Intellectual Property (Litigation/Enforcement)

• represented a European cosmetic company (plaintiff) in a litigation seeking declaratory judgement of non-infringement of patent, injunction of false statements of injunction, compensation for damages, as well as in patent nullification proceedings at Japan Patent Office and the IP High Court against a Japanese small company (patent owner/defendant) who alleged that a European cosmetic company infringed its patent concerning a cosmetic container (the court did not approve the invalidity of the patent, but recognized the non-infringement, and ordered the payment of compensation for damages)
• represented a European cosmetic company (defendant) in a patent infringement litigation filed by a Japanese individual (patent owner/plaintiff) based upon its patent concerning a cosmetic container, as well as in patent nullification proceedings at the Japan Patent Office and the IP High Court against the Japanese individual (the court did not approve the invalidity of the patent, but did not approve the infringement, and dismissed the plaintiff’s claim)
• represented a European manufacturer of chemical products (patent owner/plaintiff) in patent infringement litigation against a Japanese manufacturer (defendant) concerning dental restoration material, and patent nullification proceedings filed by the defendant (the court upheld the validity of the patent, but did not approve the infringement)
• represented an affiliate of a Japanese semi-conductor manufacturer (patent owner/plaintiff) in patent infringement litigation seeking infringement of sale of machines and compensation for damages against a competing manufacturer (defendant) concerning machinery used for manufacturing semiconductor chips (settlement agreement was reached before the court)

2006 – 2009　Supreme Court, Legal Training and Research Institute of Japan Professor (Civil Procedures)

1993 – 1996　Supreme Court, Legal Training and Research Institute of Japan, Assistant Professor (Civil Procedures)

• Represented a Korean smartphone app development and distribution company (defendant) in patent infringement litigation and multiple preliminary injunction proceedings filed by a Korean company (patent owner/plaintiff) based upon its smartphone software-related patents, as well as serving as a representative in patent nullification proceedings at the Japan Patent Office against the Korean company (the court delivered a verdict of non-infringement for one petition and the plaintiff withdrew all the petitions).
• Represented a European cosmetics company (plaintiff) in litigation seeking a declaratory judgment of non-infringement of patent, an injunction of false statements of injunction, and compensation for damages. Also represented the cosmetics company in patent nullification proceedings at the Japan Patent Office and the IP High Court against a small Japanese company (patent holder/defendant) who alleged that the European cosmetic company was infringing upon its cosmetics container patent (the court did not recognize the invalidity of the patent, but declared non-infringement, and ordered the payment of compensation for damages).

“New Employee Invention Regulation in Japan after 2016 Amendments” (Newsletter August of Preu Bohlig & Partner) February 2017

“License Agreements with U.S. Companies: Provisions Which Japanese Companies Should Carefully Consider – With a Focus on Provisions Regarding Infringement and Intellectual Property under Japanese and U.S. Law.” (the Japan Pharmaceutical Industry Legal Affairs Association’s Study Group on International Issues) December 2017

“Patent Infringement Litigation in Japan“ (Japanese-German Business Association, “Intellectual Property in Japan”) October 2017

“Patent Infringement Litigation in Japan” (Seminar with Preu Bohlig & Partner, “Current Development in Intellectual Property in Japan and Germany”) October 2017

• Responsible for lawsuits on behalf of European and Japanese companies calling for Japanese firms to stop selling products that copied the forms of products sold by the represented companies based on the Unfair Competition Prevention Act.
• Was responsible for a lawsuit on behalf of a European company calling for a Japanese firm selling products that were slightly altered versions of the European company’s products to stop selling/destroy said products based on the infringement of copyright law.
• Represented a European company in procedures involving a Japanese firm that used as the name of its retail establishments an identical or similar trademark as that held by the European firm and instituted a lawsuit based on copyright law and the Unfair Competition Prevention Act calling for the suspension of use of said name.
• Represented a European company regarding the names of products being considered for sale in Japan in negotiations with a copyright holder who held trademark rights in the same field.
• Represented a European artist in negotiations with a Japanese firm that sold goods featuring illustrations of the artist’s work, conclusion of a licensing contract (extension) relating to the use of copyrighted material.

