UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE
14A
(RULE 14a-101)
INFORMATION
REQUIRED IN
PROXY STATEMENT
SCHEDULE
14A INFORMATION
Proxy Statement Pursuant
to Section 14(a) of
the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No. ______)
Filed by the Registrant ☒
Filed by a Party other than the Registrant
☐
Check the appropriate box:
☐ Preliminary
Proxy Statement
☐ Confidential,
for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))
☒ Definitive
Proxy Statement
☐ Definitive
Additional Materials
☐ Soliciting
Material under §240.14a-12
Network-1
Technologies, Inc.
(Name
of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)
(Name of Person(s)
Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)
Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate
box):
☐
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Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1)
and 0-11.
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(1)
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Title
of each class of securities to which transaction applies:
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(2)
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Aggregate
number of securities to which transaction applies:
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(3)
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Per
unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to Exchange Act Rule
0-11 (set forth the amount on which the filing fee is calculated and state how it was determined):
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(4)
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Proposed
maximum aggregate value of transaction:
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Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.
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Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange
Act Rule 0-11 (a)(2) and identity the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identity the previous filing by registration
statement number, or the Form or Schedule and the date of its filing.
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(1)
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Amount
Previously Paid:
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(2)
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Form,
Schedule or Registration Statement No.:
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Network-1 Technologies,
Inc.
445 Park Avenue,
Suite 912
New York,
New York 10022
August 9,
2021
Dear Network-1
Stockholders:
You
are cordially invited to attend the Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Network-1 Technologies, Inc. (the “Company”) which
will be held on Thursday, September 23, 2021, at 10:00 A.M. (Eastern Time), virtually, via a live audio webcast at https://web.lumiagm.com/201466103.
The Annual Meeting will be a completely virtual meeting of stockholders which will be conducted exclusively by webcast on the Internet.
The Annual Meeting is being held entirely online due to the ongoing public health impact of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and to
support the health and well being of our directors and stockholders. No physical meeting will be held. You will be able to attend the
meeting, vote and submit your questions at such website during the meeting.
Details
regarding the Annual Meeting and the business to be conducted are more fully described in the accompanying Notice of 2021 Annual Meeting
of Stockholders and Proxy Statement.
Your
vote is important. Whether or not you plan to attend the Annual Meeting, I hope you will vote as soon as possible. You may vote over
the Internet or virtually at the Annual Meeting, or you also may vote by mailing a proxy card or by telephone. Please review the instructions
on the proxy card regarding your voting options.
Cordially,
/s/Corey
M. Horowitz
Corey M.
Horowitz
Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer
YOUR VOTE
IS IMPORTANT
In
order to ensure your representation at the Annual Meeting, whether or not you plan to attend the meeting, please vote your shares
as promptly as possible over the Internet or by telephone by following the instructions on your proxy card. Your participation will
help to ensure the presence of a quorum at the Annual Meeting and save the Company the extra expense associated with additional solicitation.
If you hold your shares through a broker, bank or other nominee, your broker, bank or other nominee is not permitted to vote on your
behalf in the election of directors (Proposal 1) or the non-binding advisory Say on Pay Vote (Proposal 2) unless you provide specific
instructions to your broker, bank or other nominee by completing and returning any voting instruction form that your broker, bank
or other nominee provides or following instructions that allow you to vote your broker-held shares via telephone or the Internet.
Voting your shares in advance will not prevent you from attending the Annual Meeting, revoking your earlier submitted proxy or voting
your shares virtually during the Annual Meeting.
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NETWORK-1 TECHNOLOGIES,
INC.
445 Park Avenue,
Suite 912
New York, New York
10022
NOTICE OF 2021 ANNUAL
MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
TO BE HELD
ON SEPTEMBER 23, 2021
To the Stockholders
of Network-1 Technologies, Inc.:
NOTICE IS HEREBY
GIVEN that the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) of Network-1 Technologies, Inc. (the “Company”)
will be held on Thursday, September 23, 2021, at 10:00 A.M. (Eastern Time), virtually, via a live audio webcast on the Internet at https://web.lumiagm.com/201466103,
for the following purposes.
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1.
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To elect
five directors to serve until the next Annual Meeting of Stockholders and until their respective
successors have been duly elected and qualified (Proposal 1);
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2.
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To cast a
non-binding, advisory vote to approve the compensation of our named executive officers (“Say
on Pay Vote”) (Proposal 2);
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3.
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To ratify
the appointment of Friedman LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for
the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021 (Proposal 3); and
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4.
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To transact
such other business as may properly come before the Annual Meeting (including any adjournments
or postponements thereof).
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The
Annual Meeting will be a completely virtual meeting of stockholders, which will be conducted exclusively by webcast on the Internet.
No physical meeting will be held. Only stockholders of record at the close of business on July 29, 2021 are entitled to receive the notice
of and to vote at the Annual Meeting or any postponement or adjournment thereof.
If
your shares are registered in your name with American Stock Transfer & Trust Company LLC (“AST”), the Company’s
transfer agent, and you wish to attend the online-only virtual meeting, go to https://web.lumiagm.com/201466103,
enter the 11 digit voter control number you received on your proxy card or proxy materials and the password for the Annual Meeting, which
is network2021. We encourage you to use ample time for online check-in which will begin at 9:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) on the day of the
Annual Meeting.
If
your shares are registered in the name of your broker, bank or other nominee, you are a “beneficial owner” of the shares.
Beneficial owners of shares who wish to attend the online-only virtual meeting must obtain a valid legal proxy by contacting your account
representative at the bank, broker, or other nominee that holds your shares and then register in advance to virtually attend the Annual
Meeting. After obtaining a valid legal proxy from your broker, bank or other nominee, to then register to virtually attend the Annual
Meeting, you must submit a copy of your legal proxy reflecting the number of your shares along with your name and e-mail address to American
Stock Transfer and Trust Company, LLC. Request for registration should be directed to proxy@astfinancial.com
or to facsimile number 718-765-8730. Written requests can be mailed to: American stock Transfer & Trust LLC, Attn: Proxy
Tabulation Department, 6201 15th Avenue, Brooklyn, New
York 11219. Requests for registration must be labeled as “Legal Proxy” and be received no later than 5:00p.m. (Eastern Time)
on September 16, 2021.
Your
Board of Directors believes that the election of the nominees specified in the accompanying Proxy Statement as directors at the Annual
Meeting is in the best interest of the Company and its stockholders and, accordingly, unanimously recommends a vote “FOR”
such nominees. The Board of Directors also recommends that you vote “FOR” the Say on Pay Vote and “FOR”
ratifying the appointment of Friedman LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm.
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By Order of the Board of Directors,
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August
9, 2021
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/s/ David Kahn
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David Kahn
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Chief Financial Officer and Secretary
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
GENERAL
INFORMATION
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1
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Record
Date
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1
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Quorum
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1
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Shares Outstanding
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2
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Shareholders
of Record/Beneficial Owners
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2
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Voting
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2
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Revoking
Your Proxy
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2
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Votes
Required to Adopt Proposals and Abstentions and Broker Non-Votes
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3
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Effect
of Not Casting Your Vote
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3
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Effect
of Abstentions and Broker Non-Votes
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3
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Voting
Instructions
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3
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Tabulating
the Vote
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3
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Voting
Results
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4
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Solicitation/Costs
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4
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Virtual
Annual Meeting
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4
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Submitting
a Question
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4
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Technical
Difficulties
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4
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PROPOSAL
1 - ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
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5
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CORPORATE
GOVERNANCE
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7
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Director
Independence
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7
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Board
Leadership Structure
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7
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Board
Oversight of Risk
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7
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Meetings
of the Board of Directors and Board Committees
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7
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Board
Committees
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8
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Anti-Hedging
and Anti-Pledging Policies
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9
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Code of Ethics
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9
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Communications
with the Board
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9
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CONSIDERATION
OF DIRECTOR NOMINEES
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10
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DEADLINE
AND PROCEDURES FOR SUBMITTING BOARD NOMINATIONS
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11
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COMPENSATION OF DIRECTORS
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11
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EXECUTIVE
OFFICERS
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12
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EXECUTIVE
COMPENSATION
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13
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Named
Executive Officers
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13
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Compensation
Overview
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13
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Summary
Compensation Table
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14
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Narrative
Disclosure to Summary Compensation Table
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15
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Outstanding
Equity Awards At Year-End
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18
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SECURITY
OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
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CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS
AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
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AUDIT COMMITTEE
REPORT
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21
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PROPOSAL
2 - NON-BINDING ADVISORY VOTE TO APPROVE THE COMPENSATION OF OUR NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICER COMPENSATION
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22
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PROPOSAL
3 - RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF OUR INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
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23
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Audit
Fees
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23
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Audit
Related Fees, Tax Fees and All Other Fees
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23
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Audit
Committee Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures
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STOCKHOLDER
PROPOSALS FOR 2022 ANNUAL MEETING
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24
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OTHER INFORMATION
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25
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NETWORK-1 TECHNOLOGIES,
INC.
PROXY STATEMENT
FOR THE 2021 ANNUAL
MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
TO BE HELD
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2021
GENERAL INFORMATION
Our
Board of Directors (the “Board”) solicits your proxy on our behalf for the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual
Meeting”) of Network-1 Technologies, Inc. and at any postponement or adjournment of the Annual Meeting for the purposes set
forth in this Proxy Statement and the accompanying Notice of 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders
(the “Notice”). The Annual Meeting will be held at 10:00 A.M. (Eastern Time) on Thursday, September 23,
2021, virtually, via live audio webcast on the Internet at https://web.lumiagm.com/201466103. The
Annual Meeting will be a completely virtual meeting of stockholders, which will be conducted exclusively by webcast on the Internet.
