ASCII Startup Startup hires a person from the Intellectual Property Department PXDT Ochiai

This article is a community site "IP Base" (external link https: // IPBASE ".Five.This is a reprint of the article published in JP/).

　The Grand Prix of the 2nd IP Base Award category, which commends the best player of the 2020 startup x intellectual property, is awarded by the Pixidast Technologies Co., Ltd., which continues to implement the social implementation of intellectual property born in academia.The company has focused on intellectual property activities since its inception, and the number of patents has been applied for four years since its establishment in 2017.Since 2020, the intellectual property division has been placed in the Business Headquarters as the "IP & LEGAL Function Team", reflecting its knowledge not only in the rights work but also in contract practice.We talked to CEO Yoichi Ochiai, COO Taiichiro Murakami, IP & LEGAL function team Daisuke Kimoto, and Haruki Katayama about the company's way of thinking and internal system.

Born in 1987, CEO of Pixidasty Technologies Co., Ltd. CEO / Doctor Yoichi Ochiai.Completed Ph.He has been the Japan Academic Promotion Association Special Researcher DC1 and the Research Intern in Microsoft Research in the United States, and has been president in the Tsukuba University Library Information Media Digital Nature Laboratory since 2015.Since 2017, he is the director of the Digital Nature Promotion Strategy Research Institute of the University of Tsukuba and the Digital Nature Development Research Center Director of the Digital Nature Development Research Center, a special joint research project at the University of Tsukuba.

代表取締役COO村上 泰一郎（むらかみ・たいいちろう）氏　東京大学にてバイオマテリアル専攻修士課程修了。アクセンチュア戦略コンサルティング本部にてR&D戦略、デジタル化戦略/新規事業戦略等を中心にテクノロジーのビジネス化を支援。ベンチャー技術の評価と大企業への橋渡しを行なう新組織Open Innovation Initiativeおよびイノベーション拠点Digital Hubの立ち上げに参画。

　The business model of Pixidasty Technologies Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, PXDT) has acquired intellectual property from academia, including industry -academia collaboration, develops in need driven based on its technical seeds, and opens it with a collaborative company.It is an innovation or its own business.

　In addition to researching, developing and selling elemental technology, we will find issues and needs in specific industrial areas, and implement them as hardware and software solutions.What is characteristic is that intellectual property born in the collaboration of Tsukuba University and Tohoku University, which is a collaboration, has signed a contract that will be transferred 100 % quickly with the company's stock acquisition rights.

(Image provided: Pixidast Technologies)

　Market expansion varies from SaaS, merchandise and rentals, technical utilization proposals, and a wide range of collaboration models.As of 2021, it has been developed in three methods: Pixie Nest, a consortium that supports its business, cooperation with large companies, and creating new businesses.

　The main business areas are two systems: workspace and diversity healthcare.

　In the workspace area, the BCP solution "Magickiri" for infectious diseases is released, the platform "Kotowari" that promotes the digital transformation in the space through 3D space sensing digitalization.The sound absorption technology "Iwasemi" is scheduled to be officially released.

　In the Diversity Healthcare area, we develop a number of products and services, such as "XMOVE", an autonomous driver, and a spherical device "Sound Hug", which can enjoy music for hearing impaired.

　As mentioned above, we have an industry -academia -collaborative scheme with an industry -academia collaboration scheme, so not only new technologies will come in, but there are also cultures that catch up the latest technologies and papers in the academia in the company, which can be dropped into solutions.It is said that the company has a R & D system.

"We don't want to implement specific technologies, and the linkage is not limited to specific universities. In the part of the problem solving, the results of the Academia research, internal research results, and other companies.We aim to create a system that continuously implements collaborative research results. We would like to create a mechanism to increase ROI (investment profit margin) of R & D and return to the research side by social implementation. "Murakami)

(Image provided: Pixidast Technologies)

Developed in -house intellectual property system, such as job invention rules before its foundation

　In the case of PXDT business models, intellectual property is important, so the policy is clear in recruitment.Shortly after the founding, in cooperation with patent attorney Daisuke Kimoto, he started intellectual property activities with Mr. Ochiai and Murakami from the stage where there were no employees.

　The encounter with Mr. Kimoto began when Mr. Ochiai consulted for a patent application as an individual inventor before its founding.Later, after the founding of PXDT, he requested that he was not limited to patent applications, but also in intellectual property -related business.At that time, Kimoto was a member of a patent office, so he signed a contract for a few months as an external patent attorney, joined the company one year after his first encounter, and officially launched an intellectual property division.

　Kimoto says that the high intellectual property of both Ochiai and Murakami was clear even before the founding.Mr. Ochiai has a lot of patent application since he was a student, and he has a strong awareness of intellectual property.Because of this, I felt the importance of intellectual property for the startup.

"I remember that in the second meeting I met, the two founders said that" intellectual property is important ". In 2017, the importance of intellectual property from the early days.Kimoto recalls the impression of the time, saying that he did not have many experiences with his conscious managers, "he wanted to help.

　It is natural that intellectual property is important in PXDT, and it seems that Mr. Kimoto has never appealed to intellectual property in -house.For example, the rules for job invention have begun to create without employees yet, and have begun the development of an intellectual property system.Patent databases and contract databases that are still used in the company were also created at the time of their founding.

