CRYM CryoMass Technologies Inc (QB)

ITEM 1A RISK FACTORS

You should carefully consider the risks described below together with all other information included in our public filings before making an investment decision with regard to our securities. The statements contained in or incorporated into this Prospectus that are not historic facts are forward- looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by forward- looking statements. While the risks described below are the ones we believe are most important for you to consider, these risks are not the only ones that we face. If any of the following events described in these risk factors actually occurs, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be harmed. In that case, the trading price of our Common Shares could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

General Risk Factors

We have a limited operating history in an evolving industry, which makes it difficult to accurately assess our future growth prospects.

Although we believe our management team has extensive knowledge of the cannabis industry and closely monitors changes in legislation, we also intend to provide equipment and services in an evolving industry that may not develop as expected. Furthermore, our operations continue to evolve under our business plan as we continually assess new strategic opportunities for our business within our industry. Assessing the future prospects of our business is challenging in light of both known and unknown risks and difficulties we may encounter. Growth prospects in our industry can be affected by a wide variety of factors including:

We may not be able to successfully address these factors, which could negatively impact our growth, harm our business and cause our operating results to be worse than expected.

Our success depends on the introduction of new products, which requires substantial expenditures.

Our long-term results depend upon our ability to introduce and market new products successfully. The success of our new products will depend on a number of factors, including:

We cannot predict the level of market acceptance or the amount of market share our new products will achieve. We may experience delays in the introduction of new products. Any delays or other problems with our new product launches will adversely affect our performance. In addition, introducing new products can result in decreases in revenues from our existing products. We expect to make substantial investments in product development and refinement. We may need more funding for product development and refinement than is readily available, which could adversely affect our business.

We face significant competition, and, if we are unable to compete successfully against other agricultural equipment manufacturers, we will lose customers and our net sales and profitability will decline.

The agricultural equipment business is highly competitive, particularly in the United States. Established and substantially larger agricultural equipment manufacturers, with substantially greater financial and other resources, have the capability to compete with us successfully. Our competitors may substantially increase the resources devoted to the development and marketing of products that compete with our products. In addition, competitive pressures in the agricultural equipment business may affect the market prices of new and used equipment, which, in turn, may adversely affect our performance.

We will require significant additional capital to fund our business plan.

The Company will be required to expend significant funds to implement its business plan. The Company anticipates that it will be required to make substantial capital expenditures for the manufacture of its equipment.

The Company’s ability to obtain necessary funding for these purposes, in turn, depends upon a number of factors, including the status of the national and worldwide economy and the financial markets and the availability of capital. Capital markets worldwide were adversely affected by substantial losses by financial institutions, caused by investments in asset-backed securities and remnants from those losses continue to impact the ability for the Company to raise capital. The Company may not be successful in obtaining the required financing or, if it can obtain such financing, such financing may not be on terms that are favorable to us.

The Company’s inability to access sufficient capital for its operations could have a material adverse effect on its financial condition, results of operations, or prospects. Sales of substantial amounts of securities may have a highly dilutive effect on the Company’s ownership or share structure. Sales of a large number of shares of the Company’s Common Shares in the public markets, or the potential for such sales, could decrease the trading price of the Common Shares and could impair the Company’s ability to raise capital through future sales of Common Shares.

International, national and regional trade laws, regulations and policies and government farm programs and policies could significantly impair our profitability and growth prospects.

International, national and regional laws, regulations and policies directly or indirectly related to or restricting the import and export of the Company’s products, services and technology, including protectionist policies in particular jurisdictions or for the benefit of favored industries or sectors, could harm the Company’s ability to grow in international markets and subject the Company to civil and criminal sanctions. Restricted access to global markets impairs the Company’s ability to export goods and services from its various manufacturing locations around the world, and limits the ability to access raw materials and high-quality parts and components at competitive prices on a timely basis. Trade restrictions could limit the Company’s ability to capitalize on future growth opportunities in international markets and impair the Company’s ability to expand the business by offering new technologies, products and services. These restrictions may affect the Company’s competitive position. Additionally, changes in government farm programs and policies, including restrictions on cannabis and hemp cultivation and processing, can significantly influence demand for agricultural equipment.

Changing demand for certain agricultural products could have an effect on the price of farming output and consequently the demand for certain of our equipment and could also result in higher research and development costs related to changing machine requirements.

Negative economic conditions and outlook can materially weaken demand for our equipment and services, limit access to funding and result in higher funding costs.

