Both Ricoh and Pentax cameras have come from the same company for fifteen years – but now records suggest Ricoh doesn’t just own the Pentax line of DSLRs and lenses, but the rights to the Pentax name itself.
When Ricoh bought Pentax in 2011, Hoya retained ownership of the Pentax name and licensed the name to Ricoh. But, record databases are now showing that Ricoh, not Hoya, owns the Pentax brand for cameras and lenses.
The change in licensing ownership was first spotted and shared in a photography forum, but both the WIPO global database and USPTO US trademark search confirm Ricoh as the record holder for Pentax digital still cameras.
The record change may seem insignificant given that Ricoh-Pentax cameras have come from the same company for over a decade. But the fact that the Pentax name was under a license agreement sparked its share of concerns and rumors over the years.
In 2019, one particular rumor said that Ricoh’s license would expire in 2020, causing panic and speculation over what that would mean for Pentax cameras. Ricoh quickly debunked those rumors with a public statement confirming that Hoya owned the trademark, but that there weren’t restrictions or limitations in place.
Now, trademark databases show that Ricoh owns not just the Pentax camera business but the rights to use the Pentax name itself – at least on cameras and lenses anyway, as Hoya still has the rights to the Pentax brand for eyeglass lenses and medical equipment.
While both Ricoh and Pentax cameras come from the same company, Ricoh continues to use the Pentax name on DSLRs, lenses, waterproof compact cameras, and the Pentax 17 half-frame film camera, where the popular GR-series of compact cameras carries the Ricoh name.
Pentax is one of the few camera brands still producing DSLRs. However, the company’s latest DSLRs – the Pentax K-3 Mark III announced in 2021, and the K-3 Mark III Monochrome from 2023 – were discontinued in Japan earlier this year. The Pentax K-1 Mark II and KF remain available on the official Ricoh US website.
Hoya bought Pentax in 2007 from Pentax Corporation, later selling the company’s photography division to Ricoh in 2011.
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