Filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3)
Registration No. 333-230740
PROSPECTUS
DOCUMENT SECURITY SYSTEMS, INC.
875,000 Shares of Common Stock offered by the Selling Stockholders
The selling stockholders identified in this prospectus, and any of their respective pledgees, donees, transferees or other successors in interest, may offer and sell up to 875,000 shares of our common stock from time to time under this prospectus and any prospectus supplement. The selling stockholders may offer and sell such shares to or through one or more underwriters, dealers and agents, or directly to purchasers, on a continuous or delayed basis. The selling stockholders may offer the shares from time to time through public or private transactions at prevailing market prices, at prices related to prevailing market prices or at privately negotiated prices. We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of our common stock by the selling stockholders. We may receive up to $875,000 upon the cash exercise of the outstanding warrants. The selling stockholders will pay all underwriting discounts and commissions, if any, in connection with the sale of their shares. See “Stockholders” and “Plan of Distribution”.
Investing in our securities involves risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 3 of this prospectus as well as the risk factors and other information in any documents we incorporate by reference into this prospectus to read about important factors you should consider before investing.
Neither we nor any selling shareholder has authorized any dealer, salesman or other person to give any information or to make any representation other than those contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. You must not rely upon any information or representation not contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or the accompanying prospectus supplement.
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 May 8, 2019
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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The selling stockholders may from time to time sell up to 875,000shares of common stock in one or more offerings under this prospectus. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securitiesthe selling stockholders may offer.
You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. We have not authorized any other person to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. This prospectus is not an offer to sell securities, and it is not soliciting an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
DISCLOSURE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus contains forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include those that express plans, anticipation, intent, contingency, goals, targets or future development and/or otherwise are not statements of historical fact. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and projections about future events and they are subject to risks and uncertainties known and unknown that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements.
In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology, such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “estimates,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “may,” “should”, “could” or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. Accordingly, these statements involve estimates, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in them. Any forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the factors discussed throughout this prospectus.
You should read this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement and the documents that we reference and incorporate by reference herein and therein, completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement is accurate as of the date on the front cover of this prospectus or such prospectus supplement only. Because the risk factors referred to above, as well as the risk factors referred to on page 3 of this prospectus and incorporated herein by reference, could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict which factors will arise. In addition, we cannot assess the impact of each factor on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. We qualify all of the information presented in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement, and particularly our forward-looking statements, by these cautionary statements.
Our business is influenced by many factors that are difficult to predict and that involve uncertainties that may materially affect our actual operating results, cash flows and financial condition. Before making an investment decision in our securities, you should carefully consider the specific factors set forth under the caption “Risk Factors” in the applicable prospectus supplement and in our periodic reports filed with the SEC that are incorporated by reference herein (including the “Risk Factors” section beginning on page 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018) together with all of the other information appearing in this prospectus, in the applicable prospectus supplement or incorporated by reference into this prospectus in light of your particular investment objectives and financial circumstances.
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The Company
Document Security Systems, Inc. (referred to herein as “Document Security Systems”, “DSS”, “we”, “us”, “our” or “Company”) was formed in New York in 1984 and, in 2002, chose to strategically focus on becoming a developer and marketer of secure technologies. We specialize in fraud and counterfeit protection for all forms of printed documents and digital information. The Company holds numerous patents for optical deterrent technologies that provide protection of printed information from unauthorized scanning and copying. We operate two production facilities, consisting of a combined security printing and packaging facility and a plastic card facility where we produce secure and non-secure documents for our customers. We license our anti-counterfeiting technologies to printers and brand-owners. In addition, we have a digital division which provides cloud computing services for our customers, including disaster recovery, back-up and data security services. In 2013, the Company expanded its business focus by merging with DSS Technology Management, Inc., formerly known as Lexington Technology Group, Inc., which acquires intellectual property assets and interests in companies owning intellectual property assets for the purpose of monetizing these assets through a variety of value-enhancing initiatives, including, but not limited to, investments in the development and commercialization of patented technologies, licensing, strategic partnerships and litigation.
