Naoki Kurokawa

Education / Work

• Graduated from the Faculty of Law, Department of Law, Hosei University in 2012.
• Graduated from Hokkaido University Law School in 2014.
• 2017: Registered as an attorney (Tokyo Bar Association)
• Frantech Law Firm, 2018
• 2019 Hikari General Law Office
• 2021 Registered as a patent attorney
• 2022-March 2026, Intellectual Property Policy Office, Economic and Industrial Policy Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
• April 2026 - Mimura Komatsu Law Office

Affiliation/position, etc.

• Investigator, Civil Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Justice (Study Group on the Nature of Civil Liability for Unauthorized Use of Portraits, Voices, etc.)
• Advisor, Research Group for the Promotion of Trade Secret Protection
• Intellectual Property Management Skills Certification Examination Committee
• Auditor, Law and Computer Society
• Lawyers' Intellectual Property Network Secretariat
• Secretary, Intellectual Property Law Study Group, Second Tokyo Bar Association　
• Board Member, Hosei University Faculty of Law Alumni Association
• Copyright Law Society
• Entertainment Lawyers Network
• Tokyo Bar Association Intellectual Property Law Department
• Japan Association of Corporate Counsel, Section 4

Project record

• Patent infringement lawsuit
• Lawsuit to overturn the decision
• Patent opposition
• Franchise law, etc.

Books and papers

• "Practical Approaches to Responding to Trade Secret Leakage and Inflow Risks," BUSINESS LAWYERS (2026)
• "Introduction to Intellectual Property Law Q&A - From Basic Knowledge to Contracts, Applications, and Infringement Response" (co-authored), Minjiho Kenkyukai (2026)
• "Summary of the 'Research Report on the Protection of Publicity Value under the Unfair Competition Prevention Act'" (co-authored), NBL No. 1306 (2026)
• "Explanation from a METI Official! Key Points of the 2025 Trade Secret Management Guidelines Revision and Legal Practices Based on the Revision" BUSINESS LAWYERS (7)
• "Main Revisions to the 7 Revised 'Guidelines for the Management of Trade Secrets'"BUSINESS LAWYERS (2025)
• "Explanation of the Revised Outline of the 'Guidelines for the Management of Trade Secrets'" (co-authored), NBL No. 1290 (2025)
• HOT/COOLPlayer, "On the Enforcement of the Amended Unfair Competition Prevention Act of 5," NBL No. 1264 (2024)
• "In-house report"(NIBEN Frontier January/February 2024 combined issue) (2024)
• “Summary of the Revision of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act in 5” (co-author) NBL No. 1250 (2023)
• "A case in which the three-dimensional shape of a lampshade was affirmed as falling under Article 3, Paragraph 2 of the Trademark Act - The Lampshade Trial Decision Annulment Lawsuit -"Intellectual Property Law and Policy Studies, No. 66 (2022)
• "A case in which loss of novelty was affirmed based on a 'Technical Guide' distributed to service providers who were not bound by confidentiality obligations."Intellectual Property Law and Policy Studies, Vol. 45 (2014), etc.

Lectures and presentations

• "Practical Issues in the Latest Intellectual Property Litigation: Copyright, Unfair Competition, Designs, and Trademarks—Recent Trends in the Protection of Trade Secrets" (Hokkaido University Summer Seminar 2026 / August 2026)
• "24th Open Seminar: 'Concerns about Leakage and Contamination – Now is the Time to Improve the Effectiveness of Trade Secret Protection Practices'" (Trade Secret Protection Promotion Research Group / August 2026)
• "Considering Trade Secret Protection Legislation in the Era of Economic Security: Trends in the Revision of the Damages System and its Impact on Companies" (Intellectual Property Nation Research Group / July 2026)
• "ePatent YouTube Talk Session""Essential Knowledge about Trade Secrets and the Unfair Competition Prevention Act"(March 2026)
• "The Risks of Trade Secret 'Leakage' and 'Inflow' That Management and CLOs Are Unaware Of: A Lawyer Who Handled Legal Amendments and Guideline Revisions Discusses the Importance of Initial Response and Police Cooperation in the Event of an Incident" (Japan CLO Association / July 2026)
• "[Live Stream] Ignorance is No Excuse: The Reality and Practical Aspects of Trade Secret Leakage and Inflow Risks" (BUSINESS LAWYERS / Bengoshi.com Co., Ltd. / June 2026)
• "Lawyers x Kasumigaseki: Views Seen by Moving Between the 'Use' and 'Creation' Sides of Law" (Hosei University Faculty of Law Endowed Lecture, 2026 / June 2026)
• "Lawyers x Kasumigaseki: A Challenge to Move from 'Using' Laws to 'Creating' Them" (Intellectual Property Academy / May 2026)
• "'I didn't know' is no excuse! Copyright knowledge for financial planners" (Japan Financial Planners Association / April 2026)
• "Summary of the Revision of the Trade Secret Management Guidelines"(Intellectual Property Practice Online / January 2026)
• Panelist at the "Seminar on Economic Security and Cyberattack Countermeasures" (Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Foreign Affairs Division / December 2025)
• "Agricultural and Fisheries Intellectual Property and the Unfair Competition Prevention Act" (Graduate School of Law, Kanazawa University / November 2025)
• "The Latest Situation in Japan Regarding the Protection of Trade Secrets" (International Symposium on the Protection of Trade Secrets, Guangzhou, China / October 2025)
• "Revision of Trade Secret Management Guidelines and their Impact on Information Management Practices" (Japan Licensing Association Kansai Monthly Study Group / October 2025)
• "The Latest Situation in Japan Regarding Trade Secret Protection" (International Symposium on Frontier Issues in Intellectual Property Law in the Digital Intelligence Era, Shanghai International Institute of Intellectual Property, Tongji University / September 2025)
• "Fixed-Term Public Employees and the Legal Amendment Process, etc." (Hitotsubashi University Graduate School of Law / June 2025)
• "Protection of Publicity Value and Unfair Competition Prevention Laws" (RCLIP 20th Anniversary Deepfake Roundtable / December 2024)
• "Outline of the 2023 Amendments to the Unfair Competition Prevention Act" (Japan Federation of Bar Associations Live Practical Training / November 2024)
• "Revision of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act: Strengthening Penalties for Bribery of Foreign Public Officials, Focusing on Cases Involving International Trade Secrets" (International Commercial Law Research Institute, International Trade Law Study Group / July 2024)
• Examples include "Article-by-Article Commentary on the Unfair Competition Prevention Act [3rd Edition]" (Japan Licensing Association / May 2024), written by legislators themselves.

Media

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