Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)
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Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)

Registration No. 333-196032

PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

(To Prospectus dated June 2, 2014)

DIGIMARC CORPORATION

 

LOGO

Common Stock

Having an Aggregate Offering Price of Up to

$30,000,000

 

 

We have entered into an equity distribution agreement with Wells Fargo Securities, LLC relating to shares of common stock of Digimarc Corporation offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. In accordance with the terms of the equity distribution agreement, we may from time to time offer and sell shares of common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $30,000,000 through Wells Fargo Securities, LLC.

Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “DMRC.” The last reported sale price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market on August 4, 2014 was $24.08 per share.

Sales of shares of common stock, if any, under this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus may be made in negotiated transactions or transactions that are deemed to be “at the market” offerings as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, including sales made directly on the Nasdaq Global Market or sales made to or through a market maker other than on an exchange. The sales agent will make all sales on a reasonable efforts basis using commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices, on mutually agreed terms between the sales agent and us.

Wells Fargo Securities, LLC will receive from us a commission equal to 2.50% of the gross sales price per share of common stock for shares having an aggregate offering price of up to $10,000,000, and a commission of 2.25% of the gross sales price per share of common stock thereafter, for shares sold through our sales agent under the equity distribution agreement. In connection with the sale of the shares of common stock on our behalf, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC may be deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the compensation of Wells Fargo Securities, LLC may be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts.

 

 

Investing in our common stock involves risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-3 of this prospectus supplement and on page 3 of the accompanying prospectus.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission, any state securities commission, nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus supplement and the prospectus to which it relates are truthful and complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

 

Wells Fargo Securities

The date of this prospectus is August 4, 2014.


Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

     Page  
Prospectus Supplement   
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT      S-1   
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS      S-2   
SUMMARY      S-3   
RISK FACTORS      S-3   
USE OF PROCEEDS      S-13   
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION      S-14   
LEGAL MATTERS      S-14   
EXPERTS      S-15   
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION      S-15   
INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE      S-15   
     Page  
Prospectus   

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

  

THE COMPANY

     1   

RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES

     3   

RISK FACTORS

     3   

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

     4   

USE OF PROCEEDS

     5   

DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

     5   

DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS

     7   

DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES

     8   

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

     11   

LEGAL MATTERS

     12   

EXPERTS

     12   

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

     12   

INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE

     13   

 


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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

This document is in two parts. The first part is the prospectus supplement, which describes the specific terms of this offering. The second part is the accompanying base prospectus, which gives more general information, some of which may not apply to this offering. Generally, when we refer to the “prospectus,” we are referring to both parts combined. If information in the prospectus supplement conflicts with information in the accompanying base prospectus, you should rely on the information in this prospectus supplement.

Any statement made in this prospectus or in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus supplement or in any other subsequently filed document that is also incorporated by reference into this prospectus modifies or supersedes that statement. Any statements so modified or superseded will be deemed not to constitute a part of this prospectus except as so modified or superseded. Before you invest, you should carefully read this prospectus and the information contained in the documents we refer to under the headings “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference.”

You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with additional or different information. The prospectus may be used only for the purposes for which it has been published. If you receive any other information, you should not rely on it. You should assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front cover. Our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects may have changed since that date. You should not rely on or assume the accuracy of any representation or warranty in any agreement that we have filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part or that we may otherwise publicly file in the future because any such representation or warranty may be subject to exceptions and qualifications contained in separate disclosure schedules, may represent the parties’ risk allocation in the particular transaction, may be qualified by materiality standards that differ from what may be viewed as material for securities law purposes or may no longer continue to be true as of any given date. No offer of these securities is being made in any jurisdiction where such offer or sale is prohibited.

Unless we otherwise specify, when used in this prospectus supplement, the terms “Digimarc,” the “Company,” “we,” “our” and “us” refer to Digimarc Corporation and its subsidiaries, except that when such terms are used in this prospectus supplement in reference to the common shares, they refer specifically to Digimarc Corporation.

 

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus and documents incorporated herein by reference include “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”). Words such as “may,” “plan,” “should,” “could,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “project,” “forecast,” “estimate,” “continue,” and variations of such terms or similar expressions, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to:

 

    revenue trends and expectations;

 

    our future level of investment in our business, including investment in research, development and engineering of products and technology, development of our intellectual property, sales growth initiatives and development of new market opportunities;

 

    our ability to improve margins;

 

    our anticipated expenses, costs, margins, provision for income taxes and investment activities in the foreseeable future;

 

    our anticipated revenue to be generated from current contracts and as a result of new programs;

 

    the variability of contracted arrangements;

 

    our profitability in future periods;

 

    business opportunities that could require that we seek additional financing;

 

    the size and growth of our markets;

 

    the existence of international growth opportunities and our future investment in such opportunities;

 

    the sources of our future revenue;

 

    our expected short-term and long-term liquidity positions;

 

    our capital expenditure and working capital requirements and our ability to fund our capital expenditure and working capital needs through cash flow from operations;

 

    our use of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities in upcoming quarters;

 

    anticipated levels of backlog in future periods;

 

    the success of our arrangements with Intellectual Ventures;

 

    the success of our acquisition of Attributor Corporation; and

 

    the protection, development and monetization of our intellectual property portfolio.

These forward-looking statements, or other statements made by us, are made based on our expectations and beliefs concerning future events affecting us, and are subject to uncertainties and factors that are difficult to predict and, in many instances, are beyond our control. We believe that the risk factors identified in Part I, Item 1A of our 2013 Annual Report, among others, could affect our future performance and the liquidity and value of our securities and cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf. Investors should understand that it is not possible to predict or identify all risk factors and that there may be other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. As a result, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements made by us or by persons acting on our behalf apply only as of the date of this prospectus. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future events, information or circumstances that arise after the date of the filing of this prospectus.

 

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SUMMARY

This summary highlights information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement. It does not contain all of the information that may be important to you. You should read carefully the entire prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference and the other documents to which we refer herein for a more complete understanding of this offering.

The Company

Digimarc enables governments and enterprises around the world to give digital identities to media and objects that computers can sense and recognize and to which they can react. At the core of our intellectual property is a signal processing innovation known as “digital watermarking,” which allows imperceptible digital information to be embedded in all forms of digitally designed, produced or distributed media content and some physical objects, including photographs, movies, music, television, personal identification documents, financial instruments, industrial parts and product packages. The digital information can be detected and read by a wide range of computers, mobile phones and other digital devices. Our technology provides the means to infuse persistent digital information, “Digimarc IDs,” perceptible only to computers and digital devices, into all forms of media content. The unique digital identifier placed in media generally persists with it regardless of the distribution path and whether it is copied, manipulated or converted to a different format, and does not affect the quality of the content or the enjoyment or other traditional uses of it. Our technology permits computers and digital devices to quickly identify relevant data from vast amounts of media content.

DIGIMARC CORPORATION WAS INCORPORATED IN DELAWARE IN 2008 AND BECAME AN OREGON CORPORATION IN 2010. OUR PRINCIPAL OFFICES ARE LOCATED AT 9405 SW GEMINI DRIVE, BEAVERTON, OREGON 97008; OUR TELEPHONE NUMBER IS (503) 469-4800. OUR WEBSITE ADDRESS IS WWW.DIGIMARC.COM. INFORMATION ON OUR WEBSITE OR AVAILABLE BY HYPERLINK FROM OUR WEBSITE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE PART OF THIS PROSPECTUS.

The Offering

 

Issuer

Digimarc Corporation

 

Common Shares Offered

Common shares having an aggregate offering price of up to $30,000,000.

 

Use of Proceeds

We intend to use the net proceeds of this offering, after deducting the sales agent’s commissions and our offering expenses, for working capital and other general corporate purposes. Our working capital needs may include expenses associated with operations, development of our products and securing licenses from third parties (including potential litigation), and other corporate purposes. Please read “Use of Proceeds.”

 

Nasdaq Symbol

DMRC

 

Risk Factors

An investment in our common shares involves risks. You should carefully consider each of the factors described or referred to under “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-3 of this prospectus supplement, page 3 of the accompanying prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus before you make an investment in our common stock.

RISK FACTORS

An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. The following risk factors are those risks of which we are aware and that we consider to be material to our business. If any of the following risks and uncertainties develops into actual events, our business, financial condition or results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected. In that case, the trading price of our common stock could decline. Additionally, we cannot be certain or give any assurance that any actions taken to reduce known risks and uncertainties will be effective.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS

(1) A small number of customers account for a substantial portion of our revenue, and the loss of any large contract could materially disrupt our business.

Historically, we have derived a significant portion of our revenue from a limited number of customers. Five customers, the Bank for International Settlements (acting on behalf of the Central Banks), IV, Nielsen, Verance and Civolution represented approximately

 

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81% of our revenue for the year ended December 31, 2013. Most of our revenue comes from long-term contracts generally having terms of at least three to five years, with some licenses for the life of the associated patents, which could be up to 20 years. The agreements with some of these customers provide minimum or fixed payment obligations that have ceased, in the case of IV and Nielsen. Some contracts we enter into contain termination for convenience provisions. If we were to lose such a contract for any reason, or if revenue from variable payment obligations do not replace revenue under the existing fixed payment obligations, our financial results could be adversely affected. For example, in connection with our arrangement with IV, the quarterly license fee payments ended in the second quarter of 2013. We are not able to reasonably estimate the future revenue impact of any profit sharing we may earn from IV.

We expect to continue to depend upon a small number of customers for a significant portion of our revenue for the foreseeable future. The loss of, or decline in, orders or backlog from one or more major customers could reduce our revenue and have a material adverse effect on our financial results.

(2) Although we achieved profitability in prior years, we were not profitable in 2013 and may not be able to return to or sustain profitability in the future, particularly if we were to lose large contracts.

For the year ended December 31, 2012, we generated net income of $8.3 million. Our profit was primarily due to a past due royalties payment received from Verance in the first quarter of 2012 and quarterly license fee payments from IV, which ended in the second quarter of 2013. For the year ended December 31, 2013, we incurred a net loss largely due to the end of the quarterly license fee payments from IV. On a quarterly basis, our operating results have been inconsistent.

Returning to and maintaining profitability in the future will depend upon a variety of factors, including our ability to maintain and obtain more significant partnerships like those we have with the Central Banks, IV, Nielsen, Verance and Civolution. Profitability will also depend on growth in revenue of our licensees and our efficiency in executing our business strategy and capitalizing on new opportunities. Various adverse developments, including the loss of large contracts, the expiration of fixed payment obligations on our contracts or cost overruns on our existing contracts, could have a negative effect on our revenue, margins and profitability.

(3) We may be adversely affected by variability of contracted arrangements.

We frequently have agreed to modify the terms of contractual arrangements with our customers, partners and licensees in response to changes in circumstances underlying the original contractual arrangements, and it is likely that we will do so in the future. As a result of this practice, the terms of our contractual arrangements with our customers, partners and licensees may vary over time and, depending on the particular modification, could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Some of our customers and licensees report royalties to us based on their revenue and their interpretation and allocation of contracted royalty obligations. For example, one licensee reports profit sharing to us based on income earned, which is subject to their interpretation and allocation of revenue and expenses, which could be less favorable to us than our own interpretation. It is possible that we may not agree with the judgments of our customers on such matters, and such disagreement may lead to potential disputes and reduced revenue to us. These disputes could result in a distraction to our management and may not result in increased revenues to us but may nevertheless result in friction between us and our customers, and potentially the loss of customers, which may ultimately be harmful to our business.

(4) A significant portion of our current and potential future revenue is subject to commercial and government contracts and development of new markets that may involve unpredictable delays and other unexpected changes. Such volatility and uncertainty might limit our actual revenue in any given quarter or year.

