The Intellectual Property High Court of Japan has upheld the Japan Patent Office’s decision to invalidate one of RED’s important patents covering compressed RAW video recording in high-resolution cameras following a challenge by Panasonic.
Here are the details:
The patent (originally filed in the US in 2008) describes a video camera that compresses RAW sensor data in a visually lossless manner. The court found that many of the claims would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art, given prior developments at the time.
The court dismissed the appeal, confirming that the patent is invalid. The challenge originated from Panasonic. After Nikon acquired RED in 2024, Nikon stepped into the proceedings as the successor and sought to defend the patent. The IP High Court rejected that effort.
For years, RED aggressively asserted its compressed-RAW patents (centered on technology later known as REDCODE). This included cease-and-desist actions and licensing demands that shaped the industry’s approach to internal RAW video. Competitors faced hurdles or chose workarounds (partial demosaicing, external recorders, or alternative codecs).
Many camera makers (Canon, Panasonic, Sony, Blackmagic Design, and others) already offer internal RAW video options. The new ruling removes one of the longer-standing patent barriers in Japan and adds an official Japanese court finding of invalidity to the public record.
Prior history:
- In February 2013, RED filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Sony, claiming that Sony’s F65, F55, and F5 digital cinema cameras violated RED’s video compression and RAW video patents.
- In 2019, Apple’s legal challenge on RED’s compressed raw video patents was dismissed, leaving RED’s patents intact.
- Nikon was sued by RED in 2022 over the Z9’s internal compressed RAW. Nikon contested the patents’ validity (citing prior art and obviousness) before the parties dismissed the case. Nikon later acquired RED in 2024, making RED a wholly owned subsidiary.
Sources:
- MLex report on the IP High Court decision (paywall)
- Original Japanese Patent No. 5231529 (JP5231529B2)
- Related invalidation trial: No. 2022-800039
- Official IP High Court judgment – here is the English translation:
Japanese IP High Court Upholds Invalidation of RED’s Key Compressed RAW Video Patent by NikonRumors
