Ryuichi Shitara, who retired as the Chief Judge of the Intellectual Property High Court in January 2017, joined Mori Hamada & Matsumoto on February 15, 2017 in the role of special counsel.

Mr. Shitara has been involved in the practice of intellectual property right litigation at the Intellectual Property Division of the Tokyo District Court, the Intellectual Property High Court, and other courts.  He also performed a central role in international activities related to intellectual property right litigation as the Chief Judge of the Intellectual Property High Court.

By welcoming Mr. Shitara as a special counsel, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto will further endeavor to provide our clients with even higher levels of quality in legal services related to intellectual property right disputes.
 

Message from Mr. Shitara

After retiring from my role as Chief Judge of the Intellectual Property High Court of Japan as of January 26, 2017, I am honored to take on the position of Special Counsel at Mori Hamada & Matsumoto.

I have overseen intellectual property right lawsuits as a judge for a total of 22 years and six months, which includes serving a total of 14 years and nine months over four separate periods at the Intellectual Property Division of the Tokyo District Court after joining as an assistant judge in July 1979, and a total of seven years and nine months in the Intellectual Property High Court of Japan and its predecessor the Intellectual Property Division of the Tokyo High Court.  I also have a combined 13 years and six months’ experience overseeing civil cases at courts such as the Tokyo High Court and Osaka District Court during this period.  In addition, I attended international conferences in Europe and America numerous times each year and consorted in Japan with judges, lawyers, patent attorneys, and administrators involved with intellectual property from countries throughout Europe, America and Asia during my time as Chief Judge of the Intellectual Property High Court of Japan, which enabled me to share my knowledge of intellectual property right lawsuits in Japan and to receive the opportunity to learn the most recent trends and information from overseas.

In the future, I plan to make use of my knowledge and experience related to intellectual property right lawsuits accumulated during my activities as a judge and will endeavor to aid the swift and appropriate resolution of intellectual property right disputes, while also assisting the development of intellectual property right frameworks to enable swift and appropriate resolution of intellectual property right disputes through arbitration and other means.

Ryuichi Shitara, February 2017