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The following table summarizes our principal competitors by operating segment. 

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## Intellectual Property 

Our proprietary driveline and power technologies product lines have strong identities in the markets we serve. Throughout these product lines, we manufacture and sell our products under a number of patents that have been obtained over a period of years and expire at various times. We consider each of these patents to be of value and aggressively protect our rights throughout the world against infringement. We are involved with many product lines and the loss or expiration of any particular patent would not materially af fect our sales and profits. 

We own or have licensed numerous trademarks that are registered in many countries, enabling us to market our products worldwide. For example, our Spicer®, Victor Reinz® and Long® trademarks are widely recognized in their market segments. 

## Engineering and Research and Development 

Since our introduction of the automotive universal joint in 1904, we have been focused on technological innovation. Our objective is to be an essential partner to our customers and we remain highly focused on of fering superior product quality , technologically advanced products, world-class service and competitive prices. To enhance quality and reduce costs, we use statistical process control, cellular manufacturing, flexible regional production and assembly , global sourcing and extensive employee training. 

We engage in ongoing engineering and research and development activities to improve the reliability , performance and cost-effectiveness of our existing products and to design and develop innovative products that meet customer requirements for 