The Annual Meeting is being held entirely online due to the ongoing public health impact of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and to
support the health and well being of our directors and stockholders. No physical meeting will be held. You will be able to attend the
Annual Meeting, vote and submit your questions at such website during the meeting.
In
this Proxy Statement the terms “Network-1”, the “Company”, “we”, “us”, and “our”
refer to Network-1 Technologies, Inc. The address and telephone number of our principal executive offices is Network-1 Technologies,
Inc., 445 Park Avenue, Suite 912, New York, New York 10022, telephone: (212) 829-5770. This Proxy Statement, the accompanying proxy card
and our 2021 Annual Report will be first sent on or about August 9, 2021 to all stockholders of record as of July 29, 2021.
IMPORTANT
NOTICE REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS FOR THE ANNUAL MEETING TO BE HELD ON SEPTEMBER 23, 2021: This Proxy Statement
and the Company’s 2020 Annual Report are available for review on the Internet at http://www.network-1.com/sec/proxy2021/.
Record
Date
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July 29, 2021;
only stockholders of record of the Company’s common stock at the close of business on July 29, 2021 (the “Record Date”)
are entitled to receive notice of and to vote at the Annual Meeting.
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Quorum
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A majority
of the shares of all issued and outstanding stock entitled to vote on the Record Date must be present in person at the Annual Meeting
or represented by proxy to constitute a quorum.
Votes withheld
from any nominee, abstentions and “broker non-votes” (i.e., where a broker has not received voting instructions
from the beneficial owner and for which the broker does not have discretionary power to vote on a particular matter) are counted
as present for purposes of determining the presence of a quorum.
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Shares
Outstanding
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As of July 29,
2021 (Record Date) there were 24,088,379 shares of Network-1’s common stock issued and outstanding.
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Shareholders
of Record/ Beneficial Owners
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If your shares
are registered directly in your name with American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, the Company’s transfer agent, you
are a shareholder of record with respect to those shares. If your shares are held in an account at a brokerage firm, bank
or other nominee, then you are the beneficial owner of shares held in “street name”. As a beneficial owner, you have
the right to instruct your brokerage firm, bank or other nominee how to vote your shares. Most individual shareholders are beneficial
owners of shares held in “street name”.
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Voting
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Each share
of Network-1 common stock has one vote on each matter. Only shareholders of record as of the close of business on the Record Date
(July 29, 2021) are entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting.
There are four
ways a stockholder of record can vote:
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(1)
By Internet: you may vote over the Internet by following the instructions provided on the proxy card;
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(2)
By Telephone: you may vote by telephone by following the instructions on the proxy card;
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(3)
By Mail: you may complete, sign and return the accompanying proxy card, in the
postage-paid envelope provided; and
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(4) Virtually:
if you are a stockholder of record as of the Record Date, you
may vote virtually at the meeting at https://web.lumiagm.com/(password:
network2021). You will need the 11 digit control number included on your proxy card and
the meeting password: network2021. Submitting a proxy will not prevent a stockholder from attending the Annual
Meeting, revoking their earlier submitted proxy, and voting virtually.
If you hold
your shares as a beneficial owner (in street name) through a broker, bank or other nominee, you must first obtain a valid legal proxy
from your bank, broker, or other nominee and then register in advance to attend the Annual Meeting. Follow the instructions from
your bank, broker, or other nominee included with these proxy materials, or contact your bank, broker, or other nominee to request
a legal proxy form. After obtaining a valid legal proxy from your bank, broker, or other nominee to then register to attend the Annual
Meeting, you must submit proof of your legal proxy reflecting the number of your shares along with your name and email address to
American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC (“AST”). Requests for registration should be directed to proxy@astfinancial.com
or to facsimile number 718-765-8730. Written requests can be mailed to:
American
Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC
Attn: Proxy Tabulation Department
6201 15th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11219.
Requests
for registration must be labeled as “Legal Proxy” and be received no later than 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time), on
Thursday September 16, 2021.
Even if
you plan to attend the virtual Annual Meeting, we recommend that you vote your shares in advance as described above so that your
vote will be counted if you later decide not to attend the Annual Meeting.
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Revoking
Your Proxy
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Stockholders
of record may revoke their proxies at any time before the voting is closed at the Annual Meeting. You may revoke your
proxy by attending the Annual Meeting and voting virtually, by filing an instrument in writing revoking your proxy or by filing another
duly executed proxy bearing a later date with our Secretary before the vote is closed at the Annual Meeting, or by voting again using
the telephone or Internet before the cutoff time (your latest telephone or Internet proxy is the one that will be counted). If
you hold shares through a bank, broker or other nominee, you may revoke any prior instructions by contacting that organization.
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Votes Required to Adopt
Proposals and Abstentions
and Broker Non-Votes
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The
table below summarizes the votes required for approval of each matter to be brought before the Annual Meeting, as well as the treatment
of abstentions and broker non-votes. If you sign and return a proxy but do not specify how you want your shares voted,
your shares will be voted FOR the director nominees and FOR the other proposals listed below:
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Proposal
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Vote
Required for Approval of
Each Item
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Abstentions
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Broker
Non-Votes
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(1)
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Election of Directors
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Each
director shall be elected by a plurality of the votes (greatest number of votes for) of the shares present in person or represented
by proxy at the Annual Meeting and entitled to vote on the election of directors (Proposal 1).
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No
effect on this proposal
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No
effect on this proposal
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(2)
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Advisory Vote on Say on Pay Vote
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The
affirmative vote of a majority of shares present in person or represented by proxy at the Annual Meeting and entitled to vote on
Proposal 2 is required to approve this proposal.
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Counted as
“against”
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No
effect on this proposal
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(3)
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Ratification
of Appointment of Auditors
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The
affirmative vote of a majority of shares present in person or represented by proxy at the Annual Meeting and entitled to vote on
Proposal 3 is required to approve this proposal.
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Counted as
“against”
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Not
applicable since brokerage firms or banks have discretionary authority to vote on this proposal
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Effect of Not
Casting Your Vote
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If you are a
beneficial owner and hold your shares in street name and want your shares to count in the election of directors (Proposal 1)
or the Say on Pay Vote (Proposal 2), you will need to instruct your broker, bank or other nominee how you want your shares
voted. If you hold your shares in street name and you do not instruct your brokerage firm, bank or other nominee how to
vote in the election of directors (Proposal 1) or the Say on Pay Vote (Proposal 2), no vote will be cast on your behalf on any of
these proposals for which you did not provide voting instructions. Your brokerage firm, bank or other nominee will only
have the discretion to vote any uninstructed shares on the ratification of the appointment of the Company’s independent registered
public accounting firm (Proposal 3).
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If
you are a shareholder of record and do not return your proxy or attend the Annual Meeting, your shares will not be considered present
at the Annual Meeting for voting purposes or determining whether we have a quorum and no vote will be cast for your shares at the
Annual Meeting.
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Effect of Abstentions
and Broker Non-Votes
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Under
the rules that govern brokers holding shares for their customers, brokers who do not receive voting instructions from their customers
have the discretion to vote uninstructed shares on routine matters, but do not have discretion to vote such uninstructed shares on
non-routine matters. Only Proposal 3, the ratification of the appointment of Friedman LLP, is considered a routine
matter where brokers are permitted to vote shares held by them without instruction. If your shares are held through a broker, those
shares will not be voted on the election of directors (Proposal 1) or the Say on Pay Vote (Proposal 2) unless you affirmatively provide
the broker with instructions on how to vote.
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Voting Instructions
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If
you complete and submit your proxy voting instructions, the persons appointed by the Board as proxies (the persons named in the proxy
card) will vote your shares as instructed. If you submit your proxy card but do not direct how your shares should be voted
on each item, the persons named as proxies by the Board will vote FOR the election of the nominees for directors named in
this proxy statement, FOR the advisory Say on Pay Vote, and FOR the ratification of the appointment of Friedman LLP
as our independent registered public accounting firm. The persons named as proxies will vote on any other matters properly
presented at the Annual Meeting, or any postponement or adjournment thereof, in accordance with their best judgment, although the
Board is not aware of any other matters other than those set forth in the Proxy Statement that will be presented for voting at the
Annual Meeting.
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Tabulating the Vote
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Votes will be counted
and certified by one or more Inspectors of Election who are expected to be an employee of American Stock Transfer & Trust Company,
LLC, the transfer agent for the Company’s common stock, and a representative of the legal counsel to the Company.
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Voting Results
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We
will announce preliminary results at the Annual Meeting. We will report final results by filing a Form 8-K within four
business days after the Annual Meeting. If final results are not available at that time, we will provide preliminary voting
results in the Form 8-K and will provide the final results in an amendment to the Form 8-K as soon as they become available.
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Solicitation/Costs
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We
are paying for the distribution of the proxy materials and solicitation of the proxies. As part of this process, we reimburse
brokerage firms, banks and other custodians, nominees and fiduciaries for their reasonable out-of-pocket expenses for forwarding
proxy and solicitation materials to our stockholders. Proxy solicitation expenses that we will pay include those for preparation,
mailing, returning and tabulating the proxies. Our directors, officers and employees may also solicit proxies on our behalf
in person, by telephone, email or facsimile, but they do not receive additional compensation for providing those services.
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Virtual Annual Meeting
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The
Annual Meeting is being held entirely online due to the ongoing public health impact of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19)
and to support the health and well being of our directors and stockholders. Hosting a virtual annual meeting provides
easy access for our stockholders and facilitates participation since stockholders can participate from any location.
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You
will be able to participate in the Annual Meeting of Stockholders online and submit your questions during the meeting by visiting https://web.lumiagm.com/201466103.
