Japan

Firm overview

SUGIMURA, formerly known as SUGIMRUA International Patent and Trademark Attorneys is a leading intellectual property law firm in Japan which was founded in 1923. SUGIMURA has earned an international reputation for quality in Japanese IP prosecution and is repeatedly ranked among the top Japanese patent and trademark firms. As of March 1, 2017, SUGIMURA has re-launched as SUGIMURA & Partners, to reflect continued expansion of its services to newly formed legal division, which extends the quality and reputation from IP prosecution practice to IP litigation and dispute resolution practices.

SUGIMURA delivers results-oriented solutions and offers customized services tailored to clients’ needs. The firm ensures close collaboration among its practice groups in order to provide clients with comprehensive multidisciplinary patent and trademark protection across industry sectors. Their attorneys combine legal insight, technical expertise, and business acumen to deliver practical solutions and strategies for intellectual property protection in Japan.

Firm overview

Kilpatrick is trusted counsel to the world’s most innovative companies. To serve our groundbreaking clients, we are at the forefront of client service, a leader in DE&I, and on the cutting edge of law and technology. With recognized strength in the technology sector and a full range of service offerings, we deliver practical, business-centric solutions built upon strong and enduring connections.

Kilpatrick Townsend IP Law Office opened in 2006 as the firm’s first office in Asia. Led by special counsel Hitoshi Akiba, a Japanese patent attorney and member of the New York Bar, the Tokyo office is heavily utilized by Kilpatrick Townsend attorneys advising Asia-based and U.S. clients with interests in Japan and throughout Asia. The Tokyo office focuses on patent counseling for clients in a broad range of industries, working for U.S. businesses entering Japan and other Asian markets and for Japanese clients with intellectual property issues in the U.S.

The Tokyo office brings the latest developments in U.S. intellectual property law to Japan via annual briefings for Japanese businesses. Through educational sessions featuring Kilpatrick Townsend attorneys, the firm’s programs provide intellectual property professionals in Japan with critical information and the tools necessary to navigate the complex U.S. system for patent protection.

Firm overview

From our offices in strategic hubs of commerce, law, and government across North America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, we work with clients ranging from established, global Fortune 100 companies to enterprising startups.

Our team of more than 2,200 lawyers and legal professionals provides comprehensive corporate, transactional, litigation, and regulatory services in major industries, including energy, financial services, healthcare, life sciences, retail and ecommerce, sports, technology, and transportation. We focus on both immediate and long-term goals with our clients, helping them address and anticipate challenges across vast and rapidly changing landscapes.

We approach every representation with an equal commitment to first understanding, and then efficiently and effectively advancing, the interests of our clients and arriving at the best results. If a client has a question, we’ll immediately find the person in our global network with the answer. If there’s a shift in the legal landscape, we’re on top of it, and our clients will be too.

Founded in 1873, we stand on the shoulders of more than 150 years of achievement, but we never rest on our reputation.

Firm overview

TMI Associates has 96 patent and trademark attorneys (benrishi) in addition to 630 attorneys at law (bengoshi). These professionals – together with over 480 paralegals and other support staff members – form a unique organizational structure that enables the firm to respond in a highly effective and efficient manner to the needs of clients across a wide variety of businesses and technologies from all around the globe.

History

Since its establishment in 1990, TMI has grown rapidly and achieved its goal of becoming a full-service law firm that offers valuable and comprehensive legal services of the highest calibre at all times, while placing great importance on exercising unparalleled legal judgement in areas including intellectual property, litigation, general corporate, corporate finance, antitrust and bankruptcy law. Intellectual property – including patents, designs and trademarks – has been an integral part of the firm’s practice since its establishment, and TMI boasts an unrivalled level of experience and achievements in this area.

Collaboration

Thanks to its patent/trademark attorneys and IP lawyers working together as a team, TMI offers its clients high-quality IP services that are unlike those of any other international law firm in Japan.

IP team

• 96 patent and trademark attorneys (benrishi),
• 46 electronical and mechanical attorneys,
• 27 chemical, biotechnology and pharmaceutical attorneys
• 23 trademark and design attorneys; and
• 110 IP lawyers (bengoshi).

One of the ‘Big Five’ law firms in Japan, TMI has currently the largest benrishi group by far, which supports the reputation of its strong IP practice in all technical fields.

IP practice

TMI’s practice covers all aspects of intellectual property, including patent and trademark prosecution, transactions (eg, patent sales, acquisitions and licensing), litigation, pre-litigation analysis, invalidation trials and oppositions, freedom-to-operate analysis, due diligence and import suspension at Customs. The firm files approximately 4,150 trademark, 4,400 patent and 610 Design applications, domestically and overseas included, and over 20 IP lawsuits per year.

Ability to resolve IP disputes

Our strong litigation team is made up of highly experienced IP litigation lawyers and patent/trademark attorneys with a track record of successful cases, including in infringement litigation and invalidation proceedings against decisions of the Japan Patent Office. In order to strengthen its litigation practice, TMI has also recruited lawyers who were previously high-profile judges, including former Supreme Court judges and a former presiding judge of an IP high court division.

High-quality services in related areas

• Anti-counterfeiting projects involving civil, criminal and customs procedures to prevent importation of counterfeit products
• Copyright
• Entertainment and sports law
• Protection of know-how and trade secrets
• Prevention against unfair competition
• Contract drafting
• Resolution of disputes arising from IP licensing agreements
• IP due diligence upon acquisition, merger or listing on stock exchange
• Financing collateralized with IP rights