Future

Starting with the NP system of electrophotography in the 1960s, Canon's defensive intellectual properties, such as bubble jet, interchangeable lenses, consumables, and production engineering technology, have been the bases of our current businesses for many years, while our offensive intellectual properties have greatly assisted our response to the computerization and digitization of cameras and printers. These have contributed to the development and expansion of our businesses.

Although these basic concepts of IP activities have been handed down unchanged, our IP strategies and tactics have changed with the times. For example, competitors in the camera market are rapidly changing, and IT companies that do not compete with Canon in business but do compete in patents have emerged.
Along with these developments, industries that use common IT technologies, such as automobiles and housing, have also expanded. This results in a wide expansion of the range of parties with whom we have to negotiate on intellectual property issues.
We need to innovate and evolve our litigation and negotiation strategies to keep up with the times, and to prepare various tactics to battle flexibly according to the opponent. To this end, Canon will carry out intellectual property activities to keep renewing our patent portfolio as a weapon, in line with our business portfolio and the changing times.

Canon is now trying to jump-start four new businesses: commercial printing, network cameras, medical devices and industrial equipment. We are also focusing on the creation of future businesses such as the Free Viewpoint Video System, next-generation imaging such as XR, next-generation healthcare, smart mobility and so on. To ensure the sustainable development and growth of these new businesses, the Intellectual Property Division not only applies for patents and obtains rights for the core competence technologies, but also applies for patents and obtains rights for technologies in various fields with an eye to the future to maintain a strong patent portfolio.

As a result of mergers and acquisitions, many patents that will become the core of new businesses have been created by group companies. We will enhance synergies with the intellectual property activities of Group companies in Japan and overseas, solidify the foundation of our intellectual property activities of the Canon Group, and strengthen the Group's portfolio.
The world has entered the era of the "new normal" and digital transformation (DX), and technologies essential for cyber-physical systems (CPS) incorporating AI and IoT are becoming more and more important. We must also work to solve social issues such as SDGs, taking a long-term perspective. Regardless of whether they are new or existing, Canon's products and services need to be organically linked to CPS and social issues. Accordingly, we will step up our efforts to create and utilize standard-essential patents such as those for image data compression, wireless communication, and wireless power supply in IT-related fields, as well as implementation patents used in products based on standardized technologies.
We will also work hard on intellectual property for sensors, actuators, displays, and user interfaces (UIs), which are the entry and exit points for cyber-physical space, as well as the systems that use them. We will take a long-term perspective and strengthen our initiatives more than ever for environmentally friendly technologies such as energy conservation, recycled materials and manufacturing methods that reduce waste.
In collaborative domains and domains related to social issues, we will not only create patents, but also use intellectual property to create new value, making use of our designs, trademarks and brand power and forming alliances with suppliers and users.

As Canon Group, we will make the best use of our intellectual property to secure competitive advantages and freedom for our businesses, and at the same time continue to contribute to creating a better future society with products and services that have high added value or create new value.

Canon’s aim for Phase VI of the Excellent Global Corporation plan is to improve the competitiveness of all Canon Group operations across its industry-oriented groups. Our focus is also on future business creation, including next-generation industrial printing; volumetric video, extended reality (XR), and other 3D imaging; next-generation healthcare; next-generation semiconductor manufacturing; and digital solution services.
To underpin the development and growth of these businesses, Canon’s IP divisions are channeling efforts into creations and patent acquisitions of IP assets relating to core competence technologies such as optics and image processing and analysis, as well as technologies that are essential for cyber/physical systems that incorporate AI and IoT, standard technologies, and environmentally friendly technologies.

Printing Providing value through cyber/physical systems

We are creating IP to support cyber/physical systems linking office equipment and various other devices and systems. We are building an IP portfolio around technologies to meet emerging future needs, including environmentally friendly printer technologies and new AI-based printing solutions, in addition to technologies of controller/engine implemented in and clouds connected to various printer models.

Medical Providing new value to clinical settings, enhancing competitiveness and expanding business domains

We are building an IP portfolio to protect the technologies needed to generate and provide an ongoing stream of new value to clinical settings, including emerging AI-based solutions used in precision (personalized) medicine and photon-counting CT scanning technology. Our IP activities are also helping to realize technical synergies across the Group and underpinning clinical research which is accelerating globally, further bolstering our competitiveness in the field of diagnostic imaging and supporting inroads into new fields such as healthcare IT and in-vitro diagnostics.