We derive substantial portions of our revenue from commercial contracts tied to development schedules or development of new markets, which could shift for months, quarters or years as the needs of our customers and the markets in which they participate change. Government agencies and commercial customers also face budget pressures that introduce added uncertainty. Any shift in development schedules, the markets in which we or our licensees participate, or customer procurement processes, which are outside our control and may not be predictable, could result in delays in bookings forecasted for any particular period, could affect the predictability of our quarterly and annual results, and might limit our actual revenue in any given quarter or year, resulting in reduced and less predictable revenue and adversely affecting profitability.

We are also expanding into new markets, which involve inherent risk and unpredictability. Until recent years, our business was focused primarily on digital watermarking and related signal processing technology. Our work in that field dated back to the early 1990s, so that by the time of the 1999 public offering of our predecessor company, we were an established competitor or participant in that area, and had a historical perspective that provided certain advantages. Those advantages continued to grow and serve us as our tenure in the field lengthened.

In recent years, particularly with the proliferation of smartphones and increased demands in the public sector for enhanced covert security options, we have investigated other technologies that may provide attractive future opportunities, for example in the

 

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packaging and publishing markets. These generally include technologies that leverage our strength in signal processing and support our vision for intuitive, pervasive computing. As we seek to expand outside our areas of historical expertise, we lack the history and insight that benefited us in the watermarking field. We also lack the size and scale typical of contractors providing products and services to the federal government. While we were in the vanguard of commercial application of digital watermarking, we are not so uniquely poised in these other disciplines. Accordingly, it may be difficult for us to replicate our watermarking success in other technologies we might pursue.

(5) The market for our products is highly competitive, and alternative technologies or larger companies that compete with us may be more successful than us in gaining market share, which would decrease our revenue and profits.

The markets in which we compete for business are intensely competitive and rapidly evolving. We expect competition to continue from both existing competitors and new market entrants. We face competition from other companies and from alternative technologies, including some of our customers and licensees. We also may face competition from unexpected sources.

Alternative technologies that may directly or indirectly compete with particular applications of our watermarking technologies include:

 

    Encryption—securing data during distribution using a secret code so it cannot be accessed except by authorized users;

 

    Containers—inserting a media object in an encrypted wrapper, which prevents the media object from being duplicated, used for content distribution and transaction management;

 

    Traditional anti-counterfeiting technologies—a number of solutions used by many government agencies (that compete for budgetary outlays) designed to deter counterfeiting, including optically sensitive ink, magnetic threads and other materials used in the printing of currencies;

 

    Image recognition—one or several pre-specified or learned objects or object classes that can be recognized, usually together with their two-dimensional positions in the image or three-dimensional poses in the scene, such as Google Goggles, which provides a stand-alone program illustration of this function;

 

    Radio frequency tags—embedding a chip that emits a signal when in close proximity with a receiver, used in some photo identification credentials, labels and tags;

 

    Internet technologies—numerous existing and potential Internet access and search methods are competitive with Digimarc Mobile systems and the searching capabilities of Digimarc for Images;

 

    Digital fingerprints and signatures—a metric, or metrics, computed solely from a source image or audio or video track, that can be used to identify an image or track, or authenticate the image or track;

 

    Smart cards—badges and cards including a semiconductor memory and /or processor, used for authentication and related purposes; and

 

    Bar codes or QR codes—data-carrying codes, typically visible in nature (but may be invisible if printed in ultraviolet- or infrared-responsive inks).

In the competitive environments in which we operate, product generation, development and marketing processes relating to technology are uncertain and complex, and require accurate prediction of demand as well as successful management of various risks inherent in technology development. In light of these uncertainties, it is possible that our failure to successfully accommodate future changes in technologies related to our technology could have a long-term negative effect on our growth and results of operations.

New developments are expected to continue, and discoveries by others, including current and potential competitors, possibly could render our services and products noncompetitive. Moreover, because of rapid technological changes, we may be required to expend greater amounts of time and money than anticipated to develop new products and services, which in turn may require greater revenue streams from those products and services to cover developmental costs. Many of the companies that compete with us for some of our business, as well as other companies with whom we may compete in the future, are larger and may have stronger brand recognition and greater technical, financial, marketing and political resources than we do. These attributes could enable these companies to have more success in the market than we have, either by providing better products or better pricing than we can provide. We may be unable to compete successfully against current or future participants in our market or against alternative technologies, and the competitive pressures we face could decrease our revenue and profits in the future.

 

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(6) We may not receive any profit-sharing from our patent licensing arrangement with Intellectual Ventures.

In connection with our patent licensing arrangement with IV, we granted an exclusive license to sublicense our patent assets existing at that time to IV in exchange for various strategic and financial benefits, including profit participation. We have received all the minimum guaranteed license fees and most of the minimum consulting fees. We may not realize any profit participation revenue from our patent licensing arrangement with IV. We have given IV control over both prosecution and enforcement of these assets. While IV can seek our assistance and has committed to pay for it, we cannot guarantee that IV will seek our assistance in prosecution, nor enforce the patents to the extent we would.

(7) We may acquire or invest in other companies or technologies in the future, which could divert management’s attention, result in additional dilution to our stockholders, increase expenses, disrupt our operations and harm our operating results.

We acquired Attributor Corporation in December 2012, and we may in the future acquire or invest in businesses, products or technologies that we believe could complement or expand our current product and service offerings, enhance our technical capabilities, expand our operations into new markets or otherwise offer growth opportunities. We cannot assure you that we will realize the anticipated benefits of our recent or any future acquisition. The pursuit of potential acquisitions may divert the attention of management and cause us to incur various expenses related to identifying, investigating and pursuing suitable acquisitions, whether or not they are consummated.

There are inherent risks in integrating and managing acquisitions. We may not be able to assimilate or integrate the acquired personnel, operations and technologies successfully or effectively manage the combined business following an acquisition. We also may not achieve the anticipated benefits from an acquired business due to a number of factors, including:

 

    unanticipated costs or liabilities associated with the acquisition;

 

    incurrence of acquisition-related costs, which would be recognized as a current period expense;

 

    inability to generate sufficient revenue to offset acquisition or investment costs;

 

    the inability to maintain relationships with customers and partners of the acquired business;

 

    the need to implement additional controls, procedures and policies;

 

    entry into geographic markets in which we have little or no prior experience, and challenges caused by distance, language and cultural differences;

 

    differences in foreign labor and employment laws, including classification of employees and contractors;

 

    disruption of our ongoing business;

 

    the potential loss of key employees; and

 

    use of substantial portions of our available cash to consummate the acquisition.

Acquisitions could also result in dilutive issuances of equity securities or the incurrence of debt, which could adversely affect our operating results. In addition, if an acquired business fails to meet our expectations, our operating results, business and financial condition may suffer.

(8) An increase in our operations outside of the U.S. subjects us to risks additional to those to which we are exposed in our domestic operations.

We believe that revenue from sales of products and services to commercial, governmental and other customers outside the U.S. could represent a growing percentage of our total revenue in the future. In addition, as a result of our acquisition of Attributor Corporation, we perform certain functions in various jurisdictions outside of the U.S. International operations are subject to a number of risks that can adversely affect our sales of products and services to customers outside of the U.S., or expose us to additional expense or liabilities, including the following:

 

    difficulties and costs of staffing, developing and managing foreign operations as a result of distance, language and cultural differences;

 

    the effect of laws governing employee and contractor relationships, and the existence of workers’ councils and labor unions in some jurisdictions;

 

    changes in foreign government regulations and security requirements;

 

    export license requirements, tariffs and taxes;

 

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    trade barriers;

 

    difficulty in protecting intellectual property;

 

    difficulty in collecting accounts receivable;

 

    currency fluctuations;

 

    longer payment cycles than those for customers in the U.S; and

 

    political and economic instability.

We do not have an extensive operational infrastructure for international business. We generally depend on local or international business partners and subcontractors for performance of substantial portions of our business. These factors may result in greater risk of performance problems or of reduced profitability with respect to our international programs in these markets. In addition, if foreign customers, in particular foreign government authorities, terminate or delay the implementation of our products and services, it may be difficult for us, or we may not be able, to recover our potential losses.

(9) Our future growth will depend to some extent on our successful implementation of our technology in solutions provided by third parties.

Our business and strategy rely substantially on deployment of our technology by our licensees and other third-party software developers and original equipment manufacturers. For example, one form of our technology is commonly deployed in image editing applications to permit users of these products to read data embedded in imagery, and thereby identify ownership and discern the identities of image owners. Another form of our technology is used in our anti-counterfeiting products. Our patented inventions are also being deployed as part of Digital Cinema systems to theatres around the world by companies that integrate technologies and subsystems. Most recently, our software has been integrated into Point of Sale scanners from Datalogic. In addition, we rely on the ability of IV to license a portion of our patented inventions to third party licensees pursuant to the patent licensing arrangement we entered into with IV in October 2010. If third parties who include our technology in their products or otherwise license our intellectual property for use in their products cease to do so, or we fail to obtain other partners who will incorporate, embed, integrate or bundle our technology, or these partners are unsuccessful in their efforts, our efforts to expand deployment of our technology and increase licensing revenue would be adversely affected. Consequently, our ability to increase revenue would be adversely affected and we may suffer other adverse effects to our business. In addition, if our technology does not perform according to market expectations, our future sales would suffer as customers seek other alternatives.

(10) We depend on our management and key employees for our future success. If we are not able to retain, hire or integrate these employees, we may not be able to meet our commitments.

Our success depends to a significant extent on the performance and continued service of our management and our intellectual property team. The loss of the services of any of these employees could limit our growth or undermine customer relationships.

Due to the high level of technical expertise that our industry requires, our ability to successfully develop, market, sell, license and support our products, services, and intellectual property depends to a significant degree upon the continued contributions of our key personnel in engineering, sales, marketing, operations, legal and licensing, many of whom would be difficult to replace. We believe our future success will depend in large part upon our ability to retain our current key employees and our ability to attract, integrate and retain new personnel in the future. It may not be practical for us to match the compensation some of our employees could garner at other employment. In addition, we may encounter difficulties in hiring and retaining employees because of concerns related to our financial performance or operating results. These circumstances may have a negative effect on the market price of our common stock, and employees and prospective employees may factor in the uncertainties relating to our stability and the value of any equity-based incentives in their decisions regarding employment opportunities and decide to leave our employ. Moreover, our business is based in large part on patented technology, which is a unique and sophisticated signal processing technology. New employees require substantial training, involving significant resources and management attention. Competition for experienced personnel in our business can be intense. If we do not succeed in attracting new, qualified personnel or in integrating, retaining and motivating our current personnel, our growth and ability to deliver products and services that our customers require may be hampered. Although our employees generally have executed agreements containing non-competition clauses, we do not assure you that a court would enforce all of the terms of these clauses or the agreements generally. If these clauses were not fully enforced, our employees could be able to freely join our competitors. Although we generally attempt to control access to and distribution of our proprietary information by our employees, we do not assure you that the confidential nature of our proprietary information will be maintained in the course of such future employment. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our financial and business prospects.

 

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(11) If leading companies in our industry or standard-setting bodies or institutions downplay, minimize or reject the use of our technology, deployment may be slowed and we may be unable to achieve revenue growth.

Many of our business endeavors, such as our licensing of intellectual property in support of audio and video copy-control applications, can be impeded or frustrated by larger, more influential companies or by standard-setting bodies or institutions downplaying, minimizing or rejecting the value or use of our technology. A negative position by these companies, bodies or institutions, if taken, may result in obstacles for us that we would be incapable of overcoming and may block or impede the adoption of our technology. In addition, potential customers may delay or reject initiatives that relate to deployment of our technology. Such a development would make the achievement of our business objectives in this market difficult or impossible.

(12) We are subject to risks encountered by companies developing and relying upon new technologies, products and services for substantial amounts of their growth or revenue.

