Shin-Etsu Group Key CSR Issues

Shin-Etsu Group Key CSR Issues

Key Issue6: Respect for and protection of intellectual property

Policy

The Group will respect all intellectual property and manage information assets appropriately.

Intellectual Property Management

The Company has established the Basic Regulations for Intellectual Property which has set regulations regarding acquisition, management, and utilization of intellectual property. On the basis of these regulations, we acquire useful intellectual property with high exclusivity and we protect such intellectual property from infringement by third parties. These regulations also require respect for the rights regarding all intellectual property of third parties.
Moreover, information in forms such as an annual report is disclosed to allow all persons involved with the Group to have a precise collection of the status of the Group's intellectual property assets. In addition, employees who have devised useful inventions, improvements and devices in business have been awarded in systems such as the following.

Actual compensation awards

A system to recognize and award employees who greatly contributed to the company by creating an invention or idea which brought great profit to the company in the form of patents

Multiple inventor awards

A system to recognize employees who have made a large number of inventions and who have acquired a large number of patent rights in the Company

Selected as a "Top 100 Global Innovator" for the eighth consecutive year

For the eighth consecutive year, the Company has been awarded the Top 100 Global Innovator 2018, which identifies and celebrates the world's most innovative companies and organizations.

The award is granted by Clarivate Analytics (United States)—a global information services company that analyzes intellectual property and patent trends based on its patent data— to the world's leading companies and organizations engaged in protecting original inventions with intellectual property rights, and successfully commercializing them.

From the left: Clarivate Analytics Co., Ltd. Director: Atsuko Tanahashi, Company director in charge of patent relations Toshio Shiohara, Company General Manager of Patents: Toru Kubota(March 2019, Shin-Etsu Chemical head office)

From the left: Clarivate Analytics Co., Ltd. Director: Atsuko Tanahashi, Company director in charge of patent relations Toshio Shiohara, Company General Manager of Patents: Toru Kubota(March 2019, Shin-Etsu Chemical head office)

Initiatives for Information Asset Management

For daily business operations and smooth communication, it is extremely important to use information assets effectively. On the other hand, the risk of information being leaked or otherwise mishandled is growing due to inappropriate management of information assets. For this reason, all personnel who handle information are required to understand the importance of information assets and manage and use them properly. In case of emergencies, by preventing its expansion and effects on other operations, they must make the greatest possible effort to maintain information security on a Group-wide basis.
Regulations are set under the Information Asset Management Basic Policy to protect, utilize, control and manage information assets.
Furthermore, related rules and regulations such as Information Asset Management Standards set details concerning, handling, management, retention period and discarding of all the information concerning our customers and suppliers. In addition, we have formulated the Standards for Preventing Technology Leaks in order to prevent the outflow of technologies.
We also carry out training and implementation related to the Information Asset Management Department, regularly conduct checks on the status of compliance with the Information Asset Management Regulations and other regulations, and perform internal audits.

Protection of Personal Information

In order to properly protect personal information in accordance with the Act on the Protection of Personal Information, we have established our Privacy Policy, which is available on our website.
Moreover, we have been providing education on law and regulations and holding lectures regarding personal information protection in trainings for each staff grade in order to ensure the appropriate handling and protection of personal information.
Group companies in the EU area comply with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)1, which came into force in May 2018.

  • 1 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
    The General Data Protection Regulation stipulates on the handling and transfer of personal information. EU member countries had their own regulations to protect personal data, and these regulations were unified under the General Data Protection Regulation in May 2018.

Cyber Security

In preparation for cyber-attacks, we have bolstered our surveillance system with an intrusion detection service that operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, receive security diagnoses from outside contractors, and continue to take necessary security measures.
We have also deployed a system for preventing targeted email attacks. In addition to measures for preventing intrusions, we are strengthening our measures for detecting and analyzing attacks. Furthermore, we have separated the information network from the control network to minimize the impact of any incidents.
We also conduct targeted email attack drills every year to raise security awareness of employees while establishing a system to respond to possible incidents.

Shin-Etsu Group Key CSR Issues