Our Firm

About us

About our name

Our firm’s name, “R&C,” derives from “Rectitude & Courage” in Bushido (samurai moral code). “Rectitude” is the most severe virtue in the samurai moral code, and means a righteous cause and justice that a person should serve.
“Courage” means a dauntless spirit and patience to do right things to serve “Rectitude.”

We selected the initials of these words for our new company name, wishing to be an expert group that conducts business with these virtues. We will continuously try our best to enhance our service quality and spare no effort to protect our clients’ intellectual properties.

Basic information

Our firm was established in Osaka in 1956 and has been supporting clients in Japan and overseas for many years. As a result, we are now one of the largest firms in the country, with domestic filing numbers ranking among the top 30 nationwide and a team of approximately 100 staff members.

We have also established a network of numerous patent and law firms in various countries and have experience of filing applications in over 100 countries worldwide. We have also provided support for numerous intellectual property infringement lawsuits overseas. As a result, our firm has accumulated expertise not only in Japan but also in other countries with different intellectual property systems, from application filing to rights utilization and dispute resolution.

Our company identifies the essence of technology and supports the discovery of innovative inventions. We also provide the best brand and design protection services based on our extensive experience and knowledge. We have received numerous requests from many clients, including well-known companies, who have recognized the high level of our work.

Name of firm: R&C IP Law Firm

Address: HEAD OFFICE

16F Nakanoshima Mitsui Bldg., 3-3-3, Nakanoshima Kita-ku, Osaka 530-0005 Japan
TEL：+81(Country code)-(0)6-6446-9966

TOKYO OFFICE

8F Pacific Century Place Marunouchi, 1-11-1, Marunouchi Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-6208 Japan
TEL：+81(Country code)-(0)3-6860-8627

Access

Founded: December 1956

Established as cooperation: October 2013

Chief Managing Partner: Shuichiro Kitamura

Managing Partners: Seiji Ota
Ichiro Miyake
Ryuji Ota
Yoshitaka Hatayama

Members: Patent and Trademark Attorneys: 27

Chinese Patent Attorneys: 2

Patent engineers: 21

Trademark paralegals: 4

Translators: 4

Draftspersons: 6

Administrative staff: 38

(As of November 2022)

Qualifications

Professional Engineer

Civil Engineering: Port, Harbor & Airport Engineering
Civil Engineering: Soil Mechanics & Foundation

Pharmacist
Hazardous Materials Engineer, Class A
Chief Telecommunications Engineer
Chief Electrical Engineer, Type 3
Electrician, Type 2
On-The-Ground Special Radio Operator, Type 2
Environmental Measurer
Information processing qualifications

Embedded Systems Engineer
Applied Information Technology Engineer
Registered Information Security Specialist
Information Specialist

Plastic Molding Technician
Explosives Handling and Safety Manager, Class A
High Pressure Gas Production Safety Manager

A Brief History of Our Firm

December 1956: Mr. Osamu Kitamura, father of today's chief managing partner Mr. Shuichiro Kitamura, established O. Kitamura Patent Office.

September 1976: The firm relocated to Kitamura Patent Building.

May 1998: Mr. Osamu Kitamura passed away.

June 1998: Mr. Shuichiro Kitamura succeeded his father and the name of the firm was changed to S. Kitamura Patent Office.

June 2004: The name of the firm was changed to Kitamura Patent Office.

May 2005: The firm relocated to Shin Asahi Building.

August 2008: Kitamura Patent Office relocated to the current location.

October 2013: The firm was established as a cooperation.

November 2013: The firm was changed to R&C IP Law Firm.

July 2018: Opened Tokyo Office.