Japan

Firm overview

AOYAMA & PARTNERS was founded in 1965. From its early days, the firm worked on many international cases thanks to its strong capabilities in the pharmaceutical field, and was involved in numerous intellectual property lawsuits both inside and outside Japan. The AOYAMA of today is a general patent attorneys' firm that has patent attorneys who are specialists in a range of areas including mechanical, electrical, chemical, and life sciences, as well as in the design and trademark fields. Thanks to this, we are able to respond to the diverse needs of our clients. Using our own proprietary computer systems that we have developed in conjunction with a software development company, we engage in painstaking deadline management, earning a great deal of trust from our clients.

Highly experienced attorneys with a diversity of specialisms

We are one of Japan's largest IP law firms, with a total staff of approximately 300 professionals, including over 100 patent attorneys. We cover all sectors ranging from mechanical, electrical, chemical and life sciences, to design and trademarks. This give us the capabilities to tackle all manner of IP related tasks, including applications, trials and litigation, both inside and outside Japan, in partnership with IP law firms in various countries. We also provide comprehensive IP services, including supporting universities and SMEs, doing research and making patent appraisals.

Vast experience in international applications and lawsuits

AOYAMA has a huge wealth of experience through our handling of patent applications in approximately 150 countries and being engaged in numerous lawsuits (several hundred Japanese lawsuits and about one hundred international lawsuits). We have been involved with many cuttingedge cases since our firm was established, while expanding our areas of expertise from life science technologies (which are prone to international disputes) to chemistry, electro-mechanics, and IT technologies. In April 2017, our legal department for handling litigation, disputes, IP consultation and the like was re-organized to strengthen our dispute resolution capabilities.

Let AOYAMA’s hand-picked teams meet your case’s specific needs

We generally assign at least one patent attorney to each client to act as liaison, to ensure that we can provide service that has both a personal touch and that is consistent. We always back our contact people up with teams that are made up of a flexible mix of personnel so that we can best serve our clients with regard to each case’s particular circumstances. Our team approach enables us to handle urgent tasks, international IP litigations and the like better, and it even allows to provide our clients with support for large-scale projects, such as, ventures into new fields of technologies. A particular case may cross over into multiple technological fields, and it is times like this when AOYAMA’s strength can really make a big difference as we have the capability to form cross-disciplinary teams to handle such cases. As a rule, we often form teams with a mix of attorneys from different generations as we find that doing so allows us to build long-term and seamless relationships with our clients.

Highly Secured Docketing System

Based on the knowledge and know-how we have built during our 50 years-plus of experience, we have built and introduced a uniquely customized docketing system. All of our procedures, deadlines, progress and more are recorded in the system by Formality Specialists not only for our Japanese cases, but also for all countries worldwide we file applications. As all procedures are docketed in the system, they can be listed and printed out in a timely fashion to provide reminders to all members involved in each case. We have a business continuity site at a remote location from our offices, enabling us to quickly and easily recover in the wake of a disaster.

AOYAMA’s extensive worldwide network of partner firms

We boast a global network comprising many general law firms and IP law firms from the world over that we have developed based on our 50 years-plus of experience. We have the capability to rapidly obtain IP information from all over the world, and immediately reflect such information in our daily work. We can provide our clients with work that is up-to-date and top quality with respect to law changes and new procedures both inside and outside Japan.

Last updated 3rd June 2020

Firm overview

Firm overview

Since the establishment of our firm in 1891, we have evolved through five generations into the oldest and one of the most experienced IP firms in Japan offering a one-stop shop solution for all IP needs. We take pride in delivering exceptionally high quality, handling both inbound and outbound cases, with more than 31 patent attorneys covering technical fields ranging from mechanical engineering, ICT to chemical/biotechnology. Our practice also covers all aspects of trademark and design matters.

Depending on each case, we appoint the right patent or trademark attorney to act on behalf of our clients to ensure that each case is successful.

Last updated 17th September 2020

Firm overview

We are an IP Litigation powerhouse for technology, life sciences and health technology in patents, trade secrets and commercial litigation with unparalleled trial success at all levels at each forum and venue. Our approach integrates our practices to provide businesses with comprehensive intellectual property protections. Our litigation expertise and experience also gives us an edge in advising our clients on the likely outcomes of litigation, including in the context of corporate acquisitions and portfolio management. Our approach, which supports “small firm” key partner attention with the “large firm” resources ensures our clients receive effective and efficient representation at every stage of the case. We are committed to helping clients structure the most comprehensive and workable enforcement and defense for all aspects of their intellectual property. 

Bench and Jury Trials at the U.S. District Courts

• We have litigated and counseled on patent and trade secrets issues across a wide range of industries, including software, hardware, electronics, chemical processes, telecommunications, consumer goods, manufacturing, sales, financial services, and pharmaceuticals.
• We are also experts in §101 invalidity challenges with a near-perfect record in district court and the Federal Circuit, pursuing and obtaining attorneys’ fees, and obtaining wins in Federal Circuit appeals.
• We are experts in the nuances of life sciences patent litigation, including Hatch-Waxman Act and biosimilars patent litigation under the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act, and the intersecting FDA regulatory regime in which these cases operate. 

PTAB Proceedings

• We have handled over 400 post-grant proceedings before the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board, on behalf of both petitioners and patent owners across a wide range of industries.
• Our attorneys have been hailed as ones who can be “trust[ed] . . . with crown jewels, and have been described as “PTAB mastermind[s],” “PTAB trial guru[s],” knowing the PTAB “like the back of [their] hands,” and “understand[ing] all the rules and subtleties of IPR proceedings better than anyone I’ve ever worked with.”
• Our attorneys worked on the first ever PTAB proceeding on the technology side and also led the first ever successful defense of a pharmaceutical patent.

ITC Section 337 Investigations

• We represent both complainants and respondents, and have been at the forefront of recent cutting-edge decisions at the ITC. 
• We have served as counsel in more than 60 Section 337 Investigations, and have appeared before each of the Presiding Administrative Law Judges (ALJs), including multiple successes before Customs in ensuring our clients’ products are not excluded from the United States. 

International Arbitrations

• We represent clients in all aspects of litigation related to arbitration, including bringing and defending motions to compel arbitration, obtaining and opposing interim and protective measures in aid of arbitration, seeking and opposing recognition of arbitral awards, seeking and opposing the annulment of arbitral awards, and disputes over the taking of evidence in the US in aid of international arbitrations and foreign litigation.
• We regularly draft, advise, and teach courses on the drafting and interpretation of arbitration and forum-selection agreements in circumstances ranging from simple two-party deals to complex commercial transactions involving multiple parties, jurisdictions, and applicable laws. We recognize that each matter is unique and strive to meet our client’s objectives in the most cost-effective manner.

Supreme Court and Appellate Review

• We have top-notch appellate capabilities and can handle an IP litigation matter from start to finish. 
• Our lawyers are skilled in the art of written and oral advocacy, as well as in simplifying technical arguments for generalist Federal Circuit judges.
• We devote our practice to the craft of conceiving and presenting argument on complex, law-intensive issues, bringing to bear our many years of experience in areas of law that cut across traditional legal disciplines, such as constitutional interpretation, damages, procedure, and jurisdiction. 

Last updated 10th October 2019