特許分析による技術開発プロセスの可視化 : 技術開発のダイナミクスと特許の新たな戦略的意義(一ノ瀬篤教授退任記念号)

概要

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Patents are the most objective information reflecting the research and development(R&D)process. Because of the strong probability that actual R&D conditions can be surveyed through patent analysis, they are expected to be a key to assessing R&D effectiveness. This article presents analyses yielding beneficial implications about a patent for an inkjet printer technology that Canon. submitted in the late 1990s. Results of the analyses clarify the R&D process from two aspects: a development theme and the inventors' behavior. In the R&D process, various themes arise; techniques are completed after trial and error. On a case-by-case basis, pursuit of R&D with a high probability of practical application is rationally elected. Based on that theme, Canon performs R&D flexibly. By analyzing patents submitted by primary engineers, real conditions are clarified: each elemental technology team has a different role but functions harmoniously with others to execute R&D smoothly. The possibility is suggested that systematic coordination is conducted in Canon Inc. R&D beyond inventors, who are the workers concerned. A non-conventional possibility is also suggested: that R&D can be promoted by expressing a technique as a patent. That knowledge is subject to discussion from an organizational and a strategic viewpoint.
2010-02-25