TOKYO, January 11, 2013—Canon Inc. ranked first among Japanese companies and third overall for the number of U.S. patents awarded in 2012, according to the latest ranking of preliminary patent results issued by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services on January 10, 2013.
Canon actively promotes the globalization of its business and places great value on obtaining patents overseas, carefully adhering to a patent-filing strategy that pursues patents in essential countries and regions while taking into consideration the business strategies and technology and product trends unique to each location. Among these, the United States, with its many high-tech companies and large market scale, represents a particularly important region in terms of business expansion and technology alliances.
| Year | Ranking* | No. of patents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 1st (3rd) | 3,174 | |
| 2011 | 1st (3rd) | 2,813 | |
| 2010 | 1st (4th) | 2,551 | |
| 2009 | 1st (4th) | 2,200 | |
| 2008 | 1st (3rd) | 2,107 | |
| 2007 | 1st (3rd) | 1,983 | |
| 2006 | 1st (3rd) | 2,367 | |
| 2005 | 1st (2nd) | 1,828 |
Canon prizes its corporate DNA of placing a high priority on technology. And with regard to research and development results, the company actively promotes the acquisition of patent rights in accordance with the management direction of the Canon Group and technology trends while conducting thorough pre-application searches to raise the quality of applications. Through close cooperation between Canon's technology and intellectual property divisions, the company aims to improve its technological capabilities while further enhancing its intellectual property rights.
