｜ Kyowa Patent and Law Office

YOSHIDA  Shoji

Background

After receiving in 1998 his Master’s degree in Engineering from the University of Tokyo, Shoji Yoshida worked for almost nine years as an engineer in the Research and Development department and in the Management department of a leading telecommunication systems company. He was then engaged in the development of optical communication apparatus, firmware and ASIC devices for a major domestic carrier. He was a member of Japan’s delegation at the International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector for four years.
After passing the Japan Patent Attorney examination in 2006, he joined Kyowa where he is involved in acquiring and maintaining of intellectual property rights in Japan and abroad.
He acted as a member of the Patent Committee of the Japan Patent Attorney Association (JPAA) in 2016 and 2017, and as a member of the Patent System Operation Consultation Board of JPAA in 2022. He belongs to the Central IP Research Institute of JPAA, and the SMEs and Startups Support Board of the Kanto JPAA in 2024. He was also appointed as technical advisor of the Intellectual Property High Court, Tokyo District Court and Osaka District Court in 2024.

MAEKAWA  Hideaki

Background

Hideaki Maekawa graduated from the Science Faculty (Chemistry) of Tokyo Institute of Technology (renamed Institute of Science Tokyo) in 1983, and from the Chemistry Department master’s program of the same university’s Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Science and Engineering in 1985. He joined a photographic manufacturer, where he was involved in elemental research and product development of highly-sensitive negative films and rapid-processing photographic paper for about seven years.
He joined Kyowa Patent and Law Office in 1992, after which he obtained his qualifications as a patent attorney. At Kyowa, he has worked in a variety of areas, including assisting Japanese and overseas clients to file patent applications and acquire rights, providing expert opinions and comments, arguing patent invalidation trials, and lodging oppositions to grant of patent. He has presented at patent-related seminars at the request of Japanese clients.

KOJIMA  Kazumasa

Background

In 2003, Kazumasa Kojima joined a prefectural government office after graduating from the Science Faculty (Chemistry) of Tokyo Institute of Technology (renamed Institute of Science Tokyo). Assigned to a food laboratory, he worked in food products composition analysis, development of functional food products, and development of food packaging materials for four years. During this time, he passed the patent attorney’s examination (2006).
He joined Kyowa Patent and Law Office in 2007, where he assists clients with IP services, with a focus on rights acquisition in Japan and overseas. His clients include Japanese and overseas companies, including food companies, consumer goods businesses, general chemical companies, and oil and energy companies, as well as government agencies. In addition to rights acquisition, he has a wealth of experience in areas such as expert opinions, invalidation trials, opposition claims, and appeals against trial decisions.
In recent years, he has handled numerous dispute cases in collaboration with Kyowa attorneys at law with chemistry background.

SUZUKI  Hiroyasu

Background

Hiroyasu Suzuki graduated from the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences) in 1994. Upon completing its master’s course in 1996, he joined a patent firm specialized in biotechnology. He passed the patent attorney’s examination in 1998. After working at a major patent and law firm and others, he joined Kyowa Patent and Law Office in 2014. He assists clients with IP services, with a focus on rights acquisition in Japan and overseas. His clients include Japanese and overseas companies, such as pharmaceutical manufacturers, general chemical manufacturers, food manufacturers, and metal material manufacturers. Apart from rights acquisition, he is involved in expert opinion preparation, invalidation trials, and opposition claims in collaboration with attorneys at law at Kyowa.

ENDO  Kosuke

Background

Kosuke Endo graduated from Tohoku University’s Faculty of Science (Department of Biology) in 1997. After completing the master’s program of the Department of Biology of the same university’s Graduate School of Science, he worked for a food manufacturer where he spent seven years working in the pharmaceutical R&D division, focusing on the production of peptides from micro-organisms and the development of preparations from peptide pharmaceuticals.
He then joined the Japan Patent Office, where he worked for seven years as a fixed-term examiner analyzing patent applications in biotechnology and for oral preparations, adhesive preparations, genetic therapy drugs, other pharmaceutical products, cosmetic products, and food products.
He joined Kyowa Patent and Law Office in 2013, where he works on filing applications for Japanese and overseas companies in fields such as food production, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, oil and energy, rights acquisition procedures, and applications for the extension of term of patent rights.

NAKASHIMA  Shingo

Background

In 2009, Shingo Nakashima graduated from Tohoku University’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Department of Pharmacy) and registered as a pharmacist. After completing the master's program in the Life and Pharmaceutical Sciences Major of the same university’s Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2011, he took up employment at a pharmaceutical manufacturer where he worked eight years in the research, development, and manufacture of therapeutic drugs for skin diseases, primarily helping to bring acne treatments to market. While working here, he passed the patent attorney’s examination in 2018.
He joined Kyowa Patent and Law Office the following year, where he assists various Japanese and overseas clients, including pharmaceutical manufacturers, cosmetics manufacturers, and food manufacturers, with IP operations, with a focus on rights acquisition.

SUZUKI  Takanori

Background

Takanori Suzuki graduated from the Tokyo Metropolitan University’s Faculty of Urban Liberal Arts (now the Faculty of Science) in 2006, skipping the fourth year to advance to the master’s program of the university’s Graduate School of Human Health Sciences. During his master's degree, he engaged in research on food ingredients.
After completing the master’s program, he took up employment with an ICT services company in 2011, where he worked as a system engineer in the development of control programs for chemical plants in parallel with which he studied for and passed the patent attorney’s examination (2014).
He then worked five years in rights acquisition, mainly of technical side of manufacturing daily necessities in Japan and overseas, at another patent firm, as a domestic and overseas patent prosecutor. During this time, in 2018, he passed the examination which qualifies him as a Patent Infringement Litigator in Japan.
He joined Kyowa Patent and Law Office in 2021. At Kyowa, he works in acquisition of rights, in Japan and overseas, with a focus on packaging materials.

NAKAMURA  Yusuke

Background

After graduating from Keio University’s Faculty of Law, Department of Law and from University of Tokyo Law School, Yusuke Nakamura engaged in legal and intellectual property-related work at a clothing manufacturer, during which he passed the patent attorney exam in 2018. He registered as a patent attorney in 2019 and was involved in domestic and foreign trademark application and rights acquisition business mainly for SMEs at a patent law office.
He joined Kyowa Patent and Law Office in 2021, where he is involved in domestic and foreign trademark application and rights acquisition as a member of the Trademarks section.

MUKAI  Tsubasa

Background

After receiving in 2014 his master’s degree in Engineering from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tsubasa Mukai worked for Hokuriku Electric Power Company for about three years where his main duties were maintaining communication networks for power systems and smart meter servers. In 2018 he joined Fukui Prefectural Office in 2018 where he did maintenance work for disaster prevention administrative radio and sewage treatment facilities for four years.

He passed the patent attorney’s examination in 2018. In 2022, he joined Kyowa Patent and Law Office.

NIEDA Shoji

Background

After graduating in 2013 from the Department of Economics of the University of Tokyo, Shoji Nieda enrolled in Keio University Law School. He was admitted to the bar in 2022 and worked for an Intellectual Property law firm in Kansai region.
He joined Kyowa Patent and Law Office in 2022. As an attorney at Law with a background in technology and economics, he handles infringement lawsuits against manufacturers in Japan and overseas, lawsuits against trial decisions, warning negotiations, contract-related work, expert opinions, various legal consultations, as well as trademarks, designs, copyrights, unfair competition and other general corporate legal affairs.