Obtaining intellectual property rights such as patents / trademarks / design patents

Since its founding, AIHARA & PARTNERS (A&P) has handled a large amount of foreign as well as domestic intellectual property right (IPR) applications. To facilitate our Japanese clients’ foreign filings, we cooperate closely with carefully selected firms abroad to lead the applications to grant effectively. We also represent foreign clients for their IPR applications in Japan. To conduct these processes efficiently, we believe that, in addition to the quality of Japanese translations of application documents, it is vital for us to promote and sustain open and close communication with our clients. Over many years, this mindset and these skills have led our clients to hold us in high regard and have helped us earn their confidence.

Transfer of intellectual property rights/Licensing

In case of a company merger or company acquisition, it is common that numerous IPRs are transferred to a third party. We offer the appropriate registration services at reasonable cost. If one or more IPRs shall be subject to a licensing agreement, we will be happy to provide our assistance to prepare the transactions and negotiate an agreement based on our many years of experience.

Resolving conflicts concerning intellectual property rights

In the event of an IP conflict with a third party, we will provide our analysis (expert opinion) on whether or not an IPR is infringed by a product / an IPR is valid. For oppositions or invalidation trials, we will search for prior art (in particular Japanese-language prior art) and include our clear opinion on the relevance of the found prior art in the search report. We will also provide translations of selected parts of relevant prior art. As a matter of course, we will assist our client in case of any IPR entitlement dispute. Over many years, we have established excellent connections to attorneys-at-law with whom we cooperate effectively in court proceedings to deliver the best results for our clients. Where an out-of-court settlement is preferred, we will provide the necessary support during the settlement transactions.