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Victor,
Great spot, as always. I couldn’t resist the temptation to buy one or two of the documents. It’s another great illustration, if the allegations of the plaintiff, Connor Blier, are to be believed of just how dysfunctional and unethical Livingbridge/ Sycurio are, and of who is calling the shots.
According to the plaintiff, Livingbridge is making all the important decisions at Sycurio, which confirms what we strongly suspected. For instance, four out of the five directors of Sycurio Inc are Livingbridge employees. Mr Blair joined Sycurio US as VP marketing in January 2022 on a salary of $200,000 with an “Incentive Bonus” of up to 20% if he was still employed a year later. He was also promised “sweet equity of 6,000 shares upfront”, whose value former Sycurio CEO, Gary Barnett, apparently told him was forecasted to be approximately $900,000 “upon an eventual exit”. Although the complaint does not state it, these share would have been in Yale Topco Ltd, Sycurio’s ultimate holding company, incorporated in the tax haven of Jersey.
Surprise, surprise: Mr Blair, despite repeatedly asking for it and complaining he hadn’t received it, never did get his “sweet equity”; he did, however, get a special New Year’s present from Livingbridge/Sycurio: the sack in January 2023, five days before he would have become entitled to his “Incentive Bonus”.
Mr Blair’s complaint offers some illuminating insights into how Livingbridge has been “developing” Sycurio’s business. Livingbridge/Sycurio “misrepresented to him [Mr Blier] their available products and services, the functionality and viability of existing products and services, and the existing sales pipeline.” And “In response to his complaints….[Livingbridge/Sycurio] began to strip Blier of resources necessary to perform his job, including by reducing his monthly advertising budget by approximately seventy present (70%), by reducing Blier’s team from five (5) to three (3), and by eliminating the 2022 marketing pipeline production budget”. The Livingbride/Sycurio response to Mr Blier’s demand for his “Incentive Bonus” and compensation for the “sweet equity” he never got will make interesting reading.
According to records at the Companies Registry in Jersey, Mr Barnett held at one point 31,131 “sweet equity” shares in Yale Topco Ltd. If these would have been worth what Mr Barnett apparently told Mr Blier his “sweet equity” was forecast to be worth on “eventual exit” that comes to nearly $4.7m. This begs the question of why Mr Barnett walked away from such sweet “sweet equity” in May 2022.
Of course, the very use in the same sentence of Livingbridge/Sycurio with the phrase “sweet equity is extremely problematic. Based on the valuation forecast given to Mr Blier, Sycurio’s entire equity would be worth in excess of $350m on “eventual exit”. Utterly risible. As Livingbridge/Sycurio continue to butcher the IP p
"Before joining Rulai, Gary was the CEO at Sycurio and led it to record recurring revenue growth, resulting in a highly successful exit in ***2021***
https://rul.ai/about-rulai/
BLIER v. SYCURIO, INC F/K/A SEMAFONE, INC. et al
Tuesday, October 17, 2023
4 service Summons Issued Tue 10/17 1:59 PM
Summons Issued as to All Defendants. (Kenny, Meghan)
3 notice Case Opening Notice (Form Attached) Tue 10/17 12:53 PM
CASE OPENING NOTICE ISSUED (Kenny, Meghan)
2 notice Notice of Appearance Tue 10/17 11:12 AM
NOTICE of Appearance by Matthew J. Pimentel on behalf of CONNOR BLIER (Pimentel, Matthew)
1 cmp Complaint - New Case Tue 10/17 10:58 AM
COMPLAINT ( filing fee paid $ 402.00, receipt number ARIDC-1920973 ), filed by CONNOR BLIER.(McDonald, Sally)
Att: 1 Exhibit A,
Att: 2 Civil Cover Sheet,
Att: 3 Summons for Livingbridge,
Att: 4 Summons fot Sycurio
utility Case Assigned/Reassigned Tue 10/17 12:31 PM
Case assigned to District Judge Mary S. McElroy and Magistrate Judge Patricia A. Sullivan. (Kenny, Meghan)
https://www.pacermonitor.com/case/50982135/BLIER_v_SYCURIO,_INC_FKA_SEMAFONE,_INC_et_al
-----------------------------------------------
Dec 1 2022...Executive team
Connor Blier
Marketing
Connor heads up Sycurio’s global marketing team and is responsible for marketing strategy.
He is an established executive with experience in international Google portfolio, Fortune 100, Forbes 100, and Inc. 500 SaaS tech companies.
Proven in marketing strategy, he has been a catalyst for multiple exits and one IPO.
Connor now leads Sycurio's marketing team post Livingbridge acquisition, enabling a new era of growth.
https://web.archive.org/web/20221201164130/https://sycurio.com/about/senior-leadership-team
-----------------
Linkedin
Vice President of Marketing
Sycurio
Jan 2022 - Present1 year 10 months
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Sycurio’s patented data capture methods collect sensitive information such as payment or bank details, and social security numbers, for processing. This prevents sensitive data from ever entering a company’s environment, which in turn eliminates the risk of data breaches and the associated reputation damage & costly fines that come with it.
