Agree. That's the easy bit as you have mentioned. I think some...

Agree. That's the easy bit as you have mentioned. I think some of the discussion above is about what value LPD Ltd management might obtain for its shareholders ... if not through use of patents then through sale. In light of the annual report today it seems to me the perspectives offered so far each have merit. It is interesting to peel back some of the onion layers about how these patents might be utilized to create value for LPD Ltd shareholders.

Current situation
My understanding is that various patents have been lodged, and each patent is individually recognized in the name of the relevant lodging entity (now subsidiaries of LPD Ltd). The sole purpose (to LPD Ltd) of some of these subsidiaries is to simply hold the individual patent (no operating capabilities). Where these entities are wholly owned subsidiaries, the parent entity (LPD Ltd) controls the use of these patents.

The oddities of patent law and corporate law make it cheaper to just maintain these entities than go thru rigamarole and cost to consolidate. Sounds practical … but IMO the current legal ownership is only useful for current LPD Ltd purposes … it does not by itself provide any real assurance to shareholders that they will see value.

Future Situations
In the event LPD Ltd can commercialize the L-Max technology then every shareholder benefits.

In the event LPD Ltd cannot commercialize the L-Max technology, the group can be broken up and various wholly owned subsidiaries that hold a patent can easily be sold to others. The natural buyers of these specific patents would be the Strategic Metallurgy crew. That is obviously a potential conflict of interest between a major shareholder and retail shareholders.

No competitive market
My understanding is that the patents are components/off shoots of the umbrella processes (L-Max). If the umbrella process cannot be commercialized by the current LPD Ltd team then I speculate that a competitive market for the patented components of the umbrella process (also patented) would not exist. The SM crew might then be the only team that knows how to take the individual components and apply them to other ventures that do not require the L-Max front end. Under those circumstances the SM crew might buy the individual patents from LPD Ltd for a bargain and also avoid accusations of inside dealing.

IMO, while the current legal ownership is not in doubt, the concern about how LPD Ltd shareholders might realize commercial value has not gone away. Just spit balling.

Finally, even though the true difficulties facing this company are out in the open, I am enjoying the strong (but civilized) differences of opinion on the forum.

Go the slow ‘pus
AM74