From the archive – Japan’s patent story
Over the last few decades, Japanese companies have been a steady source of innovative products and boast some of the largest patent portfolios in the world. But Japan is also a country in which views about IP value creation have diverged of late. Some businesses have placed increasing emphasis on monetising their patents, while others have resisted such temptations – especially if it has meant working with NPEs.
This week in our look through the IAM archive we turn our attention to one of the world’s great patent powers and track how attitudes to IP value creation there have shifted (or not). However the market evolves, one thing is clear - Japanese technology will remain an important driver of the global innovation machine.
IP secrets to Fujifilm’s transformation
Patent portfolio data illustrates how Fujifilm has leveraged its R&D strategy to engineer a lucrative venture into the healthcare domain and suggests where the company may be headed next.
Tatsuo Nakamura (August 2018)
Japan debates the way head for patents
Japanese companies are increasingly changing their approach to patents. But will the patent system change with them?
Jacob Schindler (December 2016)
Japanese companies seem to have all the right ingredients to become IP value creation leaders, but many are struggling to realise their potential.
Jack Ellis (February 2016)
Japan’s uneasy relationship with patent monetisation
Japanese companies are increasingly interested in maximizing the potential of their patent portfolios but a combination of economic factors, cultural barriers and knowledge gaps makes one of the most obvious paths to value—patent monetisation—a challenging prospect.
Jack Ellis (April 2015)
Japanese IP typhoon still not even a tropical storm
Despite a number of headline-grabbing IP litigations over the last several years, involving some of Japane’s largest companies, the view that Japanese corporations are drastically changing their IP culture is seriously overstated.
Terry Ludlow (December 2007)