After years of finding interesting information on upcoming cameras and lenses in the latest design patents, Nikon finally found a solution by filing “secret” patents. This probably explains why we have seen only a few Nikon patents in the past few years. Currently, there are four new Nikon design patents that are marked as “secret” and cannot be accessed (in fact, the last ten patents filed by Nikon are also ” secret”):
The Nikon Japan Patent Office explains what a “secret” patent is:
What is a secret design?
When a design right is acquired through the registration of a design right, the contents of the right are to be made public in the Design Gazette. However, since a design is a creation related to the aesthetic appearance of an article, if it is made public it may be easily imitated or stolen, and there is a need to keep the design secret until it goes on sale.
To meet this need, you can request that the contents of the design not be published in the Design Gazette for a period of three years from the date of registration. You can also change the period within the three-year period.
A request for secrecy can be made at the time of filing an application for design registration or at the same time as paying the registration fee. If you have requested a secret design when filing an application for design registration, please be careful not to make a duplicate request. If you request a secret design, the item related to the design, the design classification, the creator, the design description, drawings, photographs, models, etc. will not be published in the Design Gazette issued after the design right is registered. These will be published in the Design Gazette issued after the period of secrecy requested has passed.
My guess is that latest design patents are for the next two Nikon cameras that are expected to be announced next:
