SATO, a global pioneer in the development of auto-ID and labeling solutions was honored with the Commissioner of the Japan Patent Office Award in the 2019 Intellectual Property Achievement Awards, announced today by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Japan Patent Office.

The Intellectual Property Achievement Awards is presented by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Japan Patent Office to honor individuals that have contributed to the development, awareness and increased usage of intellectual property (hereafter IP) rights management in Japan as well as corporations that have contributed to the effective utilization and development of Japan’s IP rights system. SATO Holdings Corporation received the Commissioner of the Japan Patent Office Award for excellence in its utilization of the IP rights system.

• Protecting its proprietary technologies with many patents to secure top level share worldwide as a manufacturer of barcode and RFID tag printers that enable data input and data collection in many industries where digitalization is advancing; Being highly conscious of patents since its founding, demonstrated by the “patent edition” of “The SATO Textbook,” which summarizes the founders' teachings and organizes the basic matters of IP and real world cases in an easy-to-understand manner. Also, for sharing information about IP with employees to encourage patent related activities
• Its organizational structure, under direct control of the CEO, for which a monthly briefing on IP is held separately from its executive management meeting to make decisions on important IP matters; Its promotion of modernizing IP management since 2014 through its "Long-term Intellectual Property Basic Strategy" and "Medium-term Intellectual Property Business Plan" to contribute to the achievement of the company’s medium-term management plan; Its creation of an "IP report" in Japanese and English, which is shared with employees worldwide, and used to review IP activities
• The head of the IP department, the patent portfolio manager, persons in charge, and other necessary members gather at least twice a week to hold IP review meetings 100 times per year or more. In addition, as a result of promoting patent operations with the intention of acquiring patents that lead to customer value, the patent implementation rate improved by 30% in the four years up to 2017

In the spirit of Ceaseless Creativity, SATO invented world's firsts such as the hand labeler and thermal transfer barcode printer, and strives to improve customer value as an auto-ID solutions provider, not merely as a manufacturer.

SATO will continue strive to create, protect and utilize intellectual property for inventions in the fields of both Monozukuri (manufacturing) and Kotozukuri (solutions) created with ingenuity for solving the issues of customers in the field, to grow as a company while contributing to the development of a better and more sustainable world.