Management of Technology and Innovation in Japan

384 Y. Mori
tion, and ignore the corresponding value of the employees performing all the other
functions. This would be very hazardous for company management.
On the one hand, when the company transfers IP to other companies through
the format of licensing out, how does it compensate the inventor employee for the
licensing fee that the company receives? This can be varied through the company’s
policy.
As in the previously stated argument, the IP itself exists in order to increase the
company’s monopoly and exclusive rights, and to strengthen the company’s business,
rather than for the purpose of transferring it to another company and obtaining
profit. If considered this way, this argument states that the activity of licensing
out to other companies is basically a diversion from the company’s objective.
Canon is one of the companies that take this view.
On the other hand, in the case of a research and development oriented company,
IP is a source of income through the licensing out of inventions to other
companies, rather than implementing them in the company’s own business. In this
case, the view is that an inventor employee should be duly compensated with a
reward. Therefore, in this instance as well, it is an issue of providing the proper
incentives to employees rather than a legal problem.
As shown above, there are various arguments regarding reasonable compensation
for workplace inventions. However, as management consultants, we cannot
help but feel that there is very little basis for stipulating the issue of reasonable
compensation in law, for the reasons already explained.
This concludes our discussion of IP management in Japanese companies. In recent
years, there has been a tendency to give priority to IP rights issues that are
picked up by the mass media. However, as shown here, these issues are deeply
rooted in innovation management. In the future therefore, Japanese companies will
need to acquire a range of management tools that link business, technology, and
IP, methodologies for utilization of the company’s IP, measures to deal with workplace
invention, proper organizational functions for IP as part of a pro-patent policy,
and an approach that estimates the value of IP. There will likely be more and
more issues that will need our attention and each company will have to develop its
own special skills to address them.