SUGIMURA & Partners

(1) Long History and International Experience

With nearly a century of history, SUGIMURA & Partners has developed relationships with over 2,000 foreign companies and closely cooperates with foreign IP firms in over 180 countries and regions. SUGIMURA has a proven track record in successful prosecution of foreign and international applications, and has a wealth of experience in international enforcement matters. Our domestic and foreign clients trust SUGIMURA in all aspects of the IP life cycle (inception, prosecution, exploitation and enforcement).

(2) Unparalleled Global Network

Through its long history and experience in prosecution of applications overseas, SUGIMURA has established strong relationships with many reputable foreign IP firms across the globe. Through these relationships, SUGIMURA has built extensive expertise in overseas IP matters and has deep knowledge of foreign intellectual property laws, practices and procedures. Our attorneys and paralegal staff are encouraged to keep up-to-date on legal developments in overseas jurisdictions and we maintain an internal database of such information.

This global network, combined with the international expertise within our firm, ensure that we can advise and support our domestic clients when seeking to protect their inventions overseas. Our clients rely on SUGIMURA for accurate and actional advice not only in common overseas jurisdictions such as the United States, Europe and China, but also in regions such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and South America, where the intellectual property systems are developing and the handling of applications requires nuanced expertise.

Our experience in prosecution and enforcement in overseas jurisdictions is mirrored by our expertise in assisting overseas clients with prosecution and enforcement matters within Japan. In particular, our attorneys and paralegal staff are skilled in communicating with overseas clients and providing clear and actionable advice in relation to Japanese IP matters. We actively recruit attorneys and paralegal staff with fluency in second languages, overseas qualifications, and international experience to ensure that we can maintain this expertise and serve our overseas clients.

(3) High Quality Legal Services

SUGIMURA has earned an international reputation for its high quality legal services and is repeatedly ranked among the top patent and trademark law firms in Japan. Our patent and trademark attorneys possess expertise in virtually every technology sector, with over 220 staff members including 90 attorneys qualified in Japan, the US, UK and Europe. Our staff work together to deliver results-oriented solutions and services that are tailored to the needs of our clients.

Our attorneys are not only skilled in intellectual property law; they are also technical experts in virtually every industry. Many of our attorneys have years of experience working in-house at major corporations as researchers, engineers and IP professionals. We also have attorneys who have served for decades at the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and the IP High Court. This combination of expertise allows us to understand the perspectives of corporations and patentees as well as those of the JPO and the IP High Court, thereby enabling us to deliver practical and effective solutions to a diverse range of clients.

(4) High Quality Translation

SUGIMURA recognises that accurate translation is a foundation for obtaining robust patent protection for both overseas clients seeking IP protection in Japan, and Japanese clients seeking IP protection overseas. At SUGIMURA, all of our translation services are provided in-house by a team of highly skilled technical translators. Our technical translators translate to and from English, German and Chinese, and translations to be submitted to the JPO are reviewed by qualified attorneys for accuracy and compliance with Japanese practice prior to filing. SUGIMURA’s high quality translations help to eliminate the risk of unnecessary office actions from the JPO and to ensure that the claim language captures the embodiments of the invention that hold the greatest market value.