SONDERHOFF & EINSEL LAW AND PATENT OFFICE - Key Persons
Mr. Ohta has been engaged for over a decade in a broad range of patent areas such as applications, prosecutions, consultations, expert opinions as well as revocations of appeal decisions. Moreover, based on his experience in handling a large number of outbound and inbound patent applications in several languages, Mr. Ohta provides advice to many global and international clients.
Mr. Strunk has worked in a variety of fields in Japan, from temporary assignments at an automobile manufacturer to being an interpreter at a can factory. Using his native English skill and breadth of experience, he edits documents produced by native Japanese translators with great attention.
Mr. Gonda is a German patent paralegal working in our patent department. After vocational training consisting of three years of combined on-the-job and theoretical training at Hoffmann Eitle, a major patent and law firm in Munich, Mr. Gonda graduated as patent paralegal (in German: "Patentanwaltsfachangestellter"). With almost ten years of professional experience as a patent professional, Mr. Gonda supports Sonderhoff & Einsel's senior professionals in clerical matters and client communications. He is also involved in training other staff in his fields of work.
Worked at a patent firm and private corporation where she was involved in obtaining domestic and foreign design and trademark rights and also handled anti-counterfeiting measures and contract negotiations, among other topics. Also worked as an IP attorney in private industry. Leveraged experience working as an IP officer in a position closely related to business to make proposals that assist clients in maintaining stability and superiority in their endeavors.
Supporting the team with his broad knowledge in mechanical engineering, Mr. Fröhlich joined Sonderhoff & Einsel in 2023. After his graduation from the Technical University Berlin, he worked first as a developer and project engineer in the medical device industry, gaining experience in various fields and companies. As a result he is especially familiar with applications in robotics and biotechnology. He has lived since 2014 in Japan, where he gained further experience as a service manager for devices in the lab and science sector.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Social and Labor Consultant
- Tax Co
Koji Arai is a licensed social and labor consultant who analyzes and calculates pension, social, and labor insurance amounts as well as drafts the appropriate company applications for such insurance. He is also experienced in payroll services, statutory filings to the social insurance agencies, filings for new hires and employee departures, and labor management, tax, social insurance consulting for foreigners and Japanese expatriates.
Mr. Endo has been involved with the drafting of original manuscripts of patent applications, patent prosecutions, and expert opinions as well as outbound and inbound work. He handles a large number of inventions in the field of general chemistry, and also has broad experience in technical translations from English to Japanese in the fields of general chemistry and electrical and mechanical technology.
Dr. Andresen gained work experience in the chemical industry and in academic organizations on four continents before joining Sonderhoff & Einsel. He provides his technical expertise in the field of chemistry, collaborating closely with our Japanese patent attorneys and translators. His responsibilities include technical proofreading of German and English translations and communication with international clients, supporting them throughout the patent application process.
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner
- Managing Partner, Patent Attorney
Felix-Reinhard Einsel, born to a German father and Japanese mother in Japan, studied Comparative Law in Japan after graduating from the German School in Tokyo. He continued his education in the United States and Japan with degrees in Law and Electrical Engineering. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association and was the first ever national of a European country to pass the Japanese Patent Attorneys exam.
Since joining the firm in 1994, Mr. Einsel has gained widespread recognition among clients in and outside of Japan as a trusted partner in all matters of Intellectual Property. Throughout his career, Mr. Einsel has played an active role in the international community in Japan and was recently elected board member of the German Chamber of Commerce in Japan.
Following in the footsteps of his father, Reinhard Einsel, Felix Einsel became Managing Partner of the firm in 2009 and is leading the firm into the second century of successful operations in Japan.
Ms. Dittrich works alongside our patent professionals to ensure smooth processing of all patent related matters. Her responsibilities also include client correspondence and the management of deadlines. As a graduate translator of Japanese, Ms. Dittrich provides valuable linguistic support to patent attorneys and technical staff.
