Our Story
Allegro IP was established as a spin-off from Yanagida & Associates, a well-established Japanese intellectual property law firm founded in 1973. All of the members were former colleagues of the foreign clients team at the Yanagida firm, and our team was selected from competent attorneys who are capable of providing the best services to overseas clients.
The impetus behind our decision to establish a new firm was to mitigate the adverse effects of Japanese large/old-line IP firms.
Firstly, as the IP firm grows, it generally places emphasis on large companies’ cases. However, we are dedicated to supporting the most advanced companies, which sometimes are small venture/start-up companies, in obtaining IP protection in Japan with the understanding of the inventions based on the cutting-edge fundamental research. We proactively utilize official fee reduction programs for such companies.
Secondly, service fees tend to increase drastically as an IP firm grows. Sometimes this is because, at a large firm, the attorney handling the case is an associate, and a partner supervises and charges for both attorneys. However, we aim to minimize the costs charged to our clients.
At our firm, we do not adhere to the traditional paralegal and associate attorney models. Instead, a single partner attorney is assigned to handle each case from start to finish, including translation.
Thirdly, Japanese IP firms typically prioritize cases for domestic (Japanese) clients, and when clients wish to file foreign applications, they often collaborate with foreign associates in a reciprocal manner. However, we exclusively handle patent and trademark matters in Japan for our international client base. We adhere to a policy of not collaborating with foreign associates on a reciprocal basis.
At Allegro, we are committed to combining the strengths of both new and traditional firms and to delivering exceptional services to our clients in a timely, high-quality, and cost-effective manner.