To be admitted to the Annual Meeting, you must enter the 11 digit voter control number included in your proxy materials or on your proxy
card and the password for the Annual Meeting, which is network2021. We encourage you to allow ample time for online check-in, which
will begin at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time on the day of the Annual Meeting. We recommend that you carefully review the procedures
to gain admission virtually to the Annual Meeting in advance. You will also be able to vote your shares electronically prior
to or during the Annual Meeting.
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Submitting a Question
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If
you want to submit a question during the Annual Meeting, log into https://web.lumiagm.com/201466103
(password: network2021). We intend to answer properly submitted questions that are pertinent to the Company
and the meeting matters, as time permits. However, we reserve the right to edit inappropriate language to exclude questions
that are not pertinent to meeting matters or that are otherwise inappropriate. The questions and answers will be available
as soon as practicable after the Annual Meeting at http://www.network-1.com/sec/proxy2021/
and will remain available for one week after posting.
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Technical Difficulties
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If you encounter any difficulties
accessing the virtual meeting during the check-in or meeting time, please call the technical support number that will be posted on
the Annual Meeting login page.
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PROPOSAL 1
ELECTION OF
DIRECTORS
The
Company’s Bylaws provide that at each annual meeting of stockholders, directors shall be elected to hold office until the expiration
of the term for which they are elected, and until their respective successors are duly elected and qualified or until the director’s
earlier resignation or removal. The Company’s Board of Directors has fixed the number of members of the Board of Directors at five
members.
At
the Annual Meeting, proxies granted by stockholders will be voted individually for the election, as directors of the Company, of the
five persons listed below, unless a proxy specifies that it is not to be voted in favor of a nominee for director. In the event any of
the nominees listed below is unable to serve (or for whatever reason declines to serve) at the time of the Annual Meeting, it is intended
that the proxy will be voted for such other nominees as are designated by the Board of Directors. Each of the persons named below, who
are all presently members of the Company’s Board of Directors, has indicated to the Board of Directors of the Company that he or
she will be available to serve.
All
nominees have been recommended by the Company’s Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
THE BOARD
OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT STOCKHOLDERS VOTE FOR THE ELECTION OF THE NOMINEES SPECIFIED BELOW.
The
following table sets forth the name and age of the nominees for election at this Annual Meeting and the length of continuous service
as a director of the Company. Also included below the table is information each director has given us about all positions he or she holds,
the director’s principal occupation and business experience for at least the past five years, and the names of other publicly-held
companies of which he or she currently serves as a director or has served as a director during the past five years. In addition to the
information presented below regarding each director’s specific experience, qualifications, attributes and skills that led our Board
to the conclusion that he or she should serve as a director, we also believe that all of our directors have a reputation for integrity,
honesty and adherence to high ethical standards. They each have demonstrated business acumen and an ability to exercise sound judgment,
as well as a commitment of service to Network-1 and our Board.
NAME
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AGE
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POSITION
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DIRECTOR
SINCE
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Corey M. Horowitz
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66
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Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman
of the Board of Directors
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April 1994
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David C. Kahn
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69
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Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and a Director
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April 2012
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Emanuel Pearlman
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61
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Director
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January 2012
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Niv Harizman
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57
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Director
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December 2012
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Allison Hoffman
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50
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Director
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December 2012
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Corey
M. Horowitz has been our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since December 2003. Mr. Horowitz has also served as Chairman of our
Board of Directors since January 1996 and has been a member of our Board of Directors since April 1994. In December 2018, Mr. Horowitz
became a member of the Board of Managers of ILiAD Biotechnologies, LLC, a privately held biotechnology company, in connection with our
investment in the company. Mr. Horowitz is also a member of the Life Sciences Institute Leadership Council at the University of Michigan.
We believe Mr. Horowitz’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include his significant experience and expertise as
an executive in the intellectual property field, his understanding of our intellectual property and the patent acquisition, licensing
and enforcement business combined with his private equity and corporate transactional experience.
David
C. Kahn, CPA, has been our Chief Financial Officer since January 2004 and our Secretary since August 2012. Mr. Kahn was elected to
our Board in April 2012. Since December 1989, Mr. Kahn has provided accounting and tax services on a consulting basis to private and
public companies. From August 2000 until August 2012, Mr. Kahn served as a full-time faculty member of Yeshiva University in New York.
We believe Mr. Kahn’s qualifications to serve on our Board include his background and expertise in accounting and tax matters.
Emanuel
R. Pearlman has been a member of our Board of Directors since January 2012, where he serves as Chairman of our Audit Committee and
a member of our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Mr. Pearlman currently serves as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
of Liberation Investment Group, a New York based investment management and financial consulting firm, which he founded in January 2003.
In October 2020 and February 2021, Mr. Pearlman became a member of the Board of Directors of Atlas Crest Investment Corp. (NYSE:ACIC)
and Atlas Crest Investment Corp. II (NYSE: ACII), each a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Mr. Pearlman also serves as Chairman
of the Audit Committee and a member of the Compensation Committee and Nomination & Governance Committee of both Atlas Crest Investment
Corp. and Atlas Crest Investment Corp. II. Mr. Pearlman served as Executive Chairman of Empire Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ: NYNY) from June
2016 until November 2019, served as Non-Executive Chairman of the Board from September 2010 through May 2016, and served on the Board
of Directors from May 2010 to November 2019. Mr. Pearlman was a member of the Board of Directors of CEVA Logistics, AG (SIX:CEVA) from
May 2018 until October 2019 and served on its Audit Committee from May 2018 through October 2019 and its Nomination and Governance Committee
from May 2018 through May 2019. From June 2013 through May 2018, he served on the Board of Directors of CEVA Holdings, LLC. From May
2017 through September 2017, Mr. Pearlman served on the Board of Directors of ClubCorp Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:MYCC), where he served on
the Strategic Review Committee. We believe Mr. Pearlman’s qualifications to serve on our Board include his significant investment
and financial experience and expertise combined with his Board experience.
Niv
Harizman has been a director of our company since December 2012. Mr. Harizman is a Managing Member of Tyto Capital Partners LLC,
a private investment firm specializing in debt and equity investments in middle market companies and special situations, a position he
has held since August 2010. Since March 2010, Mr. Harizman has also been the Managing Member of NHK Partners LLC, an entity that makes
private investments and provides consulting services. Since November 2013, Mr. Harizman has been affiliated with Riverside Management
Group, a merchant banking firm, and BCW Securities LLC, its affiliated broker-dealer. From May 2005 to March 2010, Mr. Harizman was a
Founding Partner and Head of Corporate Finance at Plainfield Asset Management LLC, which was a privately held registered investment adviser
focused on alternative investments. From May 2000 until May 2005, Mr. Harizman was a member of the Mergers & Acquisitions Group of
Credit Suisse First Boston LLC, where he was a Managing Director from 2001-2005 and a Director from 2000 to 2001. From 1995 until 2000,
Mr. Harizman was employed by Bankers Trust and its successors including BT Alex. Brown Incorporated and Deutsche Bank in various investment
banking positions in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group and Leveraged Finance Group. We believe Mr. Harizman’s qualifications
to serve on our Board include his significant investment and financial transactional experience and expertise.
Allison
Hoffman has been a director of our company since December 2012. Since August 2020, Ms. Hoffman has served as General Counsel of
Phreesia, Inc. (NYSE:PHR), a leading provider of software solutions that healthcare organizations use to manage the patient intake
process. From January 2016 until August 2020, Ms. Hoffman has served as Chief Legal Officer and Chief Administrative Officer at
Intersection Parent, Inc., an urban experience company that utilizes technology to make cities better, including bringing free Wi-Fi
throughout New York City. From September 2013 to December 2015, Ms. Hoffman served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and
Corporate Secretary of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. (NYSE:MSO), a media and merchandising company providing consumers with
high quality life style content and products. From December 2012 until September 2013, she provided legal services to Martha Stewart
Living Omnimedia, Inc. From January 2007 until September 2012, Ms. Hoffman served as Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and
Secretary of ALM Media, LLC, a leading provider of specialized news and information for the legal and commercial real estate
sectors. We believe that Ms. Hoffman’s qualifications to serve on our Board include her extensive legal background and
transactional experience.
CORPORATE
GOVERNANCE
Director
Independence
Our
stock is listed on the NYSE American LLC under the symbol “NTIP”. Three of our current five directors, Emanuel Pearlman,
Allison Hoffman and Niv Harizman, are considered independent directors in compliance with the standard of independence in Rule 803A(2)
of the NYSE American LLC Company Guide.
Board Leadership
Structure
Corey
M. Horowitz, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, serves as Chairman of our Board of Directors. The Company does not have a lead
independent director. The majority of the members of our Board of Directors are independent and all members of Board committees (including
Chairpersons) are independent. The Company believes its leadership is appropriate given the size of the Company, the majority of independent
directors and the independent leadership of the committees of the Board.
Board
Oversight of Risk
With
respect to the oversight of the Company’s risk, the Company’s executive officers supervise the day-to-day risk management
responsibilities and in turn report, when necessary, to the Audit Committee with respect to financial and operational risk and to the
full Board with respect to risks associated with the Company’s overall strategy.
Meetings of the Board of Directors
and Board Committees
During
the year ended December 31, 2020, our Board held six meetings. Board committees held the following meetings and acted by unanimous consent
during the year ended December 31, 2020 as follows: Audit Committee – four meetings and five unanimous consents in lieu of meeting;
Compensation Committee – two meetings; and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee – one meeting. During 2020, each
of our directors attended at least seventy-five percent of the aggregate of: (1) the total number of meetings of the Board of Directors;
and (2) the total number of meetings of all Board committees on which they served.
Our
current policy strongly encourages that all of our directors attend all Board and Committee meetings and our Annual Meeting of Stockholders,
absent extenuating circumstances that would prevent their attendance. All of our directors attended the Annual Meeting of Stockholders
last year.