Mr. Nagashima has been engaged in the drafting of patent applications, patent prosecutions, inbound & outbound work and expert opinions for many years at various patent firms. He handles a large number of inventions using his expertise in the technological fields of automobiles (engine control, brakes, suspensions, steering, headlights etc.), industrial machinery, housing equipment, medical equipment, photo-lithography apparatus, image processing, computer graphics and gaming devices. Mr. Nagashima advises on a broad range of technology based on his experience in the R&D division of a major manufacturer of numerical control devices and robots and his in-depth knowledge of mechanical engineering and mechatronics.
Mr. Morita has extensive IP experience in the life-science field cultivated in a pharmaceutical company, where he secured exclusivity through utilization of Intellectual property in areas as diverse as worldwide patent filing, prosecution, liaison, litigation, patent evaluation for in-licensing, patent strategies, etc.
Mr. Maekawa, who heads our patent division's department for mechanical and electrical engineering, is experienced in inbound and outbound work, patent prosecutions, disputes, and drafting expert opinions and patent applications. His expertise is in the technological fields of printing, automobiles (brakes, suspensions, steering, engines, etc.), lighting devices (headlights for vehicles, etc.), liquid crystals, semiconductors, medical devices, gaming machines, computers, and software. Mr. Maekawa advises from both a corporate and engineer's perspective after spending many years in the R&D and IP divisions of a major document processing company where he was involved in the development of mechanical parts for the world's fastest printers, as well as in leveraging patent rights in licensing negotiations.
Kazuhiro Yamada has more than 20 years of experience (including 9 years at one of the Big Four accounting firms) providing audit and assurance services for Japanese and international clients.
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner, Attorney - at - Law
Keiji Isaji began his career in April 1981 as a newly-licensed attorney working for the Japanese law firm of Tanaka & Takahashi until portions of the firm were merged into Clifford Chance in 2011. Mr. Isaji then spent the next 14 years at the international global firms of Clifford Chance and K&L Gates, giving him the rare experience of being a partner for nearly equal periods of his career at both Japanese domestic and global firms and providing him with a unique insight into the legal issues that affect Japanese and international companies.
Mr. Isaji is well known in the legal community for his expertise in aircraft-related civil and criminal litigation, aircraft leases and other related financial transactions. He has been lead defense counsel in numerous high-profile white collar criminal defense cases in Japan and is a featured attorney in the Who's Who Legal under Transport - Aviation Contentious.
In August 2014, Keiji Isaji joined Sonderhoff & Einsel as Managing Partner, jointly leading the firm with Felix-Reinhard Einsel.
After being involved in the maintenance and replacement of machinery and electrical equipment and the construction and replacement of IT infrastructure at a power company, he was seconded to the Industrial Cyber Security Centre of the Information-technology Promotion Agency, Japan, where he acquired knowledge mainly on control system security. Based on his knowledge and experience in a wide range of technical fields, he always strives to make proposals that enable the acquisition of appropriate rights by capturing the essence of the invention.
After working at a patent law firm in Japan, Ms. Okano spent about 8 years at German patent law firms, where she was involved in paralegal work, sales activities for Japanese clients, and worked on European and German trademark and design matters. After qualifying as a patent attorney, she has been using her experience in Europe and her language skills to assist Japanese clients with intellectual property matters in Europe and to assist foreign clients in obtaining and protecting their rights in Japan.
For over 20 years, Ms. Barnard has been involved with the translation of patent specifications and the prosecution of patent applications, and has intimate knowledge of technical translation and inbound patent application-related difficulties. In addition, she is often called upon to use her wealth of diverse knowledge of organic and inorganic chemistry, polymers, materials, metals and drugs to prepare expert opinions and FTOs for clients in German and English-speaking countries. Ms. Barnard communicates with the managers and representatives of foreign companies without the mediation of interpreters or translators while focusing on acquiring patent rights from the perspective of her clients.
