Aiming to be the world’s No. 1 patent portfolio in biometrics

NEC’s biometrics technologies, such as face recognition, iris recognition, and fingerprint recognition, has been recognized for its high technical capabilities, achieving the world's No. 1* ranking in evaluations conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the U.S. Behind this success lies the power of patents, which protects NEC’s proprietary technologies, safeguards its IP rights, and accelerates its business growth, all while taking a long-term perspective on market and technological trends. To gain deeper insights into NEC’s activities in this area, we spoke with the leader responsible for managing the company’s patent portfolio.

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Japan's No. 1 biometrics patent portfolio

As the person responsible for patent management in NEC’s biometrics field, what kind of initiatives are you undertaking?

As evidenced by being repeatedly ranked the world's No. 1 in benchmark tests conducted by NIST, NEC’s facial recognition and other biometrics technologies are exceptionally powerful. In the Intellectual Property Management Division, we are working to develop intellectual property that not only maintains the superiority and uniqueness of these technology groups but also ensures that NEC's biometrics technologies are widely recognized as No. 1 by customers and society in terms of patents. Holding a large number of world-leading technologies that only NEC can offer will be highly advantageous in promoting our business in the biometric authentication market – a market which is expected to grow in the future.

Fortunately, in the patent survey on “Technologies Related to Biometric Authentication for ID Linkage or Customer Experience (CX)" published by Patent Result Co., Ltd. in November 2022, we scored far higher than our competitors in both the "Patent Holder Score," which indicates the quality of patents, and the "Number of Valid Patents," which represents the quantity of patents, earning us the No. 1 ranking.

We believe this a result of NEC’s long-standing commitment to being a pioneer in biometric authentications. Accumulating a number of patents or achieving a top score cannot be accomplished in just one or two years. In fact, as IP professionals, we often work in a specific technological field for an extended period, allowing us to accumulate expertise, knowledge of technology, and know-how in our respective fields. Some members have been working in their field for nearly a decade. This expertise likely played a role in our ability to obtain patents for advanced biometrics technologies that utilize AI and data science.

At NEC, we not only have IP specialists assigned to each business unit across various industries and domains, but also have experts who take a technology-focused approach and handle IP matters across multiple divisions. In fact, I am one such expert and am responsible for biometrics technologies. This cross-functional structure allows us to serve as a communication hub, facilitating knowledge-sharing between business units, executive management, and research labs. We can identify synergies, such as, “another unit is working on a similar approach” or “researchers at our labs are doing similar things.” This unique NEC framework is also a key element and believe contributed to the strength and recognition of our patent portfolio.

Safeguarding NEC's core proprietary technologies through strategic patenting

What IP strategy does NEC employ for biometrics?

While the current market expansion may not pose significant challenges, we fully expect situations to arise where we must compete with rivals for market share. In anticipation of such circumstances, we are methodically building a patent network to maintain the uniqueness and competitive edge of NEC’s biometric technologies. This involves envisioning potential competitive threats, determining what countermeasures should be implemented to address them, and anticipating when such situations could potentially materialize.

Our core focus right now is firmly safeguarding our essential core technologies to prevent competitors from accessing or exploiting them. This meticulous intellectual property protection, though unglamorous, is absolutely critical and we must rigorously follow established best practices with utmost precision and consistency.

At the same time, we are always exploring opportunities to utilize intellectual property through licensing or open innovation initiatives. Given our extremely high level of competitiveness globally in the biometrics space, we need to take a comprehensive approach that factors in the lifecycle of our business operations as we evaluate potential paths forward.

Achieving world’s No. 1 through patents that drive business success

Could you share your future plans and goals?

As I mentioned earlier, NEC's biometric patent portfolio ranked No. 1 in the report issued by Patent Result Co., Ltd, but this ranking was limited to Japan. We are now formulating strategies that transcend national borders, aiming to be recognized as the world’s No. 1 through various initiatives. In fact, several years ago, we began filing all biometrics-related patent applications via the PCT route to facilitate international protection. However, our efforts go beyond that. We are enhancing the accuracy of our global competitive analysis and factoring in patent quality assessments, all with the goal of building a patent portfolio that propels our business forward. Achieving global patent leadership while aligning our intellectual property to drive tangible business success is how we can demonstrate our true expertise and capability as an innovation powerhouse.

Moreover, those of us in intellectual property have the unique vantage point of considering the business landscape through a long-term lens. In contrast, business leaders must balance long-term strategic objectives with short-term performance imperatives. This is where IP professionals like us can provide valuable foresight to complement their focus. By closely monitoring competitive dynamics, we can advise leaders on potential disruptions on the horizon, allowing them to proactively adapt strategies. However, our role transcends simply securing patents and IP rights. Building a collaborative partnership with business leaders, where we provide long-range perspectives that augment their nearer-term priorities, is a critical responsibility. As NEC drives its biometrics business initiatives forward, we remain committed to continuing our strategic IP activities.