. and MediaTek USA Inc. (collectively, "MediaTek") for infringement of four U.S. patents that are included in the other Texas cases.

We dismissed the actions against Buffalo and Zyxel in 2021 following satisfaction of the parties' obligations under patent license and settlement agreements.  In November 2022, we dismissed the two cases against Hisense following satisfaction of the parties' obligations under a patent license and settlement agreement.

The court has issued claim construction recommendations for the TCL and LGE cases, in which nearly all of the claim terms were decided in our favor.  In November 2022, the PTAB issued its written decision in two IPRs asserted by TCL and LGE against two of the patents asserted against them (see TCL, et. al. v. ParkerVision (PTAB) below).  The PTAB ruled that the challenged claims of both patents were unpatentable.  We intend to appeal this decision. 

In January 2023, the cases against TCL were stayed pending final resolution of the Realtek case that was filed in November 2022.  In addition, in February 2023, the case against LGE was stayed pending final resolution of the cases against Realtek and MediaTek and the outstanding IPR actions to which LGE is a party.

 

14. STOCK AUTHORIZATION AND ISSUANCE

Preferred Stock

We have 15 million shares of preferred stock authorized for issuance at the direction of our board of directors (the “Board”).  On November 17, 2005, our Board designated 0.1 million shares of authorized preferred stock as the Series E Preferred Stock in conjunction with its adoption of a Shareholder Protection Rights Agreement.  As of December 31, 2022, we had no outstanding preferred stock.

Common Stock

We have 175 million shares of common stock authorized for issuance as of December 31, 2022.  Our shareholders approved amendments to our articles of incorporation in September 2021 increasing the number of our authorized shares of common stock from 140 million to 150 million shares and in September 2022 increasing the number of our authorized shares of common stock from 150 million to 175 million shares.

As of December 31, 2022, we have 34.7 million shares reserved for issuance under outstanding warrants and options and 32.7 million shares reserved for issuance upon conversion of our outstanding convertible notes.  In addition, we have 0.36 million shares reserved for future issuance under equity compensation plans and 2.0 million shares reserved for future issuance upon payment of interest in-kind on our convertible notes.

Private Placements

In January 2021, we entered into securities purchase agreements with accredited investors for the sale of an aggregate of 2,976,430 shares of our common stock at a price of $0.35 per share for aggregate proceeds of $1.0 million. The securities purchase agreements include contingent payment rights. Approximately $0.4 million of the proceeds were allocated to unsecured contingent payment obligations based on the initial fair value estimate of the CPRs (see “Unsecured Contingent Payment Obligations” in Note 10). The shares were registered for resale on a registration statement that was declared effective on April 26, 2021 (File No. 333-255217).

In March 2021, we entered into securities purchase agreements with accredited investors for the sale of 3,230,942 shares of our common stock and 1,619,289 warrants at a price of $1.29 per common share for aggregate proceeds of approximately $4.2 million. The warrants have an exercise price of $1.75 per share and expire in March 2026. The shares, including the shares underlying the warrants, were registered for resale on a registration statement that was declared effective on April 26, 2021 (File No. 333-255217). We used $3.0 million of the proceeds from this transaction to satisfy outstanding obligations for patent enforcement legal fees and expenses.

In December 2021, we entered into a securities purchase agreement with an accredited investor for the sale of 1,052,631 shares of our common stock and 526,315 warrants at a price of $0.95 per common share for aggregate proceeds of $1.0 million. The warrants have an exercise price of $1.00 per share and expire in December 2026. The shares, including the shares underlying the warrants, were registered for resale on a registration statement that was declared effective on January 24, 2022 (File No. 333-262147).

In November and December 2022, we entered into securities purchase agreements with accredited investors for the sale of 2,000,000 shares of our common stock at a price of $0.20 per share for aggregate proceeds of $0.4 million.  We also entered into a registration rights agreement with the investors pursuant to which we will register the shares underlying the notes.  We have committed to file the registration statement by April 7, 2023 and to cause the registration statement to become effective by April 30, 2023 (or in the event of a review by the Securities and Exchange Commission, by June 30, 2023).  The registration rights agreements provide for liquidated damages upon the occurrence of certain events including failure by us to file the registration statement or cause it to become effective by the deadlines set forth above.  The amount of the liquidated damages is 1.0% of the aggregate subscription upon the occurrence of the event, and monthly thereafter, up to a maximum of 6%, or approximately $0.02 million.