Board Committees
Our
Board of Directors currently has four standing committees: an Audit Committee; a Compensation Committee; a Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee and a Strategic Development Committee. Each of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee has a charter. These charters are available on our website at: http://ir.Network-1.com/governance-docs.
Each member of each committee is an “independent” director under the standards of the NYSE American LLC Company Guide. Three
of our current five directors, Emanuel Pearlman, Allison Hoffman and Niv Harizman, are considered independent directors in compliance
with the standard of independence in Section 803A(2) of the NYSE American LLC Company Guide.
Audit Committee
Our
Board of Directors has a separately designated standing audit committee in accordance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 803B of the NYSE American LLC Company Guide, consisting of Emanuel Pearlman (Chairman) and Allison
Hoffman. Emanuel Pearlman and Allison Hoffman each qualify as an audit committee financial expert under applicable SEC rules. Mr. Pearlman
and Ms. Hoffman also qualify as “independent” as independence for audit committee members is defined under Rule 10A-3
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 803B(2) of the NYSE American LLC Company Guide.
The
Audit Committee is appointed by our Board of Directors to provide assistance to the Board in fulfilling its oversight responsibility
with respect to, among other things, (i) the integrity of our financial statements, (ii) our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements,
(iii) selecting and evaluating the qualifications and independence of our independent registered public accounting firm, (iv) evaluating
the performance of our internal audit function and independent registered public accounting firm, and (v) our internal controls and procedures.
Compensation
Committee
The
Compensation Committee consists of Allison Hoffman (Chairperson) and Niv Harizman. The Compensation Committee is appointed by our Board
of Directors to assist the Board in carrying out the Board’s responsibilities relating to compensation of our executive officers
and directors. The Compensation Committee has overall responsibility for evaluating and approving the officer and director compensation
plans, policies and programs of the Company.
Nominating
and Corporate Governance Committee
Our
Board has a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee consisting of Niv Harizman (Chairman) and Emanuel Pearlman. The Nominating
and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for, among other things, developing and recommending to the Board a set of corporate
governance policies for the Company, establishing criteria for selecting new directors, and identifying, screening and recruiting new
directors. The Committee also recommends to the Board nominees for directors and recommends directors for committee membership
to the Board.
Strategic
Development Committee
We
also have a Strategic Development Committee to assist our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in strategic development and planning
of our business relating to identifying potential strategic partners, acquisition of new IP and other acquisition opportunities. The
Committee also assists in capital markets related activities. Niv Harizman is the sole member of the Strategic Development Committee.
Anti-Hedging and Anti-Pledging
Policies
Certain
transactions in our securities (such as short sales) create a heightened compliance risk or could create the appearance of misalignment
between management and stockholders. In addition, securities held in a margin account or pledged as collateral may be sold without consent
if the owner fails to meet a margin call or defaults on the loan, thus creating the risk that a sale may occur at a time when an officer
or director is aware of material non-public information or otherwise is not permitted to trade in company securities. Our insider trading
policies prohibit all directors and executive officers from hedging transactions, buying our securities on margin, or holding such securities
in a margin account, buying or selling derivatives on our securities, engaging in short sales involving such securities or pledging our
securities as collateral for a loan.
Code of Ethics
We
have adopted a Code of Ethics that applies to our executive officers, directors and employees. Copies of our Code of Ethics can be obtained,
without charge, upon written request addressed to:
Network-1 Technologies, Inc.
445 Park Avenue, Suite 912
New York, New York 10022
Attention: Chief Executive
Officer
Communications with the Board
The
Board of Directors, through its Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, has established a process for stockholders to send communications
to the Board of Directors. Stockholders may communicate with the Board of Directors individually or as a group by writing to: The Board
of Directors of Network-1 Technologies, Inc. c/o Corporate Secretary, 445 Park Avenue, Suite 912, New York, NY 10022. Stockholders should
identify their communication as being from a Network-1 stockholder. Our Corporate Secretary may require reasonable evidence that the
communication or other submission is made by a Network-1 stockholder before transmitting the communication to our Board of Directors.
CONSIDERATION
OF DIRECTOR NOMINEES
Stockholders
wishing to recommend director candidates to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee must submit their recommendations in writing
to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, c/o Corporate Secretary, Network-1 Technologies, Inc., 445 Park Avenue, Suite 912,
New York, NY 10022.
The
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will consider nominees recommended by Network-1 stockholders provided that the recommendation
contains sufficient information for the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee to assess the suitability of the candidate, including
the candidate’s qualifications, and complies with the procedures set forth below under “Deadline and Procedures for Submitting
Board Nominations”. In addition, it must include information regarding the recommended candidate relevant to a determination of
whether the recommended candidate would be barred from being considered independent under applicable NYSE American LLC rules, or, alternatively,
a statement that the recommended candidate would not be so barred. Candidates recommended by stockholders that comply with these procedures
will receive the same consideration that candidates recommended by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee receive. A nomination
which does not comply with the above requirements will not be considered.
The
qualities and skills sought in prospective members of the Board are determined by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
When reviewing candidates to our Board, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee considers the evolving needs of the Board and
seeks candidates that fill any current or anticipated future needs. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee generally requires
that director candidates be qualified individuals who, if added to the Board, would provide the mix of director characteristics, experience,
perspectives and skills appropriate for Network-1. Criteria for selection of candidates will include, but not be limited to: (i) business
and financial acumen, as determined by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee in its discretion; (ii) qualities reflecting
a proven record of accomplishment and ability to work with others; (iii) knowledge of our industry; (iv) relevant experience and knowledge
of corporate governance practices; and (v) expertise in an area relevant to Network-1. Such persons should not have commitments that
would conflict with the time commitments of a Director of Network-1. Such persons shall have other characteristics considered appropriate
for membership on the Board of Directors, as determined by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. While the Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee does not have a formal policy with respect to diversity, the Board and the Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee believe that it is important that the Board members represent diverse viewpoints. In considering candidates for the Board,
the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Board consider the entirety of each candidate’s credentials in the context
of the foregoing standards.
DEADLINE AND
PROCEDURES FOR SUBMITTING BOARD NOMINATIONS
A
stockholder wishing to nominate a candidate for election to our Board of Directors at a meeting of our stockholders must (i) be a stockholder
of record at the time of giving of notice provided for in our Bylaws; (ii) be entitled to vote at the meeting; and (iii) comply with
the procedures set forth in Section 8 of our Bylaws and applicable law. The required notice must be delivered personally to or mailed
to and received by our Corporate Secretary at our principal executive offices (currently located at 445 Park Avenue, Suite 912, New York,
NY 10022), not earlier than the close of business on the 120th day and not later than the 90th day prior to the
first anniversary of the preceding year’s annual meeting; provided, however, that, in the event that the date of the annual meeting
is more than 30 days before or more than 60 days after such anniversary date, notice by the stockholder to be timely must be so delivered
not earlier than the close of business on the 120th day prior to the date of such annual meeting and not later than the close
of business on the later of the 90th day prior to the date of such annual meeting; provided, further, in the event that less
than 100 days notice of prior public disclosure of the date of the annual meeting is given or made to stockholders, notice by the stockholder
to be timely must be received no later than the 10th day following the earlier of (i) the day on which notice of the annual
meeting was mailed, or (ii) such public disclosure was first made of the annual meeting. In no event shall any adjournment or postponement
of an annual meeting or the announcement thereof commence a new time period for the giving of a stockholder’s notice as described
above.
COMPENSATION
OF DIRECTORS
In
2020, we compensated each non-management director of our Company by granting to each such outside director 15,000 restricted stock units
(each restricted stock unit represents a contingent right to receive one share of our common stock). The restricted stock units vested
in equal amounts of 3,750 units on each of March 15, 2020, June 15, 2020, September 15, 2020 and December 15, 2020. In addition, we pay
our non-management directors cash director fees of $40,000 per annum ($10,000 per quarter). Non-management directors also receive additional
cash compensation on an annual basis for serving on the following Board committees: Audit Committee – Chairperson receives
$7,500 and members receive $5,000 and the Chairperson and member of each of the Compensation Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee receives annual fees of $3,750 and $2,500, respectively.
In
consideration for serving as the sole member of our Strategic Development Committee, in June 2013 we issued to Niv Harizman a five-year
stock option to purchase 300,000 shares of our common stock, at an exercise price of $1.88 per share, which option vested 100,000 shares
on the date of grant, 100,000 shares on the first anniversary of the date of grant and 100,000 shares on the second anniversary from
the grant date. On June 17, 2018, Mr. Harizman exercised the aforementioned stock option on a net (cashless) exercise basis by delivering
to us 181,936 shares of our common stock and he received 118,064 net shares of our common stock.
The
Board of Directors, based upon the recommendation of the Compensation Committee, may review and determine the form and amount of directors’
compensation, including cash, equity based awards and other director compensation to maintain a transparent and readily understandable
director compensation which ensures that the directors continue to receive fair and appropriate compensation for the time commitment
required to discharge their duties for a company of our size.
The
following table sets forth the compensation awarded to, earned by or paid to all persons who served as members of our Board of Directors
other than our Named Executive Officers (as defined on page 13 hereof) during the year ended December 31, 2020. No director who
is also a Named Executive Officer received any compensation for services as a director in 2020.
