1Intellectual Property
Report 2022--- Digest Version ---Division of University Corporate Relations
University of Tokyo

Picture on the Front Page:
The picture represents a situation where molecules of compound sample, the three-dimensional structure of which is to beelucidated, arrange themselves in a fixed orientation in fine pores of a lattice-like porous crystal known as “crystal sponge.”
The light blue and white spheres represent organic molecules for which X-ray structural analysis has been performed.
(Picture provided by Fujita Laboratory, Graduate School of Engineering)2

Role of Intellectual Property in UTokyo

Acquisition of intellectual property rights (IPRs) realizes an environment where private companies can invest in social
implementation of research results without concerns.
 IPRs are extremely important for fulfilling the university’s mission of social implementation of research results.

IP management in UTokyo

Universities should take responsibility for management and utilization of research results obtained using public funds.
Taking the opportunity of the incorporation of national universities and so on, UTokyo established the current IPR
management system which enables UTokyo to inherit IRRs related to research results. (cf. In the US, IPRs of inventions
created using governmental funds belong to universities under the Bayh-Dole Act enacted in 1980.)
 UTokyo is managing and utilizing IPRs in cooperation with TODAI TLO, Ltd..

【Special Topic】 Dissemination and Social Implementation of Nobel Prize Class
Research Result Utilizing Patents - Crystalline Sponge Method Professor Makoto FUJITA (currently: Distinguished Professor) succeeded in arranging molecules of a compound sample in a fixed orientation bysoaking a porous crystal known as “crystalline sponge” (CS) in a solution containing the interested compound sample. This is an epoch-making
achievement that enables X-ray crystallography without the need for crystallization. Distinguished Professor FUJITA received the Clarivate
Analytics Citation Honor Award in 2020, granted to researchers who are regarded as Nobel Prize class.
A series of technologies, which are related to the CS method,such as a porous crystal itself, a method to select a metal complex,
and one to analyze X-ray crystallography data are protected bymultiple patents.

Non-alcoholic beer product using extract of matured hops
(Photo provided by Kirin Holdings Company Limited)

The CS method has been widely
Outline of X-ray crystallography by CS method
disseminated through the social(Picture provided by Fujita Laboratory, Graduate School of Engineering )cooperation program “Integrated
Molecular Structure Analysis Laboratory,” in which 19 companies currently participate. When participants utilize
the CS method in their business activities, non-exclusive licenses are granted to them. Kirin Holdings has
succeeded in elucidating the structure of an ingredient of matured hops using the CS method in combination witha conventional structure analysis method. It has established a method of extracting matured hops without either
bitterness or astringency.

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Invention Reports

Number of Invention Reports and Succession Ratio■ Sole Inv. ■ Joint Inv.
Succession Ratio:

Solo Inv.

Joint Inv.

Total



After dropping to nearly 480 due to the COVID19 pandemic, the number of invention
reports has recovered to 568 in FY2021.
 The ratio of sole inventions (inventions ofwhich inventors include UTokyo’s researchersonly) to the total number of invention reports
has been around 40% for the past few years.

Patent Applications
The number of patent applications (basic applications) has hovered around 400 over the past 10 years.
The number of sole patent applications, which had been on a slight upward trend since FY2015, has remained almost
flat for the past three years.
 As for technical fields of sole applications (basic applications), “Life Science” occupies the largest portion with 35%.
 Regarding total joint applications (Joint App./All; basic applications), “Manufacturing Technology” accounts for the largest
share at 33%. More than 50% of joint applications with startups belongs to “Life Sciences.”
Number of Basic Patent Applications■ Sole App. ■ Joint App.

Technological Distribution of Basic Patent Applications- Cumulative total of FY2012-2021 ■ Life Science ■ Manufacturing Tech. ■ Nano-Tech. / Material ■IT ■ Energy

Sole App.

Joint App./All

Joint App.
with Ordinary Company

Joint App.
with SU Company■ Others

Joint App.
with Academia only

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Expenditure related to Patents

Million Yen

Expenditure related to Patents* behaves similarly to the total number ofdomestic and foreign sole applications. The expenditure is 250 Million Yen
in FY2021.

Taking the globalization of the economy into account, it is necessary tosecure a sufficient budget to cover various costs including those foracquiring foreign patents, so as not to lose the possibility of global businessdevelopment of partner companies.

