NGB Corporation

What NGB Corporation does

NGB Corporation (NGB株式会社) is a privately held Japanese intellectual property services firm founded in 1959 and headquartered in Tokyo. The company supports Japanese companies seeking overseas IP protection, delivering a horizontal one-stop service stack spanning patents, designs, and trademarks — from foreign prosecution, technical and legal research, translation, and annuity/renewal management through to dispute resolution support, licensing transactions, and IP strategy consulting. Its primary customer segment is Japanese enterprises managing international IP portfolios across industries including automotive, electronics, robotics, AI, communications, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and food; the firm reports serving more than 5,000 client companies with approximately 20% share of Japanese filers' foreign design applications at peak volume.

The underlying operational technology is a proprietary deadline and data management stack anchored by the ipSuite customer portal, an Automated Renewal System that maintains rights unless explicit abandonment instructions are issued, and a Mutual Data Checking System jointly built with CPA Global (Clarivate) for cross-jurisdictional deadline validation. NGB also operates complementary services including the China-IPPublication.net defensive publication product, a Trusted Timestamping Service (registration No. 6385144) recognized as evidence in Chinese courts, and AI tooling used internally for productivity with formal usage guidelines. Distribution of the 1,000+ partner law firm network across ~200 countries and a wholly-owned subsidiary Nihon Business Translation Corporation (NBT, ~3,500 translation projects annually) extend the foreign-filing delivery capability.

The business model is professional-services revenue, billed per transaction or as ongoing annuity/renewal management fees, supplemented by consulting engagements and training/seminar revenue. GTM motion is sales-led and direct, with enterprise IP departments as the primary buyer; demand generation is supported by monthly email newsletters, a YouTube channel, downloadable reports, and Tokyo/Osaka seminars. A Bangkok liaison office supports ASEAN-region activities. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is quote-based. Revenue and headcount growth metrics are not publicly disclosed, limiting external triangulation of financial trajectory.

Name

NGB Corporation

Legal name

NGB株式会社

Website

https://ngb.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

NGB Corporation is a Tokyo-based Japanese intellectual property services firm founded in 1959, providing foreign patent, design, and trademark prosecution, annuity management, dispute support, and IP consulting to more than 5,000 Japanese enterprise clients across diverse industries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Intellectual Property Services

NAICS

Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

IP Due Diligence & Freedom-to-Operate (FTO) Analysis (BPAHAMAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

IP Search, Watch & Competitive Intelligence (BPAHAMAI), IP Litigation & Dispute Resolution (BPAHAMAE)

Keywords

• Intellectual property services
• Patent prosecution support
• Trademark renewal management
• Industrial design registration
• IP annuity management

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. IP Services (Patents, Designs, Trademarks): NGB provides comprehensive intellectual property services including foreign patent filing/prosecution, design registration, trademark registration, annuity/renewal management, dispute resolution support, and licensing transactions. These services are billed per transaction or on an ongoing management fee basis.
2. IP Strategy Consulting: Consulting services leveraging NGB's expertise in IP strategy aligned with business and management strategies.
3. Training and Seminars: IP-related training and seminars ranging from introductory to advanced professional levels.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

NGB Corporation provides end-to-end intellectual property services for Japanese companies seeking overseas IP protection, covering foreign patent filing and prosecution, industrial design registration, and trademark registration, prosecution, and renewal management. Its services extend across annuity/renewal management, IP dispute resolution support, licensing and transactions, IP strategy consulting, document translation (via NBT), training/seminars, and specialized China-focused evidentiary tools (Trusted Timestamp, China-IPPublication.net), all delivered through a global network of 1,000+ law firms across approximately 200 countries.