Prior to 2006, our primary revenue source in our document security division was derived from the licensing of our technology. In 2006, we began a series of acquisitions designed to expand our ability to produce products for end-user customers. In 2006, we acquired Plastic Printing Professionals, Inc., a privately held plastic cards manufacturer located in the San Francisco, California area and which may be referred to herein as the “DSS Plastics Group”. In 2008, we acquired DPI of Rochester, LLC, a privately held commercial printer located in Rochester, New York. In 2010, we acquired Premier Packaging Corporation, a privately held packaging company located in Victor, New York, which may also referred to herein as the “DSS Packaging Group.” In May 2011, we acquired ExtraDev, Inc. a privately held information technology and cloud computing company located in Rochester, New York. In 2016, ExtraDev, Inc. changed its name to DSS Digital Inc. DSS Digital Inc. is also referred to herein as the “DSS Digital Group”.
On July 1, 2013, we merged with DSS Technology Management, Inc. (formerly known as Lexington Technology Group, Inc.), a private intellectual property monetization company. DSS Technology Management, Inc. is also referred to herein as “DSS Technology Management”. DSS Technology Management is focused on extracting the economic benefits of intellectual property assets through acquiring or internally developing patents or other intellectual property assets (or interests therein) and then monetizing such assets through a variety of value enhancing initiatives.
In January 2018, we commenced international operations with our wholly owned subsidiary, DSS Asia Limited, in our office in Hong Kong. In December 2018, this division acquired Guangzhou Hotapps Technology Ltd, a Chinese company that enhances our ability to do business in China. Guangzhou Hotapps Technology Ltd, did not have revenue but has two employees and a license to do business in China.
We do business in five operating segments as follows:
DSS Packaging and Printing Group - Produces custom paperboard packaging serving clients in the pharmaceutical, beverage, photo packaging, toy, specialty foods and direct marketing industries, among others. The group also provides secure and commercial printing services for end-user customers along with technical support for our technology licensees. The division produces a wide array of printed materials such as security paper, vital records, prescription paper, birth certificates, receipts, manuals, identification materials, entertainment tickets, secure coupons, parts tracking forms, brochures, direct mailing pieces, catalogs, business cards, etc. The division also provides resources and access to production equipment for our ongoing research and development of security printing and related technologies.
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DSS Plastics Group - Manufactures laminated and surface printed cards which can include magnetic stripes, bar codes, holograms, signature panels, invisible ink, micro fine printing, guilloche patterns, biometric, radio frequency identification (RFID) and watermarks for printed plastic documents such as ID cards, event badges, and driver’s licenses.
DSS Digital Group - This division researches, develops, markets and sells our digital products, including and primarily, our AuthentiGuard product, which is a brand authentication application that integrates our optical deterrent technologies used in our security printing offerings with proprietary digital data security-based solutions. The AuthentiGuard product allows customers to implement a security mark utilizing conventional printing methods that is copy and counterfeit resistant that can be read and recorded utilizing smartphones and other digital image capture devices, which can be utilized by that customers suppliers, field personnel and customers throughout its global product supply and distribution chains.
DSS International - Assists the DSS Digital Group in the development and marketing of our digital authentication products in the Asia Pacific market.
DSS Technology Management - Acquires or internally develops patented technology or intellectual property assets (or interests therein), with the purpose of monetizing these assets through a variety of value-enhancing initiatives, including, but not limited to, investments in the development and commercialization of patented technologies, licensing, strategic partnerships and commercial litigation.
Our Core Products, Technology and Services
Our core business is counterfeit prevention, brand protection and validation of authentic print media, including government-issued documents, packaging, ID cards and licenses. We believe we are a leader in the research and development of optical deterrent technologies and have commercialized these technologies with a suite of products that offer our customers an array of document security solutions. We provide document security technology to security printers, corporations, consumer product companies, and governments for protection of vital records and documents, certifications, travel documents, consumer products, pharmaceutical packaging and school transcripts.
Optical deterrent features such as ours are utilized mainly by large security printers for the protection of important printed documents, such as vital records, and identification documents. Many of these features, such as micro-printing, were developed pre-1980 as they were designed to be effective on the imaging devices of the day which were mainly photography mechanisms. With the advent of modern-day scanners, digital copiers, digital cameras, smart phones and easy to use imaging software such as Adobe Photoshop many of the pre-1980 optical deterrents such as micro-printing are no longer used or are much less effective in the prevention of counterfeiting.
