Patent Attorney List -Trademark and Design-
Kazutaka Otsuka
Patent Attorney
Director of Trademark and Design
Patent Attorney since: 2004
Supplementary Note of Specific Infringement Lawsuit Counsel: 2009
Kazutaka Otsuka is an experienced patent attorney and a Lawsuit Counsel who focuses his practice on domestic and international trademark and design prosecution. He incorporates global policies for intellectual property protection in his daily work related to IP rights acquisition and client counseling.
As a member of a patent attorney group, Mr. Otsuka was involved in the management of the Intellectual Property Foreign Training Department for four years, starting in 2006. In 2011 and 2012, he was a member of the Trademark Committee, a special committee of the Japan Patent Attorneys Association (JPAA). In the Japan Trademark Association, an association made up of corporate intellectual property professionals and lawyers, he is a member of the judicial decision research group and has been involved in the management of the group since 2012.
At law school, Kazutaka was a member of the Corporate Law seminar, where he immersed himself in a study of corporate law, particularly intellectual property rights law and product liability law.
Key Areas of Expertise
Examinations, consultations, and procedural support for trademark and design rights acquisition (foreign and domestic), dispute support, legal advice, consultations and other types of support for license transfer agreements, negotiations, unfair competition, and copyrights
Seminars
Introductory Seminar for Overseas Trademark Applications, Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation
Points to Note For Working on Foreign Trademarks that Differ from Japanese Trademarks, ASAMURA IP P.C. 120th Anniversary Seminar
Basic Work for Trademarks Related to International Registration Systems Based on the Madrid Agreement, Japan Patent Attorneys Association Ongoing Training
Trademark Strategies for Building a Service Brand, Samurai Incubate, Inc.,
Publications
“Look and Learn! Introduction to Foreign Patent Applications” Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation, 2010
“Trademark Law Practice Seen From the Latest Rulings II” Seirin Shoin, 2012
“Analysis of Important Precedents and Brand Strategy Promotion Legal Practice of Trademarks” (editor), Chuokeizai -sha Holdings, Inc., 2023
Takuhiro Shinoda
Patent Attorney, Senior Partner
Trademark and Design Department
Patent Attorney since: 2011
Takuhiro Shinoda is a patent attorney who has been involved in domestic and international trademark prosecution for more than 15 years. He focuses his practice on design, copyright, Unfair Competition Prevention Act matters and client counseling at Japan Customs.
Prior to becoming a patent attorney, Takuhiro gained experience at Toyopet Co., Ltd where he worked on product design and planning development. He studied English literature at Waseda University researching English dialects so he often takes a phonetic approach in trademark issues. He is a member of the Japan Patent Attorneys Association (JPAA) and Japan Trademark Association (JTA) Design Committee, where he conducts searches related to overseas and domestic designs. He is a frequent guest at universities and IP firms where he conducts seminars and lectures.
Seminars
Intellectual Property Lecture for the First International Wind Power Expo
Summer School Lecturer, Faculty of Intellectual Property, Osaka Institute of Technology
Memberships
Chairman of JPAA Design Committee in 2016
Ryota Hara
Patent Attorney, Senior Partner
Trademark and Design Department
Patent Attorney since: 2012
Joined Asamura: 2007
Ryota Hara is a patent attorney who focuses his practice on domestic and overseas trademark and design prosecution, renewal management, and transfer registration. In addition, his practice also encompasses unfair competition, seizures for counterfeit goods and detection of smugglers in Southeast Asia.
Qualifications
TOEIC (score: 940)
Industry Awards
Finance Monthly Legal Award 2021 in the category Trademark Lawyer of the Year, the Finance Monthly (2021)
Lawyer Monthly Legal Award 2021 in the category Trademark Lawyer of the Year, the Lawyer Monthly (2021)
Finance Monthly Legal Award 2022 in the category Trademark Lawyer of the Year, the Finance Monthly (2022)
Finance Monthly Legal Award 2023 in the category Trademark Lawyer of the Year, the Finance Monthly (2023)
Publications
“Kikkoman’s Bottle Design Protected in Russia” Intellectual Property Prism, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry, January 2018
“Russia’s FAS decision regarding soy sauce bottle design made by Kikkoman” (co-author), A.I.P.P.I Newsletter Vol. 64, No. 2, February 2019
“Three-Dimensional Trademark Registration of “Kikkoman Tabletop Dispenser ” in Japan”, English Journal A.I.P.P.I , Vol. 44 No.3, May 201
Memberships
Central Research Institute of Intellectual Property, steering committee member (2018-)
Yuri Ito
Patent Attorney, Senior Partner
Trademark and Design Department
Patent Attorney since: 2013
Yuri Ito is a patent attorney whose practice encompasses all aspects of IP law, including domestic trademark and design prosecution, PCT applications, trade secrets, copyright law and unfair competition.
