History
YUASA and HARA was established by ex-Judge Toyotaro Yuasa in 1902. His son, Dr. Kyozo Yuasa, who studied in the UK and qualified as Barrister-at-Law, started his career in Japan in the 1920s and engaged in many international legal and IP cases for major banks and enterprises in Europe and the US from the early 1940s onwards. International activities continued to increase after the office was moved from Osaka to Tokyo in 1947.
Below is a chronological glance at YUASA and HARA’s growth over the past 110 years.
1902 | Ex-judge Toyotaro Yuasa establishes “Yuasa Law Office” in Osaka. |
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1924 | Dr. Kyozo Yuasa goes to the UK to study law. |
1927 | Dr. Kyozo Yuasa qualifies as a barrister and comes back to Japan in the following year. |
1929 | Dr. Kyozo Yuasa registers as a patent attorney to start IP filing services in addition to international legal services. |
1945 | Dr. Kyozo Yuasa is appointed counsel to General Headquarters, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (GHQ/SCAP). |
1947 | The office is moved from Osaka to Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. |
1951 | Ex-assistant professor of Tokyo University Hiroshi Kawai joins the firm as attorney-at-law. An ex-legal director of the Closed Institutions Liquidating Commission (CILC), Yoshikatsu Sakamoto, joins the firm as attorney-at-law. |
1953 | Dr. Kyozo Yuasa wins loan contracts from the World Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Washington for funds for postwar reconstruction of the nation’s key industries. |
1958 | The firm changes its name to “Yuasa and Sakamoto Law & Patent Office” and becomes a partnership. |
1959 | Ex-director general of the JPO appeals department, Mitsuya Ikenaga, joins the firm as a patent attorney, and the Patent Division becomes a separate department. |
around 1960 | Patent litigation cases handled by the firm drastically increase. |
1963 | The firm changes its English name to “Yuasa, Sakamoto, Kawai and Ikenaga.” |
1965 | A certified public accountant, Akira Kagawa, a former government official of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, joins the firm and the Accounting Division is established. |
1967 | An ex-judge of the Tokyo High Court, Masuji Hara, joins the firm. |
1969 | Dr. Kyozo Yuasa becomes the President of Japan Patent Attorneys Association (JPAA). He also calls for establishment of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association (APAA) and is elected as the 1st President thereof. |
1970 | An ex-judge, Shigeru Ogiso, joins the firm after a career at the Ministry of Justice. |
1971 | Attorney-at-law Yoshikatsu Sakamoto resigns to become a judge of the Supreme Court. |
1972 | The firm changes its Japanese name to “Yuasa & Hara Law & Patent Office”. The English name has been “Yuasa and Hara” since then. |
1983 | An ex-director general of the JPO Appeals Department, Ichio Shamoto, joins the firm and becomes the chief partner of the Patent Division. |
1991 | The firm changes its Japanese name to “Yuasa Law & Patent Office” after the passing of attorney-at-law Masuji Hara. |
1998 | The Trademark & Design Division separates from the Patent Division. An ex-judge of the Tokyo High Court, Toshiaki Makino, joins the firm. |
2002 | The 100th anniversary ceremony is held in Tokyo, Japan and the U.S. |
2005 | An ex-deputy commissioner of the JPO, Shinjiro Ono, joins the firm and becomes the chief partner of the Patent Division. |
2014 | An ex-chief judge of the IP High Court, Toshiaki Iimura, joins the firm. |
Telephone
+81(3)3270-6641