Why "IP" is becoming essential knowledge for all business professionals today.

Intellectual property rights, or "IP" for short—it's something everyone has heard of in some capacity. The English term "IP" is just as commonly heard.

Many people might think "IP doesn't concern me," but in reality, IP is now playing a more crucial role in business than ever before.

For example: * The Japan Patent Office's promotion of "IP Landscape."

The Tokyo Stock Exchange's revision of its "Corporate Governance Code."

These developments are significantly expanding the scope of IP's influence on business.

It has become a major trend that all business professionals must recognize—not just those in IP or technical departments, but also in new business development, PR/IR, corporate planning, and beyond.

This series will broadly introduce fundamental knowledge, trends, and concrete application methods related to intellectual property. We hope to assist you in leveraging IP from a proactive perspective—one that fosters continuous innovation through industry-academia-government collaboration and open innovation.

(Supervised by: IP Bridge)

 

 

<Table of Contents>
▼What Exactly is "IP"? Understanding the 4 Core "Industrial Property Rights" at the Heart of Business

▼The Importance of IP Has Skyrocketed! 2 Key Terms You Need to Know

▼Future Business Might Just Be Driven by "IP"!

What Exactly Is "Intellectual Property"? Learn About the 4 "Industrial Property Rights" That Form the Core of Business

The Japan Patent Office website explains "intellectual property rights" as follows:

The intellectual property rights system grants exclusive rights for a certain period to the results of a wide range of human intellectual creative activities. Intellectual property rights are protected by various laws.

Japan Patent Office: https://www.jpo.go.jp/system/basic/index.html

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While "the results of intellectual creative activities" may sound complex, it specifically refers to the items listed in the table below.

In other words, intellectual property rights protect a very broad range, encompassing the four "industrial property rights" and other rights.

Here we see the term "industrial property rights. "

"Patent Rights"
"Utility Model Rights"
"Design Rights"
"Trademark Rights"

These four rights are collectively referred to as "industrial property rights." You're probably somewhat familiar with these terms.

According to the Japan Patent Office's explanation, "industrial property rights" are as follows:

The industrial property rights system aims to promote industrial development by granting exclusive rights to new technologies, new designs, naming, logos, etc., protecting them against imitation, providing incentives for research and development, and maintaining commercial credibility.
By acquiring these rights, one can exclusively implement (use) new technologies and the like for a specified period.

Japan Patent Office: https://www.jpo.go.jp/system/basic/index.html

Companies develop services and products while acquiring industrial property rights that become their competitive strengths, thereby expanding their businesses. This series will primarily focus on industrial property rights within the broader field of intellectual property rights.

Let's delve a little deeper into "patent rights," which will be a particular focus.

To reiterate, a "patent right" is

protects inventions that utilize natural laws, are novel and highly advanced, and are industrially applicable.

Japan Patent Office: https://www.jpo.go.jp/system/basic/index.html

It is defined as:

By publicly disclosing and registering an "invention" resulting from the research and development efforts of companies or organizations , it grants the exclusive right to implement the invention (such as production and sales) for 20 years from the filing date.

For example, a certain payment service has an excellent UX: "When paying (via smartphone), after scanning the QR code and entering the amount, the screen rotates 180 degrees to face the store clerk." The intellectual property related to this is held by the operating company and is protected. This intellectual property is used as a factor to differentiate the experience from other payment services.

*Image is for illustrative purposes only.

In Japan's business world, a trend is emerging to actively utilize "industrial property rights," centered around these "patent rights." 

The Importance of Intellectual Property Has Skyrocketed! Two Keywords You Need to Know

The recent surge in the importance of intellectual property in business. Here, we introduce two keywords as clear indicators of this trend.

Keyword ①: IP Landscape

IP Landscape is a concept first introduced in the "Intellectual Property Personnel Skill Standards (version 2.0)" published by the Japan Patent Office in 2017.

When formulating management or business strategies, (1) conduct analysis incorporating intellectual property information into management and business intelligence, and (2) share the results (overview of the current situation, future outlook, etc.) with management and business leaders.

Japan Patent Office:
https://www.jpo.go.jp/support/general/chizai_skill_ver_2_0.html

Landscape refers to a view, outlook, or scenery.

