Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Commitments and Contingencies

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Commitments and Contingencies
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2012
Commitments and Contingencies [Text Block]

Note 6. Commitments and Contingencies

Employment Agreements

We have employment agreements with our executive officers and some consultants, the terms of which expire at various times. Such agreements provide for minimum compensation levels, as well as incentive bonuses that are payable if specified management goals are attained. Under each of the agreements, in the event the officer’s employment is terminated (other than voluntarily by the officer or by us for cause, or upon the death of the officer), if all provisions of the employment agreements are met, we are committed to pay certain benefits, including specified monthly severance.

Operating Leases

We entered into an agreement to lease new office space under the terms of a sublease with a term of 65 months commencing August 1, 2008. Under the terms of the sublease, the lease payments are inclusive of pass-through costs. We are not charged additional amounts for real estate taxes and standard operating expenses. We paid the security deposit related to this sublease agreement in the amount of approximately $120,000. We pay monthly rental fees in the amount of approximately $43,000 in accordance with the sublease agreement plus parking fees, and rent payments increase by a factor of 4% each year thereafter. The monthly straight-line rental expense from August 1, 2008 to December 1, 2013 is approximately $45,000. As a result of the straight-line rent calculation generated by the one free rent period and rent escalation, we have recorded in accrued liabilities a deferred rent credit of approximately $66,000 and $70,000 at March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively. Total rent expense was approximately $0.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011.

Estimated annual rental payments under our operating leases are as follows:

    Total  
Year ending - December 31, 2012 $  586,136  
Year ending - December 31, 2013   609,016  
Total minimum lease payments $  1,195,152