Our business and prospects must be considered in light of the risks and uncertainties to which companies with new and rapidly evolving technology, products and services are exposed. These risks include the following:

 

    we may be unable to develop sources of new revenue or sustainable growth in revenue because our current and anticipated technologies, products and services may be inadequate or may be unable to attract or retain customers;

 

    intense competition and rapid technological change could adversely affect the market’s acceptance of our existing and new products and services;

 

    we may be unable to develop and maintain new technologies upon which our existing and new products and services are dependent which may cause our products and services to be less sustainable and competitive or which could make it harder for us to expand our revenue and business; and

 

    our licensees may not be able to successfully enter new markets or grow their businesses, limiting the royalties payable to us and our associated revenue and profits.

Some of our key technology and solutions from our patent or technology licensees are in the development stage. Consequently, products incorporating our technology and solutions are undergoing technological change and are in the early stages of introduction in the marketplace. Delays in the adoption of these products or adverse competitive developments may result in delays in the development of new revenue sources or the growth in our revenue. In addition, we may be required to incur unanticipated expenditures if product changes or improvements are required. Moreover, new industry standards might redefine the products that we or our licensees are able to sell, especially if these products are only in the prototype stage of development. If product changes or improvements are required, success in marketing these products by us or our licensees and achieving profitability from these products could be delayed or halted. We also may be required to fund any changes or improvements out of operating income, which could adversely affect our profitability.

(13) (a) We may not be able to adequately secure patent or other protection for our technologies.

Our business depends in part on securing protection for our proprietary technology and successfully licensing our technology to third parties. To protect our intellectual property portfolio, we rely on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret rights, confidentiality procedures and licensing arrangements. Although we regularly apply for patents, copyrights and trademarks to protect our intellectual property, there is no guarantee that we will secure protection for any particular technology we develop. In particular, the process of securing a patent is complex and may take several years in the United States. To secure patent protection, among other things, our invention must be novel and useful, we must be the first to file a patent application, we must secure the cooperation of the inventor of the invention that is the subject of the patent and we must prepare and file the patent application with the relevant U.S. or foreign patent offices. During the process, third parties, including our competitors, can challenge and seek to limit any patent claims we seek. Even if we are successful in obtaining a patent, the scope of the patent may not be as broad as our claims in our patent application. Furthermore, patent protection throughout the world is generally established on a country-by-country basis and we may not have as much success in securing patents in foreign jurisdictions as we have experienced in the United States. We cannot assure you that pending patents will be issued or that issued patents will be valid or enforceable. Failure to secure the issuance of patents for which we have filed applications or failure to enforce patents that are issued may result in less future revenue to us.

Changes in the U.S. and foreign patent laws, or in the interpretation of existing laws, may adversely affect our ability to secure patents as well. An example includes the passage of the America Invents Act of 2011, which codifies several significant changes to the U.S. patent laws, including changing from a “first to invent” to a “first inventor to file” system, limiting where a patentee may file a patent suit, replacing interference proceedings with derivation actions, and creating a post-grant opposition process to challenge patents after they have issued.

 

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Even if we are successful in securing patent protection for any particular technology, patents have finite lives, and our ability to continue to commercially exploit our patents is limited to the term of the patents. Our earliest patents began expiring in July 2012. The size and strength of our portfolio depends on the number of patents that have been granted, offset by the number of patents that expire, in any given year. We continue to grow our patent portfolio, but we do not assure you that we will be able to exploit newer patents to the extent that we have our earlier patents.

Third parties may petition the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or comparable government authorities in other jurisdictions to review and reconsider the patentability of any of our inventions claimed in our issued patents. Any such re-examination may result in one or more of our patents becoming subject to reissuance with more limited claims, or even become invalidated altogether. Such reexaminations, associated government or judicial hearings, and potentially adverse decisions may cause us increased expense and distraction, and may negatively impede any licensing discussions we are then engaged in with respect to such patents, and may adversely affect any existing licenses we have granted with respect to such patents, thus impacting adversely our revenues.

As part of our confidentiality procedures, we generally enter into non-disclosure agreements with our employees, directors, consultants and corporate partners, and attempt to control access to and distribution of our technology, solutions, documentation and other proprietary information. Despite these procedures, third parties could copy or otherwise obtain and make unauthorized use of our technology, solutions or other proprietary information or independently develop similar technologies, solutions or information. The steps that we have taken to prevent misappropriation of our solutions, technology or other proprietary information may not succeed.

We do not assure you that the protection of our proprietary rights will be adequate or that our competitors will not independently develop similar technologies, duplicate our services or design around any of our patents or other intellectual property rights.

(b) We may not be successful in enforcing our intellectual property rights against third parties.

Unlicensed copying and use of our intellectual property or infringement of our intellectual property rights may result in the loss of revenue to us and cause us other harm. We seek diligently to enforce our intellectual property rights. Although we devote significant resources to developing and protecting our technologies, and evaluating potential competitors of our technologies for infringement of our intellectual property rights, these infringements may nonetheless go undetected or may arise in the future. In the ordinary course of business, we encounter companies that we believe are infringing on our intellectual property rights. When we encounter a company that we believe is infringing our intellectual property rights, we may try to negotiate a license arrangement with such party. If we try and are unable to negotiate a license or secure the agreement of such alleged infringing party to cease its activities, we must make decisions as to how best to enforce our intellectual property rights.

The process of negotiating a license with a third party can be lengthy, and may take months or even years in some circumstances. Even if we are successful in securing a license agreement, there can be no assurance that our technologies will be used in a product that is ultimately brought to market, achieves commercial acceptance or results in significant royalties to us. We generally incur expense prior to entering into our license agreements, generating a license fee and establishing a royalty stream from each customer. We may incur costs in any particular period before any associated revenue stream begins, if at all. Further, it is possible that third parties who we believe are infringing our intellectual property rights are unwilling to license our intellectual property from us on terms we can accept, or at all.

If we cannot persuade a third party who we believe is infringing our technology to enter into a license with us, we may be required to consider other alternatives to enforce our rights, including commencing litigation. The decision to commence litigation over infringement of a patent is complex and may lead to several risks to us, including the following, among others:

 

    the time, significant expense and distraction to management of managing such litigation;

 

    the uncertainty of litigation and its potential outcomes;

 

    the possibility that in the course of such litigation, the defendant may challenge the validity of our patents, which could result in a re-examination of our patents and the possibility that our patents may be limited in scope or invalidated altogether;

 

    the potential that the defendant may successfully persuade a court that their technology or products do not infringe our intellectual property rights;

 

    the impact of such litigation on other licensing relationships we have or seek to establish, including the timing of renewing or entering into such relationships, as applicable, as well as the terms of such relationships; and

 

    adverse publicity to us or harm to relationships we have with customers or others.

 

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Further, we are the exclusive licensee under some third-party patents, and may need the assistance of these parties if we choose to enforce any of these patent rights. The cooperation of these third parties cannot be assured.

Also, enforcement of patent protection throughout the world is generally established on a country-by-country basis and we may not have as much success enforcing our patents in foreign jurisdictions as we have experienced in the United States. Further, in some instances, certain foreign governmental entities that might infringe our intellectual property rights may enjoy sovereign immunity from such claims. Consequently, effective protection of our intellectual property rights may be unavailable or limited.

Defendants in any litigation we consider commencing may have substantially greater financial and management resources necessary to manage litigation than we have. Further, such potential defendants may also have their own substantial patent portfolio. Patent litigation can endure for years and result in millions of dollars of expenses. If our counterparties in such litigation have substantially greater resources than we have, we may not be able to withstand the time, expense or distraction of the litigation, even though we may have a better litigation position than such counterparties. In such instances we may not recover the expenses of litigation, and we may be required to enter into settlement agreements that would be adverse to us or our intellectual property portfolio. From time to time, we contemplate, and are currently contemplating, litigation against companies that we believe to be infringing upon our intellectual property. Some of these companies we know to have extremely significant cash and legal resources focused on the development and enforcement of their intellectual property portfolios. Should we commence litigation against one or more of those parties, we expect that we will be required to devote substantial resources and funds to such litigation and we may not be successful in recouping such resources.

The foregoing and other factors may cause us not to file or continue litigation against alleged infringers of our intellectual property rights, or may cause us not to file for, or pursue, patent protection for our inventive technology, in certain jurisdictions. Our failure to seek to enforce our intellectual property rights may weaken our ability to enforce our intellectual property in the future or make our efforts to license our intellectual property rights more difficult.

If we fail to protect our intellectual property rights adequately, if there are adverse changes in applicable laws, or if we become involved in litigation relating to our intellectual property rights or the intellectual property rights of others, our business could be seriously harmed. In such case, the value ascribed to our intellectual property could diminish, we may incur significant legal expenses that could harm our results of operations and our patents or other intellectual property rights may be limited or invalidated. Any of the foregoing could have a negative effect on the value of our common stock.

(c) We may be subject to infringement claims and other litigation, which could adversely affect our business.

As more companies engage in business activities relating to digital watermarking, and develop corresponding intellectual property rights, it is increasingly likely that claims may arise which assert that some of our products or services infringe upon other parties’ intellectual property rights. These claims could subject us to costly litigation and divert management resources. These claims may require us to pay significant damages, cease production of infringing products, terminate our use of infringing technology or develop non-infringing technologies. In these circumstances, continued use of our technology may require that we acquire licenses to the intellectual property that is the subject of the alleged infringement, and we might not be able to obtain these licenses on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Our use of protected technology may result in liability that threatens our continuing operation.

Some of our contracts include indemnity and similar provisions regarding our non-infringement of third-party intellectual property rights. As deployment of our technology increases, and more companies enter our markets, the likelihood of a third party lawsuit resulting from these provisions increases. If an infringement arose in a context governed by such a contract, we may have to refund to our customer amounts already paid to us or pay significant damages, or we may be sued by the party whose intellectual property has allegedly been infringed upon.

(d) Governmental regulation of non-practicing patent holders may adversely affect our business.

Governmental policymakers and commercial participants have proposed reforming U.S. patent laws and regulations in a manner that may limit a patent-holder’s ability to enforce its patents against others to the extent that the holder is not practicing the subject matter of the patent at issue. The U.S. International Trade Commission has also recently taken certain actions that have been viewed as unfavorable to patentees seeking recourse in this forum. While we cannot predict what form any new patent reform laws or regulations may ultimately take, or what impact they may have on our business, any laws or regulations that restrict our ability to enforce our patent rights against third parties could have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

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(14) If our revenue models and pricing structures relating to products and services that are under development do not gain market acceptance, the products and services may fail to attract or retain customers and we may not be able to generate new revenue or sustain existing revenue.

Some of our business involves embedding digital watermarks in traditional and digital media, including consumer product packaging and related marketing materials, secure documents, audio, video and imagery, and licensing our intellectual property. Our revenues result from a combination of development, consulting, subscription and license fees from a variety of media identification and management applications. We launched our Digimarc Discover initiative during 2011 and the Digimarc Barcode in 2014, both of which incorporates new business and pricing models for licensing access to our online services portal and value added service providers. We have not fully developed revenue models for some applications and licensing endeavors. Because some of our products and services are not yet well-established in the marketplace, and because some of these products and services will not directly displace existing solutions, we cannot be certain that the pricing structure for these products and services will gain market acceptance or be sustainable over time or that the marketing for these products and services will be effective.

(15) If we are unable to respond to regulatory or industry standards effectively, or if we are unable to develop and integrate new technologies effectively, our growth and the development of our products and services could be delayed or limited.

Our future success will depend in part on our ability to enhance and improve the responsiveness, functionality and features of our products and services, and those of our business partners, in accordance with regulatory or industry standards. Our ability to remain competitive will depend in part on our ability to influence and respond to emerging industry and governmental standards in a timely and cost-effective manner. If we are unable to influence these or other standards or respond to these standards effectively, our growth and the development of various products and services could be delayed or limited.