Unlike some of our competitors, our technologies are developed to defeat today’s modern imaging systems. Almost all our products and processes are built to thwart scanners and digital copiers and we believe that our products are the most effective in doing so in the market today. In addition, our technologies do not require expensive hardware or software add-ons to authenticate a document, but instead require simple, inexpensive hand-held readers which can be calibrated to particular hidden design features. Our technologies are literally ink on paper that is printed with a particular method to hide selected things from a scanner’s “eye” or distort what a scanner “sees.” These attributes make our anti-scanning technologies very cost effective versus other current offerings on the market since our technologies are imbedded during the normal printing process, thereby significantly reducing the costs to implement the technologies.
Our primary anti-counterfeiting products and technologies are marketed under its AuthentiGuard® registered trademark. In October 2012, we introduced AuthentiGuard®, an iPhone application for authentication, targeted to major Fortune 500 companies worldwide. The application is a cloud-enabled solution that permits efficient and cost-effective authentication for packaging, documents and credentials. The solution embeds customizable, covert AuthentiGuard® Prism technology that resists duplication on copiers and scanners in a product’s packaging. Product verification using a smartphone application creates real-time, accurate authentication results for brand owners that can be integrated into existing information systems.
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Our Patent Monetization Business
Since its acquisition in 2013, DSS Technology Management’s primary mission has been the attempted monetization of its various patent portfolios through commercial litigation.
Except for its investment in its social networking related patents, DSS Technology Management and the Company have partnered with various third-party funding groups in connection with patent monetization programs and may continue to do so in the future. In connection with these fundings, we have purchased patents in a variety of fields, including social networking, mobile communications, semi-conductors, Bluetooth and LED, and have initiated patent infringement litigation against a wide range of domestic and global companies. In connection with these litigation matters, we engage with legal firms that typically work under fee caps and contingency fee arrangements. To date, we have been or are currently in litigation with, among others, Apple, Samsung, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Intel, NEC, Lenovo, Seoul Semiconductor, Everlight Electronics, Cree, Nichia and Osram, GMBH. During the course of these litigation matters, we typically incur a variety of legal challenges from defendants, including defendants seeking to have the patents in question adjudicated to be invalid by the United States Patent Office through theInter Partes Review process. As a result of these various legal challenges issued by defendants, we have experienced varying levels of success in our efforts to monetize our patent investments. In addition, to date, most of settlements or payments received from defendants have been remitted to the Company’s third-party funders in accordance with the terms of those respective funding agreements.
Corporate Information
Our principal executive offices are located at 200 Canal View Boulevard, Suite 300, Rochester, New York 14623. Our telephone number is (585) 325-3610. Our corporate website is www.dsssecure.com. Information contained in or accessible through our website is not part of this prospectus.
We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling shareholders. We may however receive up to $875,000 from the cash exercise of outstanding warrants by selling shareholders.
This prospectus contains a summary of the securities that the selling shareholders may sell. These summaries are not meant to be a complete description of such securities. However, this prospectus and the accompanying prospectus supplement contain the material terms of the securities being offered.
DESCRIPTION OF COMMON STOCK
General
The following description of common stock summarizes the material terms and provisions of the common stock that the selling shareholders may offer but is not complete. For the complete terms of our common stock, please refer to our certificate of incorporation, as amended, (the “Certificate of Incorporation”) which may be further amended from time to time, and our fourth amended and restated bylaws, as amended from time to time (the “Bylaws”). New York Business Corporation Law (“NYBCL”) may also affect the terms of these securities. While the terms we have summarized below will apply generally to any future common stock that we may offer, we will describe the particular terms of any series of these securities in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement. If we so indicate in a prospectus supplement, the terms of any common stock we offer under that prospectus supplement may differ from the terms we describe below.
As of May 2, 2019, our authorized capital stock consisted of 200,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.02 par value per share, 18,002,721 of which are issued and outstanding.
