Reinforcing the unique IP underlining its new corporate vision, Epson 25, the Japanese-based company is one of the top 100 companies singled out for the prestigious international award for the fifth straight year.
The award is based on analysis of patent and citation data for some of the world's largest and most innovative companies across four main criteria:
- Volume: with every winner having at least 100 unique inventions protected by a granted patent over the most recent five year period;
- Success: the ratio of inventions described in published applications (those patents which are filed and publicly published by the patent office but not yet granted) to inventions protected with granted patents
- Globalization: globalization is the value an organization places on an invention by protecting it across the major world markets, the Chinese Patent Office, the European Patent Office, the Japanese Patent Office and the United States Patent & Trademark Office
- Influence: the downstream impact of an invention, measured by how often it is cited by other organizations.
Executive officer and general administrative manager, Intellectual Property Division for Seiko Epson Corporation Toshiya Takahata (pictured) said, "We are truly proud to receive this award. Winning it for five years in a row recognises the close cooperation between us at the International Property Division (IP Division) and Epson's technology development teams. It is often said that management and IP strategies need to go hand in hand, and I believe that IP is the foundation stone for corporate activities.”
The win comes as Epson is starting its new corporate plan, Epson 25, which it launched last month. It focuses the company on its mission statement of … Creating a new connected age of people, things and information with efficient, compact and precision technologies.
The plan is to build on the solid manufacturing foundation to create a new era based on the unique advantages Epson has built up over time. One of the aims is to drive business by further integrating the management, R&D, and IP strategies.
“Every April, we hold a planning meeting in each division. Prior to this, the president, the divisional heads, and us in the IP Division get together to discuss our integrated strategy. For example, we discuss issues there may be between the printer division and the IP division, or any issues from a management perspective,” said Takahata. “Based on what has been discussed in this meeting, the business plan of each division is reviewed and the division is informed of the result. We share a common idea that IP is the foundation for our corporate activity, and thus the business divisions and the IP Division are required to work together to pursue an integrated strategy."
Epson’s IP Division has expertise on IP systems, and can thus provide opinions on how techniques achieved by inventors can be patented, and how the potential of patents can be increased. The inventors can see what they are developing or trying to achieve as a result of their technology. For example, inventors envision what they are trying to produce is something the world has never seen before or realise ways to exceed the customers' expectations. Thus, the thoughts of the different divisions are based on technology, they speak based on technology, and they are linked to each other by technology.
Takahata concluded, “I think that people who visit the Reuters website are highly sensitive to global trends. My top priority is to make such people understand that Epson has powerful IP because of its unique technology background. The Epson Group, as a whole, shares a common goal of becoming a company that is indispensable to its customers.”