Our market is characterized by new and evolving technologies. The success of our business will depend on our ability to develop and integrate new technologies effectively and address the increasingly sophisticated technological needs of our customers in a timely and cost-effective manner. Our ability to remain competitive will depend in part on our ability to:

 

    enhance and improve the responsiveness, functionality and other features of the products and services we offer or plan to offer;

 

    continue to develop our technical expertise; and

 

    develop and introduce new services, applications and technologies to meet changing customer needs and preferences and to integrate new technologies.

We do not assure you that we will be successful in responding to these technological and industry challenges in a timely and cost-effective manner. If we are unable to develop or integrate new technologies effectively or respond to these changing needs, our margins could decrease, and our release of new products and services and the deployment of our technology could be adversely affected.

(16) We may need to retain additional employees or contract labor in the future in order to take advantage of new business opportunities arising from increased demand, which could increase costs and impede our ability to achieve or sustain profitability in the short term.

We have staffed our company with the intent of accelerating our product development and sales growth initiatives while also focusing on achieving and sustaining profitability. Our current staffing levels could affect our ability to respond to increased demand for our services. In addition, to meet any increased demand and take advantage of new business opportunities in the future, we may need to increase our workforce through additional employees or contract labor. Although we believe that increasing our workforce would potentially support anticipated growth and profitability, it would increase our costs. If we experience such an increase in costs, we may not succeed in achieving or sustaining profitability in the short term.

(17) The terms and conditions of our contracts could subject us to damages, losses and other expenses if we fail to meet delivery and other performance requirements.

Our service contracts typically include provisions imposing:

 

    development, delivery and installation schedules and milestones;

 

    customer acceptance and testing requirements; and

 

    other performance requirements.

 

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To the extent these provisions involve performance over extended periods of time, risks of noncompliance may increase. From time to time we have experienced delays in system implementation, timely acceptance of programs, concerns regarding program performance and other contractual disputes. If we fail to meet contractual milestones or other performance requirements as promised, or to successfully resolve customer disputes, we could incur liability for damages, as well as increased costs, lower margins, or compensatory obligations in addition to other losses, such as harm to our reputation. Any unexpected increases in costs to meet our contractual obligations or any other requirements necessary to address claims and damages with regard to our customer contracts could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results.

(18) Products deploying our technology could have unknown defects or errors, which may give rise to claims against us, divert application of our resources from other purposes or increase our project implementation and support costs.

Products and services as complex as those we offer or develop may contain undetected defects or errors. Furthermore, we often provide complex implementation, integration, customization, consulting and other technical services in connection with the implementation and ongoing maintenance of our products. Despite testing, defects or errors in our products and services may occur, which could result in delays in the development and implementation of products and systems, inability to meet customer requirements or expectations in a timely manner, loss of revenue or market share, increased implementation and support costs, failure to achieve market acceptance, diversion of development resources, injury to our reputation, increased insurance costs, increased service and warranty costs and warranty or breach of contract claims. Although we attempt to reduce the risk of losses resulting from warranty or breach of contract claims through warranty disclaimers and liability limitation clauses in our sales agreements when we can, these contractual provisions are sometimes not included and may not be enforceable in every instance. If a court refuses to enforce the liability limiting provisions of our contracts for any reason, or if liabilities arise that were not contractually limited or adequately covered by insurance, the expense associated with defending these actions or paying the resultant claims could be significant.

(19) The security systems used in our product and service offerings may be circumvented or sabotaged by third parties, which could result in the disclosure of sensitive information or private personal information or cause other business interruptions that could damage our reputation and disrupt our business.

Our business relies on computers and other information technologies, both internal and at customer locations. The protective measures that we use may not prevent security breaches, and failure to prevent security breaches may disrupt our business, damage our reputation, and expose us to litigation and liability. A party who is able to circumvent security measures could misappropriate sensitive or proprietary information or materials or cause interruptions or otherwise damage our products, services and reputation, and the property of our customers. If unintended parties obtain sensitive data and information, or create bugs or viruses or otherwise sabotage the functionality of our systems, we may receive negative publicity, incur liability to our customers or lose the confidence of our customers, any of which may cause the termination or modification of our contracts. Further, our insurance coverage may be insufficient to cover losses and liabilities that may result from these events.

In addition, we may be required to expend significant capital and other resources to protect ourselves against the threat of security breaches or to alleviate problems caused by these breaches. Any protection or remedial measures may not be available at a reasonable price or at all, or may not be entirely effective if commenced.

(20) We are periodically involved in the ordinary course of business in litigation, and an adverse resolution of such litigation may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

From time to time, in our normal course of business, we are a party to various legal claims, actions and complaints. As part of our patent licensing program, we bring claims or counterclaims of patent infringement to enforce our patent rights. Given the uncertain nature of litigation, we are not able to estimate the amount or range of gain or loss that could result from an outcome of litigation. Litigation can be expensive, lengthy, and disruptive to normal business operations. The results of complex legal proceedings are often uncertain and difficult to predict. We could incur costs in excess of any currently established accruals and, to the extent available, excess liability insurance. An unfavorable outcome in any legal proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR CAPITAL STOCK

(21) Our common stock price may be volatile, and you could lose all or part of your investment in shares of our common stock.

The price of shares of our common stock may fluctuate as a result of changes in our operating performance or prospects and other factors. Some specific factors that may have a significant effect on the price of shares of our common stock include:

 

    the public’s reaction to our public disclosures;

 

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    actual or anticipated changes in our operating results or future prospects;

 

    potential unfavorable changes from originally reported royalties by customers resulting from an audit performed by us or a third party, or self-corrected by the customer;

 

    strategic actions by us or our competitors, such as acquisitions or restructurings;

 

    impact of acquisitions on our liquidity and financial performance;

 

    new laws or regulations or new interpretations of existing laws or regulations applicable to our business;

 

    changes in accounting standards, policies, guidance, interpretations or principles applicable to us;

 

    conditions of the industry as a result of changes in financial markets or general economic or political conditions;

 

    the failure of securities analysts to cover our common stock in the future, or changes in financial estimates by analysts;

 

    changes in analyst recommendations or earnings estimates regarding us, other comparable companies or the industry generally, and our ability to meet those estimates;

 

    changes in the amount of dividends paid;

 

    future issuances of our common stock or the perception that future sales could occur; and

 

    volatility in the equity securities market.

(22) Our common stock price may increase or decrease on material news or developments.

As a thinly-traded microcap company, volatility in the equity securities market may disproportionately affect swings in our stock price, upward and downward, on positive and negative developments. We suspect that the effects of computerized trading also exacerbate fluctuations in our stock price.

(23) Our corporate governance documents, our rights agreement and Oregon law may delay or prevent an acquisition of us that shareholders may consider favorable, which could decrease the value of your shares.

Our articles of incorporation and bylaws and Oregon law contain provisions that could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us without the consent of our board of directors. These provisions include supermajority voting requirements for shareholders to amend our organizational documents and limitations on actions by our shareholders by written consent. In addition, our board of directors has the right to issue preferred stock without shareholder approval, which could be used to dilute the stock ownership of a potential hostile acquirer. In July 2008, our Board of Directors adopted a rights agreement pursuant to which one one-hundredth (1/100) of a preferred stock purchase right will be issued for each outstanding share of our common stock. In general terms, our rights agreement works by imposing a significant penalty upon any person or group that acquires 15% or more of our outstanding common stock without the approval of our Board of Directors. Oregon law also restricts the ability to vote shares of stock acquired in a transaction that causes the acquiring person to control at least one-fifth, one-third or one-half of the votes entitled to be cast in the election of directors. Shares acquired in a control share acquisition have no voting rights except as authorized by a vote of the shareholders. Although we believe these provisions protect our shareholders from coercive or otherwise unfair takeover tactics and thereby provide for an opportunity to receive a higher bid by requiring potential acquirers to negotiate with our board of directors, these provisions apply even if the offer may be considered beneficial by some shareholders.

Prior to making a decision about investing in our securities, you should carefully consider all of the information appearing or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. You should also consider the risks, uncertainties and assumptions discussed under Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, as updated by our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2014 and June 30, 2014, all of which are incorporated herein by reference, and may be amended, supplemented or superseded from time to time by other reports we file with the SEC in the future. The risks and uncertainties we have described are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also affect our operations.

USE OF PROCEEDS

We intend to use the net proceeds of this offering of common shares, after deducting the sales agent’s commissions and our offering expenses, for working capital and other general corporate purposes. Our working capital needs may include expenses associated with operations, development of our products and securing licenses from third parties (including potential litigation), and other corporate purposes.

 

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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

Upon its acceptance of written instructions from us, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its sales and trading practices to solicit offers to purchase shares of our common stock, under the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the equity distribution agreement. We will instruct Wells Fargo Securities, LLC as to the amount of common stock to be sold by Wells Fargo Securities, LLC. We may instruct Wells Fargo Securities, LLC not to sell common stock if the sales cannot be effected at or above the price designated by us in any instruction. We or Wells Fargo Securities, LLC may suspend the offering of common stock upon proper notice and subject to other conditions.

Wells Fargo Securities, LLC will provide written confirmation to us no later than the opening of the trading day on the Nasdaq Global Market following the trading day in which shares of our common stock are sold under the equity distribution agreement. Each confirmation will include the number of shares sold on the preceding day, the net proceeds to us and the compensation payable by us to Wells Fargo Securities, LLC in connection with the sales.

We will pay Wells Fargo Securities, LLC commissions for its services in acting as agent and/or principal in the sale of common stock. Wells Fargo Securities, LLC will be entitled to compensation equal to 2.50% of the gross sales price per share of common stock for shares having an aggregate offering price of up to $10,000,000, and a commission of 2.25% of the gross sales price per share of common stock thereafter, for shares sold through our sales agent under the equity distribution agreement. We estimate that the total expenses for the offering, excluding compensation payable to Wells Fargo Securities, LLC under the terms of the equity distribution agreement, will be approximately $200,000.

Settlement for sales of common stock will occur on the third business day following the date on which any sales are made, or on some other date that is agreed upon by us and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC in connection with a particular transaction, in return for payment of the net proceeds to us. There is no arrangement for funds to be received in an escrow, trust or similar arrangement.

We will report at least quarterly the number of shares of common stock sold through Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, as agent, under the equity distribution agreement, the net proceeds to us and the compensation paid by us to Wells Fargo Securities, LLC in connection with the sales of common stock.

Wells Fargo Securities, LLC and its affiliates have provided commercial banking services for us from time to time, for which they have received customary fees and expenses. In the future, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC may provide various investment banking, commercial banking, fiduciary and advisory services for us from time to time for which they may receive customary fees and expenses. Wells Fargo Securities, LLC and its affiliates may, from time to time, engage in other transactions with and perform services for us in the ordinary course of their business.

In connection with the sale of the common stock on our behalf, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC may, and will with respect to sales effected in an “at the market offering,” be deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, and the compensation of Wells Fargo Securities, LLC may be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts. We have agreed to indemnify Wells Fargo Securities, LLC against specified liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments that Wells Fargo Securities, LLC may be required to make because of those liabilities.

The offering of shares of our common stock pursuant to the equity distribution agreement will terminate upon the earlier of (1) the sale of all common stock subject to the agreement or (2) termination of the equity distribution agreement. The equity distribution agreement may be terminated by Wells Fargo Securities, LLC or us at any time upon 3 days’ notice, and by Wells Fargo Securities, LLC at any time in certain circumstances, including our failure to maintain a listing of our common shares on the Nasdaq Global Market or the occurrence of a material adverse change in our company.

LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the issuance of the securities offered hereby will be passed upon for us by Perkins Coie LLP, Portland, Oregon. Certain legal matters will be passed upon for the sales agent by Shearman & Sterling LLP, Palo Alto, California.