Imaging From cameras to the imaging business

In addition to mirrorless cameras, Canon is working to create IP combining advanced optical technologies as well as network technologies, targeting fields such as video production and surveillance cameras. We are also reinforcing our IP portfolio in areas that support next-generation entertainment and societal demands for safety and security, including volumetric video, XR and other 3D imaging technologies, and SPAD sensors capable of capturing clear images of objects at distances of several kilometers, even under low-light conditions.

Industrial Rolling out an array of manufacturing solutions for the electronics industry

The focus in this group is on lithography equipment, die bonders, OLED manufacturing equipment, sputtering equipment, and other manufacturing equipment. We are also focusing on creating IP related to manufacturing solution services such as Lithography Plus. In the development of a nanoimprint lithography product we launched in 2023, we had been collaborating with industry, academic institutions, the public sector, and Canon group companies to build a robust IP portfolio, covering innovations ranging from elemental technologies in the optics and materials fields to equipment technologies and semiconductor manufacturing processes.

Ground-breaking Technology for the Future

We are channeling our efforts into building an IP portfolio made up of world-first and leading-edge core technologies across a variety of areas, capitalizing on technologies currently being researched at the R&D headquarters of our head office. Focus areas include ceramics for 3D printers, lead-free piezoelectric materials, new material and device technologies to realize sustainable materials for all-solid-state batteries and other applications, elemental digital technologies needed in 3D imaging, and astronomical technologies such as infrared immersion gratings for extremely large telescopes and satellite technology.

Efforts toward Standardization

We are working together with experts in standardization from overseas research institutes and contributing to global technological development through active participation in standard-setting organizations. Our focus is on expanding the IP portfolio that forms the core of next-generation technology standards and on boosting Canon’s IP competitiveness in areas such as mobile communication (5G, 6G, etc.), wireless LAN (Wi-Fi, etc.), video encoding (HEVC, VCC, etc.), wireless power transfer (Qi, etc.), and file formatting (HEIF, OMAF, etc.).

Canon identifies emerging social and economic trends from various changes and developments in the business landscape and invests considerable resources into acquiring IP rights connected to our business core competencies as well as IP rights that anticipate future business trends. In parallel with this, we regularly review the value of our patents and update the rights we hold to maintain a powerful patent portfolio.

• Example 1: AI-based video/image processing

  Regarding video and image processing which are positioned as Canon's core technologies, we are discovering and developing new technologies based on our existing technology assets.
  For example, as of March 2023, we ranked second globally for numbers of patents owned in AI-based video/image processing (on patent - families basis).
  These kinds of elemental technologies are leveraged to create new technologies for image recognition in the Imaging Group or diagnostic imaging in the Medical Group, thereby contributing to the realization of better products and services. Global ranking for imaging-related machine learning / AI patent registrations

  

• Example 2: 3D spatial video processing

  Canon is investing in image processing for 3D spaces in order to evolve the role of imaging from shooting and viewing to experiencing and applying images as well as to create new business domains. To support this, we are enhancing the construction of IP portfolios for both core competency technologies and general-purpose technologies. One area is our IP portfolio relating to volumetric videos. For example, we hold patents on the underlying technologies for high quality volumetric videos and technologies that realize the high-speed, real-time processing of enormous amounts of video data for applications in arenas and stadiums. We also hold patents that contribute to the production and distribution of volumetric videos. These technologies are being applied in areas such as broadcasts of professional basketball (US) or baseball (Japan), TV commercials, and music videos. Growth of volumetric video technology patent registrations (global registrations)

  

• Example 3: Standardization Activities

  Canon continues to contribute to the development of global technologies via active participation in standard setting organizations, utilizing not only domestic expertise but also the expertise of overseas researchers in these fields. The many inventions relating to our technical contributions continue to expand our standard essential patent portfolio. Canon's patents include technology fields of mobile communication (5G, Beyond 5G, 6G, etc.), wireless LAN (Wi-Fi, etc.), video encoding (HEVC, VVC, etc.), and wireless power transfer (Qi, etc.). The more our patents relating to next-generation technical standards are adopted in various products and services of many companies, the more the value of our patents increases, and consequently our IP competitiveness continues to grow.