Stock and Warrant Issuances – Payment for Services

In October 2022, we entered into an agreement with Tailwinds Research Group LLC (“Tailwinds”) to provide continuing digital marketing services to us through December 2024.  As consideration for services to be provided under the term of the agreement, we extended the expiration date for warrants previously issued to Tailwinds in 2020 under a prior services agreement.  The warrants allow for the purchase of up to 200,000 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $1.00 per share and the expiration date was extended from March 2023 to March 2026.  The fair value of the modification of the warrants was valued at approximately $0.02 million using the Black-Scholes method and will be recognized as expense over the term of the new agreement. 

On May 22, 2020, we entered into an agreement with Intro-Act to provide research and shareholder relations services.  As consideration for services under the agreement, we issued 50,000 shares of unregistered common stock on each of July 14, 2020, October 30, 2020, January 12, 2021 and April 6, 2021 with an aggregate value of approximately $0.05 million for the year ended  December 31, 2021 and $0.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022.  In June 2021, we extended our agreement with Intro-Act and issued 100,000 shares of unregistered common stock valued at approximately $0.12 million as consideration for services to be provided over the twelve-month extended term of the agreement.  In August 2022, we again extended our agreement with Intro-Act and issued 150,000 shares of unregistered common stock valued at approximately $0.03 million as consideration for services to be provided over the six-month extended term of the agreement.  The value of the shares was recognized as consulting expense over the term of the agreements.  We are not obligated to register the shares for resale.

On October 30, 2020, we entered into a consulting services agreement with a third-party to provide shareholder relations services.  As consideration for services provided under the twelve-month term of the agreement, we issued 70,000 shares of unregistered common stock for a non-refundable retainer for services valued at approximately $0.02 million.  The agreement included a CPR to receive up to $0.02 million from patent-related proceeds. The CPR was recorded as debt at its estimated fair value of approximately $0.1 million (see “Unsecured Contingent Payment Obligations” in Note 10).  In April 2021, we amended the consulting services agreement and extended the term through December 31, 2021.  We issued 35,000 shares of our unregistered common stock valued at approximately $0.04 million as compensation over the remaining term of the agreement.  The value of the shares issued was recognized as consulting expense over the term of the agreement.  

On November 22, 2022, we entered into an agreement with a third party to provide consulting services.  As consideration for services provided under the twelve-month term of the agreement, we issued non-plan options to purchase 200,000 shares of unregistered common stock at an exercise price of $0.21 per share valued at approximately $0.03 million.  The options vest in four equal three-month increments beginning November 22, 2022 and will expire three years from the date of the grant.  The value of the stock issued will be recognized as a consulting expense over the term of the agreement.  We have agreed to register the shares underlying the option.

In addition, from time to time, we issue restricted stock awards under our approved equity plans to third party consultants as share-based compensation.  During the year ended December 31, 2021, we issued 217,143 RSAs valued at $0.3 million under our 2019 long-term incentive equity plan to non-employees as compensation under consulting agreements (see Note 15).

Common Stock Warrants

We had outstanding warrants for the purchase of up to 10.3 million shares of our common stock as of December 31, 2022 and 2021.  The estimated grant date fair value of these warrants of $3.2 million and is included in shareholders’ deficit in our consolidated balance sheets.  As of December 31, 2022, our outstanding warrants have an average exercise price of $0.75 per share and a weighted average remaining life of approximately 2.1 years.

Shareholder Protection Rights Agreement

On November 20, 2020, we adopted a second amendment to our Shareholder Protection Rights Agreement (“Rights Agreement”) dated November 21, 2005, as amended.  The amendment extends the expiration date of the Rights Agreement from November 20, 2020 to November 20, 2023 and decreases the exercise price of the rights from $14.50 to $8.54.

The Rights Agreement provided for the issuance, on November 29, 2005, as a dividend, rights to acquire fractional shares of Series E Preferred Stock. We did not assign any value to the dividend, as the value of these rights is not believed to be objectively determinable. The principal objective of the Rights Agreement is to cause someone interested in acquiring us to negotiate with our Board rather than launch an unsolicited or hostile bid. The Rights Agreement subjects a potential acquirer to substantial voting and economic dilution. Each share of common stock issued by ParkerVision will include an attached right.

