Japan's Invention: The QR Code. The Inventor Decided Not to 'Monopolize' the Invention Born from a Lunchtime Game of Go

This is the story of an engineer who deliberately let go of a chance to make a fortune. #IntellectualPropertyStrategy

Nowadays, if you point your smartphone camera at a square pattern, information is read instantly.

Restaurant menus, train tickets, cashless payments, vaccination certificates. There is no longer a day that goes by without seeing this. The QR code.

The person who created this invention, now used all over the world, was a single engineer at the automotive parts manufacturer Denso. He and his development team could have earned enormous patent royalties from this technology. But they did not choose that path.

The strict conditions of 'two people, two years, and minimal cost'

1992. Masahiro Hara, who was involved in the development of barcode readers at Denso, received a request from the manufacturing floor.

'Can't you make barcode scanning faster?'

At the time, factories used barcodes to manage parts. However, because they could only store about 20 alphanumeric characters, it was necessary to line up multiple barcodes on documents. Workers had to perform as many as about 1,000 scans a day.

'Let's create a code that can read more information, compactly and at high speed, and that can also support kanji.' Hara decided to develop a completely new code.

However, the development conditions set by the company were by no means favorable. The staff was only two people, the development period was two years, and the cost was minimal.It was by no means a spectacular project with high expectations.

It was 'play' during lunch that broke the deadlock

Initially, development did not proceed as expected.

How to pack more information into a compact area? Existing barcodes were '1D codes' that only held information horizontally. If both vertical and horizontal directions could be used, the amount of information would increase dramatically. But the specific design method was hard to see.

One day during lunch, while feeling that deadlock, Hara was enjoying his hobby of Go at the workplace.

While looking at the Go board, where black and white stones were arranged in a grid, he suddenly realized something.

'If I arrange black and white in a matrix like the squares on a Go board, couldn't I efficiently pack in information?'

This casual realization became the decisive turning point for an invention that would change the world.

The steady trial and error hidden in the character 'Kai'

However, just having an idea does not lead to practical application.

In order to read a square code packed with information vertically and horizontally at high speed and accurately, the machine must be able to instantly recognize the position and orientation of the code. Scanning at the factory is done from various angles. A mechanism was needed that could accurately recognize the code regardless of whether it was read from the top, bottom, left, or right.

To solve this problem, Hara diligently researched characters and marks from all over the world. It was a task of searching for 'unique characteristics that do not exist elsewhere' among all kinds of shapes.

And what he arrived at was a distinctive pattern resembling the character '回' (kai) placed at the three corners of the code—the 'finder pattern'. Thanks to this pattern, reading devices became able to instantly recognize 'this is that code' no matter what angle they viewed the code from.

The black-to-white ratio, 1:1:3:1:1. This precisely calculated ratio was the biggest secret behind why the QR code could be read from any 360-degree angle.

'Clumsy, but obsessed with one thing.' That is how Hara describes his own personality. This accumulation of steady, persistent trial and error quietly, yet surely, shaped an invention that would become a global standard.

Completed in 1994. However, a major decision awaited there.

In 1994, Hara and his development team completed the new code within the deadline. This invention, named QR Code, had its patent filed on March 14 of the same year.

Compared to conventional barcodes, the reading speed was over 10 times faster, and the information capacity was 200 times greater. Furthermore, it possessed astonishing durability, allowing it to be read accurately even if up to 30% of the code was dirty or damaged.

At this point, Hara and the company Denso stood at a major crossroads. Should they use this groundbreaking technology exclusively as their own weapon? Or—.

The bold choice to 'open up the patent'

The decision Hara and Denso made was a bold one that many companies would likely hesitate to make.

While they obtained the patent for the QR code, they opened up the rights so that anyone could freely use it as long as the QR code complied with JIS/ISO standards.

Hara himself explains the reason for this decision as follows.

'If two-dimensional codes proliferate, users will get confused. So, to spread the QR code as quickly as possible, I dared to make it open. Besides, building infrastructure cannot be achieved by just one company. I was also aiming to create an environment where other companies could easily participate.'

If they had chosen the path of collecting patent royalties, they might have gained significant profits in the short term. But instead, it is highly likely that other companies would have hesitated to adopt it, and the speed of its spread would have dropped significantly.

Another dream: 'I want to make my company's name known to the world'

There is an interesting episode here. According to an introductory article by the Japan Patent Office, Hara had another personal dream.

'Someday, I want to make my company's name known to the world.'

Denso is an automotive parts manufacturer. Hidden behind finished car manufacturers, there are almost no opportunities for their company logo to be seen directly in the city. Hara was trying to realize this dream through a two-dimensional code that would be accepted globally.