The demand for the Company’s products and services can be significantly reduced in an economic environment characterized by high unemployment, cautious consumer spending, lower corporate earnings, U.S. budget issues and lower business investment. Negative or uncertain economic conditions causing the Company’s customers to lack confidence in the general economic outlook can significantly reduce their likelihood of purchasing the Company’s equipment. If negative economic conditions affect the overall farm economy, there could be a similar effect on the Company’s agricultural equipment sales. In addition, uncertain or negative outlook with respect to ongoing U.S. budget issues as well as general economic conditions and outlook can cause significant changes in market liquidity conditions. Such changes could impact access to funding and associated funding costs, which could reduce the Company’s earnings and cash flows. Such changes could affect the ability of the Company’s customers, contract manufacturers, suppliers and lenders to finance their respective businesses, to access liquidity at acceptable financing costs, if at all, the availability of supplies, materials and manufacturing facilities and on the demand for the Company’s products.

We may encounter difficulties in fully exploiting the assets we acquired from Cryocann USA Corp and may not fully achieve, or achieve within a reasonable time frame, expected strategic objectives and other expected benefits of the acquisitions.

Our recent acquisition of Cryocann USA Corp assets is expected to realize strategic and other benefits, including, among other things, the opportunity to enter the agricultural equipment industry, identify customers and provide our customers with an appealing range of products and services. However, it is impossible to predict with certainty whether, or to what extent, these benefits will be realized or whether we will be able to exploit the acquired assets in a timely and effective manner. For example:

Further acquisitions may be necessary to realize our overall corporate strategy. There can be no assurance that we will be able to identify appropriate acquisition targets, successfully acquire identified targets or successfully integrate the business of acquired companies or the assets acquired to realize the full, anticipated benefits of such acquisitions. Our ability to address these issues will determine the extent to which we are able to successfully integrate, exploit and develop the acquired assets and to realize the expected benefits of the Cryocann USA Corp. transactions. Our failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on our performance following the transaction

Our business results depend largely on its ability to understand its customers’ specific preferences and requirements, and to develop, manufacture and market products that meet customer demand.

The Company’s ability to match new product offerings to customers’ anticipated preferences for different types and sizes of equipment and various equipment features and functionality, at affordable prices, is critical to its success. This requires a thorough understanding of the Company’s potential customers and their needs, as well as an understanding of the cannabis and hemp cultivation dynamics and of other agricultural commodities cultivation dynamics. Failure to deliver quality products that meet customer needs at competitive prices ahead of competitors could have a significant adverse effect on the Company’s business.

Our business may be directly and indirectly affected by unfavorable weather conditions or natural disasters that reduce agricultural production and demand for agriculture equipment.

Poor or unusual weather conditions can significantly affect the purchasing decisions of the Company’s potential customers. Natural calamities such as regional floods, hurricanes or other storms, and droughts can have significant negative effects on agricultural production. The resulting negative impact on farm income can strongly affect demand for agricultural equipment.

Changes in the availability and price of certain raw materials, components and whole goods could result in production disruptions or increased costs and lower profits on sales of our products.

The Company requires access to various materials and components at competitive prices to manufacture and distribute its products. Changes in the availability and price of these materials and components, which have fluctuated in the past and are more likely to fluctuate during times of economic volatility, can significantly increase the costs of production which could have a material negative effect on the profitability of the business, particularly if the Company, due to pricing considerations or other factors, is unable to recover the increased costs from its customers. The Company relies on suppliers and contract manufacturers to acquire materials and components to manufacture its products. Supply chain and contract manufacturing disruptions due to supplier or contract manufacturer financial distress, capacity constraints, business continuity, quality, delivery or disruptions due to weather-related or natural disaster events could affect the Company’s operations and profitability.

In determining the required quantities of our products and the manufacturing schedule, we must make significant judgments and estimates that are not based on any historical data. Because of the inherent nature of estimates, there could be significant differences between our estimates and the actual amounts of products we require, which could harm our business and results of operations.

The agricultural equipment industry is highly seasonal, and seasonal fluctuations may significantly impact our performance.

The agricultural equipment business is highly seasonal, which may cause our quarterly results and our cash flow to fluctuate during the year. Farmers generally purchase agricultural equipment seasonally in conjunction with the harvesting seasons. Seasonal fluctuations can significantly impact our performance in a specific quarter, or overall.

If we are unable to hire and retain key personnel, we may not be able to implement our business plan and our business may fail.