Expenditure Related to Patent Applications■ For National App. ■ For Foreign App.

＊ “Expenditure” includes fees that occur when filling applications, responding to offices actions and keeping patent rights and includes those tobe paid to both patent offices and patent attorneys. Regarding a joint application with a private company, UTokyo has a policy to consult the joint
applicant to understand contributions and roles of the university and accept bearing the costs that occur in relation to the joint application.

Top Class Patent Portfolio among
Japanese Universities

Based on a survey of FY2020, the number of registered patents UTokyo holds
is No. 1 among Japanese universities, and the number has increased more in
FY2021. UTokyo’s patent portfolio consists of 7,300 patents including rights toobtain patents.
Solely owned patents are intended to be used for commercialization of research
results by private companies. Recently, the focus has also been on utilization by
startups also.
Jointly owned patents are results of collaborative research and considered
important to promote co-owner private companies’ businesses.
Ranking of Japanese Univ. Holding
most Registered Patens -FY2020■ Solely Owned■ Jointly Owned

UTokyo’s Patent Portfolio -FY2021■ Life Science ■ Manufacturing Tech.
■ Nano-Tech. / Material ■IT■ Energy■ Others
SolelyOwned

Number of Registered Patents of UTokyo■ Solely Owned■ Jointly Owned

The University of Tokyo
Tohoku University
Kyoto University
Osaka University
Tokyo Institute of Technology

JointlyOwned5Complete View of
Utilization of Patents

Number of Licensed Patents■Newly Licensed Patents ■ Existing Licensed Patents■Transferred Patents

Breakdown ofLicensed Patents-being Licensed in FY2021-

The number of licensed patents* is steadily
increasing year by year, reaching 4,212 in
FY2021. The number of newly licensed patents
hit a record high of 382 in FY2021.

TODAI TLO provides consistent support froman invention consultation stage before invention
reports to a licensing stage, and this realizes
many patent licenses.

Jointly Owned /Licensed to
Co-Owner
53%

Solely Owned
33%
Jointly Owned /Licensed to
3rd Party
14%＊ In this report, regarding statistical data related to license of patents, “license” also includes transfer
or partial transfer. “Number of licensed patents” is the total patents of which concrete payment
conditions (amount of money, royalty rate, trimming) for utilization are specified in contracts.

License of Solely Owned Patens
Breakdown of Licensing ofSolely Owned Patents- being Licensed in FY2021 -

57% of the licenses of solely owned
patents are those to startups. While their
number is still small, a few oversea
startups are included in licensees.
Regarding technical fields of solely owned
patents licensed to startups, “Life Science”
occupies more than 50%.

Total：
approx. 1400

To Companies
other than SUs
43%

Technological Distribution of Licensed Patents- Solely owned patents/ being Licensed in FY2022 ０%

20%

40%

60%

80%

■ Nano-Tech. / Material ■IT■ Energy

100%

The University of Tokyo
Licensed to SUs (Startups)
Licensed to Companies
other than SUs
Ref. Sole Patent Applications- Total for FY2012-2021 -■ Life Science■ Manufacturing Tech.

■ Others

To SUs57%

Social Implementation of Research
Results by Oversea Startup
Kenya HONDA, Associate Professor of UTokyo (atthat time; currently Professor of Keio University)
succeeded in identifying intestinal commensal bacteriathat induces the proliferation or accumulation ofregulatory T cells.
Patents related to this research results are licensed to
VEDANTA Bioscience, Inc., which is a startup company
based in Cambridge, U.S. VEDANTA is now developing
an oral drug, which consists of clonal intestinalcommensal
bacteria strains,for treatment ofinflammatory
bowel disease.

A variety of bacterial species are being isolated from stoolof healthy donors. (Photo provided by VEDANTA
Biosciences, Inc., ©Bearwalk Cinema)

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Licenses of Jointly Owned Patents
 The number of jointly owned patents licensed toco-owners is approximately 2,200. Of these, 68% arepatents jointly owned with companies other thanSUs and licensed to the co-owners.
 As for the technical fields of these jointly owned
patents licensed to the co-owners, “Manufacturing
Technology” and “Nano-Technology / Material”
account for almost the same proportion as “Life
Science.”Technological Distribution of Licensed Patent
Jointly Owned Patents Licensed to Co-owners -Being Licensed in FY2021０%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
The University of Tokyo
Licensed to Co-owner Companies
other than SUs
Ref. Joint Pat. App. with Company
other than SU -Total for 2012-2021Licensed to Co-owner SUs

Ref. Joint Pat. App. with SUs- Total for FY2012-2021 -■ Life Science■ Manufacturing Tech.

