Major Activities

• Daikin Industries and Intellectual Properties
• Intellectual Property Activities Contributing to Daikin Business
• Intellectual Property Education System
• Collaboration with Global Bases through the Intellectual Property Operation System
• Open and Close Strategies

Daikin understands that intellectual property rights constitute a valuable company asset. We thus strive to both protect these rights and use them effectively to proceed with business. Our Group Conduct Guidelines state that we respect other companies’ intellectual property rights and ensure that our inventions do not infringe on those rights.

Group Conduct Guidelines

Based on the Group Conduct Guidelines, we formulated more detailed points in our Compliance Action Guidelines, which state that we will acquire patents and avoid infringement by having the person in charge of R&D at Daikin be the person responsible for patents and having the researcher/developer understand that he/she is the sole developer of the product or invention.
In new product and new technology development, part of the design review process involves verification that these products and technologies do not infringe on existing patents. In collaboration with other companies, we distinguish between open technologies and confidential technologies, and confidential technologies are designated as such and kept out of reach.

In addition to the acquisition of intellectual property rights and prevention of infringement of other companies’ intellectual property rights, we contribute to its business through the creation of intellectual properties by industry-industry and industry-academia partnerships, and establishing a network of other companies and researchers through the granting of free access to its patented technologies.

Going forward, we will continue to promote the following approaches to achieve the growth strategy themes in our Fusion 25 Strategic Management Plan ending in FY2025: challenge to achieve carbon neutrality, promotion of solutions business connected with customers, and creation of value with air.

1. (1)

   Active creation and utilization of intellectual properties on a global scale centering on technologies for energy saving, new-generation refrigerant, heat pumps, air conditioning, and freezing and refrigeration solutions.

2. (2)

   Creation and utilization of new intellectual properties, and acquisition of intellectual property rights that support a sustainable future society through the further promotion of industry-industry and industry-academia partnerships.

We provide IP education such as e-learning for developers, IP seminars (including practical training) given by IP members at overseas development bases to increase developer awareness about intellectual properties and enhance IP activities.
We also provide trademark caravan, a series of seminars about trademarks, and training designed to meet the needs of individual business departments. This is for employees in charge of sales and marketing at both domestic and overseas bases.

Our domestic IP Department develops skill maps that visualize skills required according to individual employees’ years of experience in intellectual property activities utilizing experience they have accumulated at Daikin, and utilize them as a tool to communicate with supervisors about career improvement. Senior members become mentors for members with less experience and provide OJT depending on individual capabilities and goals.

Intellectual Property Education

In addition, we help young Intellectual Property Department members take external seminars for the patent attorney examination.
We also promote the acquisition of intellectual property analyst (patent) certification provided by the AIPE and enrollment in English conversation classes to reinforce the collection and analysis of information regarding IPs.

We also advance the establishment of Intellectual Property Operation System according to the state of individual regions overseas to respond to globalization.
Following the launch of the Fusion 25 Strategic Management Plan, we shared Daikin’s IP policy with our overseas Group companies and began consolidating information from each base. The Global Intellectual Property Meeting has been held periodically to reinforce global IP. We continue strengthening our collaborative system by kicking off meetings in each region as needed.

We have executed open strategies to achieve both global warming mitigation and business growth.

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