Our future success depends to a large extent on our ability to attract, hire, train and retain qualified managerial, operational and other personnel. We face significant competition for qualified and experienced employees in our industry and from other industries and, as a result, we may be unable to attract and retain the personnel needed to successfully conduct and grow our operations. Additionally, key personnel, including members of management, may leave and compete against us. At present, we do not have all the necessary personnel to carry out our business plans. If we are unable to hire and retain key personnel, our business will be materially adversely affected.

Our growth is highly dependent on the U.S. cannabis and hemp markets. New regulations causing licensing shortages and future regulations may create other limitations that decrease the demand for our products. General regulations at state and federal in the future may adversely impact our business.

The base of cannabis growers in the U.S. has grown over the past 20 years since the legalization of cannabis for medical uses in states such as California, Colorado and Washington. The U.S. cannabis market is still in its infancy and early adopter states such as California, Colorado and Washington represent a large portion of historical industry revenues. The U.S. cannabis cultivation market is expected to be one of the fastest growing industries in the U.S. over the next five years. If the U.S. cannabis cultivation market does not grow as expected, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely impacted. The California cannabis cultivation market is expected to be one of the fastest growing industries in California over the next five years. If the California cannabis cultivation market does not grow as expected, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely impacted.

Cannabis remains illegal under U.S. federal law, with cannabis listed as a Schedule I substance under the United States Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (the “CSA”). Notwithstanding laws in various states permitting certain cannabis activities, all cannabis activities, including possession, distribution, processing and manufacturing of cannabis and investment in, and financial services or transactions involving proceeds of, or promoting such activities remain illegal under various U.S. federal criminal and civil laws and regulations, including the CSA, as well as laws and regulations of several states that have not legalized some or any cannabis activities to date. Compliance with applicable state laws regarding cannabis activities does not protect us from federal prosecution or other enforcement action, such as seizure or forfeiture remedies, nor does it provide any defense to such prosecution or action. Cannabis activities conducted in or related to conduct in multiple states may potentially face a higher level of scrutiny from federal authorities. Penalties for violating federal drug, conspiracy, aiding, abetting, bank fraud and/or money laundering laws may include prison, fines, and seizure/forfeiture of property used in connection with cannabis activities, including proceeds derived from such activities. 

We are not currently subject directly to any state laws or regulations controlling participants in the legal cannabis industry. However, regulation of the cannabis industry does impact our potential customers in the cultivation industry and, accordingly, there can be no assurance that changes in regulation of the industry and more rigorous enforcement by federal authorities will not have a material adverse effect on us.

Legislation and regulations pertaining to the use and cultivation of cannabis are enacted on both the state and federal government level within the United States. As a result, the laws governing the cultivation and use of cannabis may be subject to change. Any new laws and regulations limiting the use or cultivation of cannabis and any enforcement actions by state and federal governments could indirectly reduce demand for our products and may impact our current and planned future operations.

Evolving federal and state laws and regulations pertaining to the use or cultivation of cannabis, as well active enforcement by federal or state authorities of the laws and regulations governing the use and cultivation of cannabis may indirectly and adversely affect our business, our revenues and our profits. Local, state and federal cannabis laws and regulations are broad in scope and subject to evolving interpretations, which could require the end users of certain of our products or us to incur substantial costs associated with compliance or to alter our respective business plans. In addition, violations of these laws, or allegations of such violations, could disrupt our business and result in a material adverse effect on our results of operation and financial condition.

Certain of our products may be purchased for use for agricultural products other than cannabis and/or be subject to varying, inconsistent, and rapidly changing laws, regulations, administrative practices, enforcement approaches, judicial interpretations, future scientific research and public perception.

The public’s perception of cannabis may significantly impact the cannabis industry’s success. Both the medical and adult-use of cannabis are controversial topics, and there is no guarantee that future scientific research, publicity, regulations, medical opinion, and public opinion relating to cannabis will be favorable. The cannabis industry is an early-stage business that is constantly evolving with no guarantee of viability. Among other things, such a shift in public opinion could cause state jurisdictions to abandon initiatives or proposals to legalize cultivation and sale of cannabis or adopt new laws or regulations restricting or prohibiting the cultivation of cannabis where it is now legal, thereby limiting the potential customers who are engaged in the cannabis industry.

Demand for our products may be negatively impacted depending on how laws, regulations, administrative practices, enforcement approaches, judicial interpretations, and consumer perceptions develop. We cannot predict the nature of such developments or the effect, if any, that such developments could have on our business.

Our indirect involvement in the cannabis industry could affect the public’s perception of us and be detrimental to our reputation.

