Corporate Governance Code (2026 revision)
更新日：4 時間前
Article information
Categories: Other Japanese law
Topics: IP management
Published on this website: 2026-09-29
Corporate Governance Code (2026 revision)
IP-related revisions
1. Express inclusion of intellectual property as growth investment (Principle 4-1)
Principle 4-1 expressly includes, among the board’s roles and responsibilities, “growth investment (including investment in facilities, R&D, human capital, and intangible assets such as intellectual property) and review of the business portfolio” (translation).
Investment in IP is positioned in the principle’s main text as a type of growth investment alongside capital expenditure and R&D investment.
2. New interpretive guidance on IP strategy
The guidance for Principle 4-1 states: “Investment in intangible assets such as intellectual property should be approached strategically in their creation, acquisition, strengthening, protection and monetization, recognizing that they are sources of competitiveness and enhanced corporate value” (translation).
This covers every stage from creation to monetization, treating not only obtaining rights but also monetization as matters of board-level strategy.
3. Treatment of previous IP provisions
The 2026 revision abolished the framework of “supplementary principles” in favor of a more principles-based, streamlined structure. Accordingly, Supplementary Principles 3-1(iii) (disclosure of investment in human capital and IP, etc.) and 4-2(ii) (oversight of such investment), introduced in 2021, are not retained as supplementary principles.
Oversight is carried forward in the guidance for Principle 4-2: “Effective oversight should be exercised so that resource allocation and execution of business-portfolio strategies contribute to the company’s sustainable growth” (translation).
4. Concluding points
The three main IP changes are: (1) positioning IP investment as growth investment in the principles’ main text; (2) setting out strategic approaches spanning creation, acquisition, strengthening, protection and monetization in interpretive guidance; and (3) organizing oversight of IP investment under Principle 4-2 guidance following abolition of supplementary principles. IP’s position at the core of growth-investment strategy has been strengthened.
Originally posted on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7510496382043000832/
