Intellectual Property Protection

Kyocera Document Solutions strives to protect its products and technology by proactively acquiring intellectual property rights to the results of its research and development. In order to ensure that our customers can use our products safely and with peace of mind, we are also taking measures against counterfeit products.

Reward, Compensation, and Incentive Programs

Rewards, compensation, or incentives will be paid to employees who have invented, designed, or created a product or technology for which

• a patent, utility model, or design right has been applied for and registered;
• a patent, utility model, or design is applied in our products;
• a profit has been generated from the sale or licensing of a patent; or
• a strategic patent that is deemed to have potential for the future has been filed. These clear rules for rewarding, compensating, and giving incentives to employees and others who have made inventions are designed to fuel our employees' motivation to invent, which will help our company grow.

Discovery of Environmentally Friendly Inventions

As an environment related issue, we actively look for inventions harnessing eco-friendly technologies and ideas right from the product development stage, such as longer lasting products based on our original ECOSYS concept, energy efficient technologies employing low melting point toner and low-temperature fixing, and noise-reduction of motors, fans, and driving systems.
We are as fiercely committed to protecting the intellectual property of this technology as we are to actively using it to reduce our environmental impact.

Combatting Counterfeit Products

In recent years, we have received a number of reports about products that were damaged due to the use of counterfeit toner containers sold in various markets around the world. The manufacturing and sale of these kinds of counterfeit products is illegal and violate our intellectual property rights as well as cause problems to consumers who place their trust in the quality of our products.
To ensure our customers get the reliable products they think they are buying and not fakes, we are taking various measures to eliminate counterfeit products across the world.

1. Measures against Distributors of Counterfeit Products

We are asking manufacturers and distributors of counterfeit products to stop what they are doing, dispose of their inventory of such products, and disclose the names of their suppliers. At the same time we are requesting that regulatory bodies find and punish manufacturers and distributors of counterfeit products with the aim of preventing these products from ever getting to the market.

2. Putting Customs Border Enforcement Systems to Work

We are asking customs agencies in every country to stop the import and export of counterfeit products at their borders. We are also working with customs officials to help them assess the authenticity of our toner containers with the aim of making the crackdown on counterfeit products more effective.

3. Hologram Stickers for Authentication

We attach hologram stickers to our toner containers for the purpose of authentication so customers can distinguish genuine products from counterfeit ones.

Kyocera Group's Initiatives to Protect Intellectual Property

Kyocera Group's Intellectual Property Site