IDEA SUBMISSION

Every year Fossil receives many letters from consumers proposing ideas to us. We appreciate the time and trouble that each person has taken to contact us. We have therefore created this policy to inform you of the rules related to unsolicited ideas submitted to Fossil. The purpose of this policy is to avoid any misunderstandings regarding your submitted ideas.

Fossil has a large number of employees devoted to product innovation and design. Our employees are trained in their respective fields and have access to industry publications and other sources of information relevant to innovation and design. Therefore, while we appreciate input from individuals who submit ideas to us, many of the ideas and suggestions we receive are not new to us or are not useful in our industry. It is only in rare circumstances that an unsolicited idea will be considered of value to Fossil.

Before submitting an idea to us, we ask that you carefully read this policy and follow the rules for submission set forth herein.

Protecting your Information
Fossil would prefer that you protect your idea before you submit it to us. Even if you are not aware of it, you may have proprietary rights in your information, and you should therefore consider protecting it before disclosing it to Fossil. This is especially important because disclosing it to us may affect your ability to obtain rights in the future. Please submit your information only after you have obtained the protection that you feel is satisfactory. If an idea or invention that you are submitting to us is subject to protection under the patent laws, we request that you either obtain a patent registration or file a patent application before the idea is submitted to us.

Fossil employees are not in a position to provide you with advice or furnish you with an opinion on the appropriate protection for your submission. Any decision regarding these matters should be based solely on your judgment and the advice of your own lawyer or consultant.

What submissions are not considered?
Ideas and submissions that cannot be patented or are not already protected by copyright and those concerning such things as the following will not be considered:

• Styling of products
• Sales methodologies
• Advertising schemes
• Marketing plans
• Product names
• Slogans
• Ways of conducting some part of the business

We will also not consider ideas submitted to us under an agreement of confidentiality. Although submitters often request that we review their information on a confidential basis, Fossil is not prepared to assume the business risks and administrative burdens associated with confidentiality agreements in most cases. For this reason, we will only consider information submitted on a non-confidential basis.

What submissions may be considered?
What submissions may be considered? Fossil will consider patented or copyrighted design concepts, drawings or prototypes for the enhancement of existing Fossil products or the development of new products within our existing line of products (i.e. watches, leather goods, sunglasses, apparel and jewelry).

Submission Process:

• You should review and complete a Submission Agreement and send the Submission Agreement to Fossil along with your idea. (CLICK HERE to download a PDF* of the Submission Agreement.)
• Information that has been submitted without an executed Submission Agreement will not be evaluated by Fossil. If you make any changes to the Submission Agreement, the information submitted will not be evaluated.
• If you submit your idea to Fossil, you are not restricted in your ability to submit the same information to other companies and you are not giving Fossil any rights under any patent or copyright you have or may obtain in the future.
• Please make clear on your Submission Agreement if you are not interested in receiving any payment for your idea. We want to avoid any misunderstandings. So if you intend your submission as a gift, please make this clear in your Submission Agreement.
• If your idea was properly submitted pursuant to the terms of this policy and included a properly executed Submission Agreement, you will receive a letter or email from Fossil confirming receipt of the submission.
• Information submitted with a properly executed Submission Agreement will be referred to the appropriate Fossil personnel to determine their level of interest. If we have an interest in obtaining additional details, we will contact you regarding your submission. Because of the large number of submissions given to us, it is impractical to explain the reasons for rejection for every idea. If you do not hear back from us within a reasonable period of time, you can assume that your idea was not of interest to us or was already known to us. In most circumstances you will not receive any communication from us if we do not wish to pursue your idea.
• If an idea is of interest to us, we will attempt to make an agreement with you for any rights Fossil thinks might be required to use the design or invention. An agreement that obligates Fossil to take any action or pay any amount can only be made by a formal written contract signed by an authorized officer of Fossil. This agreement must be in writing to avoid any future misunderstandings.

Will my submitted material be returned to me?
Submitted material will not be returned. Submitters should not furnish anything they would wish to receive back.