Patent Attorney Chemical
Yoichi Inoue
Patent Attorney
Director of Chemical Department
Patent Attorney since: 2002
Yoichi Inoue is a Director of Chemical Department and an experienced patent attorney who specializes in biology, agricultural chemicals, medical treatment, and medicine.
Prior to joining Asamura, Yoichi was involved in the research and development of new pesticides at a biological research laboratory. Fluent in English, he has visited numerous patent firms in the US and Europe and represented ASAMURA IP P.C. at various IP summits. He was also an interpreter for the seminar on European patents sponsored by the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan. Yoichi is currently mastering Chinese to strengthen the relationship between Asamura and Chinese IP firms.
Qualifications
United Nations Associations Test of English, Special A class
Katsuhiko Shimomura
Patent Attorney, Senior Partner
Chemical Department
Patent Attorney since: 1998
Katsuhiko Shimomura principally handles domestic and overseas patent prosecution, appraisals and offers strategic counseling to a wide range of clients. He has over 10 years of corporate intellectual property experience and over 7 years of experience as an inventor.
Prior to joining Asamura, he served as a trainee at the US patent firm in Alexandria, Virginia and passed the US Patent Bar Exam in 2003. He also gained substantial experience in strategy planning and intellectual property management at the IP Department of a chemical manufacturing company.
Professional career
Involved with research and development of optical devices, intellectual property strategy, and management at a general chemical manufacturer
Trainee at a U.S. patent firm (2002-2004, passed the US Patent Bar Exam in 2003 (recognition expired))
Key Areas of Expertise
Inorganic material, Polymer, Optics, Physical chemistry, Semiconductors, Composite material, Optical devices
Qualifications
Supplementary Note of Specific Infringement Lawsuit Counsel
the US Patent Bar Exam in 2003
TOEIC (score: 955)
TOEFL (CBT) (score: 263)
Major seminars
Vast experience as a lecturer for in-house patent education while working at a chemical manufacturing company
Publications
(with Tsurumi, Ohba et al.), “Preparation of Lead Zirconate Titanate Thin Film by Hydrothermal Method” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys, Vol. 30, pp. 2174-2177, 1991
Held patents include US Patent 5430754, and Japanese Published Unexamined Application Nos. 06-224508, 06-316498, 07-106684, and 09-064471
Mikio Kameoka
Patent Attorney, Senior Partner
Chemical Department
Patent Attorney since:2000
Mikio Kameoka is a patent attorney and a Lawsuit Counsel with more than 18 years of experience in domestic and international patent prosecution. He specializes in organic, polymer and inorganic chemistry.
Professional career
TonenGeneral Sekiyu K.K., 1997 – 2000
Key Areas of Expertise
Petrochemistry, Organic chemistry, Polymer chemistry, Inorganic materials, Textile materials, Chemical engineering
Qualifications
Supplementary Note of Specific Infringement Lawsuit Counsel since: 2007
Pollution Control Manager (Water Class I)
High-pressure Gas Production Safety Manager (Class A)
Yuichiro Asano, Ph.D.
Patent Attorney, Senior Partner
Chemical Department
Patent Attorney since :2002
Yuichiro Asano is a patent attorney who specializes in nucleonics, separation and analytic chemistry, welding and bonding engineering, metal engineering, inorganic materials chemistry, and electrical chemistry.Prior to joining Asamura, Dr. Asano gained extensive experience at a laboratory where he conducted research on metal joining used in diffusion bonding under strict guidance of Head Research Officer Osamu Ohashi from National Research Institute of Metals (NIMS). At a graduate school, Dr. Asano conducted research on the development of a new reprocessing method for nuclear fuel in order to dispose the radioactive waste safely and efficiently.
Professional career
Researcher, Tokyo Institute of Technology Research Laboratory for Nuclear Reactors,
Hikari Patent Office (former Taniyama Patent Office)
Key Areas of Expertise
Inorganic materials chemistry, The nuclear fuel cycle, actinide chemistry, and nuclear engineering focusing on radioactive waste separation, Metal engineering, Separation and analytical chemistry, Welding/joint engineering, Electrochemistry, Chemical engineering
Publications
(with Mikio Kataoka, Yukihiro Ikeda et al.),“Kinetic Studies on Dissolution of UO2 Powders in Acid Solutions by Using Cerium (IV) or Chlorine Dioxide as Oxidants” J. Nuclear. Sci. Technol., 33, 152-156, 1996
(with Yukihiro Ikeda et al.),“Study on a Nuclear-Fuel Reprocessing System Based on the Precipitation Method in Mild Aqueous-Solutions”, Nucl. Technol., 120, 198-210, 1997
(with Osamu Ohashi),“Effect of Heat Treatment in Vacuum Prior to Bonding on Diffusion Bonding of Titanium, Copper and SUS304 Stainless Steel”, J. Japan Inst. Metals, Vol. 61, No.8 (1997) pp.744-749
Mari Yuge
Patent Attorney, Senior Partner
Chemical Department
Patent Attorney since:2004
Mari Yuge is a patent attorney who focuses her practice on domestic and international patent prosecution, patent term extension applications, establishment of rights, oppositions, appraisals and trials.
Prior to joining Asamura, Mari was involved in clinical development of new drugs and handling safety data at a Japanese pharmaceutical company. She also gained additional experience in equity research.
