Corporate Governance Guidelines
Our Board has adopted written charters for each of its Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee. Our Board has also adopted corporate governance guidelines, a code of business conduct and ethics for employees, executive officers and directors, a policy on conflict minerals sourcing and a whistleblower policy regarding the treatment
of complaints on accounting, internal accounting controls and auditing matters. All of these documents are available on our website at www.kopin.com under the heading Investors Relations: Governance Documents. A copy of any of
these documents may be obtained, without charge, upon written request to Kopin Corporation, c/o Investor Relations, 125 North Drive, Westborough, MA 01581.
Corporate Governance Practices and Board Independence
Each year, our Board reviews the relationships that each director has with us and with other parties. With the exception of Dr. Fan, our
President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board, only those directors who do not have any of the categorical relationships that preclude them from being independent within the meaning of applicable Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. Marketplace
Rules (the Nasdaq Rules), and whom the Board affirmatively determines have no relationships that would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director, are considered to be
independent directors. Our Board has reviewed a number of factors to evaluate the independence of each of its members. These factors include the members current and historic relationships with us and our competitors, suppliers and customers;
their relationships with management and other directors; the relationships their current and former employers have with us; and the relationships between us and other companies of which a member of our Board is a director or executive officer. After
evaluating these factors, our Board has determined that a majority of the members of the Board, namely Scott Anchin, James Brewington, David Brook, Morton Collins, Chi Chia Hsieh and Richard Osgood, do not have any relationships that would interfere
with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out their responsibilities as a director and are independent directors of Kopin Corporation within the meaning of the applicable Nasdaq Rules.
In making its independence determinations, our Board considered transactions occurring since the beginning of 2017 between us and entities
associated with the independent directors or members of their immediate family. All identified transactions that appear to relate to Kopin Corporation and a person or entity with a known connection to a director are presented to the Board for
consideration. In making its subjective determination that each non-employee director is independent, our Board considered the transactions in the context of the Nasdaq Rules, the standards established by the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for members of audit committees, and the SEC and Internal Revenue Service standards for compensation committee members. Our Boards independence determinations included reviewing the
following transactions and relationships:
Dr. Hsieh is a director of a company, KoBrite Corp. (KoBrite), in which Kopin
owns a minority interest. Dr. Hsieh is also a director of Bright LED, which is the majority owner of KoBrite. Mr. Brook, one of our directors, is a partner of the patent law firm of Hamilton, Brook, Smith & Reynolds P.C., which is
our patent counsel. During fiscal year 2019, we paid Hamilton, Brook, Smith & Reynolds P.C. fees for legal services of approximately $531,638.
Our Board noted that the fees paid to Hamilton, Brook, Smith & Reynolds P.C. were less than 5% of the firms revenue for the
fiscal year 2019. Our Board determined that, because of the nature of the directors relationship with the entity and/or the amount involved, the relationship did not impair the directors independence.
Nomination and Election of Directors
When seeking candidates for director, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee (the Nominating Committee) may solicit
suggestions from incumbent directors, management or others. After conducting an initial evaluation of a candidate, the Nominating Committee will interview that candidate if it
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