Joined IP Bridge: 2017
Previous Companies: Funai Electric, NEC, Tanita, Tabuchi Electric

・Mr. Honda holds a Master of Engineering, and is a registered patent attorney and a chief communications engineer. He has handled numerous patent litigation/negotiation cases worldwide including US, China, Taiwan, and Japan during his career at Funai, NEC, and Tanita. He is known for his high negotiation skills, and has negotiated cases that have resulted in several hundred million US dollars revenue for his company.

・As IPB’s Managing Director of Licensing Business Dept. Div.1, Mr. Honda handles monetization of telecom portfolio and planning & implementation of measures to strengthen licensing activities.

Registered Patent Attorney (Japan)
Attorney at Law (California State, USA)

Joined IP Bridge: 2018
Previous Company: SONY

・Mr. Kishida has 16 years of experience in patent application, licensing negotiations, and litigation involving patents in various technological fields from his career at SONY. His wide scope of experiences includes cases not only within Japan but also internationally, including patent litigation in the US, China, and Europe, in addition to US International Trade Commission investigations.

・At IP Bridge, he handles license negotiations and patent litigation in the semiconductor field. He is also engaged in negotiations with various companies for IP procurement.

He served on the First International Affairs Committee of Japan Intellectual Property Association (FY2015~FY2017), and has been selected as one of the IAM Strategy 300 Global Leaders for three consecutive years since 2019.

Joined IP Bridge: 2014
Previous Companies: Sanyo, Panasonic

・Mr. Yoshimura has worked with intellectual property throughout his 20-year career. He has been involved in rights acquisition, license negotiations, patent litigation, and M&A from the IP perspective, mainly in the field of electronic devices. He has also been involved in fierce patent lawsuits, settlement negotiations, and contract conclusion with Japanese LCD-related companies, resulting in several hundred millions of US dollars in IP revenue for the company.

・He has comprehensive knowledge of IP utilization from establishment of IP rights to litigation, or in other words, from creation of IP to its final　harvesting.

・At IP Bridge, in addition to licensing activities Mr. Yoshimura is responsible for the innovation business, which provides IP support and investment, and promotes IP strategies for many venture companies and SMEs.

JPO IPAS Mentoring Team IP Expert since 2018

Joined IP Bridge: 2020
Previous Company: Panasonic

・At Panasonic, Mr. Okuguchi worked as an engineer and sales representative in the factory automation field. He has contributed to mitigating business risks of Panasonic’s various businesses by concluding license agreements, litigations, and M&A in a variety of fields such as devices and home appliances.

・Prior to joining IP Bridge, his work went beyond the traditional patent utilization methods; he has succeeded in numerous advanced initiatives, such as the establishment of a specific purpose company and a joint licensing scheme that enable collaboration with other companies based on intellectual property. His work contributed to the company’s cumulative revenue of over 100 billion yen.

・At IP Bridge, as the Managing Director of the Business Development Dept. he oversees sourcing activities such as new business creation and IP procurement; he is also in charge of monetizing the telecom portfolio.

Joined IP Bridge: 2020
Previous Company: Daiwa Securities

・Mr. Kurata has worked in investment banking in Tokyo and New York, focusing on domestic and international M&A cases, bond and equity financing, and IPO transactions.

・At IP Bridge, he aims to create new business opportunities and pursues continuous business growth as the Managing Director of the Planning Department since FY2020.