Casio implements various intellectual property activities. Casio actively utilizes the intellectual property that it has accumulated over the years, and carries out activities to protect its businesses. The company conducts ongoing R&D necessary for sustained growth, and has put in place various systems for producing new intellectual property.

Casio constructs patent nets based on patent application and registration in priority fields (selection and concentration), and actively promotes activities for the acquisition of effective patents based on quality improvement. The company carries out patent application and rights acquisition activities worldwide, including in the USA, China and other Asian countries.

Patent portfolio (As of March 31, 2022)

In addition to securing intellectual property rights for its inventions and other proprietary developments, Casio works to ensure freedom of operations by preventing legal claims from other companies and earns profits by licensing its technologies to other companies (including cross licensing). The company also uses intellectual property as a barrier to deter other companies from entering the same business, and carries out activities to establish competitive advantage for corporate management. In particular, Casio takes stringent measures to combat counterfeit products, and cooperates with government agencies to remove fakes from the marketplace.

Casio initiated a patent expert system in 1994 in order to promote the ongoing creation of outstanding intellectual property. With the aim of business strengthening through stronger intellectual property, engineers with high-level understanding of technologies and leadership skills have been assigned to each division as patent experts. While cooperating with the Intellectual Property Department from positions within their respective divisions, these patent experts work to strengthen the intellectual property abilities of their respective organizations.

Here are details of specific activities.

1. Patent activity planning based on ascertainment of technology and development trends at Casio and other companies, as well as target management
2. Discovering and updating inventions
3. Evaluation of patent applications, determination of direction for patent creation according to business strategy, as well as evaluation of patent maintenance
4. Surveys of patents at other companies, patent infringement avoidance, and patent risk management
5. Creation of new businesses centered on intellectual property

Since 1968, Casio has had an award system for those employees that contribute to inventions and designs. By increasing the incentive for inventors and designers, the system fosters the desire for in-house engineers to take on the challenge of discovering new technologies. In accordance with Article 35 (Inventions by Employees) of Japan's revised Patent Act, which took effect in April 2005, Casio has revised its environment for employee inventors. It updated its intellectual property rules and created a consultation process in which the employee inventors can voice opinions in the revision of the rules. It also implemented a system for employee inventors to file complaints regarding monetary reward amounts. Additionally, Article 35 (Inventions by Employees) of Japan’s revised Patent Act, which is intended to resolve instability in the attribution of rights to inventions by employees, took effect in April 2016. Accordingly, Casio updated its rules specifying that the attribution of the right to receive patents originally goes to the employer (Company), in order to resolve such problems as “procedures for joint inventions made with employees of other companies” and “double transfer of inventions by employees.”

In October 2020, with the objective of incentivizing the development of technologies that contribute to the business, as well as the creation of inventions and designs, Casio reviewed its award assessment standards and revised its regulations, creating an award system that delivers increased incentives for inventors and designers. Casio will continue to revise its regulations in the future in accordance with the changing times and environment, while taking into consideration requests from inventors and designers, as well. Based on this award system, the Intellectual Property Department works to properly evaluate intellectual property results and to recognize and reward outstanding engineers and designers.

Casio offers various types of intellectual property education to deepen employee understanding and interest in intellectual property. These include holding intellectual property seminars, using its internal portal site to distribute relevant information (through intellectual property portal site content), and making use of material from outside educational organizations such as the Japan Intellectual Property Association and the Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation. Casio remains committed to taking a variety of educational measures in the future to improve literacy regarding intellectual property rights.

Protecting rights to the Casio brand

In order to promote smooth corporate operations on a global level, Casio has obtained 1,489 registered trademarks in 192 countries around the world, most of which are product trademarks, in order to protect the Casio brand. To further strengthen protection of rights to the Casio trademark, the company has been seeking official recognition of the Casio mark as a well-known trademark in various countries. This type of certification has already been obtained in several emerging countries.

In recent years there have been more trademark applications by other companies—mainly in emerging economies such as China and India—which try to mimic the well-known Casio brand. As a result Casio has been strengthening its monitoring activities and its efforts to prevent the trademarking of look-alike brands.

Trademarking of the Casio Brand Design rights acquisition (as of March 31, 2022)

Casio has registered the Casio brand for trademarks for main products in the countries indicated in green. In the countries indicated in yellow, Casio trademarks have not yet been registered due to various reasons. These reasons include delays in trademark examination in some fields, lack of a trademark registration system, or applications not being accepted due to the politician situation.

Activities for minimizing risk entailed by new product naming and design, as well as rights acquisition

Amid a diversification in customer touchpoints, Casio is avoiding the risk of infringing upon the design or trademark rights of other companies by conducting IP clearance surveys. Casio is also actively promoting business support activities to build and expand the value of the Casio brand based on the strengthening of Casio’s own design and trademark rights in line with its business strategy.

Design rights acquisition (as of March 31, 2022)

Trademark rights acquisition (as of March 31, 2022)

Counterfeit product removal and consumer protection activities

The development of information and communications technology in recent years has facilitated the extensive spread of counterfeit goods on the Internet. Casio products are no exception to the damage caused by counterfeits. In order to guard consumers from the damage counterfeits products and to protect the Casio brand and increase its value, Casio has established a department tasked with counterfeit countermeasures and is taking action to get counterfeits off the market. Casio will continue to actively cooperate with efforts by government authorities to stamp out counterfeits by exposing factories that make counterfeit goods and stores that sell them, intercepting counterfeits at customs, monitoring and eliminating counterfeits sold on the Internet, and pursuing lawsuits against agents that sell counterfeit goods.