SUGIMURA & Partners

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.

Previously, Mr Sugimura served as a legislative affairs officer at the Japanese Patent Office, where he played a primary role in the drafting of various IP acts, including the revision of the Japanese Patents Act which introduced the patent post-grant review system, the Japanese Trademarks Act which introduced new types of trademark, such as sounds and motions and the Japanese Design Patents Act which adopted the Hague international application system.

Mr Sugimura has spoken at many seminars in relation to Japanese IP practice and has authored several articles and books, including:“Open Innovation and Open & Closed Strategy”, NBL volume 1107-1112 2017;New Commentary of the Patent Act, volume 3, 2nd edition (Seirin Shoin 2017);Practical Commentary on the Employee Invention System as Reformed in 2015 (Shoji Homu 2016); andThe Commentary on the Industrial Property Law (The 2014 Revisions to the Patent Act and Other Acts) (Japan Institute for Promoting Invention and Innovation 2014).

English, Japanese

The Japan Federation of Bar AssociationsDaiichi Tokyo Bar AssociationJapan Patent Attorneys Association (JPAA)

The University of Tokyo, School of Law (J.D.)The University of Tokyo (LL.B.)