Nikon Corporation (株式会社ニコン; TSE Prime: 7731) is a publicly traded Japanese precision-optics and imaging manufacturer headquartered at 1-5-20 Nishioi, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo. Founded July 25, 1917, it reports consolidated revenue of ¥677.2 billion and 19,928 consolidated employees for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026 (Nikon corporate data). It is an independent listed company, not a subsidiary.
Operations. Nikon operates in six reporting segments. Its Imaging Products business sells mirrorless cameras, DSLRs, interchangeable NIKKOR lenses, and — following the 2024 acquisition of RED.com — digital cinema cameras. The Precision Equipment business supplies semiconductor lithography systems, FPD (flat-panel display) lithography systems, and the "Litho Booster" alignment/metrology station. Healthcare covers biological microscopes and ophthalmic/retinal diagnostic imaging (via subsidiary Optos). Components supplies optical glass, optical components, and encoders; Digital Manufacturing covers industrial microscopes, measuring instruments, X-ray/CT systems, and metal 3D printers. It also maintains subsidiaries such as Nikon Inc. and Nikon Americas Inc. (Melville, New York) for U.S. sales and service.
Litigation posture. Nikon is an operating company, not a patent assertion entity. The tracked data show 1 case as defendant and 0 as plaintiff: it appears solely as a target of a patent-holder suit, not as an active two-way patent litigant. The single venue is the District of Delaware — an established patent forum, though not the plaintiff-friendly Eastern District of Texas.
Tracked case. Intellectual Ventures I LLC et al. v. Nikon Corporation et al., No. 1:11-cv-01025-SLR (D. Del.), filed October 26, 2011, by Intellectual Ventures — a Bellevue, Washington-based licensing entity widely characterized as a patent assertion entity (NPE). Co-defendants included Nikon Americas Inc., Nikon Inc., and subsidiary Sendai Nikon Corporation; Sendai was dismissed in 2013 for lack of personal jurisdiction, and joint-infringement claims were also dismissed. The dispute concerned digital-imaging/camera technology. The case was terminated May 20, 2015, before Judgment. Only this one matter is reflected in the tracked data; no other Nikon litigation appears there.