On Friday, November 6, 2026, Kenshi Takenaka, Vice President and Patent Attorney of our firm, served as the lecturer at an intellectual property practice seminar organized by the Tokai Branch of the Nanko Patent Attorneys Club. The seminar was held in a hybrid format, combining in-person attendance at the Nagoya Chamber of Commerce and Industry (in the conference room of the Japan Patent Attorneys Association Tokai Branch) with online participation via Zoom.

 

The seminar was entitled “Practice of Actions for Rescission of JPO Trial/Appeal Decisions in Patent Cases for Patent Attorneys: Insights from a Former Judicial Research Official at the Intellectual Property High Court for Those Representing Clients in Court for the First Time”.

 

Actions for rescission of JPO trial/appeal decisions are among the few types of litigation in Japan in which patent attorneys may represent clients on their own, without co-representation by an attorney-at-law.

 

Focusing primarily on patent cases, the seminar provided a chronological overview of both ex parte cases (actions against decisions rendered in appeals against examiners’ decisions of refusal, etc.) and inter partes cases (actions against decisions rendered in trials for invalidation, etc.), covering the procedures from taking on a case and filing a complaint to asserting grounds for rescission, oral argument, and the steps to be taken after the judgment.

 

Drawing on his experience as a Judicial Research Official at the Intellectual Property High Court, Mr. Takenaka also discussed how to write briefs with the court as the reader in mind..

 

The seminar is also featured on the X (formerly Twitter) account of the Tokai Branch of the Nanko Patent Attorneys Club.

 

For more information about Judicial Research Officials at the Intellectual Property High Court, please also see the article “Roles and Duties of Judicial Research Officials at the Intellectual Property High Court“.

Our firm will continue to share practical knowledge and insights on intellectual property matters through activities such as these, while striving to apply the experience gained to further enhance the services we provide to our clients.