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Common Stock
Holders of our common stock: (i) have equal rights to dividends from funds legally available therefore, ratably when as and if declared by the Company’s Board of Directors; (ii) are entitled to share ratably in all assets of the Company available for distribution to holders of common stock upon liquidation, dissolution, or winding up of the affairs of the Company; (iii) do not have preemptive, subscription or conversion rights and there are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable thereto; (iv) are entitled to one non-cumulative vote per share of common stock, on all matters which stockholders may vote on at all meetings of stockholders; and (v) the holders of common stock have no conversion, preemptive or other subscription rights. There is no cumulative voting for the election of directors. Each holder of our common stock is entitled to one vote for each share of our common stock held on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders.
Anti-Takeover Effects of Certain Provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation, Bylaws and the BCL
New York Law
Section 912 of the NYBCL generally provides that a New York corporation may not engage in a business combination with an interested stockholder for a period of five years following the interested stockholder’s becoming such. Such a business combination would be permitted where it is approved by the board of directors before the interested stockholder’s becoming such. Covered business combinations include certain mergers and consolidations, dispositions of assets or stock, plans for liquidation or dissolution, reclassifications of securities, recapitalizations and similar transactions. An interested stockholder is generally a stockholder owning at least 20% of a corporation’s outstanding voting stock. In addition, New York corporations may not engage at any time with any interested stockholder in a business combination other than: (i) a business combination approved by the board of directors before the stock acquisition, or where the acquisition of the stock had been approved by the board of directors before the stock acquisition; (ii) a business combination approved by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting stock not beneficially owned by the interested stockholder at a meeting called for that purpose no earlier than five years after the stock acquisition; or (iii) a business combination in which the interested stockholder pays a formula price designed to ensure that all other stockholders receive at least the highest price per share that is paid by the interested stockholder and that meets certain other requirements.
A corporation may opt out of the interested stockholder provisions described in the preceding paragraph by expressly electing not to be governed by such provisions in its bylaws, which must be approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of votes of the outstanding voting stock of such corporation and is subject to further conditions. However, DSS’s Bylaws do not contain any provisions electing not to be governed by Section 912 NYBCL. Under DSS’s bylaws, any corporate action to be taken by vote of the shareholders, shall be authorized by a majority of votes cast at a meeting of shareholders by the holders of shares entitled to vote thereon.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The Transfer Agent and Registrar for our common stock is American Stock Transfer and Trust Company, LLC.
SECURITIES HELD BY SELLING SECURITY HOLDERS
On November 14, 2016, the Company issued a warrant to Brickell Key Investments LP (“BKI”). BKI’s warrant is a five year warrant, allowing them to purchase up to 750,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $1.00 per share. The warrant was issued in consideration for funds advanced to the Company by BKI pursuant to a Proceeds Investment Agreement.
On November 1, 2017, the Company issued a warrant to Nix Patterson & Roach LLP (“NPR”). NPR’s warrant is a three year warrant, allowing them to purchase up to 125,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $1.00 per share. The warrant was issued in consideration for past litigation related expenses incurred by NPR on behalf of the Company.
An aggregate of 875,000 shares of common stock may be offered for sale and sold from time to time pursuant to this prospectus by the selling shareholders and their respective transferees, distributees, pledgees, donees, assignees or other successors. We are paying all of the expenses in connection with such registration and the sale of the shares, other than selling commissions and the fees and expenses of counsel and other advisors to the selling shareholders. Information concerning the selling shareholders may change from time to time, and any changed information will be set forth if and when required in prospectus supplements or other appropriate forms permitted to be used by the SEC.
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The following table sets forth, for the selling shareholders to the extent known by us, the number of shares of our common stock beneficially owned, the number of shares of our common stock offered hereby and the number of shares and percentage of outstanding common stock to be owned after completion of this offering, assuming all shares offered hereby are sold. None of the selling shareholders has had any material relationship within the past three years with us or, to our knowledge, our affiliates. To our knowledge, none of the selling shareholders is a broker-dealer and/or affiliated with a broker-dealer.
All of the information contained in the table below is based solely upon information provided to us by the selling shareholders or otherwise known by us. In addition to the shares offered hereby, the selling shareholders may otherwise beneficially own our shares of common stock as a result of, among others, open market purchases, which information is not obtainable by us without undue effort and expense. The selling shareholders may have sold, transferred or otherwise disposed of, or may sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of, at any time or from time to time since the date on which the information regarding the shares beneficially owned was last known by us, all or a portion of the shares beneficially owned in transactions exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act.
