Driving Force in Developing New JIT ◾ 125
a mid- and long-term standpoint with a view to improving the quality of patents
so that exclusive and competitively superior patents can be acquired (Amasaka
etal.,1996b). Patents need to be new and progressive; therefore, the signicance of
patent acquisition is for engineers to create and realize strategic technologies with
proactive ideas (ingenuity).
e activities of such engineers in creating a patent while searching for new
technologies also promote self-growth and contribute greatly to the innovation and
development of corporations (Amasaka, 2002c). In this way, the intellectual pro-
ductivity of white-collar workforces can be improved. Moreover, the act of inven-
tion and patent registration, ...