Protection of Intellectual Property

The Group has positioned intellectual property as a vital management resource and established the following basic policy to achieve sustainable growth.

The Oiles Group actively acquires the necessary industrial property rights for protecting its products and technologies from the perspective of intellectual property management. While it is important to establish an extensive global portfolio of patents, we give due consideration to cost-effectiveness and efficiency in acquiring rights.

To ensure compliance with laws and regulations that prohibit the violation of the rights of others, the Oiles Group consistently reviews the relationship between its products and technologies and the industrial property rights of others while striving to avoid infringing on the rights of anyone.

If others infringe on the Oiles Group’s rights, we will appropriately protect and exercise our rights, such as requesting injunctions against infringement or securing profits based on licensing.

We have actively applied for and obtained patents and other industrial property rights for inventions created through our R&D activities. On the other hand, we have not applied for patents on expertise or additional information related to manufacturing methods that are difficult to reverse-engineer, such as special manufacturing techniques that enable products to operate with higher performance. Instead, we have strictly managed this category of intellectual property as confidential information to secure our competitive advantage.

Tribology related to friction, wear, and lubrication can be defined as a compilation of knowledge on material technology—that is, how to most effectively draw out the qualities of materials used in a product in a given operating environment. At our company, we organize valuable data from experimental results of hundreds or thousands of combinations of various materials and additives in developing a single material, and these data are also treated as a valuable baseline for developing the next material. Moreover, for existing products, we have set up comprehensive databases of bench test results and actual equipment evaluation results under various conditions. Our business activities have gathered the results over the past several decades. We quickly and effectively prepare proposals in response to customer requests with these databases. The databases accumulate data daily while doing business. They are used for creating value through such activities as closely managing the new material development as trade secrets and as key intellectual property.

In product fields mainly related to mechanical design, such as damping (vibration control) technology, we engage in multifaceted activities to protect our rights through a mixed IP strategy, in which we aggressively apply for design patents. In addition, we have developed a patent map for each product, which is used to reinforce our patent applications. To achieve sustainable growth, we will promote value-creation activities for expanding into a comprehensive IP landscape^* initiative.

* Method for developing a management strategy based on a comprehensive analysis of the intellectual properties of the company and others, as well as market trends

While the Oiles Group’s corporate activities primarily focus on product lines for BtoB operations, it also handles products for general consumers. In addition, as a means for raising awareness of BRIIL external blinds (Trademark Registration No. 5913846 and 5913848) for detached houses, the Group uses social media and TV commercials to increase contact with consumers and disseminate the product brand.