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    Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry: Final Report on the FY2023 Project to Improve the Commercial Transaction and Service Environment

Nishimura & Asahi was commissioned by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (“METI”) to produce a report titled "Final Report on the FY2023 Project to Improve the Commercial Transaction and Service Environment (Research Project on Rights Issues Related to Sports Data from Other Countries).” 

The Nishimura & Asahi team advising METI was led by of counsel Makiko Takabe,  and partners Toshihiko Hamano and Hironori Inagaki, supported by Masayuki Obata, Kei Hattori, Yuya Muramatsu,  Saeko Asano, Yusuke Yamazaki and Scott Alper.

People

髙部 眞規子

Ms. Takabe has over 40 years’ experience as a senior judge handling civil proceedings in a variety of fields, including more than 20 years presiding over intellectual property proceedings. Ms. Takabe was in charge of numerous cases during her time as a judge and led intellectual property proceedings in Japan. This experience has made her exceptionally capable in assisting her clients achieve favorable results in patent infringement proceedings, trademark-related proceedings, copyright proceedings, and trade secret infringement proceedings. She also advises clients on matters relating to design, brand, character, honor, privacy, publicity, portrait rights and license agreements.

濱野 敏彦

He graduated from the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Frontier Sciences (M.S.) in 2004. Due to his technical background, he advises clients on various technology matters, including artificial intelligence (AI), data protection, medical field, healthcare, software, system, cloud computing, information technology, and DX. He has deep knowledge of artificial intelligence because he studied neural networks, which is the main technology of artificial intelligence, in an academic lab for three years. He successfully passed the Japanese patent attorney examination in 2002, and he has been admitted in Japan since 2009. Therefore, he advises clients on various intellectual property law matters due to his technical background and knowledge as a Japanese patent attorney. Regarding dispute matters of intellectual property, he has handled patent litigation, litigation regarding employee inventions, trade secret litigation and so on. Especially, he has considerable experience in trade secret disputes, and he provides a support service on countermeasures against divulging trade secrets, including drafting company regulations, data management practice, and employee training.He graduated from the University of Tokyo (Graduate School of Frontier Sciences) with an M.S. in 2004, passed the Japanese patent agent examination in 2002, and has been admitted to practice law in Japan since 2009. He regularly draws on his technical background and expertise to advise clients on various technology matters, including AI (particularly generative AI), data protection, med-tech, healthcare, software, systems, cloud computing, information technology, DX, and quantum computing. He has a deep understanding of artificial intelligence due to his research on neural networks, and uses his experience as a Japanese patent attorney to advise clients on a wide range of legal matters. He also handles litigation involving patents, employee inventions, trade secrets and other tech and intellectual property issues, and has considerable experience with trade secrets disputes and supporting clients with the establishment and implementation of countermeasures to protect trade secrets, including drafting company regulations, designing data management practices, and conducting employee training.

稲垣 弘則

He understands and solves his client’s essential needs and challenges by leveraging his extensive domestic and international connections in the sports and entertainment field as well as his experience gained during secondment to the business side of a domestic sports management company.
He has assisted numerous companies in the area of Sports Digital Transformation (data business, sports betting, fantasy sports, NFT, sports tokens) and is experienced in cases involving a wide range of legal issues at the intersection of sports and technology. He is also the
Representative Director of the Council for Sports Ecosystem Promotion, an industry organization that aims to industrialize sports using digital transformation, etc., and is well versed in the latest trends and issues in the industry both domestically and internationally.
He was also selected as a finalist for Young Lawyer of the Year (Law Firm) in the ALB Japan Law Awards 2024, sponsored by Asian Legal Business (ALB) and Thomson Reuters.