The rights initially are not exercisable and trade with the common stock of ParkerVision. In the future, the rights may become exchangeable for shares of Series E Preferred Stock with various provisions that may discourage a takeover bid. Additionally, the rights have what are known as “flip-in” and “flip-over” provisions that could make any acquisition of us more costly to the potential acquirer. The rights may separate from the common stock following the acquisition of 15% or more of the outstanding shares of common stock by an acquiring person. Upon separation, the holder of the rights may exercise their right at an exercise price of $8.54 per right (the “Exercise Price”), subject to adjustment and payable in cash. Upon payment of the Exercise Price, the holder of the right will receive from us that number of shares of common stock having an aggregate market price equal to twice the Exercise Price, as adjusted. The Rights Agreement also has a flip over provision allowing the holder to purchase that number of shares of common/voting equity of a successor entity, if we are not the surviving corporation in a business combination, at an aggregate market price equal to twice the Exercise Price. We have the right to substitute for any of our shares of common stock that we are obligated to issue, shares of Series E Preferred Stock at a ratio of one ten-thousandth of a share of Series E Preferred Stock for each share of common stock. The Series E Preferred Stock, if and when issued, will have quarterly cumulative dividend rights payable when and as declared by the Board, liquidation, dissolution and winding up preferences, voting rights and will rank junior to other securities of ParkerVision unless otherwise determined by the Board. The rights may be redeemed upon approval of the Board at a redemption price of $0.01.  As of December 31, 2022, there are no Series E preferred shares outstanding.

15. SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 we recognized share-based compensation expense of approximately $3.1 million and $3.3 million, respectively.  Share-based compensation is included in selling, general, and administrative expenses in our consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.  From time to time, we issue fully vested share-based compensation awards to third parties as prepaid retainers for services over a specified period.  The cost of these awards is recorded as a prepaid asset and expensed to selling, general and administrative expense over the service period (see Note 4).

As of December 31, 2022, there was $0.2 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to all non-vested share-based compensation awards.  That cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 1.3 years.

Stock Incentive Plans

2019 Long-Term Incentive Equity Plan

We adopted a long-term incentive equity plan in August 2019 that, as amended in January 2021, provides for the grant of stock-based awards to employees, officers, directors, and consultants, not to exceed 27.0 million shares of common stock (the “2019 Plan”).  The 2019 Plan provides for benefits in the form of nonqualified stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock awards, and other stock-based awards.  Forfeited and expired options under the 2019 Plan become available for reissuance.  The plan provides that non-employee directors may not be granted awards during any calendar year that exceed the lesser of 1.0 million shares or $175,000 in value, calculated based on grant-date fair value.  At December 31, 2022, 281,467 shares of common stock were available for future grants under the 2019 Plan.  The 2019 Plan was amended in January 2023 (see Note 18).

2011 Long-Term Incentive Equity Plan

We adopted a long-term incentive equity plan in September 2011 that, as amended in 2014, 2016 and 2017, provides for the grant of stock-based awards to employees, officers, directors and consultants, not to exceed 3.0 million shares of common stock (the “2011 Plan”).  The 2011 Plan provides for benefits in the form of incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock awards, and other stock-based awards.  Forfeited and expired options under the 2011 Plan become available for reissuance.  The plan provides that no participant may be granted awards in excess of 150,000 shares in any calendar year.  At December 31, 2022, 61,302 shares of common stock were available for future grants under the 2011 Plan. In January 2023, we ceased any future grants under the 2011 Plan.

2008 Equity Incentive Plan

We adopted an equity incentive plan in August 2008 (the “2008 Plan”). The 2008 Plan provides for the grant of stock-based awards to employees (excluding named executives), directors and consultants, not to exceed 50,000 shares of common stock. The 2008 Plan provides for benefits in the form of incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock awards, and other stock-based awards. Forfeited and expired options under the 2008 Plan become available for reissuance. The plan provides that no participant may be granted awards in excess of 5,000 shares in any calendar year.  At December 31, 2022, 20,473 shares of common stock were available for future grants under the 2008 Plan.  In January 2023, the 2008 Plan was terminated.

Restricted Stock Awards

RSAs are issued as executive and employee incentive compensation and as payment for services to others.  The value of the award is based on the closing price of our common stock on the date of grant.  RSAs are generally immediately vested.

Restricted Stock Units

RSUs are issued as incentive compensation to executives, employees, and non-employee directors.  Each RSU represents a right to one share of our common stock, upon vesting.  The RSUs are not entitled to voting rights or dividends, if any, until vested.  RSUs generally vest over a one to three year period for employee awards and a one year period for non-employee director awards.  The fair value of RSUs is generally based on the closing price of our common stock on the date of grant and is amortized to share-based compensation expense over the estimated life of the award, generally the vesting period.

The total fair value of RSAs and RSUs vested under the Stock Plans for the years ended  December 31, 2022 and 2021 was approximately $0.03 million and $0.6 million, respectively.

