Basic Concept
Intellectual property is an extremely important management resource. The Nisshinbo Group's VALUE is "to provide our customers with eco-friendly products and services to create a safer and more secure society with integrity." The Group considers intellectual property to be a significant contribution to its Group's VALUE. In addition, the Nisshinbo Group's Business Conduct Guidelines also clearly states "to continue to innovate through co-creation with stakeholders." Intellectual property plays an extremely important role as a framework that supports, promotes, and even drives innovation.
As technological innovations such as digital transformation (DX) and AI rapidly advance, in order for the Nisshinbo Group to respond to these changes and contribute to solving issues, the Group must not only create value backed by intellectual property, but also utilize the created value and make it useful to society. Of course, the Group must not forget to take into consideration the intellectual property of others.
The Group is engaged in a wide range of businesses and utilizes its creative value in many different ways. Therefore, the Group is committed to providing value to society by implementing strategies for acquiring, protecting, and utilizing intellectual property in accordance with each business. For example, in the Wireless and Communications and Micro Devices businesses, the Group conducts intellectual property activities with a view to licensing and exercising rights to other companies, in addition to its own use, while in other businesses, the Group conducts intellectual property activities focused on securing rights for its own use.
Promotion System
Nisshinbo Holdings Inc. established the Future Innovation Division and the Legal & IP Department as the sections responsible for intellectual property matters.
The Future Innovation Division is primarily responsible for planning and formulating application strategies related to the creation of intellectual property, particularly in the field of wireless communications. Moreover, The Legal & IP Department has an Intellectual Property Group that handles strategic intellectual property management. The Intellectual Property Group works with the business divisions of Nisshinbo Group companies to conduct global intellectual property research and information gathering by promoting strategic and efficient intellectual property activities.
Please refer to "Promotion System for Sustainability Activity" for details regarding the organizational structure for promoting sustainability.
Specific Initiatives of the Nisshinbo Group
The Nisshinbo Group protects and utilizes intellectual property obtained through innovation creation in an appropriate manner according to its characteristics, such as by filing applications or keeping it in-house. The Group also respects the intellectual property of other companies and actively conduct surveys to avoid intellectual property risks. Through the analysis of intellectual property information, the Group supports business direction and the promotion of new businesses.
Intellectual Property Activity Focus Fields
The Nisshinbo Group conducts intellectual property activities with the aim of establishing sustainable competitive advantages by acquiring, protecting, and utilizing intellectual property in the fields of wireless and communication, sensing, and information processing, which are core technologies of the Group, and by building a network of rights that are appropriate for business.
Reward System for Inventors (Application, Registration, and Performance Rewards)
The Nisshinbo Group has adopted an incentive system to encourage the acquisition of intellectual property rights. The Group pays incentives to inventors at the time of application and registration, as well as performance incentives based on the status of implementation.
Measures Against Counterfeit Products
The entire Nisshinbo Group works together to monitor counterfeit products. As soon as counterfeit products are detected, the Group takes prompt action to protect its brands and ensures that its customers can use its products with peace of mind.
Intellectual Property Education
The Nisshinbo Group actively conducts intellectual property education for a wide range of employees, not only to acquire basic knowledge of intellectual property, but also to ensure thorough compliance.
Information on Intellectual Property Owned
Number of Intellectual Property Owned
The chart below shows the trend in the total number of intellectual property holdings* for the Nisshinbo Group, as well as the number of domestic and international intellectual property holdings broken down by the three segments: Wireless and Communications, Micro Devices, and Materials. In the Wireless and Communications segment, the number of holdings increased in FY2024 following the acquisition of KOKUSAI DENKI Electric Inc. by the Nisshinbo Group; however, in FY2025, the number decreased by 13.8% compared to the previous year as a result of efforts to optimize the intellectual property portfolio. Meanwhile, in the Micro Devices and Materials segments, the number of patents held remained largely unchanged from the previous year.
* Number of intellectual properties owned: the total number of registrations, applications and cases under examinations of patents, utility models and designs.
Number of Intellectual Property Owned
Overseas Case Numbers by Segment
Ratio of Intellectual Property Ownership
The Nisshinbo Group is actively acquiring intellectual property rights, primarily in the fields of Wireless and Communications, and Micro Devices. As of the end of December 2025, Nisshinbo held approximately 6,100 intellectual property rights. Of these, the Wireless and Communications segment accounted for approximately 3,300 (55%), and the Micro Devices segment accounted for approximately 1,300 (22%).
