Hirofumi AOKI

BIOGRAPHYHirofumi AOKI studied philosophy at Tohoku University’s Faculty of Arts and Letters. Mr. Aoki then went on to study law at University of Tsukuba’s School of Business Law.
In 1984 Mr. Aoki began working at the Japan Patent Office.
Later, in 2017 Mr. Aoki registered as a patent attorney.
Mr. Aoki first began working at the Japan Patent Office as a trademark examiner and as part of that he covered a variety of industrial field.
He then became a Patent Office Trial Examiner where he was reviewed cases related to both trials and litigation lawsuits.
Mr. Aoki was then loaned to the Intellectual Property Research Institute of the Ministry of Economy and Trade where he gained experience with intellectual property and industrial policies.
Mr. Aoki also worked in the Japan Patent Office’s Trademark, Design and Administrative Affairs Department. During his time there he was an Supervisory Examiner where he was responsible for quality control assessments with regard to food, textiles, and sundries. As part of this role, he was also chief of the international classification and institution planning office where Mr. Aoki was involved with helping to revise international classifications and the trademark law which led to the introduction of a new type of trademark protection system.
Mr. Aoki then acted as the Director of Trademark Division where he was involved with promoting cooperation with domestic users as well with other intellectual property offices and the authorities at WIPO with regard to trademark administration.
Mr. Aoki then worked as chief appeal judge in the chemistry and food trademarks division, and he was also tasked with acting as a representative for the Trademark Appeal Department with respect to public relations.
Mr. Aoki has a wealth of knowledge and experience with the acquisition, use, and disputes involved with trademarks, and he utilizes all of this knowledge gained from the Japan Patent Office to advise clients and provide quick, accurate, and detailed information regarding their trademark needs.

PRACTICE AREASMr. Aoki is a certified patent attorney who specializes in affairs related to Intellectual Property rights. He has done work in the areas of prosecution, appeal and litigation related to trademarks.

EDUCATIONTohoku University, Faculty of Arts and Letters, Department of Philosophy
University of Tsukuba, School of Business Law, Master of Law

EXPERIENCE
Japan Patent Office
Patent Office Trademark Examiner
Patent Office Trial Examiner
Supervisory Examiner, Trademark, Design, and Administrative Affairs Department of the JPO
Director of Trademark Division, Trademark, Design, and Administrative Affairs Department of the JPO
Chief Appeal Judge of Division 35 (Trademarks) of the Appeal Division of the JPO

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION AND MEMBERSHIPJapan Patent Attorneys Association (JPAA)
Japan Trademark Association
Intellectual Property Association of Japan

ACTIVITIES

2018-	Lecturer in JPO Examiner Training Course, etc.
2018-	Lecturer for Patent and Trademark Consultation in Kawaguchi-shi, Saitama
2018-	Lecturer in JPO/IPR Training Course, at the Asia-Pacific Industrial Property Center (APIC)
2019	Advisory committee of "Survey and Research on the Division and Merger of International Registrations under the Madrid Agreement/Protocol", supported by the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property of Japan (AIPPI JAPAN)
2019	Member of "Study Group for Emergency Fact-finding Survey Consignment Project based on the entry into force of the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)", supported by the Food Marketing Research and Information Center
2020	Member of "Judging Committee of Overseas Expansion Support Project for Regional Collective Trademarks in Japan", supported by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)
2020-	Lecturer in "Intellectual Property Training Institute ", at the National Center for Industrial Property Information and Training
2020-	Temporary member of Industrial Property Council
2020-	Member of "Trademark and Copyright Committee", supported by the Copyright Research and Information Center
2021-	Lecturer of Intellectual Property Seminar at Tohoku University

LANGUAGEJapanese and English

HOBBIESReading and Traveling