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2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies: Revenue Recognition (Policies)
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2012
Policies  
Revenue Recognition

Revenue Recognition

 

We earn revenue in two ways: retained royalties from licensing our clients' and our own technologies to our customer licensees, and sales of finished products.  We record revenue when the terms of the sales arrangement are accepted by all parties including a fee that is fixed and determinable, delivery has occurred and our customer has taken title, and collectability is reasonably assured.

 

Since 2011 the Company has taken greater control of the sales process.  We are the primary obligor, responsible for delivering devices as well as for training our customers in the proper use of the device.  We deal directly with customers, setting pricing and providing training; work directly with the inventor of the technology to develop specifications and any changes thereto and to select and contract with manufacturing partners; and retain significant credit risk for amounts billed to customers.  Therefore, all product sales are recorded following a gross revenue methodology.

 

Revenue from foreign sources totaled approximately $30,000 $1,645,000 for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively.  Of the foreign-sourced revenue received, all $30,000 earned during the year ended December 31, 2012 was from sources in the Middle East, while approximately $1,159,000 earned during the year ended December 31, 2011 was from sources in Europe.

 

Retained royalties or distribution fees earned are of the following types:

 

Non-refundable, upfront license fee – We record our share of non-refundable, upfront license fees upon execution of a license, sublicense or distribution agreement.  Once delivery is complete, and the fee is collected, we have no continuing obligation.  No upfront fees were received during the years ended December 31, 2012 or 2011.

 

Royalty or per unit fees – The royalty or per unit rate is fixed in the license or distribution agreement, with the amount earned contingent upon our customer's usage of our technology or sale of our product.  Some agreements may contain stipulated minimum monthly or annual fee payments to CTTC.  We determine the amount of revenue to record when we can estimate the amount earned for a period.  We receive payment or royalty reports on a monthly, quarterly or semi-annual basis indicating usage or sales of licensed technologies or products to determine the revenue earned in the period.  Revenue may fluctuate from one quarter to another based on receipt of reports from customers.

 

Royalty legal awards – We earn non-recurring revenues from royalty legal awards, principally from patent infringement actions filed on behalf of our clients and/or us.  Patent infringement litigation cases generally occur when a customer or another party ignores our patent rights, or challenges the legal standing of our clients' or our technology rights.  These cases, even if settled out of court, may take several years to complete, and the expenses may be borne by our clients, by us, or shared.  We share royalty legal awards in accordance with the agreement we have with our clients, usually after reimbursing each party for their related legal expenses.  We recognize royalty legal award revenue when our rights to litigation awards are final and unappealable and we have assurance of collecting those awards, or when we have collected litigation awards in cash from the adverse party, or by sale of our rights to another party without recourse, and we have no obligation or are very unlikely to be obligated to repay such collected amounts.  Proceeds from cases settled out of court are recorded as retained royalties. 

 

Legal awards in patent infringement cases usually include accrued interest through the date of payment, as determined by the court.  The court awards interest for unpaid earned income.  Interest may also be included in other settlements with customers.  Interest included in an award or settlement is generally recorded as interest income when received.

 

Unless otherwise specified, we record all other revenue, as earned.