Name
|
Fees
earned or
paid in cash ($)(1)
|
Stock
Awards
($)(2) (3)
|
All
other
compensation ($)(4)
|
Total
($)
|
Emanuel
Pearlman
|
$50,000
|
$34,500
|
$563
|
$85,063
|
Niv
Harizman
|
$46,250
|
$34,500
|
$563
|
$81,313
|
Allison
Hoffman
|
$48,890
|
$34,500
|
$563
|
$83,953
|
___________________________
|
(1)
|
Represents
director’s fees payable in cash to each non-management director of $10,000 per quarter
(or $40,000 per annum) for 2020 plus additional cash fees for serving on Board committees
as disclosed above.
|
|
(2)
|
The
amounts included in this column represent the grant date fair value of restricted stock unit
awards (RSUs) granted to directors, computed in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718. For a
discussion of valuation assumptions see Note B[10] to our consolidated financial statements
included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. The 15,000
RSUs granted to each non-management director vested on a quarterly basis beginning March
15, 2020. Each restricted stock unit represents the contingent right to receive one share
of our common stock.
|
|
(3)
|
As
of December 31, 2020, no stock options, RSUs or other awards were owned by any of the above
referenced directors.
|
|
(4)
|
Represents
payment of dividends (dividend equivalent rights) on RSUs for 2020.
|
EXECUTIVE
OFFICERS
All
officers serve at the direction of our Board of Directors. The Board elects our officers.
Our
executive officers are Corey M. Horowitz, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, David Kahn, our Chief Financial Officer and Secretary,
and Jonathan Greene, our Executive Vice President. See backgrounds of Mr. Horowitz and Mr. Kahn on page 5 of this Proxy Statement. The
background of Jonathan Greene, our Executive Vice President, who does not serve on our Board of Directors, is as follows:
Jonathan
Greene, age 59, became our Executive Vice President in October 2013. He served as a consultant to the Company from December 2004
until March 2013, providing technical and marketing analysis for our intellectual property portfolio. Mr. Greene became an employee
of Network-1 in March 2013. From April 2006 to February 2009, Mr. Greene served as a marketing consultant for Avatier Corporation,
a developer of identity management software. From August 2003 until December 2004, he served as a consultant to Neartek, Inc., a storage
management software company (August 2003 until October 2003) and Kavado Inc., a security software company (November 2003 until December
2004). From January 2003 until July 2003, Mr. Greene served as Director of Product Management for FalconStor Software, Inc. (OTC:FALC),
a storage management software company. From December 2001 through December 2002, Mr. Greene served as Senior
Vice President of Marketing and Business Development of Network-1, at a time when Network-1 was engaged in the development, marketing
and licensing of security software. From December 1999 until September 2001, he served as Senior Vice President of Marketing for Panacya
Inc., a vendor of service management software.
EXECUTIVE
COMPENSATION
Named Executive
Officers
For
the year ended December 31, 2020, we have determined that (i) our Chief Executive Officer, and (ii) our most highly compensated
executive officers other than our Chief Executive Officer who served in such capacity during 2020 and at the end of 2020 whose total
compensation exceeded $100,000, are our Named Executive Officers, as follows:
Corey
M. Horowitz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer;
David
Kahn, Chief Financial Officer; and
Jonathan
Greene, Executive Vice President.
Compensation
Overview
Network-1
Technologies, Inc. is a “smaller reporting company” under the rules promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission
and the Company complies with the disclosure requirements applicable to smaller reporting companies. Accordingly, this executive compensation
summary is not intended to meet the “Compensation Disclosure and Analysis” disclosure required of larger reporting companies.
Role
of the Compensation
Committee.
All compensation for our Named Executive Officers is determined by the Compensation Committee
of our Board of Directors which is composed only of independent directors. The Compensation Committee is responsible for reviewing the
performance and establishing the total compensation of our Named Executive Officers on an annual basis. The Compensation Committee administers
compensation plans for our Named Executive Officers and is responsible for recommending grants of equity awards under our stock incentive
plan to the Board of Directors for approval. Our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer annually makes recommendations to the Compensation
Committee regarding base salary, bonus compensation and equity awards for the other Named Executive Officers. Such recommendations are
considered by the Compensation Committee; however, the Compensation Committee retains full discretion and authority over the final compensation
decisions for our Named Executive
Officers.
The Compensation
Committee has
a formal
written
charter
which
is available
on our website.
Advisory
Vote on Executive Compensation. At our September 2020 annual meeting of stockholders, we held a stockholder advisory vote on the
compensation of our Named Executive Officers, commonly referred to as a say-on-pay vote. Our stockholders approved the compensation
of our Named Executive Officers at the September 2020 annual meeting, with a majority of stockholder votes cast in favor of our say-on-pay
resolution. As we evaluated our compensation practices, we were mindful of the support our stockholders expressed for our compensation
practices. As a result, following our annual review of our executive compensation, the Compensation Committee decided to retain
our general approach to executive compensation. Our executive compensation for 2020 advances our retention goals and promotes both short-term
and long-term performance of our executive officers and reflects our financial performance.
Summary Compensation Table
The
following table summarizes compensation for the years ended December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, awarded to, earned by or paid to
our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and to each of our executive officers who received total compensation in excess of $100,000
for the year ended December 31, 2020 for services rendered in all capacities to us (collectively, the “Named Executive Officers”).
Summary
Compensation Table
Name and
Principal Position
|
|
Year
|
|
|
Salary ($)
|
|
|
Bonus ($)
|
|
|
Stock
Awards($)(3)
|
|
|
All
Other
Compensation($)(1)
|
|
|
Total($)
|
|
Corey M. Horowitz
|
|
|
2020
|
|
|
$
|
527,000
|
|
|
$
|
345,000
|
(2)
|
|
$
|
—
|
|
|
$
|
81,250
|
(4)
|
|
$
|
953,200
|
|
Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer
|
|
|
2019
|
|
|
$
|
511,000
|
|
|
$
|
252,000
|
(2)
|
|
$
|
—
|
|
|
$
|
68,250
|
(4)
|
|
$
|
831,250
|
|
David C. Kahn
|
|
|
2020
|
|
|
$
|
175,000
|
|
|
$
|
15,000
|
|
|
$
|
25,200
|
(3)
|
|
$
|
34,828
|
(5)
|
|
$
|
250,028
|
|
Chief Financial Officer
|
|
|
2019
|
|
|
$
|
175,000
|
|
|
$
|
15,000
|
|
|
$
|
16,425
|
(3)
|
|
$
|
30,107
|
(5)
|
|
$
|
236,532
|
|
Jonathan Greene
|
|
|
2020
|
|
|
$
|
200,000
|
|
|
$
|
25,000
|
|
|
$
|
33,600
|
(3)
|
|
$
|
43,000
|
(6)
|
|
$
|
301,600
|
|
Executive Vice President
|
|
|
2019
|
|
|
$
|
200,000
|
|
|
$
|
22,500
|
|
|
$
|
21,900
|
(3)
|
|
$
|
39,500
|
(6)
|
|
$
|
283,900
|
|
|
(1)
|
We
have concluded that the aggregate amount of perquisites and other personal benefits paid
in 2020 and 2019 to either Mr. Horowitz, Mr. Kahn or Mr. Greene did not exceed $10,000.
|
|
(2)
|
Mr.
Horowitz received the following cash incentive bonus payments for 2020: (i) an annual discretionary
bonus of $125,000 and (ii) incentive bonus compensation of $220,000 pursuant to his employment
agreement (see “Employment Agreements-Termination of Employment and Change In-Control
Arrangements” below). Mr. Horowitz received the following cash incentive bonus payments
for 2019: (i) an annual discretionary bonus of $100,000 and (ii) incentive bonus compensation
of $152,000 pursuant to his employment agreement.
|
|
(3)
|
The
amounts in this column represent the aggregate grant date fair value of restricted stock
units awards granted to the Named Executive Officers computed in accordance with FASB ASC
Topic 718. In accordance with SEC rules, the grant date fair value of an award that is subject
to a performance condition is based on the probable outcome of the performance condition.
See Note B[10] to our consolidated financial statements included in our Annual Report on
Form 10-K for 2020 for a discussion of the assumptions made by the Company in determining
the grant date fair value.
|
|
(4)
|
Includes
401(k) matching funds contributions by the Company and profit sharing under the Company’s
401(k) Plan for the benefit of Mr. Horowitz of $37,500 for 2020 and $37,000 for 2019, respectively.
Also includes dividends (dividend equivalent rights) on restricted stock units owned by Mr.
Horowitz for 2020 of $43,750 and 2019 of $31,250.
|
|
(5)
|
Includes
401(k) matching funds contributions by the Company and profit sharing under the Company’s
401(k) Plan for the benefit of Mr. Kahn of $30,453 for 2020 and $28,107 for 2019. Also includes
dividends (dividend equivalent rights) on restricted stock units owned by Mr. Kahn for 2020
and 2019 of $4,375 and $2,000, respectively.
|
|
(6)
|
Represents
401(k) matching funds contributions by the Company and profit sharing under the Company’s
401(k) Plan for the benefit of Mr. Greene of $37,500 for 2020 and $37,000 for 2019. Also
includes dividends (dividend equivalent rights) on restricted stock units owned by Mr. Greene
for 2020 and 2019 of $5,500 and $2,500, respectively.
|
Narrative
Disclosure to Summary Compensation Table
Employment Agreements, Termination
of Employment and Change-In-Control Arrangements
On
July 14, 2016, we entered into an employment agreement (“Agreement”) with Corey M. Horowitz, our Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer, pursuant to which he continued to serve as our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for a five year term, at an annual base
salary of $475,000 subject to increases of 3% per annum during the term of the Agreement. The Agreement established an annual target
bonus of $175,000 for our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer based upon performance. During the year ended December 31, 2020 and December
31, 2019, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer received an annual discretionary bonus of $125,000 and $100,000, respectively. In
addition, pursuant to the Agreement, we granted to our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, under our 2013 Incentive Plan (the “2013
Plan”), 750,000 restricted stock units (the “RSUs”, each RSU awarded by us to our officers, directors and consultants
represents a contingent right to receive one share of our common stock) which terms provided for vesting in three tranches, as follows:
(i) 250,000 RSUs shall vest on July 14, 2018, subject to Mr. Horowitz’s continued employment by us through the vesting date (the
“Employment Condition”); (ii) 250,000 RSUs shall vest at any time beginning July 14, 2018 through July 14, 2021 in equal
annual installments for the remaining term of employment, subject to (1) the Employment Condition being satisfied through each such annual
vesting date and (2) our common stock achieving a closing price (for 20 consecutive trading days) of a minimum of $3.25 per share (subject
to adjustment for stock splits) at any time during the term of employment; and (iii) 250,000 RSUs vest at any time beginning July 14,
2018 through July 14, 2021 in equal annual installments for the remaining term of employment subject to (1) the Employment Condition
being satisfied through each such annual vesting date and (2) our common stock achieving a closing price (for 20 consecutive trading
days) of a minimum of $4.25 per share (subject to adjustment for stock splits) at any time during the term of employment. The aforementioned
stock price vesting conditions of $3.25 per share and $4.25 per share were satisfied. Notwithstanding the aforementioned, in the event
of a Change of Control (as defined), a Termination Other Than for Cause (as defined), or a termination of employment for Good Reason
(as defined), all of the 750,000 RSUs shall accelerate and become immediately fully vested. All RSUs granted by us to our officers, directors
or consultants have dividend equivalent rights.