Sycurio has achieved the four leading security & payment accreditations: ISO 27001:2013, PA DSS certification for its payment solution, PCI-DSS Level…
Victor,
Looks like we are not going to get to see the arbitrator’s ruling in the Eckoh/Semafone case unless PCIP files another motion.
I share your bafflement about ‘timid’ Tim. Doesn’t strike me as a shrinking violet on the basis of that video, and loves to talk.
Wish we had some answers, Adam! Think we're all in the dark. I would assume we would have heard something by now, but what do I know.
At the risk of speaking to myself(!), are we therefore done in the UK given no appeal appearing to have been lodged last night? Or any timing delays for the appeal to be showing which people are aware of?
Monday, October 16, 2023
TEXT-ONLY ORDER granting 80 unopposed MOTION to Seal Document 81 . The Court has reviewed the 80 Defendant's Motion and 84 Plaintiff's response. Plaintiff does not object to the sealing of the 81 subject document, which is designated Confidential-Attorneys Eyes Only under the 44 Protective Order in this case. Accordingly, the Motion to Seal document 81 is granted. To the extent either party seeks any other relief concerning that document, they must submit a separate motion specifying the relief sought. So Ordered. Entered by US Magistrate Judge Susan C. Rodriguez on 10/16/2023. (DLG)
https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/41847299/Semafone_Limited
--------------------------------
Lucretuis
Yes, shame about the lack of information on his time at Semafone. I found it useful for filling in a few gaps in the search for clues as to why Tim wont be appearing on question time. Still baffled though.
Answering my own question: ChatGPT tells me the deadline is typically midnight
Can anyone also recall whether the Caseboard system updates in real-time, or just end of day? Even though court systems are quite old-school, you'd like to think that in the 21st century its an electronic filing system so updates real-time once an appeal is lodged and accepted.
Sycurio cutting it very fine if its real-time as I assume the Court's system would close at 5pm/6pm or similar.
Deadline day right?
Anyone know what time they need to file an appeal by?
In this case, in my view, the perception of the value of patents to third parties (eg, investors) is as important as the reality, not that there is necessarily always a divergence, as seems to be suggested.
Livingbridge has made the protection of Sycurio’s IP the ostensible reason for the legal actions against PCIP. “As a pioneering technology company, it is essential that we defend our IP so that we can confidently invest in new technologies and grow with our partners for the benefit of customers across the world”, said Sycurio’s CEO after the High Court defeat.
The aggressive legal action taken against PCIP to “defend” Sycurio’s IP will almost certainly lead to that IP’s invalidation, which, absent the infringement proceedings, would not have happened. If Sycurio were to turn out to be not a pioneering technology company but a copycat (or worse), then perceptions and reality would, without doubt, coalesce. What would be the value of Sycurio then? Less than PCIP’s current market cap, in my view. And Livingbridge would be looking at a write-off north of £80m.
(As an aside, I am really struggling to see any evidence of Sycurio’s business development under Livingbridge’s ownership. Sales in 2022, Livingbridge’s first full year of ownership, were up about 5% over 2021, but staff turnover, especially at a senior level, has rocketed.)
Victor,
Thanks. A shame that he didn’t give more detail on how he was one of the ‘founders’ of Semafone.
Tim Critchley, an accidental entrepreneur
24 January 2023
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XFc_dI7Tp3k
Adam,
4. Exactly, they mean nothing to clients. They are only tools to have a competitive advantage and a form to protect that advantage. Most clients won't know anything about the patent dispute, it is very niche. It could be used as a technique to cast doubt on your competitor but as we see it hasn't slowed down PCIP and it isn't slowing down Sycurio's business development.
It looks like they did this to slow down PCIP by it burning cash. £4m. Think how much more advanced PCIP would be with £4m. They've probably had to scrimp and save to keep developing. They don't want to do another equity raise when so close to profitability, it would be a sign of weakness. They've had to go into battle formation. They are under attack by an unethical opponent.
I have emailed the founder at Livingbridge to point out the unprofessional business practices at Sycurio. He didn't reply.
1. Agreed. I spoke with the company recently and they wont be blinking at all
3. I think its quite possible that Livingbridge started all this as bravado. Back in 2021/2 they were in the process of merging some of their funds teams as investments were underperforming and they needed to cut costs. I had 3 people from their teams apply for a role in my team! Therefore I can believe that in 2021 they were having to sell their LPs that the funds were performing badly, but needed some good news...and part of that would have been around the aggression from Sycurio to PCIP...far better to do that rather than them having to tell their LPs that Sycurio was *another* investment on the list of underperformers.
4. I've spent most of my career in IP centric industries. Here, I can believe that patents are somewhat meaningless - might sound impressive to people on the outside but realistic they provide limited to no protection.
A few things:
1. In my view, there is as much chance of PCIP blinking as there is of the four named inventors on the US patents being those patents’ only inventors.
