Teru Koide, M.Eng., B.Sc., is an IP professional with Japanese roots. As a former patent examiner and administrative judge of the Japanese Patent Office, he assists our clients in patent, trademark and design matters including prosecution and litigation proceedings related to Japan and is responsible for all matters related to Japan in our Asia Desk. In addition, he supports us in the preparation of European patent applications and prosecution proceedings. His technical areas of expertise include chemistry, electronics, pharmaceuticals and mechanics. Furthermore, he has extensive experience in the fields of patent research, statistical analysis of patents (“patent landscape”) and IP policies.

Mr. Koide, M.Eng., B.Sc., was born in Japan in 1979. He studied chemistry at the Faculty of Science, Tokyo University of Science, where he received his Bachelor degree in Science in 2003. In 2005, he obtained a master’s degree in engineering from the University of Tokyo.

In the same year, Teru joined the Japan Patent Office (JPO). He was responsible for examining patents in chemistry (e.g. materials chemistry and polymer chemistry) and electronics (e.g. semiconductor devices, micro-, nano-machining processes, organic and bioelectronics). He examined more than 800 national applications and 200 international applications as an examiner (since 2009) or an assistant examiner.

Moreover, Teru has experienced numerous other tasks and positions.

In 2011, he was transferred to the department of policymaking in the JPO, where he provided numerous consultations with companies, universities and other users on the issues of the Japanese employee invention system (Article 35 of the Japanese Patent Law, reformed in 2004). He also supported companies in updating their employee invention regulations.

In parallel, he tackled an issue in the Japanese patent microbiological deposit system under the Budapest Treaty to improve administrative efficiency. He reformed the domestic system and contributed to the issuance of an international notification under the treaty in cooperation with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

Moreover, in 2013 he spent one year as a visiting researcher at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University (Department of Physics) in Munich, Germany, researching organic and bioelectronics.

In 2015, Teru was seconded to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), where he was in charge of IP-related measures in the innovation policy office. He was responsible for supporting small and medium-sized companies and universities in their patent applications.

In parallel, he reviewed Japanese IP and R&D data licensing system in government-invested collaborative R&D projects under the so-called “Japanese Bayh-Dole act”. In order to promote IP and R&D data use, he drafted new guidelines setting out the national strategy and a governmental model licensing agreement for the IP and R&D data.

In 2017, he moved to Paris and joined the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as Economist for innovation policy. He was in charge of conducting the statistical analysis of patents (the so-called “patent landscape”), as well as the policy analysis of the patent box (a tax incentive that allows for a reduction in corporate tax on income generated from intellectual property such as patents).

In 2020, he returned to the JPO and subsequently took up his duties as an administrative judge. He handled oppositions, appeals, corrections and invalidation in the field of applied chemistry.

In 2021, Teru passed the Japanese patent bar exam, left the JPO, and moved to Düsseldorf with his family to start his IP practice with us and to support our Asia Desk.