Konica Minolta 2007 Annual Report Download - page 42

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4. Business Contribution of Licensing-Related Activities
The Group is working to effectively utilize the large number of intellectual property rights it holds
as a means of ensuring the profitability of its businesses by establishing product differentiation and
competitive advantage. On the other hand, in business domains where the technology is becom-
ing increasingly sophisticated and complex, the Goup is pursuing cross-licensing agreements to
obtain needed technology from other companies from the standpoint of ensuring business
sustainability as well as maintaining a degree of R&D freedom. Decisions to obtaining licensing
from other companies are based on a comprehensive appraisal of the effectiveness of the license
acquisition, based on the need to ensure a degree of R&D freedom and the possibility of litigation.
5. Business Contribution of Patents and Other Intellectual Property Assets
(1) Patent Portfolio Contributions to Business
The Group believes that applying for and acquiring patent rights for the R&D accomplishments of
each business area in order to ensure patent superiority is the basis of contribution to each
business. In order to ensure patent superiority, the Group specifies priority technology domains
and areas to drive business expansion and the Group’s “genre-top” strategy. Efforts in these
designated domains and areas not only include systematic and concentrated efforts to acquire
patent rights, but also selecting appropriate countries for patent applications and implementing
policies for early patent right acquisition, the Group is working for the early acquisition of
effective patent rights that contribute to the business.
As of March 31, 2007, the total number of patents held in Japan was 6,039 and the number
of U.S. patents held was 6,058, with the Group’s Business Technologies and Optics businesses
accounting for over 50% of the Group’s total patents in Japan and the U.S.
The sharp growth recorded between the fiscal year ended March 2006 and the fiscal year
ended March 2007 is the result of the Group’s active investment in technology development for
future growth and expansion primarily in these two segments.
Further, according to the granted patent data for calendar 2006 that is published in the Japan
Patent Office Annual Report 2007, Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. ranked 32nd with 562 patents
and Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc. ranked 84th with 241 patents. The Group’s own
research indicates that it holds a total of 898 granted patents and ranks 21st.
On the other hand, the trend in U.S. patents granted for the Group is shown in the following
table. As a result of active patent filings and patents granted in the U.S. which is an important
market for the Group, Konica Minolta’s ranking in calendar 2006 recorded a sharp rise from
2005 to 44th, and the Group ranks 15th among Japanese companies (versus 17th in 2005).
Estimated Group Ranking in U.S. Patents Granted
Calendar year 2003 2004 2005 2006
Patents Granted 380 404 316 497
Ranking (Est.) 55 50 56 44
Note: Estimate of aggregate ranking of Konica Minolta Group companies based on data compiled by the Intellectual
Property Owners Association.
Proportion of Japanese
Patents by Business Segment
Business Technologies
Optics
Medical and Graphic Imaging
Sensing
Industrial Inkjet
Shared Basic Technologies,
Leading-Edge Technologies
Photo Imaging
51%
12%
9%
5%
3%
1%
19%
Proportion of U.S. Patents
by Business Segment
45%
10%
12%
8%
2%
2%
21%