Intellectual Property Strategy
G-TEKT regards intellectual property, including patents, as an important asset and actively protects its intellectual property rights.
Beyond protecting our developed products, we take a medium- to long-term perspective to identify technologies and products that will deliver greater value to customers and society. We also seek to secure rights that can be leveraged for customer proposals, reliability assurance, technology exclusivity, and licensing to other companies.
To enhance IP literacy, we conduct human resource development initiatives such as inventor training programs and interdepartmental workshops.
These initiatives enable us to capture customer product requirements and generate intellectual property across the company during the planning and development stages needed to realize them.
Furthermore, by involving the IP department at each stage and conducting business feasibility evaluations in parallel through competitor IP analysis, we are able to create competitive products aligned with our management strategy.
Trajectory Toward Becoming a System Supplier
Until now, our R&D has focused on delivering optimal solutions, particularly for automotive body structures. Looking ahead, we are advancing research and development across each product domain to contribute to the vehicle as a whole. By integrating these domains and envisioning the overall vehicle in response to market needs, we are pursuing strategic product development based on a backcasting approach. Leveraging tools such as the IP Landscape, we aim to grow into a comprehensive system supplier.
* IPL: IP Landscape, a method for formulating strategies through analyses that incorporate intellectual property information.
Case Study of Future-Oriented Development (Patent No. 7253102)
Shock-absorbing member, method for producing shock-absorbing member for automobile, and method for manufacturing side sill
Background to Development
As integration between the vehicle body and the battery housing increases, the role of reinforcing materials becomes ever more important. We envisioned products that would surpass conventional ones in energy absorption, productivity, and sustainability, and initiated their development.
Promotion of Development
In promoting the commercialization of these concepts, we analyzed competitors’ business strategies within the intellectual property landscape and verified the validity of our approach. As a result, we secured patents and established manufacturing methods that provide a competitive advantage.