Amerityre (AMTY) Risk Analysis

In certain cases, where the disclosure of information required to obtain a patent would divulge critical proprietary data, we may choose not to patent elements of our proprietary technology and intellectual property. Instead, we rely on trade secret laws to protect certain elements of our proprietary technology and processes, such as our key polyurethane formulations.  These formulations are critical elements of our proprietary technology.  While we enter into non-disclosure agreements with our employees and certain third parties with which we do business, our trade secrets could nonetheless be compromised by third parties, or intentionally or accidentally by our employees.  It is also possible that others will independently develop technologies that are similar or superior to our technology.  Third parties may also legally reverse engineer our products.  Independent development, reverse engineering, or other legal copying of those elements of our proprietary technology could enable third parties to benefit from our technologies without compensating us.  The protection of proprietary technology through claims of trade secret status has been the subject of increasing claims and litigation by various companies both in order to protect proprietary rights as well as for competitive reasons, even when proprietary claims are unsubstantiated.  The prosecution of litigation to protect our trade secrets or the defense of such claims is costly and unpredictable given the uncertainty and rapid development of the principles of law pertaining to this area.  Intellectual property litigation has had two trends which can make it prohibitively expensive - (i) the use of litigation funding companies and (ii) the presence of large law firms. The effect is to increase legal and expert litigation fees. These factors also arise with respect to the following patent risk factors. We may also be subject to claims by other parties with regard to the use of technology information and data that may be deemed proprietary to others.  The independent development of technologies that are similar or superior to our technology or the reverse engineering of our products by third parties would have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.  In addition, the loss of our ability to use any of our trade secrets or other proprietary technology would have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.  Because trade secrets do not ensure exclusivity and pose such issues with respect to enforcement, third parties may decline to partner with us or may pay lesser compensation for use of our technology which is protected only by trade secrets.

The current inflationary pressures may adversely affect our margins particularly since we have lacked the capital to accumulate material inventory. Although we have blanket order with some of our customers the duration on fixed pricing is limited, often to three months, due to increasing price risk on our materials. This customer pricing pressure may also result in the loss of contracts and/or future business. Finally, we are experiencing rising labor costs which may further tighten margins. Additionally, given our location next to California that recently enacted legislation requiring fast food locations to pay hourly employees at least $22 per hour and beginning in 2024 with mandatory inflationary increases even capped at 3.5% per year, we may see pressure on our wages to hourly employees as well as other labor cost increases.

Even if tests indicate that our tires meet industry performance standards, these products may subject us to significant product liability claims because the technology is relatively new and there is little history of long-term use in particular applications.  Moreover, because our products are and will be used in applications where their failure could result in injury, we could also be subject to product liability claims.  Introduction of such new products and increased use of our existing products will most likely increase our product liability premiums and defense of potential claims could increase insurance costs even further, which could substantially increase our expenses.  Any insurance we obtain may not be sufficient to cover the losses incurred through such lawsuits.