  

• Example 4: Nanoimprint Lithography

  For more than a decade, Canon has been pursuing R&D in the field of nanoimprint lithography, a new semiconductor manufacturing process. Alongside our long-term R&D, we have been building a robust patent portfolio for innovations ranging from elemental technologies in the optics and materials fields to equipment technologies and semiconductor manufacturing processes. As of December 2023, we led the world in the number of patents held in this field. Our objective from the outset has been commercialization, and the nanoimprint semiconductor manufacturing equipment we launched in 2023 is protected by this patent portfolio.Patent registrations for nanoimprint lithography

  

• Example 5: Image solution business

  Since its founding, Canon has honed its imaging technology for cameras, lenses, and other products, building up a robust patent portfolio in the process. In recent years, we have reinforced the imaging technology that underpins our business of providing total solutions, expanding the patent portfolio across areas ranging from cameras to video management and analysis software. The trend as of December 2023 shows a year-by-year shift— from products to solutions—in the percentage of Canon patent applications in the imaging technology field. On the IP front as well, we are embodying a spirit of ever-transformation.Percentage of Canon patent applications in the imaging technology field

  

Canon handles the tasks related to trademarks and design rights in a single department. This trademark and design department not only deals with the filling of trademarks and design rights but also monitoring and watching the latest technologies such as NFTs, metaverse spaces, AI creations, as well as trends in related laws such as copyright and unfair competition prevention. The department works closely with other intellectual property departments in various locations around the world to maximize Canon brand value.

Global governance of trademark

The Canon logo, conceived in 1935 as a "globally recognized trademark," The Canon logo has been registered as a trademark in over 190 countries and regions. Canon promoted the protection of brand by establishing a global trademark management policy in the early 2000s Now many other Japanese companies are exploring the establishment of global intellectual property governance that contributes to company management, prompted by revisions to corporate governance codes in recent years.

In China, Canon recognized early on the importance for brand penetration of using Chinese characters and since 2006 we have been using the Chinese character 佳能 (read as “jiānéng”) in addition to the Canon logo in roman characters as a company brand representation.
The pleasant sound and meaning of 佳能 in Chinese have led to a number of similar trademark applications by third parties. However, Canon protects its brand and consumers by filing around 50 formal objections in China each year to such trademark applications. Our successes in protecting our trademarks in Asia have attracted positive recognition and earned us the title of Technology and Consumer Team of the Year in the 2023 awards granted by World Trademark Review, a multimedia publication by Law Business Research.

Canon Design Identity

In Canon Design Center, we have set out a concept known as “Canon Design Identity” aimed at improving brand value by coordinating designs across different product genres and in turn generating high-quality designs. In order to ensure that our products embody this concept, Canon Design Center articulates Canon’s distinctive personality and conducts weekly reviews to ascertain whether there is scope to increase design quality. The trademark and design department shares the Design Center’s awareness of the Canon Design Identity and how it shapes the Canon brand and members of the department follow the same approach as they apply for and acquire design rights.

Promoting the IP MIX Strategy

We are actively promoting an IP MIX strategy, which combines multiple forms of intellectual property, such as patents, design rights, trademarks, know-how, and copyright, to protect our products and services. Therefore, our trademark and design patent specialists collaborate not only with the business units and designers but also with the R&D divisions and patent teams. Canon’s IP divisions adopt the approach of engaging in a wide range of activities rather than focusing excessively on one particular type of intellectual property.

As one example, we focus on graphical design rights as a means to protect the user experiences and user interface designs supported by our unique technology. Graphical design rights are a newly introduced category of design patent protection in Japan. Unlike patents, design rights allow for the protection of the design itself. As we apply for and acquire such rights, we are conscious of the need to protect one product in various ways—which naturally includes securing patents to protect the user experiences that are grounded in technology, but also applying for graphical design rights of the supporting graphic design and of the very design of the graphic user interface that seeks to ensure accessibility for users.

We envision what kinds of design rights will be effective tools for utilizing in business five or ten years from now and seek to apply an open-minded approach to generating ideas.

Example of graphic design rights: Level measuring graphic (Design right registration no. 1731392)▼

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