MSG産業における池田特許の有効性と味の素社の事業展開

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  • The Availability of Dr. Ikeda's Patent for Monosodium Glutamate Manufacturing Process and Its Importance to the Development of Ajinomoto Company Business
  • MSG サンギョウ ニ オケル イケダ トッキョ ノ ユウコウセイ ト アジ ノ ソシャ ノ ジギョウ テンカイ

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<p>Dr. Kikunae Ikeda discovered the “Umami” taste associated with glutamate. He then</p><p>went on to apply for a patent for a method of manufacturing a seasoning based on the</p><p>“Umami” taste associated with foods high in glutamate. Fortunately this patent has turned</p><p>out to have an uncommon high availability, making it possible for Ajinomoto Company to</p><p>establish and maintain a large new global enterprise.</p><p>Up to this present day, many technically outstanding patents have failed to succeed in</p><p>becoming the base of new businesses, even though these inventions and their patents</p><p>have been recognized and appreciated as representing useful technical novelties.</p><p>The purpose of this paper is to clarify the reasons that Dr. Ikeda’s patent achieved this</p><p>rare high availability over a long period. First, I examined the details and the nature of the</p><p>discovery of “Umami”, took a close look at the novelty, the technical uniqueness and the</p><p>deficits of his patent, and then, in the light of these considerations, investigated the reasons</p><p>for this success, by applying the NASA’s 3 step model developed to analyze barriers</p><p>to industry development. In 2003, NASA in U.S.A. released a plan development model.</p><p>This model identifies three barriers that need to be overcome during the course of successful</p><p>development. These are 1st: “the Devil River” R & D barrier, 2nd: “the Valley of</p><p>Death” barrier to getting a business started, and 3rd: “the Darwinian Sea” barrier to successful</p><p>competition in the market.</p><p>It is found that even though Dr. Ikeda’s patent had some deficits related to “the Devil</p><p>River” barrier step, which allowed developers in the U.S.A. to get a foothold in the monosodium</p><p>glutamate industry in U.S.A., it also contained strong elements to combat “the Valley</p><p>of Death” barrier, and so it was able to hold back the emergence of most competitors in</p><p>this industry for a long time.</p><p>Even though it may be difficult to place such a strong defense against “The Valley of</p><p>Death” barrier in many patents, this finding does surely provide some new suggestions</p><p>about how to launch highly available inventions and patents in the future.</p>

収録刊行物

  • 経営史学

    経営史学 51 (4), 28-50, 2017

    経営史学会

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