Meet Japanese Companies with Quality
Bridging the Gaps between Concept and Reality IP Bridge, Inc. IP
Website: IP Bridge, Inc.
Category: Others
IP Bridge promotes open innovation by sharing a 3,500-strong portfolio of Japanese intellectual property with domestic and international enterprises
Small to medium companies and universities may excel in developing intellectual property (IP), but they don’t necessarily have the technology, know-how or connections to efficiently monetize their innovations. Aiming to enhance open innovation both domestically and internationally, IP Bridge, Inc. works to connect these ideas to enterprises that can lay the foundations for new industries.
“To enhance innovation, we need to understand business needs as well as the technical seeds that form the basis of intellectual property,” says IP Bridge President and CEO Shigeharu Yoshii.
“To enhance innovation, we need to understand business needs as well as the technical seeds that form the basis of intellectual property,” says IP Bridge President and CEO Shigeharu Yoshii.
His company works with its investors, including the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ)—a public-private partnership funded by the Japanese government and 26 major corporations—to realize the monetization of a roughly 3,500-strong patent portfolio, with IP ranging from motors and semiconductors to mobile and display technology.
In addition to boosting innovation by feeding licensing fees back to patent holders, the company also stands as Japan’s first dedicated IP fund, with approximately US$300 million in capital.
ASEAN Innovation
IP Bridge’s innovation operations are currently focused on the ASEAN market, where, as Yoshii explains, Japan’s proximity allows IP Bridge to rapidly and precisely meet local market needs.
In particular, the company is working closely with Intellectual Property Intermediary (IPI) Singapore, established under the nation’s Ministry of Trade and Industry, to provide access to Japanese IP, as well as with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to fast-track the development of new, innovative technology between the two countries.
“Of course, we’re not limited to ASEAN nations,” Yoshii says. “If interest comes from Europe or America to exchange technology, we want to open the door to open innovation.”
Partnership Priorities
IP Bridge is also involved in comprehensive partnerships. In 2016, the company teamed up with Kyushu University to apply engineering technology to drug discovery in the pharmaceutical industry. The company is also engaged in a joint research project with the Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST), which is working on advances in augmented reality (AR) and invisible AR markers, with IP Bridge ready to support licensing and commercialization of any resulting IP.
With funding and publicity key to the company’s operations, Yoshii says he would like to work with banks, investors and professionals in the media industry to strengthen outreach as he continues to seek out investors who share IP Bridge’s goals.
IP for International Relations
Looking to the future, Yoshii hopes to continue to work toward joining Japan’s IP with that of ASEAN nations in particular, aiming to promote open innovation that can form the foundation for growth in a wide range of industries, and building an ecosystem that encourages interdependence between companies through the sharing of ideas and technology.
“Because our focus is on intellectual property, we prioritize the relationships between countries,” Yoshii says. “We want to create a system where these ties continue to evolve, and make decisions based on intellectual property, not capital. That is my dream.”
Based on interview in December 2016
Shigeharu Yoshii, president and CEO of IP Bridge, Inc.
Website: IP Bridge, Inc.
