Shimako Kato

Abe, Ikubo & Katayama (Japan)

Ms Kato is a partner and patent attorney at Abe, Ikubo and Katayama. She has extensive experience in patent litigation across a wide range of technical fields, including mechanical engineering, chemistry, polymer technology, and pharmaceuticals. Her practice focuses on patent infringement litigation, revocation actions before the IP High Court, and invalidation trials before the Japan Patent Office. She also advises clients on patent enforcement, validity, and related strategic matters. In addition to her legal practice, she regularly speaks at domestic and international intellectual property conferences and has authored numerous papers and articles on patent litigation and patentability requirements.

Prior to entering private practice, Ms Kato served at the Japan Patent Office from 1988 to 2006 as a patent examiner and later as a member of the Board of Appeal, specializing in metal processing and polymer processing technologies. During this period, she was awarded a scholarship by the National Personnel Authority and undertook professional training at the European Patent Office and the German Patent Office in 1998.

From 2002 to 2005, she was seconded to the Tokyo District Court as a Judicial Research Official. In the Intellectual Property Division, she provided technical expertise to judges in patent infringement cases, particularly in the chemical field, as well as in other intellectual property disputes, supporting judicial decision-making on complex technical matters.

In 2006, Ms Kato qualified as a patent attorney and joined Abe, Ikubo and Katayama, where she has since been primarily involved in patent infringement litigation and invalidation proceedings. In 2013, she further developed her international expertise by studying German patent litigation practice under Judge Thomas Kühnen at the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf. In 2018, she joined the faculty of Waseda University’s LL.M. program in Intellectual Property Law.