2. Livingbridge as the owner of Sycurio is the one in the driving seat on the legal cases. It boasts on its website that: “We are clear on how we add value and are not afraid to make the calls that ensure we deliver winning outcomes”. Except, clearly, they aren’t clear. Was it a “call” to allow a relatively elderly and dyslexic widow to give expert evidence in the UK case on technical matters on which she was not expert? This meant Sycurio’s patent infringement case and patent validity defence had no chance of success; indeed, the infringement proceedings could not have been brought to trial without her “expert” evidence.
3. The careers of the Livingbridge executives responsible for the UK court disaster should be on the line. If so, in a bid to defeat the inevitable, they will throw a few more Hail Mary passes (ie, appeal the UK judgment and continue the US case). If their careers are not on the line, then Livingbridge must condone incompetence as well as dubious ethics (see PCIP's RNS of 7th June "Breach of Confidentiality Agreement", which involved personnel from Livingbridge).
4. Does Livingbridge have a disaster recovery plan for when Sycurio’s IP portfolio is decimated, as looks almost inevitable with its 4 disputed US patents likely to be invalidated before trial, and for when the value of Sycurio is reduced to less than Livingbridge's related bank debt, if it has not already been? Judged by its strategic and tactical ineptitude to date, if Livingbridge does have one, the plan will be one that will have arisen serendipitously rather than by design.
US vs UK card? Sycurio is a UK co...
So the appeal goes in at the last moment (because Sycurio can't be seen to cave) and, despite what their lawyers say about it carrying no weight in the US, it clearly does affect the mood music. They would be crowing about it if it had gone their way. This is the moment when Sycurio needs to look most strong and confident and play the US v UK card. And this the moment when PCIP mustn't blink. It's that 'end of the beginning' thing...
Lucretuis
Before I posted the update, I went back and had a look at the various descriptions (below) used to fit the message
Thursday, May 04, 2023..United Kingdom High Court of Justice Patents Court
Wednesday, June 21, 2023.. UK. Litigation, trial proceedings
Thursday, October 12, 2023.. a U.K. Court
Thursday, October 12, 2023.. foreign tribunal
https://www.pacermonitor.com/case/41847299/Semafone_Limited
Victor,
Sycurio's US lawyers are clearly getting testy. They are upset that PCIP's lawyers have both filed a copy of Mrs Justice Bacon's judgment and claimed that is supportive of PCIP's on two claim construction issues in the US case
I doubt one of Mrs Justice |Bacon's judgment has been treated with such disdain before: ‘ and to the extent the Court even considers the UK Judgement, it should be afforded little, or no weight' harumph Sycurio's lawyers. PCIP's filing the UK judgment was also "procedurally improper" according to Sycurio's lawyers, as they had alleged with PCIP's filing (under seal)last month of the arbitrator's ruling on claim construction issues from the Sycurio/Eckoh arbitration case.
In addition, Sycurio lawyers say " Even assuming that the UK Judgement was entitled to any consideration here, Sycurio anticipates seeking permission to appeal the UK Judgement. Accordingly, additional proceedings regarding
the UK Patent are expected to follow and the issues addressed in the UK Judgement may not be fully resolved at this time."
So are we expecting Sycurio's appeal to be filed today?
Anyone know whether you can file an appeal at the weekend and/or what time the appeal deadline is on Monday (noon? 5pm? midnight?)?
Thanks
Thursday, October 12, 2023
86..RESPONSE re83 Notice (Other) RESPONSE TO NOTICE OF RULING IN RELATED U.K. PROCEEDING by Sycurio Limited, Sycurio, Inc.. (Werber, Matthew)
https://www.pacermonitor.com/case/41847299/Semafone_Limited?showRecaptcha=true
foreign tribunals= UK Court?
---------------------------------------
Lucretuis
Without cheating, or guessing, I wouldn't get the answer.
Whose website boasts as follows:
“We are clear on how we add value and are not afraid to make the calls that ensure we deliver winning outcomes.”
(Clue: The statement is readily falsified by the case of Sycurio).
Victor,
How could one forget that Gary left with his millions a year later? I suppose Gary’s “highly sucessful exit” must have been accompanied by a “highly successful entrance” from Livingbridge, if everyone at the party got a balloon. So why did Gary’s balloon pop after just one year? Did he burst it himself, or did Livingbridge insert a pin? And why?
Lucretuis
Yes. The problem with Gary's "highly successful exit in 2021" is this
09 Jun 2022 Termination of appointment of Gary Barnett as a director on 19 May 2022
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/06963868/filing-history
------------------------------------------------
April 15, 2022
“Semafone is now Sycurio, and our bold new look and logo reflects who we are today and our future ambition – making data protection simpler and more accessible for all. As the shift to digital continues to accelerate, building and preserving digital trust is becoming a commercial and operational ‘must have’ and businesses that lead the way in security, privacy and compliance will become the titans of tomorrow,” said Gary E. Barnett, CEO, Sycurio"
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/04/15/semafone-sycurio/
-------------------------------------
NoCheddar
Interesting, thanks for that