 

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EXPERTS

The consolidated financial statements of Digimarc Corporation as of December 31, 2013 and 2012, and for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2013, and management’s assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2013 have been incorporated by reference herein, and in the registration statement, in reliance upon the reports of KPMG LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, incorporated by reference herein, and upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We have filed with the SEC a registration statement to register the securities offered by this prospectus supplement under the Securities Act. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are part of that registration statement, but omit some information contained in the registration statement, as permitted by SEC rules. For further information with respect to Digimarc and this offering, reference is made to the registration statement and the exhibits and any schedules filed with the registration statement. Statements contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus as to the contents of any document referred to are not necessarily complete and in each instance, if the document is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement, reference is made to the copy of the document filed as an exhibit to the registration statement, each statement being qualified in all respects by that reference. You may obtain copies of the registration statement, including exhibits, as noted in the paragraph below or by writing or telephoning us at:

Digimarc Corporation

9405 SW Gemini Drive

Beaverton, Oregon 97008

(503) 469-4800

We file annual, quarterly and other reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC, including us. The address of that site is http://www.sec.gov. You may also read and copy any material we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. You may also inspect reports, proxy statements and other information about us at the offices of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Reports Section, 1735 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006. Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K, including any amendments to those reports, and other information that we file with or furnish to the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act may also be accessed free of charge by linking directly from the “Investors” page of our website at www.digimarc.com/investors. These filings will be available as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file this material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. Information contained on our website is not part of this prospectus.

INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE

We incorporate information into this prospectus supplement by reference, which means that we disclose important information to you by referring you to another document filed separately with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is deemed to be part of this prospectus supplement, except for any such information superseded by information contained in later-filed documents or directly in this prospectus supplement. This prospectus supplement incorporates by reference the documents set forth below that we have previously filed with the SEC (excluding those portions of any Form 8-K that are not deemed “filed” pursuant to the General Instructions of Form 8-K). These documents contain important information about us and our financial condition.

 

    Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 1, 2014;

 

    Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2014, filed with the SEC on July 25, 2014;

 

    Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2014, filed with the SEC on April 25, 2014;

 

    The portions of our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A filed on March 21, 2014 that are deemed “filed” with the SEC under the Exchange Act;

 

    The Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, filed with the SEC on February 21, 2014;

 

    Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed with the SEC on October 16, 2008; and

 

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    Registration Statement on Form 10 filed with the SEC on June 23, 2008, and Amendment No. 1 thereto, filed with the SEC on July 22, 2008; Amendment No. 2 thereto, filed with the SEC on August 13, 2008; Amendment No. 3 thereto, filed with the SEC on September 9, 2008; Amendment No. 4 thereto, filed with the SEC on October 2, 2008; Amendment No. 5 thereto, filed with the SEC on October 7, 2008; and Amendment No. 6 thereto, filed with the SEC on October 14, 2008.

All reports and other documents we subsequently file pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act prior to the termination of this offering, but excluding any information furnished to, rather than filed with, the SEC, will also be incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and deemed to be part of this prospectus supplement from the date of the filing of the reports and documents.

We will provide at no cost to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom this prospectus is delivered, upon written or oral request, a copy of any or all documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus, but not delivered with the prospectus, other than exhibits to the documents unless the exhibits are specifically incorporated by reference into the documents that this prospectus incorporates. You should direct written requests to: Digimarc Corporation, 9405 SW Gemini Drive, Beaverton, Oregon, 97008; Attention: Charles Beck, Chief Financial Officer, or you may call us at (503) 469-4800.

The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus supplement. You should rely only upon the information provided in this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus and the information incorporated into this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus by reference. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus supplement or accompanying prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front covers of these documents.

 

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PROSPECTUS

DIGIMARC CORPORATION

$100,000,000

Common Stock, Preferred Stock, Warrants, Debt Securities

 

 

This prospectus provides a general description of the securities we may offer from time to time and the general manner in which they may be offered. The specific terms of any securities to be offered, and any other information relating to a specific offering including the specific manner in which the securities may be offered, will be set forth in one or more supplements to this prospectus. You should read this prospectus and the related prospectus supplement carefully before you invest in our securities. No person may use this prospectus to offer and sell our securities unless a prospectus supplement accompanies this prospectus.

Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “DMRC.” The last reported sale price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market on May 15, 2014 was $33.81 per share. We will provide information in any applicable prospectus supplement regarding any listing of securities other than shares of our common stock on any securities exchange.

We may offer and sell securities directly to investors, through agents designated from time to time or to or through underwriters or dealers. For additional information on the methods of sale, you should refer to the section entitled “Plan of Distribution” in this prospectus. If any underwriters are involved in the sale of any securities with respect to which this prospectus is being delivered, the names of the underwriters and any applicable commissions or discounts will be set forth in a prospectus supplement. The price to the public of the securities and the net proceeds we expect to receive from the sale will also be set forth in a prospectus supplement.

 

 

Investing in our securities involves risks.

See “Risk Factors” on page 3.

 

 

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities, or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

 

The date of this prospectus is June 2, 2014.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

     Page  

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

  

THE COMPANY

     1   

RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES

     3   

RISK FACTORS

     3   

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

     4   

USE OF PROCEEDS

     5   

DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

     5   

DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS

     7   

DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES

     8   

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

     11   

LEGAL MATTERS

     12   

EXPERTS

     12   

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

     12   

INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE

     13   

 

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) using a “shelf” registration process. Using this process, we may from time to time offer and sell the securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we use this prospectus to offer securities, we will file a supplement to this prospectus with the SEC that will describe the specific terms of the offering and the manner in which the securities will be offered, including the specific amounts, prices and terms of the securities offered. The prospectus supplement may also add to, update or change the information contained in this prospectus and, accordingly, to the extent inconsistent, information in this prospectus will be superseded by the information in the prospectus supplement. Before you invest, you should carefully read this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement and the information contained in the documents we refer to under the headings “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference.”

You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with additional or different information. The prospectus may be used only for the purposes for which it has been published. If you receive any other information, you should not rely on it. You should assume that the information contained in this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement is accurate only as of the date on the front cover of the applicable document. Our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects may have changed since that date. You should not rely on or assume the accuracy of any representation or warranty in any agreement that we have filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part or that we may otherwise publicly file in the future because any such representation or warranty may be subject to exceptions and qualifications contained in separate disclosure schedules, may represent the parties’ risk allocation in the particular transaction, may be qualified by materiality standards that differ from what may be viewed as material for securities law purposes or may no longer continue to be true as of any given date. No offer of these securities is being made in any jurisdiction where such offer or sale is prohibited.


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THE COMPANY

Digimarc Corporation (“Digimarc,” “we”, “our,” and “us”) enables governments and enterprises around the world to give digital identities to media and objects that computers can sense and recognize and to which they can react. Our technology provides the means to infuse persistent digital information, “Digimarc IDs,” perceptible only to computers and digital devices, into all forms of media content. The unique digital identifier placed in media generally persists with it regardless of the distribution path and whether it is copied, manipulated or converted to a different format, and does not affect the quality of the content or the enjoyment or other traditional uses of it. Our technology permits computers and digital devices to quickly identify relevant data from vast amounts of media content.

Our technologies, and those of our licensees, span numerous applications across a wide range of media content, enabling our customers and those of our partners to:

 

    improve the speed of retail checkout;

 

    provide simple and intuitive customer engagement experiences at home, in stores and on-the-go;

 

    apply geo-location technology to push relevant information to customers based on their respective locations;

 

    quickly and reliably identify and effectively manage music, movies, television programming, digital images, e-books, documents and other printed materials, especially in light of non-linear distribution over the internet;

 

    deter counterfeiting of money, media and goods, and piracy of e-books, movies and music;

 

    support new digital media distribution models and methods to monetize media content;

 

    leverage the power of ubiquitous computing to instantly link consumers to a wealth of information and/or interactive experiences related to the media and objects they encounter each day;

 

    provide consumers with more choice and access to media content when, where and how they want it;

 

    enhance imagery and video by associating metadata or authenticating media content for government and commercial uses; and

 

    better secure identity documents to enhance national security and combat identity theft and fraud.

At the core of our intellectual property is a signal processing innovation known as “digital watermarking,” which allows imperceptible digital information to be embedded in all forms of digitally designed, produced or distributed media content and some physical objects, including photographs, movies, music, television, personal identification documents, financial instruments, industrial parts and product packages. The digital information can be detected and read by a wide range of computers, mobile phones and other digital devices.

Our technology allows our customers to provide persistent digital identities for any media content that is digitally processed at some point during its lifecycle. The technology can be applied to printed materials, video, audio and images. The inclusion of these digital signals enables a wide range of improvements in security and media management, and new business models for distribution and consumption of media content. Over the years our technology and intellectual property portfolios have grown to encompass many related technologies.

We provide solutions directly and through our licensees. Our proprietary technology has proven to be a powerful element of document security, giving rise to our long-term relationship with a consortium of central banks, which we refer to as the Central Banks, and many leading companies in the information technology industry. We and our licensees have successfully propagated digital watermarking in music, movies, television broadcasts, images and printed materials. Digimarc IDs have been used in these applications to improve media rights and asset management, reduce piracy and counterfeiting losses, improve marketing programs, permit more efficient and effective distribution of valuable media content and enhance consumer entertainment and commercial experiences.

Digimarc IDs are easily embedded into all forms of media and are imperceptible to human senses, but quickly detected by computers, networks or other digital devices like smartphones. Unlike traditional barcodes and tags, our solution does not require

 

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publishers to give up valuable space in magazines and newspapers; nor does it impact the overall layout or aesthetics of the publication. Our Digimarc Discover™ platform delivers a range of rich media experiences to its readers on their smartphones across multiple media including print, audio, video and packaging. Unique to the Digimarc Discover platform is its ability to use various content identification technologies as needed, including our patented technology.

As part of the Digimarc Discover platform, we recently introduced Digimarc Barcodes, which contain the same type of information found in traditional product UPC codes, but are invisibly repeated multiple times over the entire packaging. We have partnered with Datalogic, a global leader in Automatic Data Capture and Industrial Automation markets and producer of barcode readers, who has enabled its new MagellanTM 9800i multi-plane imaging scanner to detect and process Digimarc Barcodes. Digimarc Barcodes can also connect mobile-enabled consumers directly from packaging to engaging mobile experiences such as additional product information, special offers, recommendations, reviews, social networks and more.

Our patent portfolio contains a number of innovations in digital watermarking, pattern recognition (sometimes referred to as “fingerprinting”), digital rights management and related fields. To protect our significant efforts in creating our technology, we have implemented an extensive intellectual property protection program that relies on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws, and nondisclosure agreements and other contracts. As a result, we believe we have one of the world’s most extensive patent portfolios in digital watermarking and related fields, with more than 1,250 U.S. and foreign patents and pending patent applications as of March 31, 2014. We continue to develop and broaden our portfolio of patented technology in the fields of media identification and management technology and related applications and systems. We devote significant resources to developing and protecting our inventions and continuously seek to identify and evaluate potential licensees for our patents. The patents in our portfolio have a life of approximately 20 years from invention date, and up to 17 years after the patent has been granted.

As part of our intellectual property marketing and patent monetization efforts, our key objectives in building relationships with potential customers and partners are to:

 

    make progress toward the realization of our vision to enrich everyday living via pervasive, intuitive computing;

 

    expand the scope of our license program;

 

    more effectively monetize our patent assets;

 

    encourage large scale adoption of our technologies by industry leaders;

 

    improve our financial performance;

 

    increase the scale and rate of growth of our products and services business; and

 

    lay a foundation for continuing innovation.

