Policy Statement

Filtronic will respect the IPR of others and protect Filtronic IPR through our own processes and those of our supply chain with the aim of enhancing shareholder value

Implementation

Each business division shall seek to protect existing businesses, to increase market share and to develop new profitable businesses world-wide by:-

• Always seeking to retain control of the IPR of its products.     
• Promoting IPR awareness.
• Actively seeking patent protection on inventions and designs appropriate to its business strategies.
• Maintaining international IPR portfolios.
• Reviewing R&D to determine whether there is a risk of infringing any known IPR.
• Defending and enforcing its IPR against infringement by third parties.
• Resisting any challenge to the ownership of its IPR.
• Respecting the IPR of others.
• Investigating appropriate opportunities for licensing its IPR to generate revenue.
• Complying with the rules of standardisation bodies on IPR.

Filtronic plc Board of Directors shall approve assignment or licensing of a substantial interest in the IPR of any business divisions (for example, the grant of an IPR licence which would prejudice the ability of the division in carrying out its business would require approval where as the grant of non-exclusive licences to customers in the normal course of business would not.)

Each business division in consultation with Filtronic plc shall be responsible for:-

• Defining the IPR strategy of their operation within the framework of this Policy.

• Identifying a person for promoting IPR awareness and co-coordinating IPR activities.
• Compiling a Business Specific database of the IPR it owns and inputting required data onto a central IPR database.
• Monitoring third party IPR and competitors’ products to identify possible infringements.

• Establishing an adequate mechanism for securing evidence of date and origin of invention or design.
• Ensuring that applications are filed before an invention or design is disclosed or, if for compelling commercial reasons that is not possible, ensuring that disclosure is strictly ‘In Confidence’ and that an appropriate Confidentiality Agreement is in place.

Hemant Mardia
Chief Executive Officer
Filtronic plc
May 2011