Sonoda & Kobayashi IP Law is ranked The Trademark Lawyer Magazine Award Winning Law Firm 2026 and listed in The Global IP directory of The Patent Lawyer Magazine.
Read the full profile by clicking here.
Sonoda & Kobayashi IP Law is ranked among the top firms in Asia for the prosecution and enforcement of IP rights and recommended by IAM Patent 1000 2026 for offering a unique combination of professional expertise and cosmopolitan awareness.
Dr. Yoshitaka Sonoda, Managing Partner, is also ranked among the top Patent Prosecutors and recommended by IAM Patent 1000.
Read the full profile by clicking the below links.
IAM Patent 1000: Firm, Individual
Wataru Otani presented a seminar, jointly organized with the Capital Intellectual Property Association of China, titled “Tips for Prosecuting Software Invention Patents (including AI-related Inventions) in Japan.” He discussed drafting standards for software patents in Japan, examination trends in the AI field, differences between Japan and China in evaluating inventive step, and the examination approaches for AI-related patent grants in Japan.
Click here for details.
We are pleased to announce the opening of our Kyushu branch office in Fukuoka, Kyushu. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions with regards to our new branch in Kyushu, and our team will be happy to help.
This autumn, the trademark experts from Sonoda & Kobayashi are pleased to present you with a series of three dedicated webinars.
In this series, you will learn:
…and much more.
These webinars are scheduled for:
Click here for the detail.
Sonoda & Kobayashi IP Law is ranked among the top firms in Asia for the prosecution and enforcement of IP rights and recommended by IAM Patent 1000 2025 for offering a unique combination of professional expertise and cosmopolitan awareness.
Dr. Yoshitaka Sonoda, Managing Partner, is also ranked among the top Patent Prosecutors and recommended by IAM Patent 1000.
Read the full profile by clicking the below links.
IAM Patent 1000 : Firm
IAM Patent 1000 : Individual
We are pleased to announce that Keiko Shishida became a partner of the firm as of June 1, 2025.
We are pleased to announce that Sonoda & Kobayashi has been featured in a special issue of The Japan Times focusing on German-Japan business partnership.
Click here for the detail.
We are pleased to announce the new location of Sonoda & Kobayashi IP Group (Beijing). Our new address follows:
Beijing Fortune Bldg., Suite 804-805
5 Dong San Huan Bei Lu Chaoyang District
Beijing 100027, China
Tel: +86-10-6592-4958
Click here for details.
Youko Nagatomo was appointed to the Director of Nippon Intellectual Property Translation Association in July, 2024.
