Notification of Firm Name Change
Dear Sirs,
We trust you are well and prosperous. We would like to thank you for your continuous support.
We have decided to change our firm name to MM & A, P.C., using initials of the former name, Matsubara, Muraki & Associates, P.C., under the revised Patent Attorneys Act, which requires name change from Patent Professional Corporation to Patent Attorneys Corporation.
Please be informed that as from October 13, 2022, we will start business in the new name of MM & A, P.C. (f/k/a Matsubara, Muraki & Associates, P.C.).
We highly appreciate your further support and patronage.
Matsubara,Muraki & Associates, P.C.
Kiyoshi Muraki, Representative Partner
Note:
■ New Firm Name
MM & A, P.C.
(f/k/a Matsubara, Muraki & Associates, P.C.)
Ichibancho SQUARE
6, Ichiban-cho, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 102-0082, Japan
TEL +81-3-3263-7676 / FAX +81-3-3263-7679
E-mail: mandm@ip-mandm.com
Website: https://www.ip-mandm.com
*Our firm’s address, telephone/facsimile number, e-mail address and website’s URL remain unchanged.
Firm Profile
Our Firm was established in April, 1973
Our firm was established in April 1973, by Mr. Nobuyuki Matsubara and Mr. Kiyoshi Muraki, as founding partners, with a view to providing high-quality and speedy legal services meeting with the needs of our clients.
For a long time of more than 40 years, we have been providing domestic and foreign clients with our high-quality legal services regarding intellectual property on worldwide basis by taking the benefit of the networks we have established in more than 200 countries.
Our office is located in the center of Tokyo and we can easily make a direct contact with the Japan Patent Office whenever it is necessary.
Our Firm specializes mainly in the areas of trademarks and designs.
We have been making our best efforts in providing legitimate and suitable services meeting with the needs of the domestic and foreign clients mainly in the fields of trademarks and designs.
Our Firm is also standing strong in the fields of anti-counterfeit and unfair competition prevention.
With the development of international business transactions and the increased needs of our clients, we have been making efforts on anti-counterfeit measures through the Customs and Courts, and we have achieved actual consequent results that we have successfully barred many counterfeit products from being flowed into domestic markets at the waterfront.
Our Firm is also handling domain names. We have been dealing with domain name disputes, which have become problematic as the Internet has become more and more popularized and also has been representing our clients before the Arbitration Center of WIPO against cyber-squatting.
Additional Information:
Our Firm has recently been strengthening our patent division. Mr. Hideharu Ouchi, who is a patent attorney, has recently joined our patent team. We believe that he will be successful mainly in the field of patents.
Main Practices
TRADEMARK FlowChart→ FAQ→ Our Examples→
A trademark is a sign capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one enterprise from those of other enterprises. Trademarks are protected by intellectual property rights. If a well-known brand name is used as a name of shop and so on, we demand changing their names on the ground of infringement of trademark right or violation of the Unfair Competition Prevention Law. In the case of nightclubs, we have successfully made them change their names in cooperation with our colleague lawyers.
The major international system for facilitating the registration of trademarks in multiple jurisdictions is commonly known as the “Madrid system”. Madrid provides a centrally administered system for securing trademark registrations in member jurisdictions by extending the protection of an “international registration” obtained through the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). This international registration is in turn based upon an application or registration obtained by a trade mark applicant in its home jurisdiction.
DESIGN FlowChart→ FAQ→
An industrial design right is an intellectual property right that protects the visual design of objects that are not purely utilitarian. An industrial design consists of the creation of a shape, configuration or composition of pattern or color, or combination of pattern and color in three-dimensional form containing aesthetic value. Under the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs, a WIPO-administered treaty, a procedure for an international registration exists. To qualify for registration, the national laws of most member states of WIPO require the design to be novel. An applicant can file for a single international deposit with WIPO or with the national office in a country party to the treaty. The design will then be protected in as many member countries of the treaty as desired.
PATENT FlowChart→ FAQ→
A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a process that provides, in general, a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a problem. The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international patent law treaty, concluded in 1970. It provides a unified procedure for filing patent applications to protect inventions in each of its contracting states. A patent application filed under the PCT is called an international application, or PCT application.
Anti-Counterfeit & Unfair Competition Prevention
A trademark holder is able to request a customs to stop someone from importing infringing counterfeit goods into Japan. A trademark holder may request a customs superintendent for surveillance on the import of infringing counterfeit goods.
A holder of a famous unregistered trademark is able to stop someone from using the trademark under the Unfair Competition Prevention Law, but it is more difficult and requires more evidence than if the trademark is registered.
Attorneys