Ratio in Number of Intellectual Properties
Intellectual Property by Segment
Wireless and Communications
Ratio in Number of Intellectual Properties
Intellectual Properties owned by Wireless and Communications segment account for 55% of that of the entire group. As shown in the figure below, Solutions accounts for 28%, Telecommunication 26%, Basic development 22%, Defense Systems 10%, and Marine Systems 9%. As a result of the aforementioned optimization of the intellectual property portfolio, the proportion of solution technologies in the Wireless and Communications segment increased.
Ratio in Number of Intellectual Properties in Wireless and Communications Segment (By Business Segment)
Trends in Patent Applications
The figure below shows trends in patent applications by technology within the Wireless and Communications segment. The chart indicates that this segment has been actively filing patents for radar technology and mobile wireless communication systems in order to protect its intellectual property. In addition, numerous patents have been filed for technologies related to wireless positioning, television systems, studio equipment, image analysis, traffic control systems, and alarm systems.
Application Trends in Wireless and Communications Segment*1
*1 In-house preparation using BizCruncher, a patent analysis tool of Patent Result Co., Ltd. The vertical axis indicates the classification by Japan Patent Office, and the numbers in the circles indicate the number of applications.
*2 As of the end of 2025, the publication of all 2024 applications has not been completed.
Analysis of Patents Owned
The figure below shows an analysis of patents owned in Wireless and Communications segment.
The vertical axis indicates the overall strength of patents in each technology category, the horizontal axis indicates the score of the strongest patent in each technology category, and the size of the circle indicates the number of patents.
The figure on the left shows that the Wireless and Communications segment has a strong presence in patents related to radar technology and mobile wireless communication systems. Furthermore, the figure on the right indicates that the strength of patents related to radar technology and image analysis technology has been increasing each year.
Radar products in the Wireless and Communications segment include marine radar and weather radar. The segment has invested aggressively in research and development of these product lines and has protected the results.
Analysis of Patents Owned in Wireless and Communications Segment*
* In-house preparation using BizCruncher, a patent analysis tool of Patent Result Co., Ltd. The vertical axis indicates the overall strength of patents in each technology category, the horizontal axis indicates the score of the strongest patent in each technology category, and the size of the circle indicates the number of patents.
Micro Devices
Ratio in Number of Intellectual Properties
Intellectual Properties owned by Micro Devices segment account for 22% of that of the entire group. As shown in the figure below, Signal Processing accounts for 34%, Energy Management 24%, Microwave 11%, Manufacturing Process 10%, Packaging 6%.
Ratio in Number of Intellectual Properties in Micro Devices Segment
Trends in Patent Applications
The figure below shows past trends in patent applications by technology within the Micro Devices segment. This indicates that the segment is actively filing patents related to signal amplification technology, DC-DC converters, and power supply control technology in order to protect its intellectual property.
In addition, many applications have been filed for micromachines (MEMS), radar systems or details, and microwave tubes.
Application Trends in Micro Devices Segment (By Technology)*1
*1 In-house preparation using BizCruncher, a patent analysis tool of Patent Result Co., Ltd. The vertical axis indicates the classification by Japan Patent Office, and the numbers in the circles indicate the number of applications.
*2 As of the end of 2025, the publication of all 2024 applications has not been completed.
Analysis of Patents Owned
The figure below shows an analysis of patents owned in Micro Devices segment.
The vertical axis indicates the overall strength of patents in each technology category, the horizontal axis indicates the score of the strongest patent in each technology category, and the size of the circle indicates the number of patents.
The figure on the left shows that the Micro Devices segment has strength in patents related to energy management technology, DC-DC converters, signal amplification technology, and clearly, the company has strengths in patents related to continuous control power supplies using transistors. The figure on the right shows that the strength of patents related to DC-DC converters and signal amplification technology is increasing year by year.
Products in the Micro Devices segment include power supply ICs and operational amplifiers. The segment invests aggressively in R&D for these product lines and protects the results.
Analysis of Patents Owned in Micro Devices Segment*
* In-house preparation using BizCruncher, a patent analysis tool of Patent Result Co., Ltd. The vertical axis indicates the overall strength of patents in each technology category, the horizontal axis indicates the score of the strongest patent in each technology category, and the size of the circle indicates the number of patents.