Under
the terms of the Agreement, so long as Mr. Horowitz continues to serve as an executive officer of the Company, whether pursuant to the
Agreement or otherwise, Mr. Horowitz shall also receive incentive compensation in an amount equal to 5% of our gross royalties or other
payments from Licensing Activities (as defined) (without deduction of legal fees or any other expenses) with respect to our Remote Power
Patent and a 10% net interest (gross royalties and other payments after deduction of all legal fees and litigation expenses related to
licensing, enforcement and sale activities, but in no event shall he receive less than 6.25% of the gross recovery) of our royalties
and other payments relating to Licensing Activities with respect to patents other than the Remote Power Patent (including our Mirror
Worlds Patent Portfolio, Cox Patent Portfolio and M2M/IoT Patent Portfolio) (collectively, the “Incentive Compensation”).
During the year ended December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, Mr. Horowitz earned Incentive Compensation of $220,000 and $152,000, respectively.
On July 14, 2018, 375,000 RSUs owned by our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer vested in accordance with the above referenced terms
of the Agreement. With respect to such vesting of RSUs, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer delivered 172,313 shares of common stock
to satisfy withholding taxes and received 202,687 net shares of common stock. On July 14, 2019, 125,000 additional RSUs owned by our
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer vested in accordance with the Agreement. With respect to the vesting of such restricted stock units,
our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer delivered 56,813 shares of common stock to satisfy withholding taxes and received 68,187 net
shares of common stock. On July 14, 2020, 125,000 additional RSUs owned by our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer vested in accordance
with the Agreement and he delivered 50,563 shares of common stock to satisfy withholding taxes resulting in 74,437 net shares issued.
With respect to the remaining 125,000 RSUs owned by our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer which vested on July 14, 2021, we agreed
with our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer that the settlement of such RSUs would occur on or after January 1, 2022, but in no event
later than March 15, 2022.
The
Incentive Compensation shall continue to be paid to Mr. Horowitz for the life of each of our patents with respect to licenses entered
into with third parties during the term of his employment or at anytime thereafter, whether he is employed by us or not; provided, that,
the employment of Mr. Horowitz has not been terminated by us “For Cause” (as defined) or terminated by him without “Good
Reason” (as defined). In the event of a merger or sale of substantially all of our assets, we have the option to extinguish the
right of Mr. Horowitz to receive future Incentive Compensation by payment to him of a lump sum payment, in an amount equal to the fair
market value of such future interest as determined by an independent third party expert if the parties do not reach agreement as to such
value. In the event that Mr. Horowitz’s employment is terminated by us “Other Than For Cause” (as defined) or by him
for “Good Reason” (as defined), Mr. Horowitz shall also be entitled to (i) a lump sum severance payment of 12 months base
salary, (ii) a pro-rated portion of the $175,000 target bonus provided bonus criteria have been satisfied on a pro-rated basis through
the calendar quarter in which the termination occurs and (iii) accelerated vesting of all unvested options, RSUs or other awards.
In
connection with the Agreement, Mr. Horowitz has also agreed not to compete with us as follows: (i) during the term of the Agreement and
for a period of 12 months thereafter if his employment is terminated “Other Than For Cause” (as defined) provided he is paid
his 12 month base salary severance amount and (ii) for a period of two years from the termination date, if terminated “For Cause”
by us or “Without Good Reason” by Mr. Horowitz.
David
Kahn serves as our Chief Financial Officer on an at-will basis at a current annual base salary of $175,000. Mr. Kahn received a discretionary
annual bonus of $15,000 for each of 2020 and 2019. On December 20, 2019, Mr. Kahn was granted 7,500 RSUs under the 2013 Plan, 50% of
such RSUs vested on the one year anniversary of the grant (December 20, 2020) and 50% of such RSUs vest on the two year anniversary of
the grant (December 20, 2021) subject to his continued employment by the Company. On December 29, 2020, Mr. Kahn was granted 7,500 RSUs
under the 2013 Plan, 50% of such RSUs vest on the one year anniversary of the grant (December 29, 2021) and 50% of such RSUs vest on
the two year anniversary of the grant (December 29, 2022) subject to his continued employment. In addition, in the event Mr. Kahn’s
employment is terminated without “Good Cause” (as defined), he shall receive (i) (a) 6 months base salary or (b) 12 months
base salary in the event of a termination without “Good Cause” within 6 months following a “Change of Control”
of the Company (as defined) and (ii) accelerated vesting of all remaining unvested shares underlying his options, RSUs or any other awards
he may receive in the future.
Jonathan
Greene serves as our Executive Vice President on an at-will basis at an annual base salary of $200,000. Mr. Greene received a discretionary
annual bonus of $25,000 for 2020 and $22,500 in 2019. On December 20, 2019, Mr. Greene was granted 10,000 RSUs under the 2013 Plan, 50%
of such RSUs vested on the one year anniversary of the date of grant (December 20, 2020) and 50% of such RSUs vest on the two year anniversary
of the grant (December 20, 2021) subject to his continued employment. On December 29, 2020, Mr. Greene was granted 10,000 RSUs under
the 2013 Plan, 50% of such RSUs vest on the one year anniversary of the date of grant (December 29, 2021) and 50% of such RSUs vest on
the two year anniversary of the grant (December 29, 2022) subject to his continued employment.
Profit Sharing
401(k) Plan
We
offer all employees who have completed a year of service (as defined) participation in a 401(k) retirement savings plan, which plan provides
a tax-advantaged method of saving for retirement. We expensed matching contributions and profit sharing of $105,453 and $102,000 under
the 401(k) plan for the years ended December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively.
OUTSTANDING
EQUITY AWARDS AT YEAR-END
Outstanding Equity Awards at
December 31, 2020
The
following table sets forth information relating to unexercised options and unvested restricted stock units for each Named Executive Officer
as of December 31, 2020:
|
Option Awards
|
Stock Awards
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Name
|
|
Option
Exercise Price ($)
|
Option
Expiration Date
|
Equity
incentive plan awards: Number of unearned shares, units or other rights that have not vested ($)
|
Equity
incentive plan awards: Market value of unearned shares, units or other rights that have not vested
(1) ($)
|
Number of Securities
Underlying Unexercised
Options
Exercisable Unexercisable
|
Corey M. Horowitz
Chairman and CEO
|
500,000
|
—
|
$ 1.19
|
11/01/22
|
125,000(2)
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$ 461,250
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David Kahn
Chief Financial Officer
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
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11,250(3)
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$ 41,513
|
Jonathan Greene
Executive Vice President
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
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15,000(4)
|
$ 55,350
|
_________________________________
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(1)
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In
accordance with SEC rules, market value is based on $3.69 per share representing the closing
price of our common stock on the last trading day of the year.
|
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(2)
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Represents
an aggregate of 125,000 restricted stock units issued with respect to Mr. Horowitz’s
employment agreement, dated July 14, 2016, that were vested on July 14, 2021 with a settlement
date on or after January 1, 2022, but in no event later than March 15, 2022 (see “Executive
Compensation-Narrative Disclosure to Summary Compensation Table” on pages 15-17 of
this Proxy Statement).
|
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(3)
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Represents
(i) 3,750 restricted stock units which vest on December 20, 2021, subject to Mr. Kahn’s
continued employment by us and (ii) 7,500 restricted stock units of which 50% will vest on
December 29, 2021 and 50% on December 29, 2022, subject to Mr. Kahn’s continued employment
by us.
|
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(4)
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Represents
(i) 5,000 restricted stock units which vest on December 20, 2021 and (ii) 10,000 restricted
stock units, 50% which vest on December 29, 2021 and 50% on December 29, 2022, subject to
Mr. Greene’s continued employment by us.
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SECURITY
OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
The following
table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of July 15, 2021 for (i) each of our directors,
(ii) each of our executive officers, (iii) each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding shares
of common stock, and (iv) all of our executive officers and directors as a group.
NAME
AND ADDRESS
OF BENEFICIAL OWNER
|
AMOUNT AND NATURE
OF BENEFICIAL
OWNERSHIP (1)(2)
|
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PERCENTAGE
OF
COMMON STOCK
BENEFICIALLY
OWNED(2)
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Executive Officers and Directors:
Corey M. Horowitz(3)
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6,937,189
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28.2%
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CMH Capital Management
Corp(4)
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2,291,372
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9.5%
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Niv Harizman(5)
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264,735
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1.1%
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David C. Kahn(6)
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110,799
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*
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Allison Hoffman(7)
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94,561
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*
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Emanuel Pearlman(8)
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90,809
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*
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Jonathan E. Greene(9)
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78,663
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*
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All officers and directors as a group
(6 Persons)
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7,576,756
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30.8%
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5% Stockholders:
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|
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Steven D. Heinemann(10)
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2,457,291
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10.2%
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Goose Hill Capital
LLC(11)
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1,872,058
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7.8%
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_______________________________
* Less than 1%.
