Canon Inc. is a Japanese multinational corporation that specialises in the manufacture of imaging and optical products, including cameras, camcorders, photocopiers, steppers and computer printers. Its headquarters are located in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan. The company was originally named Kwanon by Goro Yoshida after the Buddhist bodhisattva Guan Yin, known in Japanese as Kannon. In 1934 it produced a prototype for Japan’s first-ever 35 mm camera with a focal plane shutter. In 1947 the company name was changed to Canon. Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory is the predecessor of... Canon Inc. and was founded in Tokyo in 1937 by Takeshi Mitarai, Goro Yoshida, Saburo Uchida and Takeo Maeda. Today, the company produces digital compact and SLR cameras, photographic lenses, video camcorders, printers and analog and digital copiers for the office, including its line of imageRUNNER and imagePRESS digital multifunctional devices. Canon was granted more than 2000 patents in the U.S. in 2008. It regularly places in the top five in the total number of patents granted. On 16 March 2010, Canon announced that it was seeking to acquire a new .canon generic top-level domain.
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| Founded: | August 10, 1937 |
| Founders: | Takeshi Mitarai, Goro Yoshida,, Saburo Uchida, Takeo Maeda |
| Headquarters: | Ota, Tokyo |
| Annual revenue: | $34,916,800,000 |
| Operating income: | $8,142,300,000 |
| Employees: | 131,352 |
| Industries: | Computer Peripheral Equipment, NEC, Other Computer Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing, Photographic Equipment and Supplies, Photography |