The Legal 500

Nakamura & Partners is a ‘niche specialist in the full sense of the world’, with clients praising its IP capability as ‘market leading’ and its lawyers as ‘Japan IP’s “all star team”’. The firm is known for its enviable wealth of resources (there are around 70 patent attorneys and a further 20 lawyers practicing exclusively in this field), but among the names to note, managing partner Koichi Tsujii stands out for his ‘incomparable experience’, and Yoshio Kumakura attracts praise for his participation on the country’s landmark cases. Telecoms and media is a strong area of specialism and the firm is usually involved in the most high-profile patent and copyright infringement cases in the market.

TMI Associates’ IP practice is the bedrock of the firm and it provides ‘good all-round advice’. Clients include start-ups through to long-established companies and government agencies and are drawn from the telecoms, IT and entertainment sectors. Leading lawyers include: Tomohiro Tohyama, who specialises in sports and media work; trade mark prosecution specialist Yoshiyuki Inaba; and dual New York and Japan-qualified Mitsuko Miyagawa, who is revered for her ‘technical knowledge and ability to keep on top of the market trends’.

Abe, Ikubo & Katayama attracts praise for its experience in patent litigation and prosecution cases under the leadership of the ‘very intelligent and knowledgeable’ Eiji Katayama. The pharmaceutical, biotech and hi-tech sectors are its typical source of instructions and it acts for a solid roster of multinational clients. Trade mark, competition and copyright matters are also strong areas of activity.

At Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, Yuko Noguchi continues to impress clients with her ‘ability to get to grips quickly with the fundamentals of any case’, Masayuki Matsuda is ‘highly experienced’, and Tomoya Fujimoto is recommended for entertainment work. On the litigation side, the firm is particularly active in patent and trade mark infringement cases and successfully represented Sony Corporation in a high-value copyright and trade secret infringement case. Other representative clients include Bellsystem24 and Nippon Television Network Corporation.

Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu continues to rise in profile following the arrival of former IP High Court judge Ryoichi Mimura in 2009 - commended as ‘highly intelligent and technically superb’. The firm acts for domestic and foreign companies on a broad range of contentious matters and recently advised a consumer electronic company in copyright-related litigation. On the non-contentious side, the firm receives a steady flow of instructions relating to the negotiation of license agreements involving patents, copyrights and trade secrets. Kazuo Ohtake heads the team and is recommended.

Yuasa and Hara has an excellent reputation. Lawyers are considered ‘reliable and well-informed’, with former judge Toshiaki Makino singled out as an ‘expert litigator’, and Kozo Yabe well-regarded for his expertise in cyber law. Infringement litigation is a strong area of activity and clients include companies from the manufacturing, media and pharmaceutical sectors.

IP is a strong focus for Abe, Wada & Watanabe and this is evident through an impressive client list which includes high-end fashion houses, household name food and beverage companies and well-known sports brands. Among the firm’s recent work, it advised on a trade mark infringement case disputing the similarity of a design and also acted for a European telecommunications company in patent licensing negotiations and an enforcement representation.

Anderson Mori & Tomotsune fields a solid all-round team that can call on the services of patent litigation specialists Yasufumi Shiroyama and Yoshikazu Iwase, as well as soft IP partners Satoshi Miyagaki and Shigeyoshi Ezaki. The firm acts for major domestic and multinational clients and has particular experience across the healthcare, consumer electronics and pharmaceutical sectors.

In a landmark case, Nishimura & Asahi recently represented a well-known Japanese plumbing company at the Intellectual Property High Court in a challenge to the validity of a patent regarding a flush toilet. Eiichi Fukushima heads a strong group that also has expertise in IT and media matters.

Hashidate Law Office’s practice retains a focus on domestic clients and is known for contentious work, particularly patent litigation, although it does also handle trade mark and copyright issues. Kenji Hashidate is the main contact and is recommended for cyber law matters.

Niche specialist Hiroe & Associates scores points for its ‘unswerving focus on the needs of the clients’. Takenori Hiroe is ‘technically excellent’ and has a strong reputation for work in the chemistry and electronics sectors. Former doctor Tutomu Nisio fields in-house experience from an earlier stint at a bio-pharmaceutical company. Highlights included successfully registering the trade mark “IFRS” for the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation.

Lexwell Partners acts for small start-ups through to major multinationals on the full gamut of patent and trade mark prosecution, patent portfolio management and technology licensing. Managing partner and patent attorney Akimitsu Hirai is recommended for work in the information technology, pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors.

Miyake & Yamazaki fields strong experience in IT and online matters under the leadership of cyber law specialist and name partner Junichi Yamazaki. The firm specialises in litigation but also handles IP rights agreements.

STW & Partners may have begun life as a breakaway niche from Mori Hamada & Matsumoto in 2007, but the firm is steadily building its own reputation for excellence. Wataru Sueyoshi and Hajime Watanabe are both highly recommended for patent litigation and prosecution.