Stock Options

Stock options are issued as incentive compensation to executives, employees, consultants and non-employee directors.  Stock options are generally granted with exercise prices at or above fair market value of the underlying shares at the date of grant.  Fair market value of the underlying shares is determined based on observable market prices at the date of the grant.  The fair value of options granted is estimated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model.  Generally, fair value is determined as of the grant date.  Options for employees, including executives and non-employee directors, are generally granted under the Stock Plans.

The following table presents a summary of option activity under the Stock Plans for the year ended December 31, 2022 (shares in thousands):

The weighted average per share fair value of options granted during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 was $0.17 and $0.46, respectively.  The total fair value of option shares vested was $3.0 million and $3.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

The fair value of option grants under the Stock Plans for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, was estimated using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following assumptions:

¹ The expected term was generally determined based on historical activity for grants with similar terms and for similar groups of employees and represents the period of time that options are expected to be outstanding.  For employee options, groups of employees with similar historical exercise behavior are considered separately for valuation purposes.

² The stock volatility for each grant is measured using the weighted average of historical daily price changes of our common stock over the most recent period equal to the expected option life of the grant.

³ The risk-free interest rate for periods equal to the expected term of the share option is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the measurement date.

We issue new shares of our common stock upon exercise of options or vesting of RSUs or RSAs under the Stock Plans.  The shares underlying the Stock Plans are registered.  Cash received from option exercises for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, was $0.1 million and $0.3. million, respectively.

16. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

We paid approximately $0.01 million and $0.1 million in 2022 and 2021, respectively, for patent-related legal services to SKGF, of which Robert Sterne, one of our directors since September 2006, is a partner.  In addition, we paid approximately $0.1 million in both 2022 and 2021 for principal and interest on the SKGF Note (see Note 8).  The SKGF Note has an outstanding balance, including accrued interest, of approximately $0.6 million at December 31, 2022.

In May 2022, we sold an aggregate of $0.1 million in promissory notes, convertible into shares of our common stock at a fixed conversion price of $0.13 to Paul Rosenbaum, one of our directors since December 2016.  As of December 31, 2022, Mr. Rosenbaum holds $0.2 million of our convertible promissory notes convertible into 1.02 million shares of common stock.

In August 2022, we sold an aggregate of $0.03 million in promissory notes, convertible into approximately 0.2 million shares of our common stock at a fixed conversion price of $0.13 to Sanford Litvack, who became an independent director in October 2022. In January 2023, Mr. Litvack purchased 62,500 shares of our common stock at $0.16 per share in a private placement transaction (see Note 18).

17. CONCENTRATIONS OF CREDIT RISK

Financial instruments that potentially subject us to a concentration of credit risk principally consist of cash and cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents are primarily held in bank accounts and overnight investments. At times our cash balances on deposit with banks may exceed the balance insured by the F.D.I.C.

18. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

In February 2023, we entered into a confidential patent license and settlement agreement and in March 2023, we received a payment of $25 million with respect thereto.

In February 2023, we dismissed our two patent enforcement actions against Intel Corporation (see Note 13).

In January 2023, we received aggregate proceeds of approximately $0.7 million from the sale of convertible notes to accredited investors.  The notes mature five years from the date of issuance and are convertible, at the holders' option, into shares of our common stock at a fixed conversion price of $0.16 per share, except that the maturity date of $0.5 million of the notes may be extended for up to ten (10) one-year periods at the option of the holder.  The notes bear interest at a stated rate of 9% per annum.  Interest is payable quarterly, and we may elect, subject to certain equity conditions, to pay interest in cash, shares of our common stock, or a combination thereof.  In January 2023, we received aggregate proceeds of approximately $0.14 million from the sale of common stock to accredited investors at a price of $0.16 per share.  We entered into registration rights agreements with the investors pursuant to which we will register the shares.  We have committed to file the registration statement by April 7, 2023 and to cause the registration statement to become effective by April 30, 2023 (or in the event of a review by the Securities and Exchange Commission, by June 30, 2023).  The registration rights agreements provide for liquidated damages upon the occurrence of certain events including failure by us to file the registration statement or cause it to become effective by the deadlines set forth above.  The amount of the liquidated damages is 1.0% of the aggregate subscription upon the occurrence of the event, and monthly thereafter, up to a maximum of 6%, or approximately $0.05 million.

On January 16, 2023, the Board amended the 2019 Long-Term Incentive Plan to increase the number of shares of common stock reserved for issuance under the 2019 Plan from 27 million shares to 30 million shares.