Corporate News
uSonar Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Chairman: Nami Fukutomi; President and CEO: Katsuhito Nagatake; hereinafter "uSonar") announces that it has acquired five patents related to technology for integrating business card information with external data from Ricoh Company, Ltd. (Headquarters: Ota-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Akira Oyama; hereinafter "Ricoh"), with uSonar becoming the patent holder as of March 31, 2026.
This acquisition transitions the ownership of technology that uSonar has been utilizing under a licensing agreement*1 concluded in 2020, establishing a framework for the stable management and development of core technologies within our corporate data infrastructure.
Overview of Acquired Patents
The patents acquired in this transaction are as follows:
| Patent Number | Patent Summary |
|---|---|
| Patent 6299498 Patent 6614255 |
Technology for identifying individuals for whom business card information has not been acquired by utilizing business card information and information from other media. |
| Patent 6369140 Patent 6683219 |
Technology for updating organizational information to distinguish between acquired and unacquired business card data, and outputting the information in formats corresponding to each. |
| Patent 6550810 | Technology for visualizing members of specific segments involved in target transactions within organizational data and visualizing the achievement level of activities for those segments. |
These patents involve technology for structuring and visualizing corporate data starting from business card information. They are positioned as foundational technologies for corporate data management, which is critical in the AI era.
Background of Patent Acquisition and Strategic Positioning in the AI Era
In recent years, the evolution of generative AI has shifted the factors for differentiation in traditional SaaS businesses, increasing the importance of data infrastructure in the AI era. Based on these environmental changes, uSonar believes that function-providing SaaS and data-infrastructure-based businesses possess fundamentally different structures.
With the widespread adoption of generative AI, the differentiation of application functions such as SaaS is relatively declining, while the recognition is growing that high-quality, structured data infrastructure is what determines the accuracy and utility of AI.
For over 35 years, uSonar has independently built and updated "LBC"*2, Japan's largest corporate database covering over 12.5 million business locations. This data infrastructure, which enables the matching and integration of data at the corporate group, company, and business establishment levels, is utilized as a core data infrastructure supporting the sophistication of sales and marketing activities.
Through this patent acquisition, uSonar will utilize the technology to integrate business card information with corporate data, including LBC, as our own intellectual property across uSonar services, starting with the corporate information and business card management app "mSonar"*3. By doing so, we will further enhance the uniqueness and sustainability of our corporate data structuring, strengthen our competitive advantage as a corporate data infrastructure company in the AI era, and utilize this as a data foundation for future AI services and data linkage services.
Future Outlook
High-quality structured data is what determines competitiveness in the AI era. Corporate data, in particular, exerts higher value when linked with contact information, which serves as the entry point for corporate activities. To aim for long-term growth in the corporate data market, uSonar will promote the following:
• Improving the Integration Accuracy of Business Card Data and Corporate Data
• Advancing the Visualization of Contact Points at the Department Level
• Expanding the Scope of Data Utilization Through Strengthened AI Integration
• Deepening Collaboration with Various Devices and Business Platforms
*1: Regarding the licensing agreement concluded in 2020
We held an exclusive license for business card-related patents owned by Ricoh. This technology visualizes relationships with individuals and companies that previously had no contact points by combining business card information with external information.
https://usonar.co.jp/news/20200820_5117.html
Japan's largest corporate database, which assigns an 11-digit management code to business locations across Japan. It centrally manages rich corporate attribute information such as industry, sales, profit, number of employees, and fixed IP addresses. By matching client data with "LBC," it enables precise targeting, including cleansing of client data, attribute enrichment, and visualization of non-transactional companies.
Japan's largest... Based on our own research on the number of headquarters and business location data held for Japanese companies (as of March 31, 2026)
https://usonar.co.jp/service/usonar/
The catchphrase is "Understand corporate data in the palm of your hand." It is an "evolved version of a business card management app" equipped with Japan's largest corporate database. It consolidates rapid information flow in business, from corporate research to business card management and internal communication, into a single smartphone app. When you capture a business card with your smartphone or scanner, it is instantly digitized and linked to the corresponding corporate data. In addition to checking information beyond what is on the business card, it can be used in conjunction with CRM/SFA, and because it includes chat and extension functions, there is no need to launch separate apps.
https://usonar.co.jp/content/msonar/
Public Relations Contact
uSonar Co., Ltd. Public Relations (Hiyama, Sawada)
Email: pr@usonar.co.jp
