An interview with IP Bridge licensing head Masato Okuguchi

Japanese patent fund operator IP Bridge currently operates three licensing programs: one for wireless patents, another for components such as semiconductors, and a third for video codecs. Heading up business development and the licensing of department 3 (video codecs) is Masato Okuguchi, who joined IP Bridge in July 2020, where he has since been leading complex global litigation and acquiring new patents.

At Via LA’s Business Summit in Rome last month, ip fray sat down with Mr. Okuguchi to reflect on the growing importance of Brazil as a venue for standard-essential patent (SEP) enforcement, as well as leveraging Avanci Vehicle to land automotive licensing deals.

IP is an ‘essential weapon’

Prior to joining IP Bridge, Mr. Okuguchi worked at Panasonic for over 27 years. He first joined the company as an engineer, before working a stint as an overseas sales assistant in the semiconductor manufacturing department, which is where he realized that IP is an “essential weapon” in securing a market advantage, he recalls. So, in the year 2000, he moved over to the IP department and worked his way up to IP manager.

There, he helped the team collaborate with major overseas telecoms vendors and engage in strategic deals to ensure they secured a revenue source for their IP, as well as lead the monetization team to land large licensing deals that involved their wireless SEPs with several global smartphone makers.

“We used methods such as joint licensing to build a very large revenue pipeline,” he explains.

For him, the transition to IP was an easy decision because it fell at the intersection of technology and business, and, he adds, “negotiating deals meant developing core business expertise that he had always wanted”.

Brazil ‘an increasingly important SEP venue’