Ironically, by opening up the patent, the name 'QR Code' itself spread explosively throughout the world. Although they did not directly push the company name Denso to the forefront, the synonym for the technology, 'QR', permeated the world as an invention from Japan.

The decision 'not to monopolize' ultimately created the greatest value.

The QR code subsequently spread explosively as a means of accessing websites by scanning with mobile phone cameras. After the advent of smartphones, it gained even more momentum, becoming established as a primary method for electronic payments in countries including China.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, it has also been utilized for tracking infection routes and for vaccination certificates, leading to its value being re-evaluated once again around the world.

If Hara and Denso had chosen the path of monopolizing the patent and collecting usage fees, the QR code would likely never have spread across the world to this extent.The decision to 'let the technology itself take root in society' rather than 'maximizing the company's own profits'ended up changing the world on a scale that far exceeded even Hara's own dreams.

Did he 'miss out on profit,' or did he 'gain something much greater'?

When looking back on this story, one might be tempted to talk about it from the perspective that 'he could have built immense wealth if he had collected patent royalties.'

However, what emerges from Hara's own words is a completely different set of values.'Infrastructure cannot be built by a single company alone'. This single statement clearly expresses a stance that prioritizes how the technology itself takes root in society over short-term profits.

Hara, who is still an active engineer today, continues to develop new types of QR codes. He himself must not have imagined at the time that an idea born from a casual game of Go during a lunch break would grow into such a grand story.

#QRCode #MasahiroHara #Denso #IntellectualPropertyStrategy #Engineer #Innovation #JapaneseInvention #Essay

Sources and References

1. Background and History of QR Code Development (1992–1994)
Development began in 1992 following a request from the manufacturing floor for 'faster barcode scanning'
Development conditions: 2 personnel, 2-year duration, minimal cost
At the time, barcodes held about 20 alphanumeric characters, and workers needed to scan about 1,000 times a day
Reference material: Denso Wave Official 'QR Code Development | Technology'
URL: https://www.denso-wave.com/ja/technology/vol1.html

2. The Secret Story of Development Inspired by Go
While playing Go during a lunch break, he got a hint from the matrix arrangement of black and white Go stones
Mr. Hara's own statement: 'I thought this was it, because arranging black and white in a matrix like Go makes it easy to input information'
Reference material: Tokai TV 'Special Feature | The hint was "Go" during a break... The secret story of "QR Code" development: The creator reveals why he "opened up the patent"' (November 29, 2019)
URL: https://www.tokai-tv.com/newsone/corner/20191129.html

3. Development of Finder Patterns and Details of Black-White Ratios
Conception of the 'position detection pattern (finder pattern)' placed at the 3 corners, investigation of characters and marks around the world
Realization of 360-degree scanning recognition through a black-white ratio of 1:1:3:1:1
Mr. Hara's self-assessment: A personality that is 'clumsy but obsessed with one thing'
Reference material: Newsweek Japan Edition 'Masahiro Hara, the engineer who created the QR code. The hint was Go [Japanese people respected by the world]'
URL: https://www.newsweekjapan.jp/articles/-/44561?display=b

4. Details of Patent Application/Registration and Performance Data
Patent application on March 14, 1994, registered on June 11, 1999
Over 10 times the scanning speed of conventional barcodes, 200 times the information capacity, and durability allowing scanning even with up to 30% damage
Reference material: Denso Wave Official '30 Years Since QR Code Patent Application' (Press Release)
URL: https://www.denso-wave.com/ja/adcd/info/2403130.html

5. Reasons for Opening the Patent and Mr. Hara's Statements
QR codes compliant with JIS/ISO standards were opened for anyone to use free of charge
Mr. Hara's own statement: 'I opened it up to spread the QR code as quickly as possible,' 'Infrastructure development cannot be done by one company'
Reference material: Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Assist Biz 'Masahiro Hara, QR Code Developer'
URL: https://ab.jcci.or.jp/article/48463/

6. Personal Motivation to 'Spread the Company Name'
The background that Denso is an automotive parts manufacturer and its company logo is rarely seen by general consumers
Mr. Hara's personal dream to spread the company name through the QR code
Reference material: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Japan Patent Office '"QR Code" Denso Wave Inc.'
URL: https://www.jpo.go.jp/news/koho/innovation/01_qrcode.html

Supplementary note on sources: This article is based on information from official announcements by Denso Wave, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Japan Patent Office, and articles based on direct interviews with Mr. Masahiro Hara by media organizations such as Newsweek Japan Edition and Tokai TV.