SUGIMURA & Partners

Haruo Awano

Mr Awano is a director of Intellectual Property Operation. His practice encompasses patent prosecution in the electrical, mechanical, and material science fields. Mr Awano has particular expertise in the areas of storage technology and optical devices.

Kazuyuki Tomita

Mr. Tomita is one of SUGIMURA’s Executive Directors, overseeing the Patent Prosecution Department of our firm and leads our chemical and material science groups. Mr. Tomita brings a wealth of experience in patent prosecution to the firm, having handled more than one thousand patent applications from domestic and foreign clients. His expertise cover all chemical technologies, and he has drafted and prosecuted hundreds of patent applications in various bio-chemical and material science fields, including, but not limited to, organic synthesis, fuel cells, batteries, lubricant oils, petroleum refineries, rubber compositions, reinforcement cords for tires, and carbon fiber.

Ken Nakayama

Mr Nakayama is the Director of Intellectual Property Operations. He is a distinguished trademark and unfair competition law practitioner, representing both foreign and Japanese corporate clients in the procurement and enforcement of intellectual property rights. Mr Nakayama is an invaluable member of SUGIMURA and brings with him a wealth of practical knowledge and experience regarding Japanese and international trademark practice. His practice spans the entire spectrum of trademark protection from filing and prosecution to enforcement, arbitration and litigation. He has represented companies in a wide range of industries such as entertainment, electronics, cosmetics, pharmaceutical and apparel in the filing and prosecution of trademark applications, opposition and cancellation actions before the Japan Patent Office. He also represents clients before the Tokyo District Court, the Intellectual Property High Court, the Japan Intellectual Property Arbitration Center, and WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center for trademark matters, including domain name disputes. Mr Nakayama has extensive experience assisting companies in the enforcement of their trademark rights against counterfeits through Japanese customs and the Japanese police. Notably, Mr. Nakayama has been named a leading lawyer as one of the world’s leading trademark professionals in Japan by World Trademark Review 1000 for four consecutive years since 2011. He has also been listed in Chambers Asia-Pacific, Chambers Global, Managing Intellectual Property and Legal 500 Asia Pacific.

Kenji Sugimura

Mr Sugimura is a Managing Partner of the firm. As an experienced Japanese patent attorney and litigator specialising in mechanics and architectural engineering, he is actively involved in IP organizations, such as AIPPI, APAA, FICPI, INTA, and the JPAA. He currently serves as a member of the board of FICPI-Japan and on JPAA’s International Activities Center subcommittee. Mr Sugimura has authored several articles on Japanese IP practice in international IP magazines. His writings focus on new changes and trends in Japanese IP practice, general differences between Japanese IP practice and IP practices in the US and Europe, and industry specific opportunities within the Japanese IP market.

Koji Sugimura

Koji Sugimura is one of the managing partners of SUGIMURA & Partners. His practice encompasses all aspects of intellectual property, including transactions (eg, licensing, joint research and development and mergers and acquisitions) and disputes (eg, infringement actions, invalidation procedures and arbitration). Mr Sugimura counsels clients on all forms of intellectual property – including patents, trademarks, design patents, trade secrets and copyright – and also advises on adjacent areas of the law, such as information technology, personal data and privacy, media and entertainment.

Yuko Muramatsu

Ms Muramatsu is a head of trademarks and designs. Her practice encompasses prosecution, negotiation, litigation, arbitration, and border enforcement of designs and trademarks. Ms Muramatsu oversees all trademark and design cases, including the filing of trademark cases in over 160 countries and regions and design cases in over 20 countries and regions. She conducts in-house presentations for clients concerning Japanese IP protections and counsels clients on IP strategy.

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