“Legal Consulting for Trademarks I”　(Seirin-shoin, co-author) September 2017

“Introduction to Trademark License Agreements” (Workshop of Japan Patent Attorneys Association, Kanto Branch) 2016

“Overview of Recent IP-related Court Precedents (Trademark Law)” (IP-related Workshop of Japan Bar Association) 2016

・2007 (Ne) 10034 Patent Infringement Injunction Appeal (September 10, 2007)

・2009 (Gyo-ke) Request for Rescission 10170 (May 10, 2010)

“Patent Strategy and the Trend in Developing Technologies for Drug Modalities” (The Technical Information Institute Co., Ltd., pp. 549-555, Co-author: Hiroshi Morita, etc.) May 31, 2019.

“4 Global Business Expansion and IP Management in the Pharmaceutical Industry” (“Institute of Intellectual Property Forum, 2015, Spring, Vol. 101, Special Feature: “Japanese Company Overseas Business Expansion and IP Strategies/ Issues and Responses in IP Negotiations” pp. 4-7, Institute of Intellectual Property) 2015.

“From the Ground Up: The Latest IP Information Related to Pharmaceutical Patents such as the China/Taiwan Patent Linkage System”(Johokiko Co., Ltd) August 2018.

“Employee Inventions in Germany and Japan” (EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation) 2016.

• While working for one of the leading precision machine manufacturers, handled litigation rescinding a trial decision at the IP High Court regarding three of the manufacturer’s patent applications which were nullified in oppositions. Drafted a brief and won a judgment upholding our claim with regard to one of the three cases.
• Represented a defendant in an invalidation trial regarding a patent held by a molding apparatus manufacturer. Drafted all related documents including the written answer, and won a decision rejecting the demand.
• Represented a defendant in two invalidation trials concerning patents held by a vehicle equipment manufacturer. Drafted all related documents including the written answer, and won a decision rejecting the demand in both cases.

• Joined a patent infringement lawsuit tried in Tokyo district court as an assistant to the plaintiff, a German electrical device manufacturer.
• Joined a patent infringement lawsuit tried in Tokyo district court as an assistant to the plaintiff, a Japanese electrical device manufacturer
• Represented several German applicants in a suit for canceling a trial decision of refusal.
• Represented a German patent holder in a suit for canceling a trial decision of non-invalidation

• Provided expertise in a dispute between a European machine part manufacturer (represented by Sonderhoff & Einsel) and a Japanese company (patentee) who claimed that the manufacturer was infringing on patent rights related to a valve structure.
• Resolved a dispute between a European sporting goods manufacturer (represented by Sonderhoff & Einsel) and a Japanese company (patentee) who claimed that the manufacturer was infringing on patent rights related to the structure of a snowboard binding.
• Helped resolve a dispute between a European machine parts manufacturer (patentee, represented by Sonderhoff & Einsel) and a European company who claimed that its patent rights related to the structure of a torque converter were invalid.
• Handled dispute resolution between a European multi-tool manufacturer (patentee, represented by Sonderhoff & Einsel) and a Japanese company who infringed on the patent rights of the manufacturer’s multi-tool structure.

Eight suits against appeal/trial decisions, two patent infringement litigations, four license negotiations

・represented a European automotive/power tool manufacturer (Patentee) in a provision for patent infringement litigation while assisting in license engagement negotiation. This assistance led to a successful conclusion of a license engagement after convincing a licensee (a Japanese major electronics manufacturer) that it would not prevail in patent infringement litigation.

・represented a European automotive/power tool manufacturer, a European electronics manufacturer, and a Canadian communication equipment developer in several cases of suit regarding appeals/trial decisions at the IP High Court.

“Basic knowledge of Intellectual property 1” Textbook for Sangyo nouritsu University correspondence course (Sanno Institute of Management), coauthor, 2006

• (Publications) Section 11 IT Company Tasks and Trademarks”, (Intellectual Property and the Law: Business Models and Compliance Program Framework, Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, Co-author: Saori Maekawa), August, 2004

• (Lectures) “Trademark Inventory” (Japan Trademark Association (JTA)) July 10th, 2019

Litigation case No. 2006 (Gyo-ke) 10094

Litigation case No. 2008 (Gyo-ke) 10367

Invalidation trial No. 2010-800149

Invalidation trial No. 2013-800073

Many opposition cases

As a patent attorney assisting attorneys-at-law, represented a Korean IT venture company in three provisional dispositions.  These three cases ended due to withdrawal by the obligee.

Represented the same Korean IT venture company (appellee) in a patent infringement litigation as a patent attorney assisting attorneys-at-law.