Company News
uSonar Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Chairman: Nami Fukutomi; President & 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: Akira Oyama; hereinafter "Ricoh"), effective March 31, 2026.
This acquisition transitions the ownership of the core technology, which uSonar has utilized since 2020 under a licensing agreement (*1), to uSonar, establishing a framework for the stable management and development of its core 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 acquired and unacquired organizational information to be distinguishable and outputting them in their respective 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 involve technology for structuring and visualizing corporate data starting from business card information. They are positioned as foundational technologies for organizing corporate data, 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 have fundamentally different structures.
With the widespread adoption of generative AI, the differentiation of SaaS application functions themselves is relatively declining, while the recognition that high-quality, structured data infrastructure determines the accuracy and utility of AI is growing.
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 deduplication 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 for integrating 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 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 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 Contacts at the Department Level
• Expanding the Scope of Data Utilization 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 held by Ricoh. This technology visualizes relationships with individuals and companies that were previously unconnected 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 abundant 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 data cleansing, attribute enrichment, and the visualization of non-trading companies.
Japan's largest... Based on our own research on the number of head office 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 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 since 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