Damage to our reputation can be the result of the actual or perceived occurrence of any number of events, and could include any negative publicity, whether true or not. Cannabis has often been associated with various other narcotics, violence and criminal activities, the risk of which is that our retailers and resellers that transact with cannabis businesses might attract negative publicity. There is also risk that the action(s) of other participants, companies and service providers in the cannabis industry may negatively affect the reputation of the industry as a whole and thereby negatively impact our reputation. The increased use of social media and other web-based tools used to generate, publish and discuss user-generated content and to connect with other users has made it increasingly easier for individuals and groups to communicate and share opinions and views with regard to cannabis companies and their activities, whether true or not and the cannabis industry in general, whether true or not. We do not ultimately have direct control over how the cannabis industry and its suppliers is perceived by others. Reputation loss may result in decreased investor confidence, increased challenges in developing and maintaining community relations and an impediment to our overall ability to advance its business strategy and realize on its growth prospects, thereby having a material adverse impact on our business.

Businesses involved in the cannabis industry, and investments in such businesses, are subject to a variety of laws and regulations related to money laundering, financial recordkeeping and proceeds of crimes.

We sell our products through third party retailers and resellers. Investments in the U.S. cannabis industry are subject to a variety of laws and regulations that involve money laundering, financial recordkeeping and proceeds of crime, including the BSA, as amended by the Patriot Act, other anti-money laundering laws, and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by governmental authorities in the United States. In February 2014, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the Treasury Department issued a memorandum (the “FinCEN Memo”) providing guidance to banks seeking to provide services to cannabis businesses. The FinCEN Memo outlines circumstances under which banks may provide services to cannabis businesses without risking prosecution for violation of U.S. federal money laundering laws. It refers to supplementary guidance that Deputy Attorney General Cole issued to U.S. federal prosecutors relating to the prosecution of U.S. money laundering offenses predicated on cannabis violations of the CSA and outlines extensive due diligence and reporting requirements, which most banks have viewed as onerous. The FinCEN Memo currently remains in place, but it is unclear at this time whether the current administration will continue to follow the guidelines of the FinCEN Memo. Such requirements could negatively affect the ability of certain of the end users of our products to establish and maintain banking connections.

We are subject to extensive anti-corruption laws and regulations.

The Company’s foreign operations, if and when established, must comply with all applicable laws, which may include the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the UK Bribery Act or other anti-corruption laws. These anti-corruption laws generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments or providing anything of value to improperly influence government officials or private individuals for the purpose of obtaining or retaining a business advantage regardless of whether those practices are legal or culturally expected in a particular jurisdiction. Recently, there has been a substantial increase in the global enforcement of anti-corruption laws. Although the Company has a compliance program in place designed to reduce the likelihood of potential violations of such laws, violations of these laws could result in criminal or civil sanctions and have an adverse effect on the Company’s reputation, business and results of operations and financial condition.

Our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected by pandemic infectious diseases, particularly the recent novel coronavirus strain known as COVID-19.

Pandemic infectious diseases, such as the current COVID-19 strains, may adversely impact our business, consolidated results of operations and financial condition. The global spread of COVID-19 has created significant volatility and uncertainty and economic disruption. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our business, operations and financial results will depend on numerous evolving factors that we may not be able to accurately predict, including: the duration and scope of the pandemic; governmental, business and individuals’ actions that have been and continue to be taken in response to the pandemic; the impact of the pandemic on economic activity and actions taken in response; the effect on our customers and customer demand our services, products and solutions; our ability to sell and provide its services and solutions, including as a result of travel restrictions and people working from home; the ability of our customers to pay for our services and solutions; and any closures of our offices and the offices and facilities of our customers. COVID-19, as well as measures taken by governmental authorities to limit the spread of this virus, may interfere with the ability of our employees, suppliers, and other business providers to carry out their assigned tasks or supply materials or services at ordinary levels of performance relative to the requirements of our business, which may cause us to materially curtail certain of our business operations. We require additional funding and such funding may not be available to us as a result of contracting capital markets resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Any of these events could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and/or stock price.

Natural disasters, pandemic outbreaks or other health crises could disrupt business and result in lower sales and otherwise adversely affect our financial performance.

