Abe, Ikubo & Katayama

Chairman: Eiji Katayama
Managing Partners: Hisashi Ito, Junichi Kitahara, Kazuyuki Taguchi, Makoto Hattori, Mami Hino
Number of partners: 48
Number of lawyers: 83
Languages: Chinese, English, French, Japanese

PRACTICE AREAS:
■ Artificial Intelligence
■ Antitrust
■ Compliance
■ Corporate/M&A
■ Corporate Investigations
■ Dispute Resolution/Litigation
■ Intellectual Property
■ Labour & Employment
■ Pharma/Life Science
■ Restructuring/Insolvency

Firm Overview:
Abe, Ikubo & Katayama (also known as AIK) is one of the Japan’s leading law firms, providing comprehensive legal services to both domestic and international clients. Founded in 1959, the firm has accumulated vast knowledge and experience in almost all legal areas to meet the demands of the firm’s clients.

Main Areas of Practice: 

Artificial Intelligence:
Number of partners: 4
Number of fee earners: 10
■ Patent prosecutions on AI
■ Module agreements specialised in developing artificial intelligence for clients
Contact Name: Makoto Hattori
Tel: +81 3 3273 2600
Email: [email protected]

Antitrust:
Number of partners: 2
Number of fee earners: 3
■ Variety of cases including cases involved in both antitrust and intellectual property
Contact Name: Masahiro Otsuki
Tel: +81 3 3273 2600
Email: [email protected]

Compliance:
Number of partners: 6
Number of fee earners: 10
■ Support in redesigning of corporate internal control and compliance system to meet best practice
Contact Name: Makoto Hattori
Tel: +81 3 3273 2600
Email: [email protected]

Corporate/M&A:
Number of partners: 9
Number of fee earners: 15
■ Daily advice for more than 400 Japanese corporation clients of various sizes in various fields
■ Comprehensive advice on and support for mid-size M&A, business transfer, company breakups, share changes as well as due diligence
Contact Name: Hirokazu Honda
Tel: +81 3 3273 2600
Email: [email protected]

Corporate Investigations:
Number of partners: 3
Number of fee earners: 8
■ Various types of corporate investigations
Contact Name: Masahiro Otsuki
Tel: +81 3 3273 2600
Email: [email protected]

Dispute Resolution/Litigation:
Number of partners: 31
Number of fee earners: 40
■ Representation of clients in a variety of commercial disputes, e.g.,debt recovery, civil preservation, and enforcement
Contact Name: Hirokazu Honda
Tel: +81 3 3273 2600
Email: [email protected]

Intellectual Property:
Number of partners: 25
Number of fee earners: 50
■ Representation of Fuji Film in a successful patent infringement suit against Sony based on a patent directed to recording medium
■ Representation of a manufacturer of semiconductor manufacturing tools in a cross-border patent litigation
■ Filing more than 1300 applications (patent, trademark, design) in 2021
■ Approximately 100 PTE applications for pharmaceutical corporations in 2021
■ Advising corporation clients in various fields on patent strategy
■ Opinion on patent infringement and/or patent validity
■ Seminar on patent law for client’s employees
Key Clients: Apple, Novartis, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Dow Chemical, Dow AgroScience, Johnson & Johnson, Takeda, Astellas, Eisai, Daiichi Sankyo, Komatsu
Contact Name: Eiji Katayama
Tel: +81-3-3273-2600
Email: [email protected]

Labour & Employment:
Number of partners: 3
Number of fee earners: 5
■ Advise Japanese corporation on labour law
Contact Name: Naho Ebata
Tel: +81-3-3273-2600
Email: [email protected]

Pharma/Life Science:
Number of partners: 8
Number of fee earners: 12
■ Representation of Eli Lilly in defending its patent directed to a dose and administration of pemetrexed
■ Representation of Novartis in defending its patent covering its important product
■ Representation of NIH in defending its patent covering its licensee’s important product
■ Filing important patents in life science area for many innovative pharmaceutical companies
■ Approximately 100 PTE applications for pharmaceutical corporations in 2021
■ Advising on patent strategy and drug exclusivity
■ Advising on research ethics, conflicts of interest, anti-trust law
■ Pre-adjustment communication with generic companies
■ Opinion on patent infringement, patent validity and drug exclusivity
Key Clients: Novartis, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Takeda, Astellas, Eisai, Daiichi Sankyo
Contact Name: Mami Hino
Tel: +81 3 3273 2600
Email: [email protected]

Restructuring/Insolvency:
Number of partners: 13
Number of fee earners: 17
■ All facets of legal insolvency and restructuring procedures as counsel or court-appointed administrator for petitioner company
■ Representation of debtor companies and advise them for the Small & Medium Enterprises Revitalization Support Council to help numerous small and mid-size companies with restructuring and business succession by utilizing various procedures available from the Support Council
Contact Name: Eiji Katayama
Tel: +81 3 3273 2600
Email: [email protected]