Management Plan for Intellectual Property

Each year, Coretronic formulates a product and technology development roadmap based on its operational goals. The roadmap takes into account both quality and quantity considerations. Depending on the specific products and different types and levels of technology, we dynamically adjust the selection of countries, the number of applications, and the types of applications for patent filings. This allows for strategic patent positioning at varying degrees. We also review the pending patent technologies and their scope, identify complementary technological designs and innovations, and align them with the different patent systems and priority claims of various countries. Timely patent applications are filed to fill any gaps in the company's patent portfolio.

For important products or technologies within the company, if the number of existing patents is insufficient, the initial focus is to encourage researchers and developers to actively apply for patents in different technology categories (such as optics, mechanics, thermal management, materials, software, electronic control, etc.) and for different components or modules of the products. This approach aims to establish comprehensive protection. Once a certain number of patents have been accumulated, the emphasis shifts to improving the quality of the patents. In addition, to ensure that the company's products align with patented technologies and receive appropriate protection, patent engineers participate in the product development process according to the requirements of the business units. They engage in technology exploration and apply for corresponding patents.

In addition, the Intellectual Property Department creates patent maps for key technologies and components to be used as references by the research and development units. These maps help the units understand the technologies that have not yet been patented, enabling them to further develop related technologies and fill the company's patent technology gaps.
 

• Patent Protection Measures:
  1.  Designated Department: Based on the "Patent and Technology Development Incentive Measures," the Intellectual Property Department is responsible for managing Coretronic's patent application and maintenance-related tasks. Each year, an evaluation is conducted to assess whether the approved patents should be extended or handled in other ways.
  2.  Reward System: The "Patent Heroes List" is established, and the number of patent proposals and the proposers, as well as the content of approved patents, are announced monthly on the company's internal website. The reward system includes proposal rewards, patent certification rewards, patent application rewards, trade secret application rewards, competition rewards, morale encouragement, and special significant benefits. In 2022, the Patent and Technology Development Incentive Measures were updated in China, with an increase in the amount of patent rewards to encourage inventors to submit proposals and increase the number of patent applications. Over NT$2.55 million was granted in rewards, representing a 108% increase compared to 2021.
  3.  Education and Training: Wujiang plants conducted a "Patent Basics" course, providing training for 92 participants on the concept and operational procedures of patent layout.
• Intellectual Property Acquisition/Disposal: The "Procedure Manual for Acquiring or Disposing Intangible Assets and Licensing Operations" was formulated to establish principles for handling the acquisition and disposal of intangible assets, including patent rights, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and other intellectual properties. It specifies the procedures and methods to be followed when acquiring intangible assets from third parties or disposing of company-owned intangible assets to third parties.
• Management of Technical Business Secrets: The "Regulations for the Management of Technical Business Secret Documents" were established to define the levels, usage methods, and related management practices for technical business secrets.

Operation

The Company submits a report about related intellectual property events to the Board of Directors regularly every year. The latest report date is July 31, 2023.

To improve the effective management of the Company’s intellectual property rights and automation and digital transformation as well as knowledge sharing, the Company has actively promoted related optimizations since 2008. The following shows the implementations in recent years:

• In 2013, the development of the electronic signature sign-off process started, including the different activities of the patent life cycle, such as the evaluation of patent applications, internal review, rejection evaluation, evaluation of patent certificate issuance, annual fee evaluation, and submittal of bonus candidates.
• In March 2016, the Trademark Management Platform started operation to manage the trademarks of the Company and the subsidiaries of the group.
• In 2019, the internal patent retrieval system platform was introduced. This allows the R&D staff, inventors, department heads, and IP rights staff to retrieve the information about the patent technologies of the group immediately via the intranet and control the status of patents in each country.
• In 2020, the electronic processes and internal patent retrieval system platform have been optimized further. While the business unit confirms that a patent will be granted, the system automatically issues an email asking if it is applied to some product so that it can apply for the patent application bonus. On the internal patent retrieval system platform, the One-click Download is also available for the user or business unit to down patent documents according to their needs.
• In 2021 we optimized the management process of IP right projects and completed the digitization of the assignment, management, and standard operating procedures (SOP) of IP right projects to facilitate effective project traceability and management. We also cooperated with the related units to inventory the patents of the Company’s projection technology in order to understand our patent value.
• In 2022, the patent management system was optimized, with completion of all patent specifications and the implementation of automated system functionality. This reduced manual work and improved information accuracy, enabling effective tracking and management of cases. In collaboration with relevant departments, a comprehensive inventory of the company's projection technology patents was conducted to understand the overall patent value. Furthermore, revisions to the "Patent and Technology Development Incentive Measures" in Taiwan and mainland China have been completed. The existing electronic approval system for patent application proposals was consolidated and improved for both regions.
• In 2023, the patent bonus electronic approval system will be enhanced in accordance with the "Patent and Technology Development Incentive Measures."

Performance

• Patents: As of June 16, 2023, 2,135 patents have been approved and remain valid in countries while 985 patents are pending in countries.

  Status	Invention	Utility	Design	Total
  Approved and Valid	1,606	527	2	2,135
  Pending	975	10	0	985

• Trademarks: As of June 16, 2023, 53 trademarks have been approved and remain valid in countries.