The occurrence of one or more natural disasters, climate change, pandemic outbreaks or other health crises (including but not limited to the COVID-19 outbreak), could adversely affect our business and financial performance. If any of these events result in the closure of one or more of our dispensaries, extended sick leave involving our personnel, or impact key suppliers, our operations and financial performance could be materially adversely affected through an inability to provide other support functions to our stores and through lost sales. These events also could affect consumer shopping patterns or prevent customers from reaching our dispensaries, which could lead to lost sales and higher markdowns, the temporary lack of an adequate work force in a market, the temporary or long-term disruption of product availability in our dispensaries and the temporary or long-term inability to obtain technology needed to effectively run our business.

Our business may be impacted by geopolitical events, war, terrorism, and other related business interruptions.

War, terrorism, geopolitical uncertainties, and other related business interruptions have caused and could cause damage or disruption to international commerce and the global economy, and thus could have a material adverse effect on the Company, its suppliers, logistics providers, manufacturing vendors and customers. The Company’s business operations are subject to interruption by, among others, disasters, whether as a result of war, refugee crises, fire, power shortages, nuclear power plant accidents and other industrial accidents, terrorist attacks and other hostile acts, labor disputes, and other events beyond its control. Such events could decrease demand for the Company’s products, make it difficult or impossible for the Company to develop, prototype, make and deliver products to its customers or to receive components from its suppliers, and create delays and inefficiencies in the Company’s supply chain. While the Company's suppliers are expected to maintain safe working environments and operations, an industrial accident could occur and could result in disruption to the Company's business and harm to the Company's reputation. In any event of business interruption, the Company could incur significant losses, require substantial recovery time and experience significant expenditures in order to resume operations.

Security breaches and other disruptions to our information technology infrastructure could interfere with our operations and could compromise the Company’s and its customers’ and suppliers’ information, exposing us to liability that would cause the Company’s business and reputation to suffer.

In the ordinary course of business, the Company relies upon information technology networks and systems, some of which are managed by third parties, to process, transmit and store electronic information, and to manage or support a variety of business processes and activities, including supply chain, manufacturing, distribution, invoicing and collection of payments from intermediaries or other purchasers or lessees of our equipment. We use information technology systems to record, process and summarize financial information and results of operations for internal reporting purposes and to comply with regulatory financial reporting, legal and tax requirements. Additionally, we collect and store sensitive data, including intellectual property, proprietary business information and the proprietary business information of the Company’s customers and suppliers, as well as personally identifiable information of our customers and employees, in third party data centers, “cloud” providers and on information technology networks. The secure operation of these information technology networks, and the processing and maintenance of this information is critical to the Company’s business operations and strategy. Such third parties, as well as the Company’s information technology networks, cloud and infrastructure may be vulnerable to damage, disruptions or shutdowns due to attacks by hackers or breaches due to employee error or malfeasance or other disruptions during the process of upgrading or replacing computer software or hardware, power outages, computer viruses, telecommunication or utility failures or natural disasters or other catastrophic events. The occurrence of any of these events could compromise the respective storage networks, data centers or cloud, and the information stored there could be accessed, publicly disclosed, lost or stolen. Any such access, disclosure or other loss of information could result in legal claims or proceedings, liability or regulatory penalties under laws protecting the privacy of personal information, disrupt operations, and damage our reputation, which could adversely affect the Company’s business.

Our suppliers, contract manufacturers and customers are subject to and affected by increasingly rigorous environmental, health and safety laws and regulations of federal, state and local authorities in the U.S. and various regulatory authorities with jurisdiction over the Company’s operations. In addition, private civil litigation on these subjects has increased, primarily in the U.S.

Enforcement actions arising from violations of environmental, health and safety laws or regulations can lead to investigation and defense costs, and result in significant fines or penalties. In addition, new or more stringent requirements of governmental authorities could prevent or restrict the Company’s operations, or those of our suppliers and customers, require significant expenditures to achieve compliance and/or give rise to civil or criminal liability. There can be no assurance that violations of such legislation and/or regulations, or private civil claims for damages to property or personal injury arising from the environmental, health or safety impacts of our operations, or those of our suppliers and customers, would not have consequences that result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Increasingly stringent engine emission standards could impact our ability to manufacture and distribute certain equipment, which could negatively affect business results.

The Company’s equipment operations must meet increasingly stringent engine emission reduction standards, including USEPA, Interim Tier 4/Stage IIIb and Final Tier 4/Stage IV non-road diesel emission requirements in the U.S. and European Union.

We may incur increased costs due to new or more stringent greenhouse gas emission standards designed to address climate change and could be further impacted by physical effects attributed to climate change on its facilities, suppliers and customers.

