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:
Sources:
Japanese IP High Court Upholds Invalidation of RED’s Key Compressed RAW Video Patent by NikonRumors