■ Nano-Tech. / Material ■IT■ Energy■ Others

Example: Utilization of UTokyo’s Patents
Epoch-Making Method to Prepare
Cellulose Nanofibers

Autotaxin as Novel Biomarker

A team lead by Akira ISOGAI, Professor of UTokyo succeeded in
preparing individualized cellulose nanofibers (CNFs), which are 3−4 nm
in width and a few microns in length, by having native celluloses TEMPOMediated Oxidized in water and then fibrillating them.

Autotaxin (ATX) was considered as one of the biomarkers for cancers
and chronic liver diseases. In 2006 and 2007, UTokyo (Professor Yutaka
YATOMI et al.) and TOSOH corporation filed patent applications jointly on
inventions that could be a basis for development of ATX measuring reagent.

Several companies have put this invention into practical use. In 2015,
the Marcus Wallenberg Prize, called the “Nobel Prize for Forestry,” wasawarded to Prof. ISOGAI’s Team, recognizing that this invention has
contributed to the development of commercial applications of CNFs.

After filing these joint patent applications, UTokyo and TOSOH had been
conducting collaborative research for a long time toward social
implementation of research results. Finally, in 2018, TOSOH started
selling reagents for diagnosing the
progression of liver fibrosis.
While the usefulness of ATX as abiomarker for liver fibrosis has alreadyestablished, expansion of its applications
as other biomarkers such as that for
malignant lymphoma is expected.

Left: Care product for light incontinence and paper diaper for adults using CNFs
Right: Tire using CNFs (Photos provided by Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd.)®

TOSOH corporation’s Eテスト「TOSOH」 II (Autotaxin)(Photo provided by the TOSOH corporation)

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Startups utilizing UTokyo’s
Patents and other IPRs
 More than 40% patents licensing is to startups.
 Division of University Corporate Relations of UTokyo, TODAI TLO,UTEC and UTokyo IPC are collaborating to provide seamlesssupports to startups.
 UTokyo’s mid-term objectives aim to create 650 UTokyo-related
startups and have 160 of these utilize UTokyo’s IPRs.
 The number of startups utilizing UTokyo’s IPRs reached 132 at
the end of FY2021. About 10 of these became listed by March
2022. The market capitalizations at the time of listing were tens ofbillions yen, and that of one company exceeded 100 billion yen.
Utilization of UTokyo’s IPRs by startups has been contributing
to creation of significant economic impacts.

Whole Picture of UTokyo’s Supports for Startups

Share of Licensing to SUs in all Patent Licensing- Being licensed in FY2021 Jointly owned by Academia /Licensed to SUs

Jointly owned by Companies other than SUs Licensed to SUs

4%

4%

Jointly owned by
SUs / Licensed
to Co-owner SUs

Licensed
to SUs19%

Solelyowned
Patents

33%

17%
To SUs:Total 40％

Jointly
owned
Patents

Jointly owned byCompanies otherthan SUs / Licensed
to Co-owners
36%

Licensed toCompanies
other than SUs
14%

67%
Jointly owned /Licensed to 3rd-PartiyCompanies other than SUs
8%

Cumulative Total of UTokyo-related Startups

Total:478
Mid-term Goal:
650 SUs by FY2027

132
Mid-term Goal:
160 SUs utilizing
UTokyo’s IPRs

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Example: Startups utilizing UTokyo’s IPRs

Girasol Energy Inc. was established in February 2017 aiming to socially
implement the power line communication technology invented by Hideya
OCHIAI, Associate Professor (Assistant Professor at that time).

Provigate, Inc. was established in March 2015 aiming to socially
implement biosensor technologies developed in the Sakata Laboratory

Girasol Energy provides IoT platforms for solar power plants. By using
patented power line communication technologies, the company enables
power plant operators to monitor their solar panel modules remotely.
Monitoring is a major problem for the operators since the degradation of asingle solar panel among hundreds causes a significant performance loss ofthe entire Photovoltaic (PV) system. Using the company’s technology, theoperators can detect the degradation of each panel and significantly reduce
maintenance costs of their plants.