Digimarc Corporation was incorporated in Delaware in 2008 and became an Oregon corporation in 2010. Our principal offices are located at 9405 SW Gemini Drive, Beaverton, Oregon 97008; our telephone number is (503) 469-4800. Our website address is www.digimarc.com. Information on our website or available by hyperlink from our website does not constitute part of this prospectus.

 

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RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES

The following table sets forth our ratio of earnings to fixed charges on a historical basis for each of the periods indicated. You should read these ratios in connection with our consolidated financial statements, including the notes to those statements, incorporated by reference into this prospectus.

The following table sets forth our ratio of earnings to fixed charges on a historical basis for each of the periods indicated. You should read these ratios in connection with our consolidated financial statements, including the notes to those statements, incorporated by reference in this prospectus (dollars in thousands).

 

     Three Months Ended
March 31,
     Years Ended
December 31,
 
     2014      2013      2013      2012      2011      2010      2009  

Ratio of earnings to fixed charges (1)

     —           140         —           380         154         153         —     

Deficit in earnings to cover fixed charges (2)

   $ 3,282         —         $ 2,257         —           —           —         $ 2,005   

 

(1) Ratio of earnings to fixed charges is calculated by dividing earnings, as defined, by fixed charges, as defined. For purposes of this calculation, the term “fixed charges” means the sum of the following: (a) interest expense and interest capitalized, (b) amortized premiums, discounts and capitalized expenses related to indebtedness, (c) an estimate of the interest within rental expense, and (d) preference security dividend requirements of consolidated subsidiaries. The term “earnings” is the amount resulting from adding (a) pre-tax income (loss) from continuing operations; (b) fixed charges; and (c) amortization of capitalized interest; and then subtracting the following from that total: (x) interest capitalized; (y) preference security dividend requirements of consolidated subsidiaries; and (z) the noncontrolling interest in pre-tax income of subsidiaries that have not incurred fixed charges.
(2) Our earnings were insufficient to cover fixed charges for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2009.

RISK FACTORS

An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. The prospectus supplement applicable to each offering of our securities will contain a discussion of the risks applicable to an investment in our securities. Prior to making a decision about investing in our securities, you should carefully consider the specific factors discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the applicable prospectus supplement, together with all of the other information contained or incorporated by reference in the prospectus supplement or appearing or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. You should also consider the risks, uncertainties and assumptions discussed under Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, as updated by our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2014, all of which are incorporated herein by reference, and may be amended, supplemented or superseded from time to time by other reports we file with the SEC in the future and any prospectus supplement related to a particular offering. The risks and uncertainties we have described are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also affect our operations.

 

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus and documents incorporated herein by reference include “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”). Words such as “may,” “plan,” “should,” “could,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “project,” “forecast,” “estimate,” “continue,” variations of such terms or similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements, or other statements made by us, are made based on our expectations and beliefs concerning future events affecting us, and are subject to uncertainties and factors (including those specified below) that are difficult to predict and, in many instances, are beyond our control. As a result, our actual results could differ materially from those expressed in or implied by any forward-looking statements, and investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to:

 

    concentration of revenue with few customers comprising a large majority of the revenue;

 

    revenue trends and expectations;

 

    our future level of investment in our business, including investment in research, development and engineering of products and technology, development of our intellectual property, sales growth initiatives and development of new market opportunities;

 

    our ability to improve margins;

 

    anticipated expenses, costs, margins, provision for income taxes and investment activities in the foreseeable future;

 

    anticipated revenue to be generated from current contracts and as a result of new programs;

 

    variability of contracted arrangements;

 

    our profitability in future periods;

 

    business opportunities that could require that we seek additional financing;

 

    the size and growth of our markets;

 

    the existence of international growth opportunities and our future investment in such opportunities;

 

    the sources of our future revenue;

 

    our expected short-term and long-term liquidity positions;

 

    our capital expenditure and working capital requirements and our ability to fund our capital expenditure and working capital needs through cash flow from operations;

 

    capital market conditions, including the recent economic crisis, interest rate volatility and other limitations on the availability of capital, which could have an impact on our cost of capital and our ability to access the capital markets;

 

    our use of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities in upcoming quarters;

 

    anticipated levels of backlog in future periods;

 

    the success of our arrangements with Intellectual Ventures;

 

    the success of our acquisition of Attributor Corporation;

 

    protection, development and monetization of our intellectual property portfolio; and

 

    other risks detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risk factors set forth in Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013 (our “2013 Annual Report”).

 

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We believe that the risk factors specified above and the risk factors identified in Part I, Item 1A of our 2013 Annual Report, among others, could affect our future performance and the liquidity and value of our securities and cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf. Investors should understand that it is not possible to predict or identify all risk factors and that there may be other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements made by us or by persons acting on our behalf apply only as of the date of this prospectus. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future events, information or circumstances that arise after the date of the filing of this prospectus.

USE OF PROCEEDS

Unless otherwise set forth in a prospectus supplement, we intend to use the net proceeds of any offering of securities for working capital and other general corporate purposes, which may include the financing of capital expenditures, future acquisitions or share repurchases. We will have significant discretion in the use of any net proceeds. The net proceeds may be invested temporarily in interest-bearing accounts and short-term interest-bearing securities until they are used for their stated purpose. We may provide additional information on the use of the net proceeds from the sale of the offered securities in an applicable prospectus supplement relating to the offered securities.

DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

The following description of our capital stock is a summary and is qualified in its entirety by the provisions of our articles of incorporation, bylaws and applicable law. Copies of our articles of incorporation and bylaws have been filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. See “Where You Can Find More Information.”

Our authorized capital stock consists of 50,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.001 par value per share; 10,000 shares of Series A Redeemable Nonvoting Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 per share (“Series A Preferred Stock”); 500,000 shares of Series R Participating Cumulative Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 per share (“Series R Preferred Stock”); and 1,990,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share.

Common Stock

As of March 31, 2014, there were 7,522,082 shares of our common stock outstanding. Shares of our common stock are currently registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), and are listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “DMRC.”

Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders, including the election of directors. Subject to preferences that may be granted to any then outstanding preferred stock, holders of common stock are entitled to receive ratably those dividends as may be declared by our board of directors out of funds legally available for such purpose, as well as any distributions to our shareholders. In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of common stock are entitled to share ratably in all of our assets remaining after payment of liabilities and the liquidation preference of any then outstanding preferred stock. Holders of common stock have no preemptive or other subscription or conversion rights. There are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock. All outstanding shares of common stock are fully paid and non-assessable.

Preferred Stock

As of March 31, 2014, there were 10,000 shares of our Series A Preferred Stock issued and outstanding, and no shares of our Series R Preferred Stock issued or outstanding. Our board of directors is authorized, without further action by our shareholders, to designate and issue up to an additional 1,990,000 shares of our preferred stock in one or more series. Our board of directors may determine the designation, relative rights, preferences and limitations of the shares of each series of preferred stock, among other features, and may modify the rights of holders of our Series A Preferred Stock. However, the rights of the holders of our Series R Preferred Stock may only be modified by the affirmative vote of the holders of two-thirds of the outstanding shares of that series, voting as a separate class.

 

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Dividend Rights

Holders of shares of our Series A Preferred Stock are not entitled to the payment of a dividend. Holders of our Series R Preferred Stock are entitled to the payment of a dividend both quarterly and whenever our board of directors declares a dividend or distribution on our common stock (unless the dividend or distribution is solely in shares of our common stock) in an amount equal to the greater of (i) $0.001 and (ii) 100 times the amount of cash divided then paid on each share of common stock (which is subject to adjustment under a formula set forth in our articles of incorporation).

Redemption

We may redeem shares of our Series A Preferred Stock by paying holders of shares of our Series A Preferred Stock an amount equal to $5.00 per share. We may not redeem shares of our Series R Preferred Stock, but we are permitted to acquire shares of our Series R Preferred Stock in the open market. Moreover, if any dividends or distributions payable on our Series R Preferred Stock are in arrears, we may not redeem, purchase or acquire for consideration (i) shares of our capital stock ranking junior to our Series R Preferred Stock, or (ii) shares of our Series R Preferred Stock (or shares of a class ranking on a parity with our Series R Preferred Stock), unless we acquire the shares by a public offer to purchase the shares of Series R Preferred Stock and shares on parity with these shares.

Voting Rights

Holders of our Series A Preferred Stock do not have voting rights. Holders of our Series R Preferred Stock vote together with holders of our common stock, and are entitled to a number of votes per share that is equal to 100 times the maximum number of votes to which any holder of shares of our common stock is entitled.

Liquidation Rights

If we undergo a voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution, distribution of assets or other winding up, holders of our Series A Preferred Stock will be entitled to payment of an amount equal to $5.00 per share of Series A Preferred Stock, subject to the rights of holders of series of stock ranking senior to the Series A Preferred Stock. Under the same circumstances, holders of our Series R Preferred Stock are entitled to payment of an amount equal to the greater of (i) $0.001 per share and (ii) the amount of any accrued but unpaid dividends and distributions plus the amount equal to 100 times the aggregate amount per share to be distributed to holders of our common stock. The rights of holders of our Series R Preferred Stock to receive this payment rank junior to the rights of holders of other shares of our preferred stock.

Oregon Control Share Act and Oregon Business Combination Act

We are subject to provisions of Oregon law that may restrict the ability of our significant shareholders to exercise voting rights. The Oregon Control Share Act generally applies to a person who acquires voting stock of an Oregon corporation in a transaction that results in that person holding more than one-fifth, one-third or one-half of the total voting power of the voting shares of the corporation. If such a transaction occurs, the person cannot vote the shares acquired in the acquisition unless voting rights are restored to those shares by a vote of:

 

    the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting shares of each voting group entitled to vote; and

 

    the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting shares, excluding the acquired shares and shares held by the corporation’s officers and inside directors.

The restricted shareholder may, but is not required to, submit to the corporation a statement setting forth information about itself and its plans with respect to the corporation. The statement may request that the corporation call a special meeting of shareholders to determine whether voting rights will be granted to the shares acquired. If a special meeting of shareholders is not requested, the issue of voting rights of the acquired shares will be considered at the next annual or special meeting of shareholders that is held more than 60 days after the date the shares are acquired.

We are also subject to provisions of Oregon law that govern business combinations between corporations and interested shareholders. The Oregon Business Combination Act generally prohibits a corporation from entering into a business combination transaction with a person, or an affiliate of that person, for a period of three years following the date the person acquires 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation. For the purposes of this law, the prohibition generally applies to the following business combination transactions:

 

    a merger or plan of share exchange,

 

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    any sale, lease, mortgage or other disposition of 10% or more of the assets of the corporation, and

 

    transactions that result in the issuance or transfer of capital stock of the corporation to the 15% shareholder.

However, the general prohibition does not apply if:

 

    the 15% shareholder, as a result of the transaction in which the person became a 15% shareholder, owns at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced (excluding shares owned by directors who are also officers, and certain employee benefit plans),

 

    the board of directors approves either (i) the business combination or (ii) the transaction that resulted in the person becoming an interested shareholder before the transaction by which the shareholder acquires 15% or more of the corporation’s outstanding voting stock occurs, or

 

    the board of directors and the holders of at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation, excluding shares owned by the 15% shareholder, approve the transaction on or after the date the shareholder acquires 15% or more of the corporation’s voting stock.

DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS

We may issue warrants for the purchase of debt securities, preferred stock, or common stock. Each series of warrants will be issued under a separate warrant agreement to be entered into between us and a bank or trust company, as warrant agent. The warrant agent will act solely as our agent in connection with the warrants and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust for or with any registered holders of warrants or beneficial owners of warrants.

