Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.

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Intellectual Property Activities

Basic Philosophy

The Toyoda Gosei Group policy of “Delivering safety, comfort and well-being to customers through intellectual property activities in cooperation with the Toyoda Gosei Group, based on compliance with laws and contracts” includes the following behavioral guidelines: (1) acquire intellectual property rights and use and manage them effectively based on a long-term perspective, (2) prevent infringement of and respect other companies’ intellectual property rights, and (3) continuously improve engineers’ intellectual property skills and actively innovate.

Promotion System

Toyoda Gosei has established an Intellectual Property Division in its Research and Development Headquarters, and is promoting (1)–(3) above.

We have also established an IP Landscape Project to strengthen intellectual capital, which is a source of sustainable growth, and are exploring intellectual property strategies and investments.

■ Image of IP Landscape Project Eefforts
Image of IP Landscape Project Efforts

Activities

To acquire intellectual property rights and use and manage them effectively, we continuously make applications according to each business and development project and seek to guarantee patents that respect the intellectual property rights of other companies.

We are developing human resources to raise the intellectual property skills and awareness of engineers, and cultivating intellectual property awareness to increase innovation.

To achieve our 2025 Business Plan, we are implementing IP landscaping to contribute to our business strategy using intellectual property information.

Three items are defined as IP landscaping activities:

  • Ⅰ. Business strategy activities that contribute to existing business and development themes with intellectual property
  • Ⅱ. Activities associated with intellectual property that contribute to new value creation
  • Ⅲ. Fixed point observation activities that clarify the company’s position

Toyoda Gosei considers materiality in its efforts to achieve the goals in its 2025 Business Plan, and carries out company activities accordingly. As an example of IP landscaping activities, we conduct “Ⅰ. Business strategy activities” to develop new products for BEVs and to develop airbag products and spread their use in order to deliver safety, security and comfort to all people, and identify the intellectual capital that is the necessary input in the value creation process. We also seek to acquire and effectively utilize intellectual property rights.

“Ⅱ. Activities associated with intellectual property” are company efforts to build environmentally-friendly business and grow new business, and we seek to increase the accuracy and speed of decision making.

■ Examples of Strategic Intellectual Property Activities
Examples of Strategic Intellectual Property Activities

Number of Patent Rights

As a result of activities to continuously acquire intellectual property rights based on long-term perspectives, 255 patents were registered in Japan and 143 in other countries in FY2022. These intellectual property rights are effectively utilized as intellectual capital, which is a necessary input in business activities.

■ Number of Patent Registration Cases
Number of Patent Registration Cases
■ Number of Patents Held (As of the End of the Fiscal Year)
Number of Patents Held (As of the End of the Fiscal Year)

As of the end of 2021, 60% of the patents held by Toyoda Gosei were in the automotive field and 40% were in the non-automotive field. Of these rights, intellectual property in the automotive field has been used, for example, in Toyoda Gosei’s efforts to develop new products for BEVs and to develop and spread the use of airbags. Intellectual property in the non-automotive field has been used to build environmentally-friendly businesses and to grow new businesses. Through strategic intellectual property activities in the future, we will acquire intellectual property rights with the content needed in necessary fields.

■ Percentage of rights held in each field as of the end of 2021
Percentage of rights held in each field as of the end of 2021

Future Initiatives

Through efforts for materiality (key issues) identified by the company, Toyoda Gosei will contribute to solving environmental and social issues and continuously improve corporate value through the acquisition and effective use of necessary intellectual property rights and business judgments that utilize intellectual property information.

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