Litigation

Japan has always had a reputation for being stingy when it came to the damages awarded to victims of patent infringement. However, due to the efforts of recent years to keep up with the international status quo, the damages awarded in successful litigation suits have been on the rise. This has caused companies holding Japanese intellectual property rights to become more and more assertive in the enforcement of their intellectual property rights.

When the client is not a Japanese company, it is crucial for the arguments of the client company to be expressed fully and concisely to the Japanese courts. However, this can often be difficult for Japanese attorneys representing foreign clients because this involves standing in the shoes of a person with a different cultural background. Thus, a good attorney must be capable of switching between different modes of thinking. In view of the ever-increasing importance which will be placed on enforcement of intellectual property rights, we at Sonoda & Kobayashi will place full responsibility for all litigation cases in the hands of a team consisting of a patent attorney specializing in the relevant technology, a legal counsel (attorney-at-law) specializing in litigation, and other experts as necessary, a team capable of understanding the concerns of the client and accurately relaying these concerns to the courts. This combination of communication skills and legal expertise can be a powerful weapon when handling litigation cases.