IP Expert

Overview

In 1987, Aki Ryuka began his career as an electrical engineer in the facsimile machines department of Canon Inc. Five years later, he joined Tani & Abe Patent Attorneys in Tokyo where he prosecuted patent applications of foreign and domestic applicants including Canon Inc. 

From 1995 to 1998, Ryuka worked in the Washington, D.C., office of U.S. firm Cushman Darby & Cushman (now Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman), where he mainly prosecuted patent applications for Japanese clients. At the same time, he established a patent firm in Japan and a translation company in the U.S., the predecessors to Ryuka IP Law Firm, facilitating business for Cushman Darby & Cushman. While in the U.S. he passed the U.S. patent bar exam. 

Since founding Ryuka IP Law Firm, now known as Ryuka & Partners, he has lectured extensively in Japan and abroad on IP topics, has published numerous articles including recently detailing the firm’s invention consulting services (Patent Visualization), and visits clients and attends conferences in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Recent work includes representing a large U.S. client in nullity trials before the Japan IP High Court and Supreme Court, together with colleagues Mr. Akashi and Mr. Takata in cooperation with Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu, and representing a large Korean client in infringement and nullity trials in cooperation with Anderson Mori & Tomotsune. 
 

Qualification: Patent Attorney (Japan), Certified to practice IP litigation in Japan, Attorney at Law, California, USA 

Practice Areas: Prosecution, licensing, litigation, opinions, and customs surveillance in the fields of Japanese patent, design and trademark law. He specializes in electronics, semiconductors, software, data communication, and radio communication. 

Education: Master of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 1987, Bachelor of Engineering, Tohoku University, 1984