Kadokawa ASCII Research Lab Wins JPO's FY2026 Startup IP Support Infrastructure Project (IP BASE)A · FULL TRANSLATION
- Kadokawa ASCII Research Lab undertakes the JPO IP BASE project
- For the FY2026 startup IP support infrastructure project
- Focuses on building a startup-specialized IP network
- Helps startups strengthen their IP positioning
A media research institute undertaking the government's startup-IP nurturing project reflects how Japan now treats intellectual property as foundational infrastructure for startup competitiveness, not an after-the-fact legal formality. IP BASE's core proposition is clear: too many startups neglect patent and trademark positioning early, only to find the moat already leaking when fundraising or scaling.
Structurally, having an institution like Kadokawa ASCII—combining media reach with industry connections—run it can translate dry IP knowledge into nutrients founders understand and can use, through community, events and content. The model of government funding and private execution essentially uses public resources to fill a gap the market struggles to solve itself: early IP awareness.
For Taiwan's startup ecosystem, a direction worth borrowing: IP should not be the lawyers' preserve but a basic literacy founders hold from day one—and achieving that needs exactly this kind of mechanism that "translates" knowledge for entrepreneurs.
Kadokawa ASCII Research Laboratories, Inc. (HQ: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; President: Masakazu Kakinuki) announced it has been selected to undertake the "FY2026 Startup IP Support Infrastructure Project (Building a Startup-Specialized IP Network)" run by the Japan Patent Office (JPO).
The project aims to help startups build awareness and capability for intellectual-property positioning—patents, trademarks and more—from an early stage, by constructing a startup-specialized IP network that conveys professional IP knowledge to founders more effectively.
Kadokawa ASCII Research Lab will use its strengths in media reach and industry connections to translate dry IP systems and practice into content and events that startup founders can easily understand and apply, helping Japan's startup ecosystem strengthen its IP-based competitiveness.