Baker & McKenzie (Gaikokuho Joint Enterprise) welcomes new partner Kensaku Takase, a Registered Foreign Lawyer (gaikokuho jimu bengoshi) who joined the Tokyo office as of January 5. Mr. Takase will be working as a member of the Intellectual Property/ Information Technology/ Electronic Commerce (IP/IT/EC) group and will mainly be involved with cross-border IP matters, having vast experience in the field of intellectual property rights and information technology.
Mr. Takase joined the Firm from the Intellectual Property group of a international law firm. He focuses his practice on intellectual property, media, and information technology laws, having assisted numerous clients with copyright and design regulations including contentious trademark issues, passing-off and unfair competition matters, large-scale trademark filing programs, international trademark portfolio management and anti-counterfeiting work. He also advises clients on copyright clearances and licensing arrangements, and represents them in disputes relating to copyright and design infringement.
In the IT sector, Mr. Takase is heavily involved in significant IT outsourcing deals. He regularly advises clients on IT-related agreements including Software as a Service agreements, software licensing, data protection issues, public procurement law issues, open source software issues, legal issues surrounding cloud computing, and escrow. He also has vast experience in contentious issues, having represented clients in IT-related legal disputes in the past.
Mr. Takase graduated with an LLB and BA from the University of Auckland in 1997. He was admitted to practice in New Zealand in 1998, in England and Wales in 2005 and in Japan as a Registered Foreign Lawyer (gaikokuho jimu bengoshi) in 2011.
Commenting on Mr. Takase’s arrival to the Firm, Managing Partner of Baker & McKenzie Tokyo, Yoshiaki Muto, stated, “As the number of Japanese companies expanding overseas continue to grow rapidly, establishing and efficiently managing a global intellectual property portfolio is becoming a critical part of running a business. Concurrently, it becomes important for corporations to deal with intellectual property right violations which have become particularly subtle. In recent years, our clients prioritize risks surrounding cyber security, information privacy and data breaches among their top concerns. With Mr. Takase joining our office, we strengthen our IP/IT/EC practice locally and globally – enhancing our offering to clients dealing with issues related to overseas expansion with our global network of 45 countries around the world.”
