Aeronext Inc. (Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Keisuke Toji, hereinafter “Aeronext”) is pleased to announce that Mr. Shu Sawai, General Manager of our Intellectual Property Department, has been appointed by Mr. Ken Saito, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, as of February 1, 2024, to serve as a member of the Subcommittee on Examination Quality Management under the Intellectual Property Committee of the Industrial Structure Council, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry for FY2023.
Sawai’s election is the first time for him to serve as a member the Subcommittee on Examination Quality Management, and his term of office as a member of the subcommittee will expire on January 31, 2026.

The Subcommittee on Examination Quality Management was established in August 2014 under the Intellectual Property Committee of the Industrial Structure Council in order to review and evaluate the Japan Patent Office’s examination quality control implementation system and its state of implementation, and to make recommendations for its improvement. The objective evaluations and recommendations for improvement made by the Subcommittee on Examination Quality Management will be reflected in the Japan Patent Office’s efforts to achieve internationally advanced quality control.

Aeronext has a strong patent portfolio to incorporate its proprietary structural design technology 4D GRAVITY®︎, which improves the basic performance of industrial drones in terms of stability, efficiency, and maneuverability by optimizing the center of gravity, into industrial drones as a standard feature. We are pursuing a partnership-based platform business on a global scale, and our technology and business model have received high acclaim from multiple sectors.

Airframe structural design technology
4D GRAVITY® logo

Both domestic and international business development, Aeronext attaches great importance to its IP strategy and practices IP management with its IP strategy at the center of its business. Aeronext strategically builds its patent portfolio not to protect its technologies, but to spread them around the world in the fastest possible time. To that end, Aeronext has established a system in which a dedicated team of professionals consistently and quickly handles everything from rights acquisition to licensing in-house, and Mr. Sawai leads this effort.
Since the company’s founding in April 2017, Aeronext has already applied for 530 domestic and foreign patents as of the end of February 2024. Especially from 2020, Aeronext has been focusing on the logistics sector, and boasts the No. 1 score* in drone patents in the logistics sector among Japanese companies.
(*Source: LexisNexis PatentSight; Analysis based on 1,600 patent families active at 2022/9/22.)

Mr. Sawai, the General Manager of the Intellectual Property Department, is also a patent attorney and has a wealth of experience and expertise in intellectual property, having worked both within and outside of Aeronext to develop and implement IP strategies for start-ups.

In assuming this position as a member of the Subcommittee on Examination Quality Management under the Intellectual Property Committee of the Industrial Structure Council, he will contribute to the activities of the subcommittee based on his extensive experience and knowledge.

Reference

*1 Airframe structural design technology 4D GRAVITY®
Airframe structure design technology developed by Aeronext optimizes aerodynamic characteristics by equalizing motor speed regardless of attitude, condition, or movement during flight and controlling lift, drag, and fuselage center of gravity based on fuselage shape and structure to improve the basic performance of industrial drones, such as stability, efficiency, and mobility, and the transportation performance of drones dedicated to logistics. Aeronext has patented this technology and manages it as part of the 4D GRAVITY® patent portfolio. 4D GRAVITY® improves basic performance and opens up new markets and applications for industrial drones.

【About Aeronext Inc.】
With the vision of “new economization of airspace,” Aeronext develops and patents industrial drone technologies and conducts licensing in order to create a world where the sky becomes societal infrastructure and economized, and social issues are resolved with drones. Aeronext’s core technology is 4D GRAVITY®︎, a proprietary structural design technology that optimizes the center of gravity and aerodynamic characteristics to improve the basic performance of industrial drones dedicated to logistics in terms of stability, efficiency, and maneuverability. We have built a strong patent portfolio to make 4D GRAVITY®︎ a standard feature of industrial drones and are developing a partnership-based platform business globally based on the 4D GRAVITY®︎ license. We have also established a strategic subsidiary, NEXT DELIVERY, to enable new smart logistics SkyHub®︎ utilizing drones and are proactively working on the societal implementation of drone delivery services and commercialization of those services.
*For more information: https://aeronext.com/company/

【Profile for Shu Sawai, General Manager, Intellectual Property Department, Aeronext Inc.】
General Manager, Intellectual Property Department, Aeronext Inc.
Patent Attorney, Doctor (Engineering)
After working at a patent firm and the intellectual property department of a steel manufacturer, joined Oneip Patent Attorneys at Law (currently Oneip Patent Attorneys at Law) in May 2019, and became a partner in October of the same year. Appointed as Director of Intellectual Property Department of Aeronext Inc., a drone research and development start-up in April 2021; Member of Small and Medium-Sized Business and Start-up Support Committee, Japan Patent Attorneys Association Kanto, since FY2023.

*Aeronext, the Aeronext logo, and NEXT DELIVERY, as well as “4D GRAVITY®” are trademarks of Aeronext Inc.
*Other company names and product/service names mentioned in this press release are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.