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(1)
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Unless otherwise
indicated, we believe that all persons named in the above table have sole voting and investment
power with respect to all shares of our common stock beneficially owned by them. Unless otherwise
indicated the address for each listed beneficial owner is c/o Network-1 Technologies, Inc.,
445 Park Avenue, Suite 912, New York, New York 10022.
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(2)
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A person is
deemed to be the beneficial owner of shares of common stock that can be acquired by such
person within 60 days from July 15, 2021 upon the exercise of stock options or restricted
stock units that vest within such 60 day period. Each beneficial owner’s percentage
ownership is determined by assuming that all stock options and restricted stock units held
by such person (but not those held by any other person) and which are exercisable or vested
(and settled) within 60 days from July 15, 2021 have been exercised
and vested. Assumes a base of 24,088,379 shares of our common stock outstanding as of July 15, 2021.
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(3)
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Includes (i)
3,623,806 shares of common stock held by Mr. Horowitz, (ii) 500,000 shares of common stock
subject to currently exercisable stock options held by Mr. Horowitz, (iii) 2,157,097
shares of common stock held by CMH Capital Management Corp., an entity solely owned by Mr.
Horowitz, (iv) 134,275 shares of common stock owned by the CMH Capital Management Corp. Profit
Sharing Plan, of which Mr. Horowitz is the trustee, (v) 67,470 shares of common stock
owned by Donna Slavitt, the wife of Mr. Horowitz, (vi) an aggregate of 452,250 shares of
common stock held by two trusts and a custodian account for the benefit of Mr. Horowitz’s
three children, (vii) 2,291 shares of common stock held by Horowitz Partners, a general partnership
of which Mr. Horowitz is a partner and (viii) 125,000 shares of common stock subject to restricted
stock units which are not subject to a settlement date within 60 days of July 15, 2021.
|
|
(4)
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Includes 2,157,097
shares of common stock owned by CMH Capital Management Corp. and 134,275 shares of common
stock owned by CMH Capital Management Corp. Profit Sharing Plan. Corey M. Horowitz,
by virtue of being the sole officer, director and shareholder of CMH Capital Management Corp.
and the trustee of the CMH Capital Management Corp. Profit Sharing Plan, has the sole power
to vote and dispose of the shares of common stock owned by CMH Capital Management Corp. and
the CMH Capital Management Corp. Profit Sharing Plan.
|
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(5)
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Includes 264,735
shares of common stock owned by Mr. Harizman and does not include 7,500 shares of common
stock subject to restricted stock units that do not vest within 60 days from July 15, 2021.
|
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(6)
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Includes 110,799
shares of common stock owned by Mr. Kahn and does not include 11,250 shares of common stock
subject to restricted stock units that do not vest within 60 days from July 15, 2021.
|
|
(7)
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Includes 94,561
shares of common stock owned by Ms. Hoffman and does not include 7,500 shares of common stock
subject to restricted stock units that do not vest within 60 days from July 15, 2021.
|
|
(8)
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Includes 90,809
shares of common stock owned by Mr. Perlman and does not include 7,500 shares of common stock
subject to restricted stock units that do not vest within 60 days from July 15, 2021.
|
|
(9)
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Includes 78,663
shares of common stock owned by Mr. Greene and does not include 15,000 shares of common stock
subjected to restricted stock units that do not vest within 60 days from July 15, 2021.
|
|
(10)
|
Includes 585,233
shares of common stock owned by Mr. Heinemann and 1,872,058 shares of common stock owned
by Goose Hill Capital LLC. Goose Hill Capital LLC is an entity in which Mr. Heinemann
is the sole member. Mr. Heinemann, by virtue of being the sole member of Goose Hill Capital
LLC, has the sole power to vote and dispose of the shares of common stock owned by Goose
Hill Capital LLC. The aforementioned beneficial ownership is based upon a Form 4 filed by
Mr. Heinemann with the SEC on April 22, 2021. The address for Mr. Heinemann is c/o Goose
Hill Capital, LLC, 12378 Indian Road, North Palm Beach, Florida 33408.
|
|
(11)
|
Includes 1,872,058
shares of common stock. Steven D. Heinemann, by virtue of being the sole member of Goose
Hill Capital LLC, has the sole power to vote and dispose of the shares of common stock owned
by Goose Hill Capital LLC. The aforementioned beneficial ownership is based upon a Form 4
filed by Mr. Heinemann with the SEC on April 22, 2021. The address for Goose Hill Capital
LLC is 12378 Indian Road, North Palm Beach, Florida 33408.
|
CERTAIN
RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
On
May 27, 2021, the Company repurchased from Emanuel Pearlman, a director of the Company, 40,000 shares of its common stock at a purchase
price of $3.27 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $130,800.
Review, Approval or Ratification
of Transactions with Related Persons
The
Audit Committee has responsibility for reviewing and approving related-persons transactions in accordance with its charter. A related
person is any executive officer, director, nominee for director or more than 5% stockholder of the Company, including immediate family
members, and any entity owned or controlled by such persons. In addition, pursuant to our Code of Ethics, all of our officers, directors
and employees are to avoid conflicts of interest and to refrain from taking part or exercising influence in any transaction in which
such party’s personal interest may conflict with the best interest of the Company. Except for provisions of the Audit Committee
Charter, there are no written procedures governing review of related-persons transactions.
AUDIT COMMITTEE
REPORT
The
information contained in this Audit Committee report is not “soliciting material” and has not been “filed”
with the SEC. This report will not be incorporated by reference into any of our future filings under the Securities Act of 1933 or the
Exchange Act, except to the extent that we may specifically incorporate it by reference into a future filing.
The
Audit Committee reviews the Company’s financial reporting process on behalf of the Board. Management is responsible
for the financial statements and the reporting process, including the internal control over financial reporting. The Company’s
independent registered public accounting firm, Friedman LLP, is responsible for expressing an opinion on the conformity of the audited
financial statements with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. The Audit Committee has reviewed and discussed the audited financial
statements with management and management’s evaluations of the Company’s system of internal controls over financial reporting
contained in the 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K.
As
required by the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”), the Committee has discussed with Friedman
LLP (i) the matters required to be discussed by the applicable requirements of the PCAOB and the SEC and (ii) the independence of Friedman
LLP from the Company and management. The Audit Committee received the written disclosures and the confirming letter from Friedman LLP
required by applicable requirements of the PCAOB regarding the independent accountant’s communications with the Audit Committee
concerning independence and discussed with Friedman LLP its independence from the Company.
Based
upon the review and discussions referred to above, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board of Directors that the audited financial
statements be included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 which was filed with the SEC on March 31,
2021.
The
Audit Committee – Emanuel Pearlman (Chairman) and Allison Hoffman
PROPOSAL
2
NON-BINDING
ADVISORY VOTE TO APPROVE THE COMPENSATION OF OUR NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICER COMPENSATION
The
Company is asking its stockholders to approve a non-binding advisory resolution on its named executive officer compensation as reported
in this Proxy Statement.
In
accordance with Section 14A of the Exchange Act, and as a matter of good corporate governance, the Company is asking stockholders to
approve the following advisory resolution at the Annual Meeting:
RESOLVED,
that the stockholders of Network-1 Technologies, Inc. (the “Company”) hereby approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation
paid to the Company’s named executive officers as disclosed in this proxy statement pursuant to the SEC’s disclosure rules,
including the narrative discussion in the section entitled “Executive Compensation”, the Summary Compensation Table and the
related compensation tables, notes and narrative in the Proxy Statement for the Company’s 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
This
advisory resolution, commonly referred to as a “say-on-pay” resolution, is non-binding on the Board of Directors. Although
non-binding, the Board of Directors and the Compensation Committee will carefully review and consider the voting results when evaluating
our named executive officer compensation.
APPROVAL
REQUIRED AND RECOMMENDATION
The
affirmative vote of the holders of record of a majority in voting interest of the shares of stock entitled to be voted on this Proposal
2 at the Annual Meeting, present in person or by proxy is required for approval of this proposal.
THE BOARD
OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” THE APPROVAL OF THE NON-BINDING ADVISORY RESOLUTION ON THE COMPANY’S
NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICER COMPENSATION.
PROPOSAL 3
RATIFICATION OF THE
APPOINTMENT OF OUR INDEPENDENT
REGISTERED
PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
Friedman
LLP (“Friedman”) has audited and reported upon the financial statements of the Company for the fiscal year ended December
31, 2020. The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors has re-appointed Friedman as the Company’s independent registered public
accounting firm for the Company’s fiscal year ending December 31, 2021, and the Board is asking stockholders to ratify that selection.
Although current law, rules, and regulations, as well as the Charter of the Audit Committee, require the Audit Committee to engage, retain,
and supervise the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, the Board considers the selection of the independent
registered public accounting firm to be an important matter of stockholder concern and is submitting the selection of Friedman for ratification
by stockholders as a matter of good corporate practice. The Audit Committee reserves the right, even after ratification by stockholders,
to change the appointment of Friedman as auditors, at any time during the 2021 fiscal year, if it deems such change to be in the best
interest of the Company. If the stockholders do not ratify the selection of Friedman, the Audit Committee will review the Company’s
relationship with Friedman and take such action as it deems appropriate, which may include continuing to retain Friedman as the Company’s
independent registered public accounting firm. A representative of Friedman is expected to be present at the Annual Meeting with the
opportunity to make a statement if he or she desires to do so and is expected to be available to respond to appropriate questions.
