Epson's policy is “proactive intellectual property activities”. Our intellectual property strategy is closely aligned with Epson's management strategy and business & development strategy. This enables us to engage in forward-thinking acquisitions of intellectual property rights and actively utilize our intellectual property rights.

Epson's IP strategy is characterized by:

Epson pursues as its foundation an integration of management strategy, business & development strategy, and IP strategy. In order to do so, the head of the Intellectual Property Division regularly meets for one-on-one strategy discussions with the chief officers of various operations divisions and of technology development divisions. Additionally, tripartite meetings that include the president are also held.

The parties discuss strategies for supporting and promoting innovation, which are often developed with help from multi-dimensional IP landscape analyses of technology, business, and IP information. The parties also discuss strategies for acquiring and utilizing intellectual property rights (e.g., patent rights, design rights, trademark rights) to strengthen business.

So, Epson's IP activities are very much characterized by a tight relationship among management, business & development, and intellectual property. Our intellectual property rights acquisition strategy is connected to the development strategy for protecting the original core technologies that underpin Epson's competitiveness. Our IP rights acquisition strategy is also intertwined with the business strategy for addressing societal issues. Our IP activities are based on these strategies, and all are aligned with the goal of achieving sustainability and enriching communities.

The Epson 25 Renewed Corporate Vision cites important initiatives in the areas of the environment, DX, and co-creation for achieving our vision. An intellectual property strategy for these has been formulated through discussions about management, business & development, and intellectual property, and Epson is carrying out the IP activities described below.

IP Activities for “Environment”

In working to achieve our Environmental Vision 2050, the Intellectual Property division is conducting not only IP landscapes that support development of environmental technology, but also IP activities for contributing to the promotion of dissemination of environmentally conscious products, and so on.

IP Activities for “DX”

The Intellectual Property Division provides support from an intellectual property perspective for the exploration of innovation that creates new services and solutions by utilizing intellectual property information and for contracts related to data utilization business.

IP Activities for “Co-creation”

The Intellectual Property Division is building a strong IP portfolio that protects its original core devices, and provides support for contracts that promote co-creation with external partners centered on those core devices.