Product News
uSonar Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Chairman: Nami Fukutomi; President and CEO: Katsuhito Nagatake; hereinafter "uSonar") announces that as of March 31, 2026, it has become the patent holder for five patents related to technology that integrates business card information with external data, following their transfer from Ricoh Company, Ltd. (Headquarters: Ota-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Akira Oyama; hereinafter "Ricoh").
This acquisition formalizes uSonar's ownership of the technology it has utilized since 2020 under a licensing agreement*1, establishing a framework to stably manage and develop the core technologies of its corporate data infrastructure.
Overview of Transferred Patents
The patents transferred 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 data from other media. |
| Patent 6369140 Patent 6683219 |
Technology for updating acquired and unacquired organizational information to be distinguishable and outputting them in corresponding formats. |
| Patent 6550810 | Technology for visualizing members of a division involved in a target transaction within organizational information and visualizing the achievement level of activities for that specific division. |
These patents represent technology that structures and visualizes 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 that differentiate traditional SaaS businesses, increasing the importance of data infrastructure in the AI era. Based on these environmental changes, uSonar believes that functional SaaS and data-infrastructure-based businesses possess fundamentally different structures.
With the widespread adoption of generative AI, the differentiation of SaaS application functions themselves is relatively declining. Conversely, there is a growing recognition that high-quality, structured data infrastructure is what determines the accuracy and value of AI utilization.
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 corporate groups, individual companies, and business locations, is utilized as a core data infrastructure supporting the advancement 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 its own intellectual property across uSonar services, including the corporate information & business card management app "mSonar"*3. This policy aims to 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 serve as a data foundation for future AI and data integration services.
Future Outlook
In the AI era, high-quality structured data determines competitiveness. Corporate data, in particular, delivers higher value when linked with contact information, which serves as the entry point for corporate activities. To achieve 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 Departmental Level
• Expanding Data Utilization Areas Through Enhanced AI Integration
• Deepening Integration 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 data.
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, revenue, profit, number of employees, and fixed IP addresses. By matching client data with "LBC," it enables precise targeting, including data cleansing, attribute enrichment, and the visualization of non-trading companies.
Japan's largest... Based on our own research on the number of headquarters and business location data held by Japanese companies (as of 2026/3/31)
https://usonar.co.jp/service/usonar/
With the tagline "Understand corporate data in the palm of your hand," this is an "evolved version of a business card management app" equipped with Japan's largest corporate database. It consolidates rapid business information flow into a single smartphone app, from corporate research to business card management and internal communication. 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 applications.
https://usonar.co.jp/content/msonar/
Public Relations Contact
uSonar Co., Ltd. Public Relations (Hiyama, Sawada)
Email: pr@usonar.co.jp