Focusing glycoalbumin (GA) as a biomarker that reflects average
blood glucose, Provigate is developing a device that enables users tomeasure GA by posting or at home. The company is also developing amobile application that monitors blood glucose levels on a weekly basis
and supports users to change their lifestyle behavior. By monitoring
blood glucose levels weekly, it becomes easier for people with diabetes
and those in the pre-diabetic group to recognize the effects of theirefforts to improve their lifestyle behaviors over the past week.

UTokyo licensed its patent to Girasol Energy when it was established. Afterthe establishment, the company moved into UTokyo’s incubation facility,
and this enables the company to conduct collaborative research with
UTokyo smoothly.

Several of UTokyo’s patents were licensed to Provigate and many
foreign patent applications were filed before and after the license, with aview to global development of the business.
Provigate ensured an environment to conduct experiments by being
housed in the UTokyo’s incubation facility.

UTokyo IPC has been supporting the Girasol Energy from various aspects
including financing and management before its establishment. UTokyo IPC
invested 190 million yen in the company’s Series A funding in August 2021.

of Graduate School of Engineering (Toshiya SAKATA, Associate Professor).

In September 2021, Provigate raised funds of 910 million yen.

PPLC IoT system installed in the mega solar power plantin Kofu, Yamanashi prefecture.
Succeeded in demonstration experiment with 1MW.
(Photos provided by Girasol Energy Inc.)
Conceptual diagram of services provided by Provigate (Picture provided by Provigate, Inc.)

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Succession andUtilization of Copyrights
Under the UTokyo’s IP management system, as forsoftware and data base works, reports are to besubmitted only when it becomes necessary to
license them for profit.

In FY2021, a total of 22 works such as software
works have been reported and those copyrights are
inherited by UTokyo.
The number of copyright license contracts* in
FY2021 is 67, an increased of approximately 10
from the previous year.
* Contracts that had a valid period in the relevant fiscal year are counted.

IP-related Incomes IP-related incomes of FY2021 is 724 million yen.
 The level of IP-related incomes in recent years has
been higher than that in the early 2010s, although
there is fluctuation in the amount every year owing toheteronomous factors. The decline in FY2020 was atemporary decrease due to the change in theaccounting period of a certain licensee company.
 The total amount of income of “Upfront and others”
and “MTA” has been stable in recent years despite
the pandemic.

Mobile App to improve users’ lifestyle behaviors andhealth literacy for lifestyle-related diseases
A research project team, led by Akiko
KISHI, Project Assistant Professor, in the
COI* of UTokyo have developed a mobile
application to encourage changes inlifestyle behaviors to reduce risks ofmetabolic syndrome and other lifestylerelated diseases.
UTokyo has obtained a patent to thistechnology and inherited copyrights ofsoftware related to the app and is managing
and utilizing them. These IPRs are being
licensed to several companies.
*“COI (Center of Innovation)” is one of industry-Academia R&D programs
lead by MEXT and JST. The program finished in March 2022 and the COI
research project has been taken over by the Research Institute for Biomedical
Science and Engineering of UTokyo.

Million Yen

Screen of mobile app “MIRAMEDⓇ” provide by Hitachi
Systems, Ltd..(Picture provided by Hitachi Systems, Ltd.
https://www.hitachi-systems.com/solution/s0310/miramed/(“MIRAMED” is a registered trademark owned by UTokyo.)

IP-related Incomes■MTA ■Upfront and others ■Running Royalty■Milestone ■Stock Option

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Toward Realization of More Social Contributions
through IP Activities
Current Situation: The number of sole and joint inventions and that of sole and joint patent applications have remained stable even under thecircumstances of the pandemic. However, strictly speaking, these numbers have not exhibited a growth trend in recent
years.
 The level of interest in IP activities differs from department to department and from researcher to researcher.
 A certain number of patent applications were filed after publication of academic papers.
Actions for the Future: Conducting IP awareness raising activities,
broaden the base of IP activities and raise
the quality of IP activities.
 Securing adequate financial resources for IP
activities, establish a larger and more
fulfilling UTokyo’s IP portfolio than thepresent one.
 By maximizing the use of IP as one of thestrategic assets for the management of theuniversity, strive to achieve the UTokyo’s
mission of social implementation ofresearch results.

For inquiries, please contact: info@ducr.u-tokyo.ac.jp