Strategies
NTT’s Intellectual Property Strategy
Masahiko Hase
Director of NTT Intellectual Property Center
The Japanese telecom market has become very
competitive with the introduction of NGN (NextGeneration Network) technologies and the entry ofsome new carriers. For the NGN, telecom carriers aredeveloping services not to introduce new technologies born from their R&D but to meet users’ needs
and create new markets. Under these competitive
conditions, NTT must strengthen its business competitiveness and risk-management while formulating
an intellectual property strategy linked to its businessand R&D strategies and conduct strategic activities
related to intellectual property.
NTT files several thousand patent applications
every year and currently holds over 10,000 intellectual properties, from basic technologies for networkarchitecture and new services to fundamental leading-edge technologies for the future. NTT Intellectual Property Center’s medium-term targets aredescribed below.
1. Create new intellectual property and rights
To increase NTT Group’s business, decrease its
business risk, and promote technological disclosure,
we will make our recommendation to NTT Laboratories about the “scrap and build” scheme for R&D topics. To ensure the competitive advantage of Group
companies in the market and promote technologicaldisclosure by NTT, we will apply for patents andadvise NTT Group companies how to handle IPR(intellectual property rights) risk. We will provide inhouse training to improve awareness of the businessrisk of intellectual property, which will lead us to acloser relationship with R&D.
2. Protect (define) and evaluate intellectual property
and rights
With NTT Group taking comprehensive and unified measures concerning IPR risk management toprotect its business from IPR risk, we will organize
many kinds of intellectual property meetings withNTT Group companies and share our knowledge
with them. The Intellectual Property Center will takecare of the risks of NTT Group’s global business.

3. Make best use of intellectual property and rights
To strengthen our business competitiveness, wewill utilize this strength in intellectual property andrights. For technologies that contribute indirectly to
our business, we are promoting their spread throughlicensing. For fields that require cooperation withcompanies outside NTT, we are open to cooperation
including the introduction of outside technologies.
We will promote the introduction of products (such asB-OTDR) based on our patents to NTT Group’s global business (such as the joint venture with CODELCO in Chile), which will promote technological disclosure by NTT and increase the Group’s business.
NTT is actively involved in standardization activities
through various standards bodies (e.g., ITU-T,ISO/IEC, TTC, ARIB, and TV-Anytime) to promote
the spread of technologies and business development.
With 802.11, MPEG-4, VC-1, H.264, WCDMA, andG.729, we have been forming a patent group for collective licensing based on rational licensing conditions.
We not only support conventional applications forpatents, but also provide advice and recommendations about NTT’s development strategy and riskmanagement, which contribute to the NTT Group’sbusiness. In addition, we aim to contribute to a bettersocial life by promoting R&D activities.