Chapter 02

Our Strategy

Intellectual Property Activities

Intellectual Property Activities

their current statuses and future outlooks. Following ourcompany strategy on Care Pathway Enhancement, wecontinue our analyses of business environments arounddiseases from the perspective of the respective entire carepathway (from early detection to post procedure).
This approach allows us to gain insights about care

New Medium-term Plan and Governance System
The Intellectual Property Function has formulated a new
medium-term plan that complements the new company
strategy announced by Olympus in May 2023. We are nowworking to implement this plan approved by management.
In 2021, the Intellectual Property Function wasreorganized as part of the Global Legal Organization. It also
has reporting lines to the R&D functions that are the sourceof new inventions. Under this organizational structure, we areworking to enhance our intellectual property (IP) investment
initiatives with the aim of driving innovation over themedium- to long-term future by optimizing our IP activities
through feedback from regular discussions with the Chief
Technology Officer (CTO). Furthermore, the Global GeneralCounsel reports on activities to the Board of Directors once ayear and the Intellectual Property function takes appropriate
measures as necessary.

Through these measures, we have created a structurethat allows Olympus management to monitor the Company’s
IP activities. In addition, we are working under theaforementioned medium-term plan to establish a system thatcomplies with the international standard for IP management(ISO 56005), as part of our efforts to strengthen ourgovernance structure.
Board of Directors
Monitoring / ReportingCEOCTO
Global General Counsel

Discussion and feedback on theenhancement of medium- tolong-term investment in innovation

pathways, especially in contributing to a deeper
understanding of new areas other than diagnosis andtreatment. Our focus now is to reflect the knowledge
obtained through these business environment analyses inhigh-level planning, including disease strategies andtechnology roadmaps.

Enhance Cross-regional and Cross-functional IP Capabilities
The regional organizations of the Intellectual Property
Function work together to pursue global productdevelopment initiatives and projects spanning multipleregions. We aim to improve quality, streamline management,
and reduce costs globally by standardizing and integrating
work processes and project management systems that havetraditionally varied from region to region.
In addition to training within the Intellectual Property
Function, we are also strengthening IP capabilities acrossmultiple regions and departments by providing IP training

globally to business units and R&D functions. For example,
we provide business units with programs designed toenhance IP literacy, which is vital for strategic planning andother processes. For R&D functions, we offer programs
designed to improve the quality of their invention proposals.
As part of our company strategy, we are also integrating
business processes and regulations to create a governancestructure that will enable companies acquired through M&A
to work organically with Olympus’ Intellectual Property
function.

Intellectual Property Head, Global

Analysis of Patent Score*2 Relative to Competitors

Growth-oriented IP Investment Based on Characteristics ofthe Medical Business Environment

Overall, Olympus is rapidly improving its average patent score (strength) per patent.
Average patent score per patentcapabilities to support the specialized business development
function that we have established in the United States from adue diligence perspective, with a view to future expansion of
our patent portfolio through M&A activities.
Through careful alignment with our strategy and byshifting our investment toward high-growth areas, we arecontinuing to enhance the “strength” of each individual patentand therethrough rapidly closing the gap on our Europeanand American competitors. We will continue our efforts toestablish a patent portfolio that will contribute to Olympus’
sustainable growth.

Average patent score*1 As of March 2023. Excluding Scientific Solutions Business

40*2	An indicator that determines the quality and valueof patents automatically, objectively, andquantitatively.
Source: Calculated using Anaqua’s AcclaimIP Patent
Score method

2021

2022

2023

The Endoscopic Solutions Business has a competitiveedge over its competitors, and we are ensuring that
this will be maintained.

The Therapeutic Solutions Business will accelerate its
efforts to acquire stronger patents so that it can shift tothe upper right of the graph as business scale grows.

FY2023 Endoscopic Solutions Business

FY2023 Therapeutic Solutions BusinessJapan

By Region
Olympus

North America

Using IP Intelligence for Care Pathway Enhancement

Olympus
0.00

In 2022, our dedicated patent analysis team helped more than
20 Olympus units to develop business strategies by providing

Olympus

Total patent score

TherapeuticSolutions
Business

EndoscopicSolutions
Business50(FY)

OthersChina

By Business

60

30

Patents Held by Olympus (Approx. 16,000*1)
Others70

Total patent score

Following the transfer of the Scientific Solutions Business inApril 2023, our IP investment focuses on the Medical
Business, especially the Endoscopic Solutions Business andTherapeutic Solutions Business. Our goal is to use patentapplications to maintain our competitive edge in theEndoscopic Solutions Business area and to establish acompetitive advantage for the Therapeutic Solutions Business,
which has become a growth driver for Olympus. To achieve
our competitive advantage strategically and efficiently, we
have introduced a business process under which decisions
about the allocation of patent application investment are madethrough discussions with the Endoscopic Solutions Businessand Therapeutic Solutions Business, based on an overview ofall projects that have been approved for these businesses
through our strategic business plan. By establishing specialist
units to provide cross-regional management of the patentportfolios of the Endoscopic Solutions Business andTherapeutic Solutions Business, we have also created astructure capable of centrally managing our patent portfolio
on a global basis. In addition, we are strengthening our IP

80

IP landscapes that incorporate IP information into theirbusiness information to provide a comprehensive overview of

5.00

10.00

15.00

20.00
(Billions of U.S. dollars)

Business scale (sales in the medical device segment)

0.00

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00
(Billions of U.S. dollars)

Business scale (sales in the medical device segment)
Bubble size: Average patent score

60

Olympus Integrated Report 2023

61