The term "landscape" refers to a view, outlook, or scenery.

but it carries the nuance of "analyzing the intellectual property information of one's own company and competitors (other companies), sharing a clear view of the environment surrounding the company internally, and making it useful for corporate management and business strategies."

This is the nuance intended.

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Companies are now being tested on their multifaceted perspective for steering appropriately toward the future and their ability to solve various challenges. What is needed more than ever is "the company itself growing." The key to this is intellectual property and IP Landscape.
Unlike traditional defensive use of IP information, IPL involves using the company's own and competitors' IP as primary sources. By mapping and analyzing this information, it serves as a "proactive information utilization" tool to foster new business creation and support corporate management.

Japan Patent Office:
https://www.jpo.go.jp/news/koho/kohoshi/vol49/01_page1.html

By analyzing your own and competitors' IP and utilizing the IP landscape, you can share insights not only with specialized IP departments but also with executives, planning departments, and marketing departments.

This creates a chain reaction: refining corporate strategy around intellectual property and discovering new business opportunities from existing "seeds" within the company.

When employees across all departments and roles within the company understand their own and competitors' IP information, it creates a wide range of positive impacts, from management strategy to business development.

The Japan Patent Office has now formally named this initiative—"incorporating intellectual property into management as a matter of course"—which enthusiastic companies would likely have pursued individually anyway. This has accelerated the sharing of know-how between companies, creating the impression that communities have formed at an accelerating pace over the past few years.

As a result, various case studies on intellectual property utilization methods—such as creating new businesses and finding business partners—are now shared across these communities. Specific examples will be introduced starting in the second installment of this series.

Keyword ②: Corporate Governance Code

The Corporate Governance Code is a framework enabling companies to make transparent, fair, prompt, and decisive decisions while considering the perspectives of stakeholders including shareholders, customers, employees, and local communities.

In other words, it is a compilation of principles and guidelines that listed companies should refer to when implementing corporate governance. It is published by the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Listed companies are generally encouraged to comply with this code.

and it is expected that through each company's autonomous efforts to achieve sustainable growth and enhance its medium- to long-term corporate value, this will contribute to the development of the companies themselves, investors, and ultimately the economy as a whole.

Tokyo Stock Exchange:
https://www.jpx.co.jp/equities/listing/cg/tvdivq0000008jdy-att/nlsgeu000005lnul.pdf

It is explicitly stated.

This Corporate Governance Code, essential for the medium-to-long-term growth of listed companies, was revised in 2021 to include provisions concerning intellectual property.

It explicitly states that listed companies should actively invest in intellectual property and utilize it in their business operations, requiring disclosure of such efforts to investors.

The background to this revision, particularly for overseas investors, is highlighted in the following documents:

"Mid-to-long-term management strategy"
"Current technological innovation"
"Consistency of technology strategy"

to assess a company's medium-to-long-term growth potential.

Furthermore, from the perspective of corporate growth potential, there is a demand for business promotion utilizing intellectual property and clear information dissemination. A foundation is forming where companies should communicate their intellectual property through symbolic actions or paired with clear narratives.

Future business may well be driven by intellectual property!

Therefore, this time, we've provided an overview of the latest information surrounding intellectual property, aiming for it to be understandable even to business professionals less familiar with the subject.

The promotion of IP landscapes and revisions to corporate governance codes will further increase the importance of intellectual property in business.

Furthermore, logical IP and technology strategies will converge with storytelling and creativity, making proactive IP utilization increasingly vital across all businesses.

At Dentsu Inc., recognizing this trend, we collaborate with IP Bridge, professionals in IP utilization, to support clients' IP strategies. Specifically, we help visualize IP information, conduct competitive comparisons, and support the storytelling of corporate growth strategies and investor relations communications.

Starting next time, we'll also feature professionals from IP Bridge to introduce specific examples of effective IP utilization!

We plan to cover topics like the following. Stay tuned!

＜Upcoming Series Schedule＞
・How to Use IP to Effectively Communicate Corporate Value!
・How to Use IP to Effectively Build New Businesses!
・How to Use IP to Effectively Find Partners!

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