"At first, I was asked to apply for a patent application normally, but if I listened to various stories in the meeting, I would be noticeable.Hey, what is the management of the contract, what is going on, and as he raises the issues he noticed, he's been asked to be more and more asked. The accumulation is still going on. "。

　Mr. Murakami said, "Startups are fluid. The advice of patenting or keeping it secret and suggestions for the development of an in -house intellectual property system, so there are no such light -footed valves.I would like you to enter. At that time, I told you that I wanted to be a patent attorney who could do business negotiations. "

　While it is said that it is difficult to meet a good intellectual property expert, I was lucky to meet someone who happened to be in the direction of the direction, and said that Ochiai and Murakami said.

Concluded an intellectual property contract with the issuance of stock acquisition rights with Japan's first university

　Mr. Kimoto realized again about the intellectual property of the two founders again during the negotiations of the special joint research project with the University of Tsukuba in 2017.

"With the time for entrepreneurs and researchers to form a scheme for the first intellectual property contract with the university, their seriousness has turned into conviction. In this case, I negotiate.I was present only once, 90 % of the negotiations of Ochiai and Murakami were the power of negotiations. I checked the reviews of the contract and the intellectual property issues, but most of the negotiations were packed with only two people.I was surprised. The point of consulting the patent attorney was also hit, so I think it was a good shape that I didn't need. "

　In the first place, there was no provision for accepting stock acquisition rights issued in the first place, so it must be moved by the university side to make the regulations.Ochiai and Murakami went to explain many times and continued to persuade.

"The University of Tsukuba has a large -scale framework for a special research project with Toyota Motor Corporation. The University of Tsukuba is open for new initiatives, so I think the hurdles were higher in other universities.Nevertheless, Toyota's precedent was not a scheme that exchanged intellectual property using stock acquisition rights, so it was difficult to make a comprehensive agreement for intellectual property. "(Mr. Ochiai).

　It took more than six months to conclude a contract, but Ochiai recalls that it was possible because it was still possible.With a precedent, in 2020, Tohoku University had a similar scheme in cooperation with Tohoku University.

　By issuing stock acquisition rights for the transfer of intellectual property, the coordination of joint applications and negotiations on licenses were omitted, so that the social implementation of research results was improved.

Connecting between technology and business is the most performing part of the intellectual property expert.

　As the number of employees gradually increased as a PXDT, the patent attorney Haruki Katayama joined in 2020, and the IP & LEGAL function team had two people.Both Kimoto and Katayama have experience in the large corporate intellectual finance department, so they are used to applying for companies, but since the contract negotiations may start before the invention is completed, they stick to the site.He seems to be doing it.

"If there is a consultation on rights from the site side, decide whether to apply within the budget range. Not only judge what to right, but also see through the contract protected by contract.I think it is important "(Mr. Kimoto)

　PXDT handles a variety of technologies and signs contracts with companies in various industries.If the method of writing a patent statement is different depending on the technology, the way of thinking about intellectual property differs depending on the type of company that concludes the contract.

"I talk about business development and business with engineers with technical skills. I think that connecting between technology and business is the most performing part of intellectual property expert. You may be wondering if a patented attorney who was only patented can be involved in the contract, but it is usually a patent application work to predict a claim (statement) that will produce future value from the interviews with technology. What we are doing. The fact that we work on the business with the perspective of what is a contract scheme that creates future value based on the interview results of business is the same as the patent application work and the contract work. I just need to work hard here. I am proud that I have a way of working that can make the most of my intellectual property expert. "(Kimoto).

　With the IP & LEGAL function team in the business headquarters, four components: technology, business, intellectual property, and legal affairs are on site, and a mechanism to handle while looking at the whole.By responding to the rights and contract practice of various business projects, the learning obtained from the accumulated contract practical will be returned to the next right and the results of the rights and practice are reflected in the next contract practice.It will be done.The current issue is to share these intellectual property and contract negotiations within the company, and the issue of 2021 is to develop it as a company's foundation.

"If a person from the intellectual property department of a large company joins the startup in the early days of the company, the contract practical is inevitable. If you look at both intellectual property and contract, even if you are in one rights of rights, it is new and new. Not only from gender, but also from the business perspective, you will be forced to judge the content of the patent and the timing of application. In intellectual property staff, the person in charge of intellectual property from engineers will take advantage of intellectual property. At the end, we have output to ensure the right to determine that it is the best. The output is to maximize corporate profits by taking a legal perspective on the interviews from the on -site staff. I think that the skills to make are naturally acquired. In that sense, I think that the human resources of the large corporate intelligence department will be a limited startup of human resources and financial resources. "(Kimoto).

　PXDT considers not only patents, trademarks, works, and know -how, as well as the products prescribed in contracts as "intellectual property" (intellectual assets).Asking the future of the company as a company, you can see a Conglomarit that manages a wide variety of businesses based on the intellectual property of R & D, before the open innovation with a wide variety of technologies has progressed.It is said that it is.

　At the end of the interview, both representatives of Ochiai and Murakami gave a message to researchers and businesses who want to start a business in the research and development type startup.

"It is recommended to put a patent attorney as a member from the founding period. If there is no one who can see both IP and Regal, startups will be weak to negotiations. Especially, negotiations for tech startups will focus on intellectual property relationships.So I think that the patent attorney is more suitable than a lawyer. I want more startups that are strong in contract negotiations. "(Mr. Ochiai).

"I think that the contract is an implementation of a business model, so the importance of legal is extremely important. It is certain that it would be easier for experts to be from the beginning."