Intellectual Property Strategic Plan for “Company’s Product Line” Business

This document sets out a strategic plan for “Company’s Product Line” Business. It reviews strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities; presents a series of statements relating to “Company’s” vision, mission, values and objectives to provide context; sets out the Business strategies and goals to again provide context; sets out the Key IP Strategy Elements and detailed Strategic IP Action Programs.

Business Strengths, Weaknesses, Threats and Opportunities for “Company’s Product Line” Business

Strengths:

• Track record of 50 years of innovation
• A global brand in “Company’s Product Line”
• Motivated staff and leadership

Weaknesses:

• Quantity of next-generation innovation
• Integrated advanced design software
• Limited access to customer’s critical unsolvable problems

Opportunities:

• Modern consumers expect digital solutions and smaller components
• Modern customers expect real-time fault / reliability detection and alerts
• Modern customers expect short-turn-around-time development timelines
• Overall “Company’s Product Line” category continues to grow

Threats:

• Competitors advance access to customers unsolvable problems
• Shorter product life-cycles
• Integrated Sensor options from competition
• Potential competition from Chinese entities

The vision for “Company’s Product Line” Business in five years’ time is:

• To be consistent with the “Company” vision to design and manufacture “Company’s Product Line” that are critical to “Company’s Industry Segment” because of our focus on innovation, quality, accuracy and reliability.
• To be consistent with the “Company” Vision of being a market leader in the higher price / lower volume / high-performance market

The Mission of the “Company’s Product Line” Business is:

• To be consistent with the “Company’s” Brands of being a proven innovator
• To be able to solve unsolvable problems
• To be continually improving

Values

• ”Company’s Product Line” Business operates in accordance with the highest standards in all relationships with customers, suppliers, environment and the community.
• “Company’s Product Line” Business fosters a climate which encourages innovative, diligent and trustworthy staff and rewards accordingly.

Longer Term Business Objectives of “Company’s Product Line” Business are summarized as:

• To meet the “Company” Corporation Objective of 10% sales growth for the “Company’s Product Line” Business
• To meet the “Company’s Product Line” Business Objective To selectively invest in selected Next-Generation and a few Breakthrough technologies to create steady growth from a market/technology leader position
• To be consistent with the “Company’s Product Line” marketing objective of focusing exclusively on the “Company’s Industry Segment”
• To be consistent with the “Company’s Product Line” Geographic Objective of building in existing market presence areas (North America and Europe) and watching China for indications of emerging technology / market threats therein

“Company’s Product Line” Key IP Strategies to Enable the Business Objectives of “Company’s Product Line” Business:

• Focus on the IP Needs for the “Company’s Product Line” Business in the following order of priority:
  • Freedom to Operate
  • IP Creation and Portfolio Management to sustain advantaged positions
  • In-licensing and Cross-licensing for Open Innovation and partner developments at lower costs
  • Regulatory planning
  • Out-Licensing for Geographic Expansion or Incremental Revenues ( TBD )
• Watch competition comprised of “Named Company Competitors” who may have or could develop IP to block “Company’s Product Line”. “Company’s Product Line” will focus on copying and incrementally improving such designs and fencing-in any patents by these competitors to weaken any of their advantaged positions
• Support sustained growth of the “Company’s Product Line” business by protecting advantaged positions coming from new product materials, functions and capabilities with patents
• Focus on growing business and protecting it with patents in North America, Europe. Watch developments in China to determine if and when investments in patents in that country will generate a positive ROI
• Support sustained growth of the “Company’s Product Line” business by protecting advantaged positions of over 10% lower total costs which come from removing costs from the business with new product design and manufacturing capabilities with Trade Secrets
• “Company” patent and trademark portfolios will provide visibility, protection and a testament to “Company” product uniqueness and high-performance
• Maintain an R&D and IP Posture of “Offensive Short Term R&D” which requires maintaining narrow Patents & Trade Secrets as well as using Trademarks and Copyrights
• Make R&D investment and IP filing/maintaining of patents consistent with “High Technology Craft” R&D and IP Game Recommendations

“Company’s Product Line” IP Strengths, Weaknesses, Threats & Opportunities by Business Use of IP

The Key IP Strengths, Weaknesses, Threats and Opportunities for the “Company’s Product Line” shown in the table to the right drive the Strategic IP Action Programs that follow below.

The Following “Company’s Product Line” Strategic IP Action Programs Will Be Implemented

• Ensure No IP Related Surprises to the “Company’s Product Line”
  • Current FTO studies will be shared with project teams
  • Proposed Development Projects will add IP landscapes as inputs to the planning and project selection process
  • Development projects will conduct a High Level Patent Landscape searching for close art during their Feasibility Stage
  • Development projects will conduct a Software Derived FTO search for close art during the Feasibility Stage
  • Development projects will conduct a Legal Department FTO search for close art during the Development Stage
• Ensure Advantaged IP Will be Obtained by the “Company’s Product Line”
  • Development projects will conduct a patent SWOT during the Feasibility and Development Stages, and will be audited at the Development Gate Review
  • Development projects will file patent(s), document trade secret(s), or hold as know-how at the conclusion of the Development Stage, and will be audited at the Scale-Up Gate Review
  • Development projects will utilize TM’s at the conclusion of the Scale-Up Stage, and will be audited and registration considered at the Post-Commercialization Gate Review
  • Patent Protection will be sought on materials and performance features vs. cost advantage
  • “Breakthrough” product patents will be litigation quality (i.e. complete reference citations and re-examination)
  • “Next-Generation” product patents have to dissuade honorable competitors in target markets (i.e. average reference citations)
  • Trade Secret protection will be sought on design processes and manufacturing processes where the finished product cost savings exceed 10% of product cost
  • Copyright protection will be obtained on all engineering and QA documents
  • “Next-Generation” product patents will be filed in U.S. and Europe
  • Potential “Incremental” product patents will be held as trade secret, held as confidential know-how or published for marketing use depending upon Patent Vs. Trade Secret Decision Matrix scores
• Ensure IP Will be Appropriately Maintained or Abandoned by the “Company’s Product Line”
  • “Company’s Product Line” patents should provide market credibility (filing in “prestige” US or EU IP jurisdiction) and leveraged by Sales to enhance “Company’s Product Line” brand as a market leader
  • Current IP will be Appropriately Maintained or Abandoned by “Company’s Product Line” to reduce costs.
  • Geographic IP filing strategies should mirror medium and long term business use and plans by an annual update at the end of the “Company’s Product Line” Strategic Planning cycle
  • “Use” and “Value” Charts will be used annually to assess the “Company’s Product Line” patents to be maintained or abandoned in the upcoming year
  • Patent and TM alerts will be conducted quarterly for both competitor and similar (potentially infringing) art to “Company’s Product Line” products
• Ensure IP Will be Licensed out to speed the “Company’s Product Line” Growth
  • “Use”, “Value”, “Comparables Charts” will be used annually to assess the “Company’s Product Line” patents, trade secrets, and know-how to be shared with preferred partners to speed market entry in the upcoming year
  • “Company’s Product Line” will share or cross-license its patents and know-how with partners in non-competing fields to obtain additional technology for “Company’s Product Line” to acquire at lower cost
• Ensure IP Will be Leveraged for Government Regulatory and Industry Standards Use
  • “Company’s Product Line” IP Will be Leveraged for Government Regulatory and Industry Standards Use by working with key customers as sponsors
• Ensure IP Will be Licensed out to obtain additional revenues by the “Company’s Product Line”
  • “Company’s Product Line” will not License-out patents for additional revenues as this is not a strategic business objective for “Company’s Product Line”