We will distribute a prospectus supplement with regard to each issue of warrants. Each prospectus supplement will describe:

 

    in the case of warrants to purchase debt securities, the designation, aggregate principal amount, currencies, denominations and terms of the series of debt securities purchasable upon exercise of the warrants and the price at which you may purchase the debt securities upon exercise;

 

    in the case of warrants to purchase preferred stock, the designation, number of shares, stated value and terms, such as liquidation, dividend, conversion and voting rights, of the series of preferred stock purchasable upon exercise of the warrants and the price at which you may purchase that number of shares of preferred stock of the series upon exercise;

 

    in the case of warrants to purchase common stock, the number of shares of common stock purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants and the price at which you may purchase that number of shares of common stock upon exercise;

 

    the period during which you may exercise the warrants;

 

    any provision adjusting the securities that may be purchased on exercise of the warrants, and the exercise price of the warrants, to prevent dilution or otherwise;

 

    the amount of warrants or rights outstanding;

 

    the place or places where warrants can be presented for exercise or for registration of transfer or exchange; and

 

    any other material terms of the warrants.

Warrants for the purchase of preferred stock and common stock will be offered and exercisable for U.S. dollars only. Warrants will be issued in registered form only. The exercise price for warrants will be subject to adjustment as described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

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Prior to the exercise of any warrants to purchase debt securities, preferred stock or common stock, holders of the warrants will not have any of the rights of holders of the debt securities, preferred stock or common stock purchasable upon exercise, including:

 

    in the case of warrants for the purchase of debt securities, the right to receive payments of principal of, any premium or interest on the debt securities purchasable upon exercise or to enforce covenants in the applicable indenture; or

 

    in the case of warrants for the purchase of preferred stock or common stock, the right to vote or to receive any payments of dividends or preferences on the preferred stock or common stock purchasable upon exercise.

DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES

As used in this prospectus, debt securities means the debentures, notes, bonds and other evidences of indebtedness that we may issue from time to time. The debt securities will either be senior debt securities or subordinated debt securities. We may also issue convertible debt securities. Senior debt securities will be issued under a “Senior Indenture” and subordinated debt securities will be issued under a “Subordinated Indenture,” each entered into between us and a trustee to be named in the Indenture. This prospectus sometimes refers to the Senior Indenture and the Subordinated Indenture collectively as the “Indentures.”

The Indentures or forms of Indentures will be filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. The statements and descriptions in this prospectus or in any prospectus supplement regarding provisions of the Indentures and debt securities are summaries thereof, do not purport to be complete and are subject to, and are qualified in their entirety by reference to, all of the provisions of the Indentures (and any amendments or supplements we may enter into from time to time that are permitted under each Indenture) and the debt securities, including the definitions in the applicable Indenture of various terms.

Unless otherwise specified in a prospectus supplement, the debt securities will be direct unsecured obligations of Digimarc. The senior debt securities will rank equally with any of our other unsecured senior and unsubordinated debt. The subordinated debt securities will be subordinate and junior in right of payment to any senior indebtedness.

The Indentures do not limit the aggregate principal amount of debt securities that we may issue and provide that we may issue debt securities from time to time in one or more series, in each case with the same or various maturities, at par or at a discount. Unless indicated in a prospectus supplement, we may issue additional debt securities of a particular series without the consent of the holders of the debt securities of the series outstanding at the time of the issuance. Any of the additional debt securities, together with all other outstanding debt securities of that series, will constitute a single series of debt securities under the applicable Indenture and will be equal in ranking.

The senior indebtedness issued pursuant to the Senior Indenture will effectively be subordinate to any of our secured indebtedness. In the event of a bankruptcy or other liquidation event involving a distribution of assets to satisfy our outstanding indebtedness, or an event of default under a loan agreement relating to secured indebtedness, the holders of our secured indebtedness would be entitled to receive payment of principal and interest prior to payments on the senior indebtedness issued under the Senior Indenture.

Additionally, the senior indebtedness issued pursuant to the Senior Indenture will effectively be subordinate to any indebtedness of any subsidiaries. In the event of a bankruptcy, receivership, state-ordered rehabilitation, liquidation or similar event involving a subsidiary, the assets of that subsidiary would be used to satisfy claims of creditors of the subsidiary rather than our creditors. As a result of the application of the subsidiary’s assets to satisfy claims of creditors, the value of the stock of the subsidiary would be diminished and perhaps rendered worthless. Any diminution in the value of the shares of any subsidiaries would adversely affect our financial condition and possibly impair our ability to meet our obligations on the debt securities. In addition, any liquidation of the assets of any subsidiaries to satisfy claims of the subsidiary’s creditors might make it impossible for the subsidiary to pay dividends to us. This inability to pay dividends would further impair our ability to satisfy our obligations under the debt securities.

Prospectus Supplement

Each prospectus supplement will describe the terms relating to the specific series of debt securities being offered. These terms will include some or all of the following:

 

    the title of debt securities and whether they are subordinated debt securities or senior debt securities;

 

    any limit on the aggregate principal amount of the series;

 

    the percentage of the principal amount at which the debt securities of any series will be issued;

 

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    the ability to issue additional debt securities of the same series;

 

    the purchase price for the debt securities and the denominations of the debt securities;

 

    the specific designation of the series of debt securities being offered;

 

    the maturity date or dates of the debt securities and the date or dates upon which the debt securities are payable and the rate or rates at which the debt securities of the series shall bear interest, if any, which may be fixed or variable, or the method by which the rate shall be determined;

 

    the basis for calculating interest if other than 360-day years or twelve 30-day months;

 

    the date or dates from which any interest will accrue or the method by which the date or dates will be determined;

 

    the duration of any deferral period, including the maximum consecutive period during which interest payment periods may be extended;

 

    whether the amount of payments of principal of (and premium, if any) or interest on the debt securities may be determined with reference to any index, formula or other method, such as one or more currencies, commodities, equity indices or other indices, and the manner of determining the amount of the payments;

 

    the dates on which we will pay interest on the debt securities and the regular record date for determining who is entitled to the interest payable on any interest payment date;

 

    the place or places where the principal of (and premium, if any) and interest on the debt securities will be payable, where any securities may be surrendered for registration of transfer, exchange or conversion, as applicable, and notices and demands may be delivered to or upon us pursuant to the applicable Indenture;

 

    the rate or rates of amortization of the debt securities;

 

    if we possess the option to do so, the periods within which and the prices at which we may redeem the debt securities, in whole or in part, pursuant to optional redemption provisions, and the other terms and conditions of these provisions;

 

    our obligation or discretion, if any, to redeem, repay or purchase debt securities by making periodic payments to a sinking fund or through an analogous provision or at the option of holders of the debt securities, and the period or periods within which and the price or prices at which we will redeem, repay or purchase the debt securities, in whole or in part, pursuant to the obligation, and the other terms and conditions of the obligation;

 

    the terms and conditions, if any, regarding the mandatory conversion or exchange of debt securities;

 

    the period or periods within which, the price or prices at which and the terms and conditions upon which any debt securities of the series may be redeemed, in whole or in part at our option and, if other than by a board resolution, the manner in which any election by us to redeem the debt securities shall be evidenced;

 

    any restriction or condition on the transferability of the debt securities of a particular series;

 

    the portion, or methods of determining the portion, of the principal amount of the debt securities that we must pay upon the acceleration of the maturity of the debt securities in connection with an Event of Default, if other than the full principal amount;

 

    the currency or currencies in which the debt securities will be denominated and in which principal, any premium and any interest will or may be payable, or a description of any units based on or relating to a currency or currencies in which the debt securities will be denominated;

 

    provisions, if any, granting special rights to holders of the debt securities upon the occurrence of specified events;

 

    any deletions from, modifications of or additions to the events of default or our covenants with respect to the applicable series of debt securities, and whether or not the events of default or covenants are consistent with those contained in the applicable Indenture;

 

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    any limitation on our ability to incur debt, redeem stock, sell our assets, or other restrictions;

 

    the application, if any, of the terms of the applicable Indenture relating to defeasance and covenant defeasance (which terms are described below) to the debt securities;

 

    whether the subordination provisions summarized below or different subordination provisions will apply to the debt securities;

 

    the terms, if any, upon which the holders may convert or exchange the debt securities into or for our common stock, preferred stock or other securities or property;

 

    whether the debt securities will be issued in registered form, in bearer form or in both registered and bearer form. In general, ownership of registered debt securities is evidenced by the records of the issuing entity. Accordingly, a holder of registered debt securities may transfer the debt securities only on the records of the issuer. By contrast, ownership of bearer debt securities generally is evidenced by physical possession of the securities. Accordingly, the holder of a bearer debt security can transfer ownership merely by transferring possession of the security;

 

    any changes necessary to issue the debt securities of any particular series in bearer form, registrable or not registrable as to principal, and with or without interest coupons;

 

    any restrictions or special procedures applicable to (i) the place of payment of the principal, any premium and any interest on bearer debt securities, (ii) the exchange of bearer debt securities for registered debt securities or (iii) the sale and delivery of bearer debt securities. A holder of debt securities will not be able to exchange registered debt securities into bearer debt securities except in limited circumstances;

 

    whether we are issuing the debt securities in whole or in part in global form;

 

    any change in the right of the trustee or the requisite holders of debt securities to declare the principal amount of the debt securities due and payable because of an event of default;

 

    the depositary for global or certificated debt securities;

 

    any federal income tax consequences applicable to the debt securities, including any debt securities denominated and made payable, as described in the prospectus supplements, in foreign currencies, or units based on or related to foreign currencies;

 

    any right we may have to satisfy, discharge and defease our obligations under the debt securities, or terminate or eliminate restrictive covenants or events of default in the Indentures, by depositing money or U.S. government obligations with the trustee of the Indentures;

 

    the names of any trustees, depositaries, authenticating or paying agents, transfer agents or registrars or other agents with respect to the debt securities;

 

    any other specific terms of the debt securities, including any modifications to the events of default under the debt securities and any other terms which may be required by or advisable under applicable laws or regulations;

 

    to whom any interest on any debt security shall be payable, if other than the person in whose name the security is registered, on the record date for the payment of interest, and the extent to which, or the manner in which, any interest payable on a temporary global debt security will be paid if other than in the manner provided in the applicable Indenture;

 

    if the principal of or any premium or interest on any debt securities of the series is to be payable in one or more currencies or currency units other than as stated, the currency, currencies or currency units in which it shall be paid and the periods within and terms and conditions upon which an election is to be made and the amounts payable (or the manner in which the amount shall be determined);

 

    the portion of the principal amount of any debt securities of the series which shall be payable upon declaration of acceleration of the maturity of the debt securities pursuant to the applicable Indenture, if other than the entire principal amount; and

 

    if the principal amount payable at the stated maturity of any debt security of the series will not be determinable as of any one or more dates prior to the stated maturity, the amount which shall be deemed to be the principal amount of the debt securities as of any such date for any purpose, including the principal amount of the debt securities, which shall be due and payable upon any maturity other than the stated maturity or which shall be deemed to be outstanding as of any date prior to the stated maturity (or, in any case, the manner in which the amount deemed to be the principal amount shall be determined).

 

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Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities will not be listed on any securities exchange.

Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, debt securities will be issued in fully-registered form without coupons.

Holders of the debt securities may present their securities for exchange and may present registered debt securities for transfer in the manner described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Except as limited by the applicable Indenture, we will provide these services without charge, other than any tax or other governmental charge payable in connection with the exchange or transfer.

Debt securities may bear interest at a fixed rate or a variable rate as specified in the prospectus supplement. In addition, if specified in the prospectus supplement, we may sell debt securities bearing no interest or interest at a rate that at the time of issuance is below the prevailing market rate, or at a discount below their stated principal amount. We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement any special federal income tax considerations applicable to these discounted debt securities.