Product overview

NGB Corporation is an intellectual property (IP) services company established in 1959, providing comprehensive IP solutions including Patent Services, Design Services (Industrial Design), and Trademark Services as core offerings. The company supports global IP activities through a network of over 1,000 law firms and research institutions across approximately 200 countries. Supporting services include IP Strategy Consulting, the ipSuite web portal platform for portfolio management, Training and Seminars, Document Translation (via NBT group company), and IP Research and Analysis. Specialized tools include China-IPPublication.net for Chinese public certification and Trusted Timestamping service. The portfolio is designed for Japanese companies managing global IP rights, offering everything from initial filings through renewal management and dispute resolution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Patent Services Comprehensive patent services for Japanese companies pursuing international protection: technical and legal research, foreign patent application and prosecution, document translation, renewal/annuity management, recordal procedures, European patent validation, dispute resolution support, and licensing support.
• Design Services (Industrial Design) Industrial design services including design research, foreign design applications, renewal management, recordal procedures, dispute resolution support, and licensing support to address design-related business challenges for international IP portfolios.
• Trademark Services Trademark services covering trademark research, foreign trademark applications, renewal management, recordal procedures, licensing support, and litigation/dispute resolution support to protect client brand equity internationally.
• IP Strategy Consulting Consulting services that leverage NGB's expertise to align IP strategy with clients' overall business and management strategy, supporting roadmap definition from rights acquisition through rights utilization.
• Document Translation Services Specialized document translation delivered by NGB's group company NBT, covering foreign patent specifications, contracts, litigation documents, and technical literature, with approximately 3,500 cases handled annually.
• Training and Seminars IP-related training and seminars covering topics from introductory through advanced professional levels, delivered via in-person events and webinars in Tokyo, Osaka, and online.
• China-IPPublication.net (China Public Certification Service) Defensive publication and notarization package for China dispute response, providing faster, lower-cost, and simpler notarization than standard procedures through a dedicated website platform.
• Trusted Timestamp Service Trusted timestamping service from Beijing UniTrust Tech Service Co., Ltd., used as evidence in Chinese courts; uses SHA256 hashing where only the hash value is transmitted to the timestamp server, keeping source material inside the customer's environment.
• ipSuite Web Portal Service Customer portal web service providing IP portfolio data entry, case status monitoring, and reporting capabilities, including trademark renewal services, patent annuity management, and database access for intellectual property rights management.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2,400 foreign design applications handled at peak (approximately 20% of Japanese foreign design filings)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• CPA Global Limited (Clarivate)coreTechnology or IntegrationCPA Global is a key technology partner for NGB's annuity management services. The two companies have built a mutual data checking system for deadline management and jointly monitor European patent validation status. NGB also cooperates with CPA Global for seamless data transition from European patent annuity management to country-specific annuity management.
• 日本ビジネス翻訳株式会社 (Nihon Business Translation Corporation, NBT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNBT is NGB's affiliated company specializing in document translation, particularly for patent-related documents. NBT handles approximately 3,500 translation projects annually including foreign patent specifications, contracts, litigation documents, and technical literature.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Clarivate (CPA Global): Clarivate owns CPA Global, NGB's core technology partner for annuity management and deadline data validation. Both firms serve the same Japan-outbound and global IP management market with overlapping patent renewal and IP lifecycle services, making them both collaborator and direct competitor.
• Dennemeyer Group: Dennemeyer is a global IP service provider specializing in patent annuity payments, trademark renewals, and IP portfolio management — directly overlapping with NGB's annuity management, renewal services, and ipSuite portal offerings across multiple jurisdictions.
• Anaqua: Anaqua is a leading IP management software and services platform that competes with NGB's ipSuite by offering enterprise IP portfolio management, analytics, and renewal docketing to corporate IP departments globally.
• Questel: Questel provides comprehensive IP services including patent translation, annuity management, and IP intelligence — closely mirroring NGB's full-stack offering of filing, prosecution, renewal, and analytics services for international IP portfolios.
• RWS Group: RWS Group is the global leader in patent translation services, directly competing with NGB's NBT subsidiary that handles ~3,500 patent translation projects annually. Both serve multinational corporates requiring high-quality IP document translation.

Regional players

• Yuasa and Hara: Yuasa and Hara is a long-established Japanese IP law firm specializing in patent prosecution, trademark registration, and IP litigation — a domestic Japanese competitor offering similar services to Japanese corporates, though with a stronger litigation focus than NGB's filing/renewal orientation.
• TMI Associates: TMI Associates is a major Japanese full-service law firm with a substantial IP practice covering patents, trademarks, designs, and IP disputes — competing with NGB for Japanese corporate IP work while also offering broader legal services outside NGB's niche focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/NGB_channel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ngb-corporation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments2 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NGB Corporation