Furthermore, Ms. Barnard often gives presentations for clients from English-speaking and German-speaking countries, informing her clients of changes to Japanese IP-related laws and related court decisions. Ms. Barnard became a member of the IP Education Supporting Committee of the Kanto branch of the Japan Patent Attorneys Association. She teaches classes on IP to elementary and junior high students throughout the Kanto region.
Mikiko Shinobu provides general tax consulting advice including preparation of financial statements and reporting to head office of Japanese subsidiaries and preparing tax, income tax, and withholding tax returns. Ms. Shinobu has lived in Germany for five years and is proficient in advising German clients on various tax matters.
As a Labor and Social Security Attorney, she provides consulting services and makes proposals regarding labor insurance, social insurance, subsidies and labor problems, prepares and submits application forms and calculates payroll.
Mr. Hidehiko Suzuki specializes in corporate legal affairs, such as bank transactions, finance transactions (ECA finance, aircraft/ship and other asset finance, project finance, etc.), insurance (insurance business law, insurance law, reinsurance contracts, etc.), patent rights and other intellectual property rights (such as litigation and dispute resolution). In the area of asset finance, he continued to receive "Tier 1" ratings until 2018 from rating agencies such as Chambers and Legal 500.
Mr. Shohei Teramae specializes in legal matters related to intellectual property and labor law (advising companies and representing companies in litigation and labor proceedings). He also has extensive experience in general corporate matters and commercial transactions with Japanese and global clients.
Naoko Okazaki provides general tax consulting services, including preparation of corporate tax, individual tax and inheritance tax returns. She has provided assistance to various clients such as small and medium-sized enterprises, business owners and medical clinics. Ms. Okazaki also worked for a Japanese subsidiary of a foreign trading company for 12 years.
Ms. Otani is engaged in inbound and outbound work, patent prosecutions, and the drafting of patent applications. She has handled a large number of inventions and provides expertise in technological fields such as semiconductors, circuits, information processing, and communication devices.
Mr. Shino has broad experience in the drafting of patent applications and patent prosecutions and expert opinions primarily for inbound matters. He handles a large number of inventions with expertise in the technological fields such as inorganic materials like glass and silica, as well as organic polymers materials. Mr. Shino previously worked in the IP division of a major chemicals manufacturer where he was primarily involved in patent applications, patent prosecutions and expert opinions on recording sheets for inkjet printers, glass, ceramics and sodium hydrogen carbonates.
Ms. Maekawa has a wealth of experience, which she has put to use over many years at law and patent firms where she has acted as a patent attorney specializing in trademarks and been involved with domestic and international trademark registration applications, support services for foreign trademark applications, consulting on trademark-related matters, opposition cases and appeals.
She has handled a wide variety of cases for clients ranging from startup ventures to large corporations, and always strives to understand her clients' situation and needs and provide appropriate services.
Job Titles:
- Partner Attorney - at - Law Patent Attorney
Mr. Sumiyoshi has been engaged in inbound and outbound work, patent prosecutions, disputes, and drafting patent applications and expert opinions. He advises on a large number of inventions with expertise in the technological fields of polymers, drugs, peptides, catalysts, organic synthesis, storage batteries, coatings, adhesives, metals and semiconductor materials, and also handles cases in fields such as thermal control devices, optical related devices, heating furnaces, and connectors for use in civil engineering and automobile parts. He also has extensive work experience in dealing with IP issues in the area of environmental clean-up technology.
Mr. Akabane worked at patent firms for many years, mainly in the machinery, electrical and IT fields in addition to drafting patent applications, performing patent prosecution handling inbound and outbound tasks, providing expert opinions, brainstorming, acting as an IP consultant and handling searches. He also participated in searches contracts, IP consulting and served as a contact person for patent firms, coordinated invention content and brainstormed at the IP divisions of private enterprises. Mr. Akabane leverages his experience working at both patent firms and IP departments of private enterprises to consistently offer IP services while keeping the client's viewpoint in mind.