We may issue debt securities with the principal amount payable on any principal payment date, or the amount of interest payable on any interest payment date, to be determined by referring to one or more currency exchange rates, commodity prices, equity indices or other factors. Holders of these debt securities may receive a principal amount on any principal payment date, or interest payments on any interest payment date, that are greater or less than the amount of principal or interest otherwise payable on those dates, depending upon the value on those dates of applicable currency, commodity, equity index or other factors. The applicable prospectus supplement will contain information as to how we will determine the amount of principal or interest payable on any date, as well as the currencies, commodities, equity indices or other factors to which the amount payable on that date relates and various additional tax considerations.

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

We may distribute the securities from time to time in one or more transactions at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed, or at prices determined as the prospectus supplement specifies. We may sell securities to one or more underwriters for public offering and sale by them or may sell securities to investors directly or through agents. We will name any underwriter or agent involved in the offer and sale of securities in the prospectus supplement.

Underwriters may offer and sell the securities at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed. Underwriters may also offer and sell securities at market prices, at prices related to market prices or at negotiated prices. We also may authorize underwriters acting as our agents to offer and sell the securities upon the terms and conditions set forth in any prospectus supplement. In connection with the sale of securities, we may be deemed to have paid compensation to the underwriters in the form of underwriting discounts or commissions. Underwriters may also receive commissions from purchasers of securities for whom they may act as agent. Underwriters may sell securities to or through dealers, and such dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the underwriters and/or commissions (which may be changed from time to time) from the purchasers for whom they may act as agent.

The accompanying prospectus supplement will set forth the terms of the offering and the method of distribution and will identify any firms acting as underwriters, dealers or agents in connection with the offering, including:

 

    the name or names of any underwriters;

 

    the purchase price of the securities and the proceeds to us from the sale;

 

    any underwriting discounts and other items constituting underwriter compensation;

 

    any public offering price;

 

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    any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers; and

 

    any securities exchange on which the securities offered in the prospectus supplement may be listed.

Under the Securities Act, underwriters, dealers and agents participating in the distribution of the securities may be deemed to be underwriters, and any discounts and commissions they receive and any profit they realize on resale of the securities may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions. We may enter into agreements with underwriters, dealers and agents providing them indemnification against and contribution toward specified civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and reimbursement for various expenses.

We will indicate the extent to which we anticipate that a secondary market for the securities will be available in the prospectus supplement. Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market. Except as indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, securities other than common stock are not expected to be listed on any securities exchange.

This prospectus may be amended or supplemented from time to time, if required, to describe a specific plan of distribution.

LEGAL MATTERS

Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, the validity of the issuance of the securities offered hereby will be passed upon for us by Perkins Coie LLP, Portland, Oregon. Any underwriters will be represented by their own legal counsel, which will be named in the applicable prospectus supplement.

EXPERTS

The consolidated financial statements of Digimarc Corporation as of December 31, 2013 and 2012, and for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2013, and management’s assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2013 have been incorporated by reference herein in reliance upon the reports of KPMG LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, incorporated by reference herein, and upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We have filed with the SEC a registration statement to register the securities offered by this prospectus under the Securities Act. This prospectus is part of that registration statement, but omits some information contained in the registration statement, as permitted by SEC rules. For further information with respect to Digimarc and this offering, reference is made to the registration statement and the exhibits and any schedules filed with the registration statement. Statements contained in this prospectus as to the contents of any document referred to are not necessarily complete and in each instance, if the document is filed as an exhibit, reference is made to the copy of the document filed as an exhibit to the registration statement, each statement being qualified in all respects by that reference. You may obtain copies of the registration statement, including exhibits, as noted in the paragraph below or by writing or telephoning us at:

Digimarc Corporation

9405 SW Gemini Drive

Beaverton, Oregon 97008

(503) 469-4800

We file annual, quarterly and other reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC, including us. The address of that site is http://www.sec.gov. You may also read and copy any material we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. You may also inspect reports, proxy statements and other information about us at the offices of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Reports Section, 1735 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006. Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K, including any amendments to those reports, and other information that we file with or furnish to the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the

 

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Exchange Act may also be accessed free of charge by linking directly from the “Investors” page of our website at www.digimarc.com/investors. These filings will be available as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file this material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. Information contained on our website is not part of this prospectus.

INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE

We incorporate information into this prospectus by reference, which means that we disclose important information to you by referring you to another document filed separately with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is deemed to be part of this prospectus, except for any such information superseded by information contained in later-filed documents or directly in this prospectus. This prospectus incorporates by reference the documents set forth below that we have previously filed with the SEC (excluding those portions of any Form 8-K that are not deemed “filed” pursuant to the General Instructions of Form 8-K). These documents contain important information about us and our financial condition.

 

    Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 23, 2014 and May 1, 2014;

 

    Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2014, filed with the SEC on April 25, 2014;

 

    The portions of our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A filed on March 21, 2014 that are deemed “filed” with the SEC under the Exchange Act;

 

    The Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, filed with the SEC on February 21, 2014;

 

    Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed with the SEC on October 16, 2008; and

 

    Registration Statement on Form 10 filed with the SEC on June 23, 2008, and Amendment No. 1 thereto, filed with the SEC on July 22, 2008; Amendment No. 2 thereto, filed with the SEC on August 13, 2008; Amendment No. 3 thereto, filed with the SEC on September 9, 2008; Amendment No. 4 thereto, filed with the SEC on October 2, 2008; Amendment No. 5 thereto, filed with the SEC on October 7, 2008; and Amendment No. 6 thereto, filed with the SEC on October 14, 2008.

All reports and other documents we subsequently file pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act prior to the termination of this offering, including all the documents we may file with the SEC after the date of the initial registration statement and prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement, but excluding any information furnished to, rather than filed with, the SEC, will also be incorporated by reference into this prospectus and deemed to be part of this prospectus from the date of the filing of the reports and documents.

We will provide at no cost to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom this prospectus is delivered, upon written or oral request, a copy of any or all documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus, but not delivered with the prospectus, other than exhibits to the documents unless the exhibits are specifically incorporated by reference into the documents that this prospectus incorporates. You should direct written requests to: Digimarc Corporation, 9405 SW Gemini Drive, Beaverton, Oregon, 97008; Attention: Charles Beck, Chief Financial Officer, or you may call us at (503) 469-4800.

The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus. You should rely only upon the information provided in this prospectus and the information incorporated into this prospectus by reference. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date of this prospectus.

 

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PART II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

Item 14. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution

The following table sets forth anticipated costs and expenses payable by the Company (other than underwriting discounts, commissions and fees) in connection with the registration of the securities covered by this prospectus.

 

SEC registration fee

   $ 12,880.00   

Trustees’ and transfer agents’ fees

      

Printing and engraving costs

      

Legal fees and expenses

      

Accounting fees and expenses

      

Miscellaneous

      

Total

   $  
  

 

 

 

 

* These fees are calculated based upon the number of issuances and the type of securities offered and accordingly cannot be estimated at this time.

Item 15. Indemnification of Directors and Officers

As an Oregon corporation, Digimarc is subject to the Oregon Business Corporation Act (the “OBCA”) and the exculpation from liability and indemnification provisions contained therein. As authorized by Section 60.047(2) of the OBCA, Article IX of our articles of incorporation eliminates the liability of our directors to us or our shareholders for various acts or omissions. Our articles of incorporation do not eliminate the liability of our directors to the extent that the OBCA does not permit corporations to limit directors’ liability.

Section 60.387 et seq. of the OBCA authorizes corporations to indemnify their directors and officers against liability where the director or officer has acted in good faith and with a reasonable belief that the actions taken were in the best interests of the corporation, or at least not opposed to the corporation’s best interests, and, if in a criminal proceeding, the individual had no reasonable cause to believe the conduct in question was unlawful. Under the OBCA, corporations may not indemnify a director or officer against liability in connection with a claim by or in the right of the corporation. Corporations may indemnify a director or officer against the reasonable expenses associated with these types of claims, unless (i) the director or officer has been adjudged liable to the corporation or (ii) the proceeding charged the director or officer with (and adjudged the director or officer liable for) improperly receiving a personal benefit. Corporations also may not indemnify directors or officers against breaches of the duty of loyalty, acts or omissions not in good faith or that involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, any unlawful distribution under O.R.S. 60.367, or any transaction from which the director or officer derived an improper personal benefit. The OBCA mandates indemnification against all reasonable expenses incurred in the successful defense of any claim made or threatened, whether or not the claim was by or in the right of the corporation. Finally, a court may order indemnification if it determines that the director or officer is entitled to mandatory indemnification, or is otherwise fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnification in view of all the relevant circumstances, regardless of whether the director or officer met the good faith and reasonable belief standards of conduct set forth in the statute.

The OBCA also provides that the statutory indemnification provisions are not exclusive of any other rights to which directors or officers may be entitled under a corporation’s articles of incorporation or bylaws, any agreement, general or specific action of the board of directors, vote of shareholders or otherwise. Article VIII of our articles of incorporation requires us to indemnify our directors, officers, agents and other representatives from losses suffered while acting on our behalf. Article VIII specifies that these representatives are to be indemnified to the fullest extent permitted by law, and that their right to indemnification shall not be affected by subsequent amendments to our articles of incorporation or the end of the representative’s service to Digimarc.

Additionally, we have entered into indemnity agreements with some of our officers and directors. The indemnity agreements require us to, among other things, indemnify the officer or director against all expenses (including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and penalties, among others) incurred by the officer or director as a result of being named or threatened to be named as a party to any proceeding as a result of the officer or director’s service in that capacity. The indemnity agreements also require us to indemnify the officer or director to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, the indemnification agreements prohibit us from indemnifying any director or officer who is determined to be liable under Section 16(b) (or similar provisions) for an accounting of the profits made on the purchase or sale of shares of the corporation.

 

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Item 16. Exhibits

 

Exhibit
Number

 

Description

  1.1*   Form of Underwriting Agreement
  4.1   Specimen common stock certificate of Digimarc Corporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the Commission on February 27, 2009 (File No. 001-34108))
  4.2   Rights Agreement, dated July 31, 2008, between Digimarc Corporation and Computershare Trust Company, N.A. as Rights Agent (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the Commission on February 27, 2009 (File No. 001-34108))
  4.3   Form of Certificate of Designation of Series R Preferred Stock (attached as an exhibit to the Rights Agreement filed as Exhibit 4.2)
  4.4   Form of Rights Certificate (attached as an exhibit to the Rights Agreement filed as Exhibit 4.2)
  4.5**   Form of Indenture
  4.6*   Form of Warrant Agreement (including form of warrant)
  5.1**   Legal Opinion of Perkins Coie LLP
12.1**   Statement of computation of ratio of earnings to fixed charges
23.1**   Consent of KPMG LLP
23.2**   Consent of Perkins Coie LLP (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 5.1 to this Registration Statement)
24.1   Power of Attorney (included as part of the signature page hereto)
25.1***   Form T-1 Statement of Eligibility of Trustee for Debt Securities Indenture under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939

 

* To be filed by amendment hereto or pursuant to a Current Report on Form 8-K to be incorporated by reference.
** Filed herewith.
*** To be filed pursuant to Rule 305(b)(2) of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939.

Item 17. Undertakings

 

  (a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

 

  (1) 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 a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and

 

  (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 the undertakings set forth in paragraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) above do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the SEC by the Registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in this registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration statement.

 

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  (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, 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) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

 

  (4) That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser,

 

  (i) 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

 

  (ii) 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 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 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.

 

  (5) That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

 

  (i) Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

 

  (ii) Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;

 

  (iii) The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and

 

  (iv) Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.

 

  (b) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the Registrant’s annual report pursuant to section 13(a) or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in this 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.

 

  (c)

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the

 

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  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 the registrant is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

  (d) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to file an application for the purpose of determining the eligibility of the trustee to act under subsection (a) of section 310 of the Trust Indenture Act in accordance with the rules and regulations prescribed by the Commission under section 305(b)(2) of the Trust Indenture Act.

 

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