The number of shares outstanding and the percentages of beneficial ownership are based on 18,002,721 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding as of May 2, 2019.
For the purposes of the following table, the number of shares of our common stock beneficially owned has been determined in accordance with Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act, and such information is not necessarily indicative of beneficial ownership for any other purpose. Under Rule 13d-3, beneficial ownership includes any shares as to which a selling shareholder has sole or shared voting power or investment power and also any shares that that selling shareholder has the right to acquire within 60 days of the date of this prospectus through the exercise of any stock option.
| Name of Selling Shareholder | Number of Shares Owned Before Offering | Number of Shares Being Offered | Number of Shares Owned After Offering | Percent of Shares Owned After Offering | ||||||||||||
| Brickell Key Investments LP (1) | 750,000 | 750,000 | (3) | - | - | |||||||||||
| Nix Patterson & Roach LLP (2) | 125,000 | 125,000 | (3) | - | - | |||||||||||
| TOTAL | 875,000 | 875,000 | (3) | - | - | |||||||||||
| (1) | Julian Carey holds voting and dispositive power over securities held by the selling shareholder. The address of the selling shareholder is 11 New Street, St. Peter Port, Guernsey GY1 2PF. | |
| (2) | Steven F. Johnston holds voting and dispositive power over securities held by the selling shareholder. The address of the selling shareholder is 3600 N. Capital of TX Hwy, Suite B-350, Austin, TX 78746 | |
| (3) | Represents shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding warrants at an exercise price of $1.00 per share. |
The selling shareholders may sell or dispose of the securities in one or more of the following ways (or in any combination) from time to time:
| ● | through underwriters or dealers; | |
| ● | directly to a limited number of purchasers or to a single purchaser (including block transactions); | |
| ● | through agents; or | |
| ● | an offering of shares by way of a distribution to shareholders, partners or members. |
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If the selling shareholders use underwriters in the sale, the securities will be acquired by the underwriters for their own account(s) and may be resold from time to time in one or more transactions, including:
| ● | negotiated transactions; | |
| ● | at a fixed public offering price or prices, which may be changed; | |
| ● | at market prices prevailing at the time of sale; | |
| ● | at prices related to prevailing market prices; or | |
| ● | at negotiated prices. |
Broker-dealers engaged by the selling shareholders may arrange for other broker-dealers to participate in sales. Broker-dealers may receive commissions or discounts from the selling shareholders (or, if any broker-dealer acts as agent for the purchaser of shares of common stock, from the purchaser) in amounts to be negotiated, but, except as set forth in a supplement to this prospectus, in the case of an agency transaction, not in excess of a customary brokerage commission in compliance with FINRA Rule 2440; and in the case of a principal transaction a markup or markdown in compliance with FINRA IM-2440.
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The selling shareholders may sell the securities through agents from time to time. To the extent required pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act, or other applicable rule, a prospectus supplement will name any agent involved in the offer or sale of the securities and any commissions paid them. Generally, any agent will be acting on a best-efforts basis for the period of its appointment.
The selling shareholders may enter into hedging transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions. In connection with such transactions, broker-dealers or other financial institutions may engage in short sales of our common stock in the course of hedging the positions they assume with the selling shareholders. The selling shareholders may also enter into options or other transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions which require the delivery to such broker-dealer or other financial institution of shares offered hereby, which shares such broker-dealer or other financial institution may resell pursuant to this prospectus (as supplemented or amended to reflect such transaction).
The selling shareholders and any broker-dealers or agents that are involved in selling the shares of common stock may be deemed to be “underwriters” within the meaning of the Securities Act in connection with such sales. In such event, any commissions received by such broker-dealers or agents and any profit on the resale of the shares of common stock purchased by them may be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts under the Securities Act. Each selling shareholder has informed us that it does not have any written or oral agreement or understanding, directly or indirectly, with any person to distribute the shares of common stock. In no event shall any broker-dealer receive fees, commissions and markups, which, in the aggregate, would exceed eight percent (8%).
