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Members

Corporate IP practice.Patent practice.

Different experience and perspectives, brought together for each matter.

Profile

More than 25 yearsin each field.

Corporate IP practice, planning and operations on one side; domestic and international patent prosecution on the other. Our members bring their distinct experience and expertise to each matter as needed.

Akifumi Inoue

INVENTION / LAWInvention & Law

Akifumi Inoue

井上 彰文

Director / Representative Patent Attorney, Riz International Patent Office
Vice President, Riz Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Understand the essence of the invention,then build the rights the business needs.

Profile

For more than 25 years in the IP field, he has handled domestic and international patent filing and prosecution at patent firms. He has also worked for a pharmaceutical company and is qualified as both a patent attorney and a pharmacist. He currently also serves as an Of-Counsel Patent Attorney at IPX.

Education

Completed the Master's Program in Life Pharmaceutical Sciences, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University

Career

  • Worked for a pharmaceutical company
  • Patent Attorney at a Tokyo patent firm
  • Senior Associate Patent Attorney at IPX
  • Of-Counsel Patent Attorney at IPX
  • Director / Representative Patent Attorney, Riz International Patent Office
  • Vice President, Riz Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Primary technical fields

Pharmaceuticals and pharmacy / Biotechnology and biochemistry / Medical devices / Analytical instruments / Electronic equipment / Microfabrication / Chemicals and polymer materials / Photoresists / OLED and electronic materials, among others

Primary practice & support areas

01Invention harvesting & rights strategy
02Specifications & claims
03Domestic and foreign filings
04Prosecution & appeals

Perspectives developed through practice

  • Essence of the invention
  • Scope of rights
  • Prior art
  • Domestic and foreign filings
  • Prosecution
  • Appeals
Naoki Sugai

BUSINESS / ENTERPRISEBusiness & Enterprise

Naoki Sugai

菅井 直樹

Representative Director, Riz Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
Deputy Director, Riz International Patent Office

Support grounded infirst-hand corporate experience.

Profile

For more than 25 years, he worked in the IP departments of Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation and Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd., covering IP practice, planning and operations, and organizational management. Drawing on that in-house experience, he helps connect business, R&D and IP practice.

Education

Completed the Master's Program in Medical Sciences, University of Tsukuba

Career

  • IP Department, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
  • IP Department, Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.
  • More than 25 years in IP practice, planning and operations, and organizational management
  • Representative Director, Riz Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
  • Deputy Director, Riz International Patent Office

Primary technical fields

Chemistry (organic and inorganic) / Basic petrochemical feedstocks / Polymers and high-performance resins / Chemical plant and process design / Biomass materials / Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries and battery materials / Organic photovoltaics / Semiconductors and photoresists / OLED and electronic materials / Biotechnology and molecular biology / Pharmaceuticals and drug discovery / Agriculture and plant factories, among others

Primary practice & support areas

01R&D liaison & invention discovery support
02IP activity planning support
03Training & seminars
04IP & technology contract support
05International expansion & overseas agent coordination
06Corporate IP planning & operations

Perspectives developed through practice

  • Business objectives
  • R&D
  • Budget & priorities
  • IP function management
  • Internal collaboration
  • International matters

Founders' Message

TWO PERSPECTIVES. ONE PURPOSE.

Why we founded RiZ.

Our careers were built in different professional settings. Here, we explain why we founded RiZ and how we approach corporate IP.

Akifumi Inoue / Patent Attorney

The meaning behind the name RiZ

Making IP work for business. Looking beyond, together.

I have spent more than 25 years in patent practice.

What I have come to feel most strongly is that obtaining a patent, in itself, does not necessarily translate into business strength.

How should an invention be understood, and what scope should be secured as rights?
How can those rights be connected to the business in the years ahead?

A patent firm brings expertise in identifying the technical essence of an invention and designing the rights around it.
A company, meanwhile, has the perspective to decide how IP should be used in light of the realities of its business, market, competitors and R&D.

These two perspectives should not operate separately.
Only when they come together within the same matter can IP truly be turned into business strength.

That conviction led to the creation of RiZ.

At RiZ, two specialist organizations—Riz International Patent Office and Riz Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.—work together under one brand.

From the corporate IP perspective, we look ahead to the objectives and future of the business and consider what should be protected.
Then, through the expertise of patent attorneys, we translate those decisions into concrete rights.

We want companies to remain the decision-makers, draw on the expertise they need, and build IP that contributes to the business.
That is the form of support we aim to provide.

The name RiZ also carries the idea of “Rise”—progress and growth.

Each letter also expresses part of our philosophy.

R is Revolution.
To reshape the conventional model of IP support.

i is Integration.
To bring together the business perspective with expertise in invention and law.

Z is Zenith.
To turn IP into business strength and help corporate value reach new heights.

Transform IP support, integrate two areas of expertise, and help corporate value reach new heights.

And to grow together with our clients.

That is what we have put into the name RiZ.

Making IP work for business.
Together, we aim to go further.

Riz International Patent Office
Akifumi Inoue, Director / Representative Patent Attorney

Signature of Akifumi Inoue

Naoki Sugai / Corporate IP

Making IP work for the business.

There is a kind of support that can only come from having worked inside a company. That experience is where this idea began.

Throughout my years in corporate IP, one thing stood out to me: too often, IP misses the moment when it could create the greatest value and is not used fully for the business.

The many concerns that arise in day-to-day corporate practice are a reflection of that reality.

One reason is the conventional division of roles: the company thinks about the business, while the patent firm handles filing and prosecution. In that structure, business objectives and rights strategy are not always connected closely enough.

A company understands the realities of its business and organization. A patent firm brings the expertise to identify the essence of an invention, design the rights and protect them legally. These perspectives should not work in isolation; they should overlap within the same matter.

RiZ was created to bridge that gap.

We engage in ongoing dialogue with companies, start from the business objective, and build the IP that is actually needed. We also look ahead to how it will be used, with the aim of contributing to the business itself.

The name RiZ echoes “Rise”—progress and growth—and expresses our wish to create greater value with companies and move toward the future together.

Making IP work for the business.
That is what RiZ means to me.

Riz Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
Naoki Sugai, Representative Director

Signature of Naoki Sugai

One matter, different perspectives

One matter,
different perspectives.

INVENTION & LAW

Invention & Law

We consider the invention's features, prior art, scope of rights and legal outlook.

ONE MATTER
BUSINESS & ENTERPRISE

Business & Enterprise

We consider business objectives, the competitive environment, budget, priorities and internal circumstances.

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