There is a growing political and scientific consensus that emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) continue to alter the composition of Earth’s atmosphere in ways that are affecting and are expected to continue to affect the global climate. These considerations may lead to international, national, regional or local legislative or regulatory responses in the future. Various stakeholders, including legislators and regulators, shareholders and non-governmental organizations, as well as companies in many business sectors, including the Company, are considering ways to reduce GHG emissions. The regulation of GHG emissions from certain stationary or mobile sources could result in additional costs to the Company or its suppliers in the form of taxes or emission allowances, facilities improvements and energy costs, which would increase our operating costs through higher contract manufacturing, utility, transportation and materials costs. Increased input costs and compliance-related costs could also impact customer operations and demand for our equipment. Because the impact of any future GHG legislative, regulatory or product standard requirements on our businesses and products is dependent on the timing and design of mandates or standards, the Company is unable to predict its potential impact at this time.

Furthermore, the potential physical impacts of climate change on our suppliers and customers and therefore on our operations are highly uncertain and will be particular to the circumstances developing in various geographical regions. These may include long-term changes in temperature levels and water availability. These potential physical effects may adversely impact the demand for the Company’s products and the cost, production, sales and financial performance of the Company’s operations.

Our business increasingly is subject to regulations relating to privacy and data protection, and if we violate any of those regulations, we could be subject to significant claims, penalties and damages.

Increasingly, the United States, the European Union and other governmental entities are imposing regulations designed to protect the collection, maintenance and transfer of personal information. For example, the European Union adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”) that imposes stringent data protection requirements and greater penalties for non-compliance beginning in May 2018. The GDPR also protects a broader set of personal information than traditionally has been protected in the United States and provides for a right of “erasure.” Other regulations govern the collection and transfer of financial data and data security generally. These regulations generally impose penalties in the event of violations. While we attempt to comply with all applicable cybersecurity regulations, their implementation is complex, and, if we are not successful, we may be subject to penalties and claims for damages from regulators and the impacted individuals.

Risks Relating to Our Intellectual Property

Recent laws make it difficult to predict how patents will be issued or enforced in our industry.

Changes in either the patent laws or interpretation of the patent laws in the United States and other countries may have a significant impact on our ability to protect our technology and enforce our intellectual property rights. There have been numerous recent changes to the patent laws and to the rules of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the “USPTO”), which may have a significant impact on our ability to protect our technology and enforce our intellectual property rights. For example, the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, which was signed into law in 2011, includes a transition from a “first-to-invent” system to a “first-to-file” system, and changes the way issued patents can be challenged. Certain changes, such as the institution of inter partes review and post-grant and derivation proceedings, came into effect in 2012. Substantive changes to patent law associated with the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act may affect our ability to obtain patents, and, if obtained, to enforce or defend them in litigation or inter partes review, or post-grant or derivation proceedings, all of which could harm our business.

We may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property and other proprietary rights that are material to our business.

Our ability to compete effectively depends in part on our rights to trademarks, patents and other intellectual property rights we own. We have not sought to register every one of our intellectual properties either in the United States or in every country in which such intellectual property may be used. Furthermore, because of the differences in foreign trademark, patent and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws, we may not receive the same protection in other countries as we would in the United States with respect to the registered brand names and issued patents we hold. If we are unable to protect our intellectual property, proprietary information and/or brand names, we could suffer a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights and protect our proprietary information, or to defend against claims by third parties that our products or services infringe their intellectual property rights. Any litigation or claims brought by or against us could result in substantial costs and diversion of our resources. A successful claim of trademark, patent or other intellectual property infringement against us, or any other successful challenge to the use of our intellectual property, could subject us to damages or prevent us from providing certain products or services, or using certain of our recognized brand names, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submissions, fee payment and other requirements imposed by governmental patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for noncompliance with these requirements.

Periodic maintenance or annuity fees on any issued patents are due to be paid to the USPTO, and/or foreign patent agencies in several stages over the lifetime of the patent. The USPTO and various foreign governmental patent agencies require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payments and other similar provisions during the patent application process. While an inadvertent or unintentional lapse can in many cases be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules, there are situations in which noncompliance can result in abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. Noncompliance events that could result in abandonment or lapse of a patent or patent application include, but are not limited to, failure to respond to official actions within prescribed time limits, nonpayment of fees and failure to properly legalize and submit formal documents. If we or our licensors fail to maintain the patents and patent applications covering our products, our competitors might be able to enter the market, which would have a material adverse effect on our business.

From time to time, we may need to rely on licenses to proprietary technologies, which may be difficult or expensive to obtain or we may lose certain licenses which may be difficult to replace, harming our competitive position.