Professional career
Involved in the clinical development of new drug and handling safety data at a Japanese pharmaceutical company
Involved in the equity research at a Japanese securities company
Patent Attorney since: 2004
Key Areas of Expertise
Pharmaceuticals, Organic chemistry, Polymer chemistry, Biochemistry, Food, Cosmetics, Fragrance
Qualifications
EIKEN Test in Practical English Proficiency (Grade Pre-1)
Pharmacist
Hisashi Kanamori
Patent Attorney, Senior Partner
Chemical Department
Patent Attorney since: 1999
Hisashi Kanamori is a patent attorney and a Lawsuit Counsel who focuses his practice on domestic and international patent prosecution, invalidation trials, litigation before district court, appraisals and client counseling on intellectual property in Japan as well as overseas. He is a member of a case study group and is in charge of preparing summaries of decisions related to inventions in the chemical and pharmaceutical fields as well as decisions related to litigation procedures.
Prior to joining Asamura, he worked at Toranomon hospital where he gained considerable experience examining diagnostic products and analysis equipment. Hisashi is a member of the Biolife Science Committee and a member of the Patent Committee of the Japan Patent Attorneys Association (JPAA), where he conducts research on patent prosecution in life sciences.
Key Areas of Expertise
Clinical chemistry, Biotechnology, Medicine, Diagnostic drugs, Regenerative medicine, Agriculture
Forestry, and fisheries technology, Cosmetics, Organic chemistry, Nanotechnology materials, enewable energy related technologies
Qualfications
Supplementary Note of Specific Infringement Lawsuit Counsel: 2005
Seminars
“Trilateral Comparative Research of Written Description Requirements” in Nagoya
Makoto Tatsuzuki
Patent Attorney, Senior Partner
Chemical Department
Patent Attorney since: 2010
Makoto Tatsuzuki’s practice covers domestic and international patent prosecution in the field of chemistry, particularly pharmaceuticals, organic chemistry, high polymer chemistry, and chemical engineering.
Prior to joining Asamura, Makoto gained considerable experience at a pharmaceutical company working on drug discovery research for lead compounds. He has been a member of the Japan Patent Attorneys Association (JPAA) since 2010 and holds MSc in Applied Chemistry from Waseda University.
Professional career
Worked a research position in a pharmaceutical company several years
Key Areas of Expertise
Medicine, Organic chemistry, Polymer chemistry, Chemical engineering
J
Hironobu Mizuno
Patent Attorney, Senior Partner
Chemical Department
Patent Attorney since:2012
Before joining Asamura, Hironobu Mizuno worked at a general chemical corporation where he spent twelve years in its research lab, then about nine years in its Intellectual Property Department, followed by about nine months spent in the International Law Research Office at an external location. During this period, he worked in the following areas.
At the research lab, he carried out research and development for recording media for optical discs, and was involved in starting up mass production at plants in Japan and overseas. In addition, he also conducted research on the liquid phase growth of gallium nitride and silicon negative electrodes for lithium-ion batteries.
In the Intellectual Property Department, he was involved with invention discovery, patent applications, design applications, interim processing and other rights work, as well as analysis and assessment of other firms’ patents, and rights judgments for infringement judgments and invalidation, etc., targeting a wide range of technical fields (compound semiconductors, semiconductor lasers, white LEDs, silicon for solar cells, organic devices, functional color materials, functional polymers, bio-chips, biopolymers, biological rhythms, etc.).
In the International Law Research Office, he worked on international comparative studies of industrial property rights systems for the Patent Office, prepared proposals, ran committees, surveyed published information, conducted hearings for organizations (state organs, law offices, private companies, etc.) both in Japan and overseas (Africa, the United States, China, and Korea), and prepared reports.
Professional career
April 1992 Joined Mitsubishi Kasei Corporation (now Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, assigned to the General Research Office
July 2004 Assigned to the Intellectual Property Department of Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
(July 2013 to March 2014 International IP Legislation Research Office, International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property of Japan (AIPPI･ JAPAN))
June 2014 Left Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
Qualifications
Supplementary Note of Specific Infringement Lawsuit Counsels
Class A Hazardous Material Officer
Publications
“A Novel Photo-Induced Patterned Film Formation of Organic Pigments Using Tris(2,2′-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) and Surfactant with Ferrocenyl Moiety”, Chemistry Letters. 1992, vol.21, no.5, p.751-754
“Extension of Linear-Velocity Margin in Phase-Change Optical Recording with Variable-Pulse Compensatio n”, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 1997, vol.36, Part 1, no.1B, p. 514-519
International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property of Japan (AIPPI･ JAPAN) Research Report on intellectual property rights system operational reality in African countries and intellectual property activities by major countries outside the region, Feb. 201P
Yukihiro Ikeda
Patent Attorney, Advisor
Chemical Department
Patent Attorney since: 1992
Yukihiro Ikeda is a patent attorney who focuses her practice on domestic and international patent prosecution, patent term extension applications, establishment of rights, oppositions, appraisals and trials.
Prior to joining Asamura, he was involved in the research project run by the former Ministry of International Trade and Industry on conducting polymer materials. During this project, he researched materials such as polyacetylene, polythiazyl, and polyacene and performed physical properties evaluations, for which he also received patents in Japan and the US.
At the university, he examined structural determination methods as alternatives to X-ray crystallographic analysis. His undergraduate research was on finding the most stable position of a clathrate compound comprised of paracyclophane (host molecule) and an aromatic series guest molecule.
Key Areas of Expertise
Pharmaceuticals, including pharmaceutical compositions, formulations, dosage forms, and natural medicine
Immunizations, Microbes, Biogenetic materials, Protein engineering materials, food (sweets), fat, Functional high polymers and resins, Organic and inorganic materials capable of controlling electron functionality, Organic EL materials, Electrode materials, Lubricant agents, Lubricant oils, paints, pigments, compacts, zeolite, hydrogel, cellulose, composite materials, transition metal oxides, Compound semiconductors, catalytic agents, thin films, micro – particles, crystals
Qualifications
Pharmacist
Publications
Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun., 1518 (1983); Synthetic Metals, 21, 235 (1987); J. Polymer Sci.: Polymer Letters Ed., 21, 989