RED’s Compressed RAW Patent Invalidated in Japan: Nikon Loses

The Intellectual Property High Court in Tokyo has upheld the invalidation of the Japanese counterpart to RED’s compressed RAW video patent, according to a report by the legal news service MLex. According to court records, the decision dismissed an appeal brought by Nikon and marks a definitive legal defeat over a patent originally targeted by Panasonic in a challenge before the Japan Patent Office.

Panasonic Invalidates RED Patent in Japanese Court

Panasonic filed an invalidation trial against Japanese patent number 5231529, titled “Video camera” and registered from application 2010-503253. According to the Japan Patent Office, the contested claims combined existing technologies and lacked an inventive step. RED filed the patent family internationally in April 2008 with a priority date of April 2007, naming RED founder James Jannard and color scientist Thomas Graeme Nattress as inventors. The technology describes transforming red and blue image data based on green pixel values before compression, allowing heavy Bayer sensor data compression while remaining visually lossless after demosaicing in post-production. On June 30, 2026, the Intellectual Property High Court dismissed Nikon’s appeal, cementing the JPO ruling. Under Japanese patent law, an invalidated right is treated as if it never existed, meaning the effect is retroactive.

How the REDCODE RAW Patent Shaped Cinema Cameras

For nearly two decades, RED’s patent family dictated which manufacturers could offer internal RAW video recording and under what licensing terms. When the RED ONE launched in 2007, REDCODE RAW made compressed RAW practical compared to uncompressed alternatives like the DALSA Origin or ARRI D-20. According to historical industry developments, Kinefinity dropped CinemaDNG support from its cameras due to the patent pressure, and Blackmagic Design quietly removed CinemaDNG from the Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and URSA Mini Pro after introducing Blackmagic RAW (BRAW). Atomos licensed the technology to enable ProRes RAW on external recorders, while other manufacturers avoided internal RAW entirely.

Nikon’s Role Reversal From Litigant to Owner

The litigation history shifted dramatically when Nikon added internal N-RAW and ProRes RAW to the Z 9 via firmware. RED sued Nikon for patent infringement in May 2022, prompting Nikon to countersue by arguing the RAW patents were unenforceable because the technology was allegedly public before the application filing. That lawsuit ended when the parties dismissed it in April 2023, and Nikon acquired RED outright less than a year later in 2024. Having purchased RED, Nikon inherited the very patent it had previously challenged, transforming the company into a defender of the intellectual property against Panasonic’s invalidation push.

Commercial and Industry Impact in Japan

The ruling applies strictly to Japan, leaving US patents and international family members in force. Furthermore, the Japanese patent was scheduled to expire in April 2028, twenty years after its filing date. Panasonic already records compressed RAW internally across models like the LUMIX GH7, S1RII, and S1II, which feature internal ProRes RAW support. For Nikon, the loss arrives as the company expands its cinema offerings—including the Nikon ZR recording REDCODE RAW NE internally and planned Z CINEMA series models—while navigating competitive pressures in its core imaging business.

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