We may need to obtain licenses to patents and other proprietary rights held by third parties to develop, manufacture and market our products, if, for example, we sought to develop our products, in conjunction with any patented technology. If we are unable to timely obtain these licenses on commercially reasonable terms and maintain these licenses, our ability to commercially market our products, may be inhibited or prevented, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

In spite of our best efforts, our licensors might conclude that we have materially breached our license agreements and might therefore terminate the license agreements, thereby removing our ability to develop and commercialize products and technology covered by these license agreements. If these in-licenses are terminated, or if the underlying patents fail to provide the intended exclusivity, competitors may have the freedom to market products identical to ours.

Third parties may initiate legal proceedings alleging that we are infringing their intellectual property rights, the outcome of which would be uncertain and could have a material adverse effect on the success of our business.

Our success depends upon our ability to develop, manufacture, market and sell our products, and to use our proprietary technologies without infringing the proprietary rights of third parties. We may become party to, or threatened with, future adversarial proceedings or litigation regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our products and technology, including interference or derivation proceedings and various other post-grant proceedings before the USPTO and/or non-United States opposition proceedings. Third parties may assert infringement claims against us based on existing patents or patents that may be granted in the future. As a result of any such infringement claims, or to avoid potential claims, we may choose or be compelled to seek intellectual property licenses from third parties. These licenses may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all. Even if we are able to obtain a license, the license would likely obligate us to pay license fees, royalties, minimum royalties and/or milestone payments and the rights granted to us could be nonexclusive, which would mean that our competitors may be able to obtain licenses to the same intellectual property. Ultimately, we could be prevented from commercializing a product and/or technology or be forced to cease some aspect of our business operations if, as a result of actual or threatened infringement claims, we are unable to enter into licenses of the relevant intellectual property on acceptable terms. Further, if we attempt to modify a product and/or technology or to develop alternative methods or products in response to infringement claims or to avoid potential claims, we could incur substantial costs, encounter delays in product introductions or interruptions in sales.

Intellectual property rights do not necessarily address all potential threats to our competitive advantage.

The degree of future protection afforded by our intellectual property rights is uncertain because intellectual property rights have limitations, and may not adequately protect our business, or permit us to maintain our competitive advantage. The following examples are illustrative:

Should any of these events occur, they could significantly harm our business, results of operations and prospects.

We may be subject to claims that our employees have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets of their former employers.

Although we try to ensure that our employees do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that we or these employees have used or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such employee’s former employer. We are not aware of any threatened or pending claims related to these matters or concerning agreements with our employees, but in the future litigation may be necessary to defend against such claims. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management.

Intellectual property disputes could cause us to spend substantial resources and distract our personnel from their normal responsibilities.

Even if resolved in our favor, litigation or other legal proceedings relating to intellectual property claims may cause us to incur significant expenses and could distract our personnel from their normal responsibilities. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments, and if securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the value of our common stock. Such litigation or proceedings could substantially increase our operating losses and reduce the resources available for development activities or any future sales, marketing or distribution activities. We may not have sufficient financial or other resources to adequately conduct such litigation or proceedings. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of such litigation or proceedings more effectively than we can because of their greater financial resources. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of patent litigation or other proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our ability to compete in the marketplace.

Risks Related to the Common Shares

The Company’s Common Share price may be volatile and as a result investor could lose all or part of their investment.

In addition to volatility associated with equity securities in general, the value of an investor’s investment could decline due to the impact of any of the following factors upon the market price of the Common Shares:

Our Common Share price on the OTCQB has experienced significant price and volume fluctuations. Stock markets in general have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations, and the market prices of securities have been highly volatile. These fluctuations are often unrelated to operating performance and may adversely affect the market price of the Common Shares. As a result, an investor may be unable to sell any Common Shares such investor acquires at a desired price.

Potential future sales under Rule 144 may depress the market price for our Common Shares.

In general, under Rule 144, a person who has satisfied a minimum holding period of between 6 months and one-year and any other applicable requirements of Rule 144, may thereafter sell such shares publicly. A significant number of the Company’s currently issued and outstanding Common Shares held by existing shareholders, including officers and directors and other principal shareholders, are currently eligible for resale pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of Rule 144. The possible future sale of the Company’s Common Shares by its existing shareholders, pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of Rule 144, may have a depressive effect on the price of its Common Shares in the over-the-counter market.