Audit Fees
Friedman,
our independent registered public accounting firm, billed us aggregate fees of $125,211 and $124,662 for the years ended December 31,
2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively, for the audit of our annual financial statements, review of our financial statements included
in our Form 10-Qs and for other services in connection with statutory or regulatory filings.
Audit Related Fees, Tax Fees and
All Other Fees
Friedman
provided various tax compliance services for which it billed us $33,577 and $19,293, respectively, for the years ended December 31, 2020
and December 31, 2019. Friedman did not render any other professional services other than those discussed above for the years ended December
31, 2020 and December 31, 2019.
Audit Committee Pre-Approval
Policies and Procedures
Our
Audit Committee Charter provides that our Audit Committee must comply with SEC rules to maintain auditor independence as set forth in
Rule 2-01(c)(7)(i) of Regulation S-X. The Audit Committee has a policy to pre-approve all audit and permissible non-audit services to
be provided by our independent registered public accounting firm. All the services above were approved in advance by our Audit
Committee.
Recommendation
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF FRIEDMAN LLP AS THE COMPANY’S INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING
FIRM FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2021.
STOCKHOLDER
PROPOSALS FOR 2022 ANNUAL MEETING
Stockholders
who wish to present proposals for inclusion in our proxy statement and form of proxy relating to our annual meeting of stockholders to
be held in 2022 must submit a notice containing the proposal in proper form consistent with Rule 14a-8 of the Exchange Act, addressed
to the attention of our Corporate Secretary at our address set forth on the first page of this Proxy Statement, not later than April
3, 2022.
If
a stockholder submits a proposal after the April 3, 2022 deadline required under Rule 14a-8 of the Exchange Act but still wishes to present
the proposal at our annual meeting of stockholders (but not in our proxy statement) for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021 to be
held in 2022, the proposal, which must be presented in a manner consistent with procedures in our Bylaws and applicable law, must be
submitted to our Corporate Secretary in proper form at the address set forth above so that it is received by our Corporate Secretary
not earlier than the close of business on the 120th day and not later than the 90th day prior to the first anniversary
of the preceding year’s annual meeting; provided, however, that, in the event that the date of the annual meeting is more than
30 days before or more than 60 days after such anniversary date, notice by the stockholder to be timely must be so delivered not earlier
than the close of business on the 120th day prior to the date of such annual meeting and not later than the close of business
on the later of the 90th day prior to the date of such annual meeting; provided further, in the event that less than 100 days
notice of prior public disclosure of the date of the annual meeting is given or made to stockholders, notice by the stockholder to be
timely must be received no later than the 10th day following the earlier of (i) the day on which notice of the annual meeting
was mailed, or (ii) such public disclosure was first made of the annual meeting. In no event shall any adjournment or postponement of
an annual meeting or the announcement thereof commence a new time period for the giving of a stockholder’s notice as described
above.
Under
our Bylaws, to be in proper form, each such notice must set forth as to each matter the stockholder proposes to bring before the meeting
(except for the submission of Board nominations – see page 11 of this Proxy Statement and our Bylaws for required procedures):
(i) a brief description of the business desired to be brought before the meeting, the reasons for conducting such business at the meeting
and any material interest of such stockholder and beneficial owner, if any, in such business; (ii) the text of the proposal or business
(including the text of any resolutions proposed for consideration); (iii) a complete and accurate description of all agreements, arrangements
and understandings between or among such stockholder and such beneficial owner, if any, and any other person or persons (including their
names and addresses) in connection with the proposal of such business by such stockholder; and (iv) as to the stockholder giving the
notice and the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the proposal is made such information as required in accordance of Section 8(b)
and 8(c) of our Bylaws.
OTHER INFORMATION
Proxies
for the Annual Meeting will be solicited by mail and through brokerage institutions and all expenses involved, including printing and
postage, will be paid by the Company.
A
COPY OF THE COMPANY’S ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2020 IS BEING FURNISHED HEREWITH TO EACH
STOCKHOLDER OF RECORD AS OF THE CLOSE OF BUSINESS ON JULY 29, 2021. COPIES OF OUR ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K, AND ANY AMENDMENTS TO THE
FORM 10-K, WITHOUT EXHIBITS, WILL BE PROVIDED UPON WRITTEN REQUEST. EXHIBITS TO THE FORM 10-K WILL BE PROVIDED FOR A NOMINAL CHARGE.
A WRITTEN REQUEST FOR THE FORM 10-K SHOULD BE MADE TO:
NETWORK-1 TECHNOLOGIES,
INC.
445 PARK AVENUE, SUITE
912
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10022
ATTENTION: SECRETARY
The
Board of Directors is aware of no other matters, except for those incident to the conduct of the Annual Meeting, that are to be presented
to stockholders for formal action at the Annual Meeting. If, however, any other matters properly come before the Annual Meeting or any
adjournments thereof, it is the intention of the persons named in the proxy to vote the proxy in accordance with their judgment.
|
By Order
of the Board of Directors,
|
|
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August 9, 2021
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/s/ Corey M. Horowitz
|
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Corey M. Horowitz
|
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Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
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ANNUAL
MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS OF
NETWORK-1
TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
September
23, 2021
PROXY VOTING INSTRUCTIONS
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INTERNET - Access
"www.voteproxy.com" and follow the
on-screen instructions or scan the QR code with your smartphone. Have your proxy card available when you access the web page.
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TELEPHONE - Call
toll-free 1-800-PROXIES (1-800-776-9437)
in the United States or 1-718-921-8500 from
foreign countries and follow the instructions. Have your proxy card available when you call.
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Vote online/phone until 11:59 PM EST the day before the meeting.
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COMPANY NUMBER
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MAIL - Sign, date and mail your proxy card in the envelope provided
as soon as possible.
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ACCOUNT
NUMBER
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VIRTUALLY
AT THE MEETING - Network-1 Technologies, Inc. will conduct its 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders in virtual meeting format only, conducted by live webcast.
You may attend and vote during the virtual annual meeting. To attend the virtual meeting, please visit https://web.lumiagm.com/201466103
and provide the password network2021. Be sure to have your control number available.
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GO GREEN - e-Consent makes it easy to go paperless. With e-Consent, you can quickly access your proxy materials, statements and other eligible documents
online, while reducing costs, clutter and paper waste. Enroll today via www.astfinancial.com to enjoy online access.
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NOTICE OF INTERNET AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIAL:
The Notice of Meeting, proxy statement and proxy card are available at http://www.network-1.com/sec/proxy2021/.
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↓
Please detach along perforated line and mail in the envelope provided IF you
are not voting via telephone or the Internet. ↓
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20530300000000001000 0
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092321
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THIS
PROXY WILL BE VOTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN BELOW.
PLEASE
SIGN, DATE AND RETURN PROMPTLY IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE. PLEASE MARK YOUR VOTE IN BLUE OR BLACK INK AS SHOWN HERE ☒
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1.
Election of Directors: SEE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW TO WITHHOLD AUTHORITY TO VOTE FOR ANY INDIVIDUAL NOMINEE(S).
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NOMINEES:
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FOR ALL NOMINEES
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O
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Corey M. Horowitz
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O
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David C. Kahn
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WITHHOLD AUTHORITY
FOR ALL NOMINEES
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O
O
O
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Emanuel Pearlman
Niv Harizman
Allison Hoffman
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☐
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FOR ALL EXCEPT
(See instructions below)
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INSTRUCTIONS:
To withhold authority
to vote for any individual nominee(s), mark “FOR ALL EXCEPT” and
fill in the circle next to each nominee you wish to withhold, as shown here: ●
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FOR
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AGAINST
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ABSTAIN
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2.
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To approve, by non-binding advisory vote, the resolution
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☐
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☐
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approving named executive officer compensation.
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FOR
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AGAINST
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ABSTAIN
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3.
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To ratify the appointment of Friedman LLP as the Company’s
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☐
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☐
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☐
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independent registered public
accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021.
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In their discretion, the proxies are authorized to vote upon such other business as may properly come before the meeting or any adjournment(s) thereof.
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The undersigned acknowledges receipt from the Company
before the execution of this proxy of the Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders, a Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting
of Shareholders and the 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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This
proxy, when properly executed, will be voted in the manner directed by you. If you do not give any direction, the proxy will be voted
(1) “For” the election of each of the nominees for director; (2) “For” approval, by non-binding advisory vote,
of the resolution approving named executive officer compensation, and (3) “For” the ratification of Friedman LLP as the Company’s
independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021.
MARK “X”
HERE IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND THE MEETING VIRTUALLY. o
To change the address on your account, please check the box at right and indicate your new address in the address space above. Please note that changes to the registered name(s) on the account may not be submitted via this method.
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☐
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Signature of Stockholder
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Date:
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Signature of Stockholder
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Date:
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Note: Please
sign exactly as your name or names appear on this Proxy. When shares are held jointly, each holder should sign. When signing as
executor, administrator, attorney, trustee or guardian, please give full title as such. If the signer is a corporation, please
sign full corporate name by duly authorized officer, giving full title as such. If signer is a partnership, please sign in partnership
name by authorized person.
o ■
NETWORK-1
TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
445
Park Avenue, Suite 912
New
York, NY 10022
THIS
PROXY IS SOLICITED ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The undersigned hereby appoints Corey M. Horowitz and David C. Kahn, and each of them, with full power of substitution and power to act
alone, as proxies to vote all the shares of Common Stock which the undersigned would be entitled to vote if personally present and acting
at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Network-1 Technologies, Inc., to be held on Thursday, September 23, 2021 at 10:00 a.m., live
via the Internet at https://web.lumiagm.com/201466103 and at any adjournments or postponements thereof, as follows:
(Continued
and to be marked, dated and signed on the reverse side.)
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