NEW YORK, March 12, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UBIC, Inc. (Nasdaq:UBIC) (TSE:2158) ("UBIC" or "the Company"), a leading provider of international litigation support and big-data analysis services, announced today that it will start a practical operation test of an AI-based intellectual property valuation tool, which it is developing jointly with Toyota Technical Development Corporation (TTDC), by using it in patent surveys conducted by TTDC. This test follows the completion of a demonstration test and prototype development.
In this project, UBIC and TTDC have been jointly developing the AI-based Intellectual Property Virtual Data Scientist (VDS) since December 18, 2014. The volume of documents examined in patent surveys in the manufacturing industry has increased drastically due to increasing technical complexity of individual products and the growing number of relevant research and development fields. As a result, patent surveying has become a labor-intensive process. By introducing the Intellectual Property VDS, UBIC and TTDC aim to achieve significant efficiency improvements, including reduction in the valuation time.
The demonstration test, which was completed in January 2015, showed that utilizing Intellectual Property VDS could improve the efficiency in a specific group survey (which may contain approximately 8,000 cases) by a factor as large as 250. Intellectual Property VDS conducts the review according to descending order of high score, as opposed to a random review. A TTDC official commented, "The test result demonstrates the high potential for improvement in patent surveying and we would like to accelerate this Intellectual Property VDS development through a wide range of case scenario testing".
Following the demonstration test, a prototype which has recently been completed will be tested by TTDC in the patent surveying process with scope of performance and usability optimization across various technology areas and multiple languages. Through the practical operation test conducted by TTDC, which is part of the Toyota Group, a leading Japanese manufacturer, UBIC will further develop the Intellectual Property VDS to support the patent valuation operations for customers worldwide.
Outline of the demonstration test (before prototype development):
Test period: December 18, 2014, to January 14, 2015
Description of the test: Invalidity search and pre-application surveys related to engine control technology
Patent documents examined in the test: 8,000 cases of public patent information
UBIC's AI Technology
UBIC's artificial intelligence-powered Virtual Data Scientist is capable of analyzing big data and learning from human expert judgment, particularly the experts' tacit knowledge. It can also learn from the professional judgments made by experts in specific business domains and from know-how accumulated in the domain through actual surveys. Therefore, UBIC aims to create an environment in which corporate intellectual property experts (such as R&D and intellectual property department staff as well as patent attorneys) can concentrate on more advanced survey operations by introducing the Intellectual Property VDS for use in the patent evaluation operation.
About TTDC
Since Toyota Technical Development Corporation (TTDC)'s establishment in 2006 as Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC)'s technological development partner, TTDC has played a key role in vehicle development.
On November 26, 2014, TMC and TTDC have agreed to reorganize TTDC on January 1, 2016.
The reorganization will enable TTDC to focus solely on development support such as intellectual property and effectively utilize its accumulated practical expertise. TTDC will be able to expand its services to support other members of the Toyota Group, thus helping to strengthen the vehicle development capabilities across the entire group.
For more information please visit: URL: http://www.toyota-td.jp/.
About UBIC, Inc.
UBIC, Inc. (Nasdaq:UBIC) (TSE:2158) supports the analysis of big data based on behavior informatics by utilizing its proprietary AI-based software program, "VIRTUAL DATA SCIENTIST" or VDS. Developed by UBIC based on knowledge acquired through its litigation support services, the VDS program incorporates experts' tacit knowledge, including their experiences and intuitions, and utilizes that knowledge for big data analysis. UBIC continues to expand its business operations by applying VDS to new fields such as healthcare and marketing.
UBIC was founded in 2003 as a provider of e-discovery and international litigation support services. These services include the preservation, investigation and analysis of evidence materials contained in electronic data, and computer forensic investigation. UBIC provides e-discovery and litigation support by making full use of its data analysis platform, "Lit i View®", and its Predictive Coding® technology adapted to Asian languages.
For more information about UBIC, contact usinfo@ubicna.com or visit http://www.ubicna.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Among other things, the amount of data that UBIC expects to manage this year and the potential uses for UBIC's new service in intellectual property-related litigation, contain forward-looking statements. UBIC may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed with, or furnished to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual reports to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about UBIC's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: UBIC's goals and strategies; UBIC's expansion plans; the expected growth of the data center services market; expectations regarding demand for, and market acceptance of, UBIC's services; UBIC's expectations regarding keeping and strengthening its relationships with customers; UBIC's plans to invest in research and development to enhance its solution and service offerings; and general economic and business conditions in the regions where UBIC provides solutions and services. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in UBIC's reports filed with, or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. UBIC does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and UBIC undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.