The Company’s Common Shares currently deemed a “penny stock”, which may make it more difficult for investors to sell their Common Shares.

The SEC has adopted regulations which generally define “penny stock” to be any equity security that has a market price less than $5.00 per Common Share or an exercise price of less than $5.00 per Common Share, subject to certain exceptions. The Company’s s securities are covered by the penny stock rules, which impose additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers who sell to persons other than established customers and “accredited investors”. The term “accredited investor” refers generally to institutions with assets in excess of $5,000,000 or individuals with a net worth in excess of $1,000,000, exclusive of their principal residence, or annual income exceeding $200,000 or $300,000 jointly with their spouse. The penny stock rules require a broker-dealer, prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from the rules, to deliver a standardized risk disclosure document in a form prepared by the SEC which provides information about penny stocks and the nature and level of risks in the penny stock market. The broker-dealer also must provide the customer with current bid and offer quotations for the penny stock, the compensation of the broker-dealer and its salesperson in the transaction and monthly account statements showing the market value of each penny stock held in the customer’s account. The bid and offer quotations, and the broker-dealer and salesperson compensation information, must be given to the customer orally or in writing prior to effecting the transaction and must be given to the customer in writing before or with the customer’s confirmation. In addition, the penny stock rules require that prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from these rules, the broker-dealer must make a special written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser and receive the purchaser’s written agreement to the transaction. These disclosure requirements may have the effect of reducing the level of trading activity in the secondary market for the stock that is subject to these penny stock rules. Consequently, these penny stock rules may affect the ability of broker-dealers to trade its securities. The Company believes that the penny stock rules may discourage investor interest in and limit the marketability of its Common Shares.

The Company has never paid dividends on its Common Shares.

The Company has not paid dividends on its Common Shares to date, and it does not expect to pay dividends for the foreseeable future. The Company intends to retain its initial earnings, if any, to finance its operations. Any future dividends on Common Shares will depend upon the Company’s earnings, its then-existing financial requirements, and other factors, and will be at the discretion of the Board.

FINRA has adopted sales practice requirements, which may also limit an investor’s ability to buy and sell the Company’s Common Shares.

In addition to the “penny stock” rules described above, FINRA has adopted rules that require that in recommending an investment to a customer, a broker-dealer must have reasonable grounds for believing that the investment is suitable for that customer. Prior to recommending speculative low-priced securities to their non-institutional customers, broker-dealers must make reasonable efforts to obtain information about the customer’s financial status, tax status, investment objectives and other information. Under interpretations of these rules, FINRA believes that there is a high probability that speculative low-priced securities will not be suitable for at least some customers. FINRA requirements make it more difficult for broker-dealers to recommend that their customers buy the Company’s Common Shares, which may limit an investor’s ability to buy and sell its stock and have an adverse effect on the market for the Common Shares.

Investors’ interests in the Company will be diluted and investors may suffer dilution in their net book value per share of Common Shares if we issue additional employee/director/consultant options or if we sell additional Common Shares and/or warrants to finance its operations.

In order to further expand the Company’s operations and meet its objectives, any additional growth and/or expanded business activity will likely need to be financed through sale of and issuance of additional Common Shares. The Company will also in the future grant to some or all of its directors, officers, and key employees and/or consultants options to purchase Common Shares as non-cash incentives. The issuance of any equity securities could, and the issuance of any additional Common Shares will, cause the Company’s existing shareholders to experience dilution of their ownership interests.

If the Company issues additional Common Shares or decides to enter into joint ventures with other parties in order to raise financing through the sale of equity securities, investors’ interests in the Company will be diluted and investors may suffer dilution in their net book value per share of Common Shares depending on the price at which such securities are sold.

The issuance of additional shares of Common Shares may negatively impact the trading price of the Company’s securities.

We have issued Common Shares in the past and will continue to issue Common Shares to finance our activities in the future. In addition, newly issued or outstanding options and warrants to purchase Common Shares may be exercised, resulting in the issuance of additional Common Shares. Any such issuance of additional Common Shares would result in dilution to the Company’s shareholders, and even the perception that such an issuance may occur could have a negative impact on the trading price of the Common Shares.

The Company faces risks related to compliance with corporate governance laws and financial reporting standards.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as well as related new rules and regulations implemented by the SEC and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, require changes in the corporate governance practices and financial reporting standards for public companies. These laws, rules and regulations, including compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 relating to internal control over financial reporting, referred to as Section 404, materially increase the Company’s legal and financial compliance costs and make certain activities more time-consuming and burdensome.