Our Firm

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.
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

E-mail for Enquiries

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Section 206, Shin-Otemachi Bldg.
2-1, Otemachi 2-Chome
Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo 100-0004, Japan
Tel.81-3-3270-6641
Fax.81-3-3246-0233

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  • The contents of this site provide readers with general information and are not legal advice.
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