We rely on a variety of marketing techniques, and we are or may become subject to various laws and regulations that govern such marketing and advertising practices. A variety of federal, state, and international laws and regulations govern the collection, use, retention, sharing, and security of personal data. Laws and regulations relating to privacy, data protection, information security, marketing and advertising, and consumer protection are evolving and subject to potentially differing interpretations. These requirements may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another or may conflict with other regulations or our current practices. As a result, our practices may not have complied or may not comply in the future with all such laws, regulations, requirements, and obligations. We have implemented various features, integrations, and capabilities as well as contractual obligations intended to enable us to comply with applicable privacy and security requirements in our collection, use, and transmittal of data, but these features do not ensure our compliance and may not be effective against all potential privacy concerns. As a United States company, we may be obliged to disclose data pursuant to government requests under United States law. Compliance with such requests may be inconsistent with local laws in other countries where our customers reside. Any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with our posted privacy policies or with any privacy or consumer protection-related laws, regulations, industry self-regulatory principles, industry standards or codes of conduct, regulatory guidance, orders to which we may be subject, or other legal obligations relating to privacy or consumer protection, whether federal, state, or international, could adversely affect our reputation, brand, and business, and may result in claims, proceedings, or actions against us by governmental entities, customers, users of our website, third party service providers, or others, or may require us to change our operations and/or cease using certain types of data. Any such claims, proceedings, or actions could hurt our reputation, brand, and business, force us to incur significant expenses in defense of such proceedings or actions, result in adverse publicity, distract our management, increase our costs of doing business, result in a loss of customers or vendors, and result in the imposition of monetary penalties. The legislative and regulatory bodies or self-regulatory organizations in various jurisdictions both inside and outside the United States may expand current laws or regulations, enact new laws or regulations, or issue revised rules or guidance regarding privacy, data protection, consumer protection, information security, and online advertising. For example, in June 2018 the State of California enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (the "CCPA"), which took effect on January 1, 2020. The CCPA requires companies that process personal information on California residents to make new disclosures to consumers about such companies' data collection, use, and sharing practices and inform consumers of their personal information rights such as deletion rights, allows consumers to opt out of certain data sharing with third parties, and provides a new cause of action for data breaches. Additionally, in November 2020, California enacted the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (the "CPRA"), which amends and expands the scope of the CCPA, while introducing new privacy protections that extend beyond those included in the CCPA and its implementing regulations. The CCPA, as amended and expanded by the CPRA, is one of the most prescriptive general privacy law in the United States and may lead to similar laws being enacted in other U.S. states or at the federal level. Most of the provisions of the CPRA become fully operative beginning on January 1, 2023. The State of Nevada has also passed a law, which took effect on October 1, 2019, that amends the state's online privacy law to allow consumers to submit requests to prevent websites and online service providers ("Operators") from selling personally identifiable information that Operators collect through a website or online service. As to Nevada, as of October 1, 2021, Nevada's amended privacy law imposes additional obligations on qualifying "data brokers" and permits consumers to opt out of a broader range of sales of their personal information. The Nevada act applies to any person whose primary business is "purchasing covered information" about Nevada residents "with whom the person does not have a direct relationship" if the information is purchased "from operators or other data brokers and making sales of such covered information." Qualifying data brokers must establish a designated request address through which a Nevada consumer can ask to opt out of the sale of their covered information. In summary, Nevada consumers now have a broad right to opt out whenever a qualifying "operator" or "data broker" makes covered information available in exchange for money. This aligns Nevada's opt-out right more closely with similar consumer privacy rights in Colorado and Virginia. At least 35 states and the District of Columbia in 2022 introduced or considered almost 200 consumer privacy bills.  More and more states may continue to enact similar laws. Proposed federal legislation, like the American Data Privacy and Protection Act, will likely continue to be debated and, at some point, may be enacted in some form. As to other states, on March 2, 2021, the Governor of Virginia signed into law the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (the "VCDPA"). The VCDPA creates consumer rights, similar to the CCPA, but also imposes security and assessment requirements for businesses. In addition, on July 7, 2021, Colorado enacted the Colorado Privacy Act ("CoCPA"), joining the growing list of states adopting comprehensive consumer privacy laws. Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission and many state attorneys general are interpreting federal and state consumer protection laws to impose standards for the online collection, use, dissemination, and security of data. Each of these privacy, security, and data protection laws and regulations, and any other such changes or new laws or regulations, could impose significant limitations, require changes to our business model or practices, or restrict our use or storage of personal information, which may increase our compliance expenses and make our business more costly or less efficient to conduct. In addition, any such changes could compromise our ability to develop an adequate marketing strategy and pursue our growth strategy effectively, which, in turn, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Further, the data protection laws of various jurisdictions often differ greatly and the regulatory landscape in general is constantly changing, and we may be unable to effectively adapt and comply particularly with respect to our website and online sales Section 6(3) of a Connecticut statute signed May 10, 2022, states a data controller shall "establish, implement and maintain reasonable administrative, technical and physical data security practices to protect the confidentiality, integrity and accessibility of personal data appropriate to the volume and nature of the personal data at issue."  The effective date for that law is July 1, 2023. Utah's Consumer Privacy Act provides consumers the right to know what personal data a business collects, how the business uses the personal data, and whether the business sells the personal data. The effective date is December 31, 2023. Additionally, Maine recently enacted the Data Collection Protection Act, creating the Maine Data Collection Protection Act, which prohibits data collectors from collecting and aggregating, selling, or using specific types of public documents or information. In addition, federal and state governmental authorities continue to evaluate the privacy implications inherent in the use of third-party "cookies" and other methods of online tracking for behavioral advertising and other purposes. The U.S. government has enacted, has considered, or is considering legislation or regulations that could significantly restrict the ability of companies and individuals to utilize online behavioral tracking, such as by regulating the level of consumer notice and consent required before a company can employ cookies or other electronic tracking tools or the use of data gathered with such tools. Additionally, some providers of consumer devices and web browsers have implemented, or announced plans to implement, means to make it easier for Internet users to prevent the placement of cookies or to block other tracking technologies, which could, if widely adopted, result in the use of third-party cookies and other methods of online tracking becoming significantly less effective. The regulation of the use of these cookies and other current online tracking and advertising practices or a loss in our ability to make effective use of services that employ such technologies could increase our costs of operations and limit our ability to acquire new customers on cost-effective terms and consequently, materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.