Patent

A patent grants an inventor exclusive rights to an invention for a limited period. The patent holder can prevent unauthorized use and collect licensing fees. For QR codes, Denso Wave holds multiple patents, but their handling determined the technology's global adoption.

After developing the QR code in 1994, Denso Wave declared it would not exercise patent rights for the QR code specification standardized as ISO/IEC 18004. This decision enabled free generation and use worldwide, driving explosive adoption across payments, logistics, and marketing.

However, the non-enforcement applies only to the basic specification. Derivative technologies (SQRC, Frame QR, rMQR) have separate intellectual property with different terms. The name QR Code itself is a registered trademark of Denso Wave - care is needed when using it as a product or service name, though general descriptive use is fine.