Our new partner and director

We are pleased to announce that Harumi Kokaji became a partner of the firm and Yoko Nagatomo became a director as of April 1, 2019.

Webinar – Patents: Employee Inventions – Overview of Legal Systems and Recent Trends.

Sonoda & Kobayashi Intellectual Property Law Firm presents our latest webinar, titled ‘Patents: Overview of Legal Systems and Recent Trends’, in collaboration with the EU-Japan Technology Transfer Helpdesk and Murgitroyd’s Munich office.

 In this webinar, we will cover:

・ The basics of the different legal systems on employee inventions and remuneration in Japan and several European jurisdictions;

・ Who owns the right to an invention and how a company can take possession of an invention; What defines adequate remuneration for inventors; and

・The potential pitfalls for companies performing R&D.

 Speakers: Dr.sc. Robert Börner (Murgitroyd) and Dr. Akira Fujii (Sonoda & Kobayashi) Moderator: Luca Escoffier (EU-Japan Technology Transfer Helpdesk)

 Organiser: EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation – Brussels Office

 This webinar was held on December 17th, 2018. You can see the video from the following the link here.

Release of our promotional video

Our promotional video has been released. Please feel free to have a look at this.

Global Business Support 2018

Sonoda & Kobayashi IP Group will be running a booth (Booth #322) throughout Global Business Support 2018, taking place July 18 – 20 (Wed – Fri) at Tokyo Big Sight in Odaiba, Tokyo.

For more event details, please visit the website.

If you plan on attending, we’d be happy to mail you free tickets – just send us an e-mail.

Webinar – “Utility Models–Overview of Requirements, Procedures and Tactical Use in Europe and Japan”

Sonoda & Kobayashi Intellectual Property Law Firm is pleased to present our Webinar about “Patents: Utility Models – Overview of Requirements, Procedures and Tactical Use in Europe and Japan”, in collaboration with the EU-Japan Technology Transfer Helpdesk and Murgitroyd Munich Office.

In this webinar, we will cover the following topics:

  • Basics about filing utility model applications at the different national patent offices (procedure, time frame, requirements, costs etc)
  • How Utility Rights can be used in Enforcement
  • How to reduce costs by a tactical Use of Utility Models in your company`s IP Strategy (Japan)
  • Possibility to branch off a utility model from a pending patent application (e.g. Germany)

Speakers: Dr.sc. Robert Börner (Murgitroyd Munich Office) and Shin Akagi (Sonoda & Kobayashi)

Moderator: Luca Escoffier, EU-Japan Technology Transfer Helpdesk

Organiser: EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation – Brussels Office

This Webinar was held on June 29th, 2018.

Dr. Yoshitaka Sonoda has been ranked in IAM 1000 for patent prosecution

Ranked among the top Patent Prosecutors, Dr. Sonoda is recommended by the IAM 1000’s “The World’s Leading Patent Professionals 2018”.

Webinar –“Patents: Utility Models – Overview of Requirements, Procedures and Tactical Use in Europe, and Japan

Sonoda & Kobayashi is pleased to announce our next joint Webinar between our firm and the European firm Murgitroyd about Patents: Utility Models – Overview of Requirements, Procedures and Tactical Use in Europe, and Japan.

The Webinar is scheduled on June 29th, 2018, at 10:00 AM CET.

We would like to invite anyone who is interested in this topic to the Webinar. Please register by Thursday, 28 June, 2018, filling in the link here.

We look forward to your presence online on Friday, 29 June, 2018.

Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Sonoda & Kobayashi

Dear Valued Clients and Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce that Sonoda & Kobayashi is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year!

Our team would like to take this opportunity to thank you sincerely for your continuous support over these last two decades.

We remain dedicated to providing you with the best expertise in protecting your IP rights in Japan, and we look forward reinforcing our ties with all of you.

With warm regards.

New Sonoda &Kobayashi: YouTube Channel

Sonoda & Kobayashi now has its own YouTube Channel “Sonoda Kobayashi Patent”.

On our YouTube Channel, you will have the opportunity to watch our previous and future Webinars on new topics in Intellectual Property Law in English and soon, in Japanese too.

Please do not hesitate to subscribe. We wish you a very good viewing !

New Sonoda &Kobayashi: YouTube Channel

Video for the seminar－‘Internet of Things (IoT) and 3D printing in IP: a European/Japanese Comparative Analysis’

Sonoda & Kobayashi successfully held a seminar on March 1, 2018 addressing the topic of ‘Internet of Things (IoT) and 3D printing in IP: a European/Japanese Comparative Analysis’ in collaboration with the EU-Japan Technology Transfer Helpdesk and the Murgitroyd Munich Office.

For those who were unable to attend, this seminar is now available at the following link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxA3JKnscJw

* Please note that, due to technical difficulties, the beginning portion of the video was unable to be recorded.