In addition to being a registered Japanese patent attorney, Yuri is also a member of the Japan Patent Attorneys Association and a member of in-house case study group, where she writes notices on judicial decisions.
Key Areas of Expertise
General application matters with a focus on domestic and PCT applications
Name changes
General registration and related rights
Unfair competition (product display, trade secrets, etc.)
Qualifications
TOEIC (score: 920)
EIKEN Test in Practical English Proficiency (Grade Pre-1)
Publications
Workbook on intelligible solving processes for patent attorneys: the past First-Stage Examination, Hogakushoin
Hirotou Matsumiya
Patent Attorney, Senior Partner
Trademark and Design Department
Patent Attorney since: 2011
Hirotou Matsumiya is a patent attorney who focuses his practice on domestic and overseas trademark and design prosecution.
Prior to joining Asamura, he gained extensive experience in IP matters and made a decision to transition to a full-time patent career.
Hirotaka Nakayama
Patent Attorney, Senior Partner
Trademark and Design Department
Patent Attorney since: 2011
Hirotaka Nakayama is a patent attorney who focuses his practice on oppositions, examinations, design registration, as well as domestic and international acquisition and maintenance of trademark rights, including those related to the Madrid Protocol.
Prior to joining Asamura, Hirotaka worked as an IP counsel at an automotive parts company focusing on various IP projects.
Qualifications
Administrative Scrivener
Shuji Kikuma
Patent Attorney, Partner
Trademark and Design Department
Patent Attorney since: 2016
Shuji Kikuma is a patent attorney belonging to the Trademark and Design Department of ASAMURA IP P.C.
Graduating from university in 2001, he engaged in real property registration service in Japan after going to the United States to study.
In 2009, he shifted to intellectual property field and worked as an agent for acquisition and management of trademark rights in foreign countries.
Triggered by passing the Patent Attorney Examination, he joined ASAMURA IP P.C. in 2018.
Key Areas of Expertise
Trademark, design, copyrights, unfair competition
Memberships
Member of the Japan Patent Attorneys Association (JPAA), 2016 – present
Hiroko Nakamura
Patent Attorney, Associate
Trademark and Design Department
Patent Attorney since: 2024
Hiroko Nakamura is a patent attorney who covers all facets of trademark work in the trademark and design department. With a keen interest in preventive legal affairs, Hiroko majored in international transaction law at a graduate school, where she studied contract law with foreign businesses, investment agreements and international arbitration. In June 2024, she changed her career to the intellectual property industry and joined Asamura IP.
Professional career
Bank of Japan 2009 – 2024
Languages: Japanese, English
Key Areas of Expertise
Trademark, design, copyrights, unfair competition
Hiroko Hirayama
Patent Attorney, Counsel
Trademark and Design Department
Patent Attorney since: 2013
A former Appeal Examiner at the Japan Patent Office, Hiroko Hirayama focuses her practice on domestic and overseas trademark prosecution and consulting services. She advises on trademarks of regional organizations and actively participates in conferences around Asia to coordinate trademark system operations.
Prior to joining ASAMURA IP P.C., Hiroko served as an Appeal Examiner at the International Registration Examination Office, where she conducted patent examinations under the Madrid Agreement and Protocol, reviewing the complete specification, any specific embodiments that have been disclosed, and the claims.
A former Director of the Trademark International Classification Division, Hiroko attended international conferences concerning the revision of the trademark international classification under the Nice Agreement and participated in the committee of experts, etc.
A former Director of the Trademark Examination Standard Division.
In addition, she also served as a Director of the Machinery Examination Division, where she improved an overall quality and efficiency of the examinations.
Major seminars
Briefing for Trademark Examination Standards
Briefing for the Madrid Protocol System
Research program concerning establishment of Similar Group Code System
Memberships
Japan Patent Attorneys Association (JPAA)
Japan Trademark Association (JTA)
Japan Association of Intellectual Property Law
Ryoji Mochizuki
Patent Attorney, Counsel
Trademark and Design Department