Olympus 2006 Annual Report Download - page 56

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54 OLYMPUS 2006
Trends in Number of Patents Held by Countr y
(Number of patents, thousands)
02 03 04 05 06
Others
United States
Japan
12
9
6
3
R & D S E G M E N T A N D I N T E L L E C T U A L P R O P E R T Y O V E R V I E W
> The following graphs show the number of Olympus’ published
patents in its areas of core competence, as well as the ratio of
such patents in relation to its overall patent portfolio.
Olympus maintains a high number of published patents in opti-
cal, electronic imaging and precision technologies and is progress-
ing with efforts to further raise this number. It has put particular
emphasis on the continued strengthening of patent applications
in the increasingly important field of cell-related technology.
Approximately 66% of Olympus’ acquired patents are related
to core competence technologies and serve as a wellspring of the
Company’s competitiveness in each area of business.
C O N T R I B U T I O N O F P A T E N T P O R T F O L I O T O C O M P A N Y
B U S I N E S S
> Olympus actively pursues a policy of converting research and
development results into patented intellectual property assets. The
results of this policy over the past five years are shown in the
graph below, broken down by country. In the future, the Company
will be more selective in applying for domestic patents and will
strive to increase the number of acquired foreign patents. Olympus
has been channeling more resources into obtaining patents not
only in the United States, but also in the growing market of China,
where it also has manufacturing operations.
The number and ratio of Olympus’ patents in each business area
at the end of the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006 are shown
in the table below. Olympus holds patents with business potential
in each of its businesses: imaging, medical, industrial, and life
science. The Company’s core imaging and medical businesses,
however, account for 71% of all patents held by Olympus.
No. and Ratio of Patents Held by Business Group
Imaging Medical Life Corporate
Systems Systems Science R&D
Business Business Business Center Total
Japan patents ............................................................................................ 2,061 2,239 687 960 5,947
% to total (%) .......................................................................................... 35 38 12 16 100
U.S. patents .............................................................................................. 1,414 1,082 369 717 3,582
% to total (%) .......................................................................................... 39 30 10 20 100
China patents ............................................................................................ 93 7 20 8 128
% to total (%) .......................................................................................... 73 5 16 6 100
Other patents ............................................................................................ 105 393 97 110 705
% to total (%) .......................................................................................... 15 56 14 16 100
Total ........................................................................................................ 3,673 3,721 1,173 1,795 10,362
% to total (%) .......................................................................................... 35 36 11 17 100