Attorneys
Eiichiro Kubota
Mr. Eiichiro Kubota is the founder and Managing Partner of the firm.Mr. Kubota studied at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Tokyo. He qualified as a lawyer in 1991 and as a patent attorney in 1993. Between 1991 and 1994 he worked at Nakamura & Partners. In 1994, Mr. Kubota established Kubota Patent and Law Office. He has been a partner of Hogan Lovells leading the Japan Practice from 2008 to 2015. Since qualifying, Mr. Kubota's practice has centered around IP litigation, particularly patent and trademark litigation, and related matters such as advising on infringement and invalidity. He has a wide range of experience in other IP related areas such as licensing, and he has also developed expertise in areas including regulatory, general commercial transactions and dispute resolution, bankruptcy, and general technology-related legal issues.
Yusuke Inui
Mr. Yusuke Inui is a Partner of the firm, is an attorney-at-law and a patent attorney qualified in Japan, and is also admitted to the New York Bar.After graduating from the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Law, he was admitted to the Japanese Bar in 2003 and also qualified as a Japanese patent attorney in 2006. He worked at Kubota Patent Law Office from 2003 to 2007. He studied at the New York University School of Law from 2007 and obtained an LL.M. degree in 2008, and then worked until 2009 at the New York Office of Lovells (currently Hogan Lovells). He was admitted to the New York Bar in 2009. After coming back to Japan, he worked at Hogan Lovells Tokyo Office as a member of the Japan Practice team from 2009 to 2015, until he left Hogan Lovells and joined KUBOTA.
Masahito Imai
Mr. Masahito Imai is a Partner of the firm and is an attorney-at-law and a patent attorney qualified in Japan.Mr. Imai graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Tokyo in 2001, and registered as an attorney-at-law in Japan in 2004. Mr. Imai joined Kubota Law Office established by Mr. Kubota in 2006 and has been working at Hogan Lovells from 2008 to 2015. Mr. Imai obtained an LL.M. degree after studying at the Munich Intellectual Property Law Centre (MIPLC) in 2011. In the same year, Mr. Imai worked as an intern at the Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market (OHIM) engaging in trademark examination. Since starting his career as an attorney-at-law, Mr. Imai specializes in IP cases (e.g. patents and trademarks) in various industries such as telecommunication, household products, pharmaceutical and medical devices industries. In addition, Mr. Imai's legal service covers an extensive range of general commercial matters (contentious and non-contentious), especially, matters relating to bankruptcy, regulatory (e.g. pharmaceutical area and automotive area), product liability, labelling and labour.
Kiyoko Nakaoka
Ms. Kiyoko Nakaoka is an attorney-at-law and a patent attorney qualified in Japan.After graduating from the Chemistry Department of the Faculty of Science at Tokyo Science University in 2001, Ms. Kiyoko Nakaoka spent ten years working as a patent engineer for Hitachi, Ltd. Her main tasks included prosecution of patent applications relating to electronic devices including digital cameras, Televisions, and IC cards, negotiation of licensing semiconductor patents, and preparation of patent litigations. She passed the patent attorney examination in 1997. She graduated with a Juris Doctor degree from Waseda Law School in 2007. After one year legal training, she was registered as a lawyer in December 2008, and worked at the Tokyo Office of Hogan Lovells as a member of the Japan Practice team from January 2009 through April 2015, until she left Hogan Lovells and joined KUBOTA.
Emiko Yano
After graduating from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Kyoto University in 1984, Ms. Yano joined Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and was involved in biopharmaceutical research and drug discovery at the Molecular Biology Research Department. From 1991, she moved to the Patent section and worked on patent prosecution, in-licensing evaluation, contract review and patent litigation especially in the biotechnology field. Ms. Yano registered as a patent attorney in 1996. From April 2011 to March 2016, she served as a group leader (Executive Director) of the First Group at the Intellectual Property Department of Astellas Pharma Co., Ltd. She joined KUBOTA from April 2017.
Chiaki Kato
Ms. Chiaki Kato is a trademark attorney qualified in Japan.Ms. Kato graduated from Meiji University, Faculty of Law, and Waseda Graduate School of Law. After working as an artist promoter in a Japanese music entertainment company, she was registered as a trademark attorney in 1995 and worked for Nakamura & Partners from 1996 to 2014. She passed the exam for qualification to represent parties in infringement actions in 2006. She joined KUBOTA in September 2015.
Rika Yamazaki
Ms. Rika Yamazaki is an attorney-at-law qualified in California.After graduating from the University of Kyoto, Faculty of Law, in 2009, Ms. Yamazaki studied at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Boalt Hall) and obtained an LL.M. degree in 2011. She worked as an intern at 3 different local law firms in Shanghai, including King and Wood (currently as King & Wood Mallesons), working on corporate or regulatory matters regarding Japanese clients. She was admitted to the State Bar of California in 2013. After coming back to Japan, she worked at Hogan Lovells Tokyo Office mainly on overseas IP matters from 2012 to 2015, thereafter she joined KUBOTA.
Tomoko Honami
Ms. Tomoko Honami is an attorney-at-law qualified in Japan. She graduated from the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Letters in 2009 (Bachelor of Arts, Sociology) and the University of Tokyo Graduate School for Law and Politics in 2011 (Juris Doctor). Having passed the bar exam in 2011, she has been qualified as a lawyer since March 2013. Before joining KUBOTA, she worked at law firms in Tokyo, handling general corporate matters. She thereafter joined KUBOTA in December 2016. She obtained an LLM in Intellectual Property Law from Queen Mary University of London in 2023.
Yuichiro Suzuki
Mr. Yuichiro Suzuki is an attorney-at-law and Patent Attorney qualified in Japan. Mr. Suzuki graduated from the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Engineering in 2011 (Bachelor of Engineering), and graduated with a Juris Doctor degree from Chiba University Graduate School for Law in 2013. After one year of legal training, he was registered as a lawyer in December 2014. He worked at Takahashi Yuichiro Law Office in Tokyo, handling patent litigation cases and more than 200 patent prosecution cases. He thereafter joined KUBOTA in February 2018.
Kazunari Horiuchi
Mr. Kazunari Horiuchi is an attorney-at-law and Patent Attorney qualified in Japan. Mr. Horiuchi graduated from Keio University, Faculty of Pharmacy in 2012 (Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Sciences), and graduated with a Juris doctor degree from Chiba University Graduate School for Law in 2014. After one year of legal training, he registered as a lawyer in December 2016. He worked at Takahashi Yuichiro Law Office in Tokyo, handling patent (mainly, machinery, software and pharmaceutical products), trademark and design prosecution, patent litigation and drafting opinion and contracts. He registered as a Patent attorney in 2018. He joined KUBOTA in February 2019.
Kota Yamada
Mr. Yamada graduated from the Seikei University, Faculty of Law in 2016 (Bachelor of Laws), and graduated with a Juris Doctor degree from Waseda University Graduate School for Law in 2018. After one year of legal training, he was registered as a lawyer in December 2019. He thereafter joined KUBOTA in January 2020.
Wakana Furuhashi
Ms. Furuhashi graduated from the Tokyo University, Faculty of Law in 2016 (Bachelor of Laws), and graduated with a Juris Doctor degree from Tokyo University Graduate School for Law and Politics, Faculty of Law in 2019. After one year of legal training, she registered as a lawyer in December 2022. She thereafter joined KUBOTA in January 2023.