Because selling shareholders may be deemed to be “underwriters” within the meaning of the Securities Act, they will be subject to the prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act, including Rule 172 thereunder. In addition, any shares of common stock covered by this prospectus which qualify for sale pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act may be sold under Rule 144 rather than under this prospectus. The selling shareholders have advised us that there is no underwriter or coordinating broker acting in connection with the proposed sale of the shares of common stock by the selling shareholders.
As used herein, “selling shareholders” includes donees, pledgees, distributees, transferees or other successors-in-interest selling shares received after the date of this prospectus from a named selling shareholder as a gift, pledge, partnership distribution or other non-sale related transfer.
Underwriters and agents may be entitled under agreements entered into with the selling shareholders, if applicable, to indemnification by the selling shareholders against certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribution with respect to payments which the underwriters or agents may be required to make. Underwriters and agents may be customers of, engage in transactions with or perform services for us and our affiliates in the ordinary course of business.
Under applicable rules and regulations under the Exchange Act, any person engaged in the distribution of the shares of common stock may not simultaneously engage in market making activities with respect to the common stock for the applicable restricted period, as defined in Regulation M, prior to the commencement of the distribution. In addition, the selling shareholders will be subject to applicable provisions of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations thereunder, including Regulation M, which may limit the timing of purchases and sales of our securities by the selling shareholders or any other person. We will make copies of this prospectus available to the selling shareholders and have informed them of the need to deliver a copy of this prospectus to each purchaser at or prior to the time of the sale (including by compliance with Rule 172 under the Securities Act).
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The validity of the rights and the shares of common stock offered by this prospectus have been passed upon for us by Sichenzia Ross Ference LLP, New York, New York.
The consolidated financial statements of Document Security Systems, Inc. and Subsidiaries as of and for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 incorporated in this prospectus by reference to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 have been audited by FREED MAXICK CPAs, P.C., an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in its report incorporated by reference herein, and have been so incorporated in reliance upon such report and upon the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
INCORPORATION OF INFORMATION BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” into this prospectus the information we file with the SEC. This means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be part of this prospectus.
We are incorporating by reference the following documents that we have filed with the SEC (other than any filing or portion thereof that is furnished, rather than filed, under applicable SEC rules):
| ● | our Annual Report on Form 10-K and 10K/A for the year ended December 31, 2018, filed with the SEC on March 15, 2019 and April 26, 2019, respectively; | |
| ● | our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 15, 2019, February 22, 2019, March 27, 2019, March 28, 2019, April 10, 2019, April 11, 2019, April 11, 2019, April 16, 2019, April 17, 2019, April 30, 2019 and May 2, 2019; and | |
| ● | The description of our Common Stock, which is registered under Section 12 of the Exchange Act, in our registration statement on Form 8-A, filed with the SEC on April 19, 2004, including any amendments or reports filed for the purpose of updating such description. |
We also incorporate by reference all additional documents that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the terms of Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are made after the initial filing date of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part until the offering of the particular securities covered by a prospectus supplement or term sheet has been completed. We are not, however, incorporating, in each case, any documents or information that we are deemed to furnish and not file in accordance with Securities and Exchange Commission rules.
You may request a copy of these filings at no cost, by writing or telephoning us at the following address or telephone number:
Frank D. Hueszel
Document Security Systems, Inc.
200 Canal View Boulevard
Suite 300
Rochester, NY 14623
Tel: (585) 325-3610
Except as expressly provided above, no other information, including none of the information on our website, is incorporated by reference into this prospectus.
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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We file periodic reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Our filings are available to the public over the Internet at the SEC’s web site at http://www.sec.gov. You may also read and copy any document we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room, located at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You can also obtain copies of the documents at prescribed rates by writing to the Public Reference Section of the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the operation of its Public Reference Room. We will also provide you with a copy of any or all of the reports or documents that have been incorporated by reference into this prospectus or the registration statement of which it is a part upon written or oral request, and at no cost to you. If you would like to request any reports or documents from the company, please contact Frank D. Hueszel at 585-325-3610.
Our Internet address is www.dsssecure.com. We have not incorporated by reference into this prospectus the information on our website, and you should not consider it to be a part of this document. Our web address is included in this document as an inactive textual reference only.
DISCLOSURE OF COMMISSION POSITION ON INDEMNIFICATION FOR SECURITIES ACT LIABILITIES
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable. In addition, indemnification may be limited by state securities laws.
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