On December 21, 2007 Documents Security Systems (AMEX: DMC) filed an 8-K reporting that Thomas Wicker (“Tweedle Dee”) notified the company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”)of his intention to resign from the Board. On the same day, the Board elected Thomas Wicker’s brother, David Wicker (“Tweedle Dum”), as a member.
Asensio.com has previously reported on the Wicker clan’s record of problematic and irregular business activities. Most of the Wickers’ work, before and in connection with their involvement with DMC, has taken place in a courtroom. For years the Wickers have used lawsuits to protect the alleged patents of their father, Ralph Wicker. Naturally, DMC has followed in the Wickers’ litigious tradition, recently announcing that the company will move forward with its infringement suit against the European Central Bank (“ECB”) after it was “unsuccessful in persuading ECB to engage in reasonable dialogue with the goal of reaching a mutually beneficial going-forward agreement.”
DMC continues to claim that the ECB’s Euronotes infringe on the company’s patented anti-counterfeiting technology. This technology, allegedly developed by Ralph Wicker, was also the subject of a lawsuit in the United States. In 1995, Ralph Wicker and his son, Tweedle Dee, attempted to claim that the United States Treasury Department’s U.S. $100 bill infringed upon intellectual properties covered by Ralph Wicker’s patents. The Wickers’ lawsuit was dismissed; this dismissal was upheld on appeal in 2000.
Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum joined DMC after their father’s death in part to address the “wrongful use of [their] technologies.” DMC boasts on its web site that Thomas Wicker has worked as a “document security scientist for over twenty years.” The truth is that prior to his role as DMC’s Vice President of Technology and a member of its Board, Thomas Wicker worked as an auto-mechanic. Thomas Wicker’s replacement on the Board, David Wicker (who also serves as the company’s Vice President of Operations and just-so-happens to be Thomas Wicker’s brother) previously worked as a bookbindary foreman.
It is difficult to understand how a mechanic and a factory foreman are able to effectively serve as executive officers and board members at a company that claims to have “patented protection against counterfeiting and unauthorized copying, scanning and photo imaging.” But perhaps all DMC needs to turn a mechanic into a corporate executive is a little movie magic. The Corporate History section of the company’s web site boasts that DMC has been organized as a New York Corporation since 1984. However, the site fails to mention that the company was formerly known as New Sky Communications and was involved in the production of low-budget movies, credited with producing such forgettable pictures as “Freak Talks about Sex” and “The Godmother.”
DMC’s ability to transform from a movie company into an anti-counterfeiting company listed on the American Stock Exchange remains the greatest mystery of all. Investors would do well to remain skeptical of any claim from the Tweedle Bros., not-to-mention a company that views legal action as a means to profit.