Attorneys

Masahiro Asamura
Senior Managing Partner
Patent Attorney
Attorney at Law

Masahiro Asamura is Managing Partner at ASAMURA IP P.C..  and also represents Asamura Law Offices.
As a patent attorney, Mr. Asamura was first assigned to our firm’s Chemical Patent Department, where he handled chemical-related domestic and overseas patent applications (including foods, polymers, synthetic fibers, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology). Later, when Japan adopted the new law school system, he joined Waseda Law School, and became a lawyer by successfully passing the bar examination and then completing his legal apprenticeship at Kagoshima District Court. After registering as a lawyer, Mr. Asamura worked as an associate for two years at Nagashima & Hashimoto, where he focused on foreign and domestic patent disputes and other related legal work.
In 2011, he returned to ASAMURA IP P.C.. and established Asamura Law Offices, which is linked with the main firm.
Besides the management of ASAMURA IP P.C., as a patent attorney and lawyer, Mr. Asamura is currently teamed up with patent attorneys working at ASAMURA IP P.C.  in a wide range of areas. These include consultations about disputes related to patents, trademarks, designs, and copyrights as well as the Unfair Competition Prevention Act and similar areas, inter-party trials (invalidation trials and trials for cancellation), litigation rescinding trial decisions (ex parte, inter partes), warning letter correspondence, negotiations, cross-border injunctions, and litigation.

Mr. Asamura studied a wide range of materials at the Department of Materials Science in Chiba University’s Faculty of Engineering, from organic materials and high-polymer materials to inorganic materials. He also researched macrocyclic compound synthesis in the university laboratory.
As a master’s degree student at the University of Edinburgh, he researched a method for quantitative analyzing iron components in soil. Then at Lancaster University, he researched a method for analyzing compositional changes in fumaric acid and fulvic acid by soil depth.
Mr. Asamura has served as a member of the Japan Patent Attorneys Association’s Amicus Brief Committee (2011-2013), and as a member of the Association’s Intellectual Property Litigation Committee (2013 – 2014) where he was involved in examining court cases as well as the Japanese litigation system as related to intellectual property.

Education
BSc in Material Science, Chiba University, March 1996
MSc in Environmental Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, October 1997
MRes in Environmental Science with Distinction, Lancaster University, October 1998
J.D., Waseda University　Law School, March 2007

Professional career
ASAMURA IP P.C.(Chemical Department) (April 1999 – October 2007)
Trainee, Legal Training and Research Institute of Japan, Supreme Court of Japan (November 2007 – December 2008)
Nagashima & Hashimoto (January 2009 – December 2012)
ASAMURA IP P.C. & Asamura Law Offices (2011)
Managing Partner of ASAMURA IP P.C.(2013)
Senior Managing Partner of ASAMURA IP P.C. (2019)

Examinations passed
Patent Attorney Examination (Selected subjects: Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Fiber Engineering) (October 2001)
National Bar Examination (Selected subject: Intellectual Property Law) (September 2007)

Registrations
Registration Number of Patent Attorney: 17295
Registration Number of Lawyer: 38807

Affiliation
Senior Managing Partner

Languages
Japanese, English

Specialty Fields
Inter-parties trials (invalidation trials and trials for cancellation), litigation rescinding trial decisions, appraisals, warning letter correspondence, license negotiations, infringement litigation, and contract drafting.
Major seminars”Latest Trends of Patent Cases in Japan: A Focus on Progressivity,” a training seminar sponsored by the Patent Attorneys Club (2013)
“Damage Calculation: Analysis of IP litigation precedents” at Training Festival held by Japan Patent Attorneys Association (May and August, 2014)
MembershipsPatent attorney association and other memberships
Member of the Japan Patent Attorneys Association (JPAA), 2001 – present
Member of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association (APAA), April 2011 – present
Member of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI), April 2011 – present
Bar Associations and Other Memberships:
Daini Tokyo Bar Association, January 2011 – present

Publications
“Q&A on Protection of Personal Information in the Social Media Age. Compiled for Daini Tokyo Bar Association” (joint-author), (Nippon Hyoron Sha Co., Ltd). (September 2012)

Hobby
Travel. Overseas dramas and movies about lawyers (The Practice, Boston Legal, The Good Wife, etc.)

Comment
ASAMURA IP P.C. has been working with patent applications in Japan and overseas for 120 years. With the opening of the Asamura Law Offices, we look forward to serving you in areas following acquisition of patent rights, including the exercise of intellectual property and dealing with disputes. I feel confident that our ability to provide our clients with a one-stop service covering the period after patent rights acquisition, will enable us to provide patent application services of an even higher quality.

Naoki Matsukawa
Associate Attorney at Law

Naoki Matsukawa joined Asamura Law Offices in 2014 where he serves as a lawyer. At the Division of Biophysical Engineering, School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Mr. Matsukawa studied a broad range of subjects, including brain science and information system engineering. For his graduation work, he was involved in the development of handwriting recognition software which utilizes a neural network. While studying at the School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Mr. Matsukawa conducted research on the visual systems of the brain (including the system which allows people to perceive objects in motion).
While employed at Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Mr. Matsukawa was involved in the development and design of communications equipment for use in plant surveillance systems and sequencer communications equipment hardware (FPGA and ASIC circuit design, PCB design, factory automatic network protocol design, etc.) He was also involved in conducting performance evaluations for communications equipment, experiments in which devices are connected to communications equipment from other manufacturers, and similar activities. Mr. Matsukawa also concluded a non-disclosure agreement when involved in joint research with another company. In addition, he has experience in sales support and providing telephone consultations for customers.

In 2012, Mr. Matsukawa passed the National Bar Examination. After completing his legal training in 2013, he joined the Daini Tokyo Bar Association in the same year.

Education
BSc in Biophysical Engineering, Osaka University, March, 1995 MSc in Physics, Osaka University, March, 1997
Completed Practical Legal Training Course, Osaka City University Law School, March, 2010

Professional career
Electric Systems Plant and Nagoya Plant, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, April 1997 – March 2007
Legal Training and Research Institute, Supreme Court of Japan (Shin-66th trainee), November 2012 – December 2013
Asamura Law Offices, January 2014 – present

Examinations passed
Passed the National Bar Examination (Selected subject: Economic Law)　September 2012

Affiliation
Asamura Law Offices

Languages 
Japanese

Specialty Fields
Inter-parties trials (invalidation trials and cancellation trials), litigation rescinding a trial decision, appraisals, warning letter correspondence, licensing negotiations, infringement litigation, and contract drafting.

Qualifications
Class I Information Technology Engineer, 1999
Digital Type I Installation Technician 2002

MembershipsBar Associations and Other Memberships:
Daini Tokyo Bar Association, December 2013 – present

Comment
I became a lawyer after working for many years as a technical employee at an electrical manufacturer. I am able to provide clients with services they can count on by leveraging both my knowledge as a former technical employee and legal knowledge. I am looking forward to working with you.