REFR's latest great investment

So REFR files another quarterly report, and, surprise surprise, for all the hype about production and products, the revenue meter remains planted firmly on "minimum license fees only" mark. On this occasion, the number happens to be $29,792. Interestingly, the company also recorded "investment income" of $56,834, meaning, it would seem, that the company's money is bearing more fruit elsewhere than at the company itself. There's a lesson for investors, I think.

But REFR's successful investment streak probably won't last much longer. Buried on page 10 of the quarterly report (yet somehow pinpointed almost instantly by supposedly casual, unconnected investors), REFR mentions an investment of "up to" $150,000 in one of its licensees, SPD Control Systems.

SPD Control Systems is a rather unusual licensee in a lot of ways. For one thing, there's no obvious reason why they would need a license. Their devices appear to be of their own making, and certainly not connected to any SPD patent. So it's not at all clear what SPD Control Systems is licensing here.

Another oddity is the company's location, in the "Long Island High Technology Incubator" on the campus of SUNY-Stony Brook. Is this a corporation or an academic research project?

Despite these obviously humble digs, SPD Control Systems makes some very weird claims in an edition of the company newsletter, seemingly not coincidentally published to coincide exactly with REFR's quarterly filing. So much so that they actually reference the filing in mentioning the investment from REFR. Way to keep up a pretense of independence, there.

Among the claims are "facilities in over 22 countries and 50+ locations, any of which can be utilized as a manufacturing site for product delivery in regional markets." Really, now. If SPD Control Systems has facilities in "over 22" (so, 23?) countries, you'd think that they could use one of them for office space, rather than having to mooch off a local university.

No, much more likely this claim is akin to the completion centers claimed by Inspectech as a way of making themselves seem a lot larger than they actually were. Inspectech, as we know, was a two-man operation that soon after became one-man, yet still boasted "hundreds of completion centers" as if the company had any kind of ownership relationship to any of them.

Also of note is the headline of the funding announcement: "SCSC Receives RFI and Angel Venture Capital". One might be led to think that "Angel" refers to some kind of institutional name. Because otherwise, why capitalize it, right? But in fact, the paragraph below defines the "angels" in questions as "close friends, family, and colleagues". Sounds like they learned their fund-raising techniques from Woodbury.