Kazuo Komatsu serves as Of Counsel of Kitahama Partners. Mr. Komatsu worked as a judge for approximately 40 years before he began practice as a lawyer. When Mr. Komatsu was a judge, he was mainly in charge of civil litigation and handled various types of civil cases. In particular, he presided over cases in the areas of patent, unfair competition, copyright, and other areas of intellectual property in a specialized division for intellectual property cases of the Osaka District Court for a period of over 9 years, over 6 years of which he was engaged in a wide range of intellectual property rights lawsuits as the presiding judge. Moreover, Mr. Komatsu served as the presiding judge in the division which mainly deals with intellectual property cases of the Osaka High Court for over 4 years. Utilizing such experience, as an attorney, Mr. Komatsu has mainly been working in the area of intellectual property rights, and has been serving as an Adjunct Professor of intellectual property rights (Patent Act) at a Japanese law school.

Recent Case

• Unfair competition case regarding the imitated exteriors of Komeda’s Coffee shop (litigation and provisional disposition)

Education & Professional Career

Aug 2015 – Present	Kitahama Partners, Of Counsel
Aug 2015	Admitted to practice in Japan
Apr 2015	Osaka District/Summary Court, Conciliation Commissioner of Civil Affairs
Nov 2014	Retired from the position of Judge (based on age limit)
Aug 2010	Osaka High Court (Intensive Division for Intellectual Property Cases of the 8th Civil Division), Presiding Judge
Mar 2009	Osaka High Court (First Civil Division), Presiding Judge
Jul 2007	Nagasaki Family Court, Chief Judge
Sep 2004	Kobe District/Family Court (Amagasaki Branch), Chief Judge
Apr 1998	Osaka District Court (The 21st Civil Division: Intellectual Property Division), Presiding Judge
Apr 1994	Okayama District Court, Presiding Judge
Apr 1991	Osaka District Court, Judge; Osaka High Court, Acting Judge
Apr 1989	Naha District/Family Court, Presiding Judge
Apr 1986	Osaka District Court (The 21st Civil Division: Intellectual Property Division), Judge
Apr 1985	Appointed to the position of Judge; Akita District/Family Court, Judge
Apr 1983	Akita District/Family Court, Assistant Judge
Apr 1980	Urawa District/Family Court, Assistant Judge
Apr 1978	Urawa District/Family Court (Kawagoe Branch), Assistant Judge
Apr 1975	Graduated from the Legal Training and Research Institute of the Supreme Court of Japan; Appointed to the position of Assistant Judge; Kobe District Court, Assistant Judge
Mar 1973	The University of Tokyo (LL.B.)

Other Activities

Jul 2018 – Present	Mediator, Financial Instruments Mediation Assistance Center
Jun 2018 – Present	Member, Osaka City Personnel Inspection Committee
Sep 2017 – Present	Member, Osaka Prefectural Public Interest Corporation Commission
Jun 2016 – Present	Outside Director, Daihatsu Diesel Mfg. Co., Ltd.
2016 – 2019	Adjunct Professor, Doshisha Law School (Intellectual Property Law)
2016	Vice-President, the Japan Federation of Conciliation Associations; President, Federation of Kinki Conciliation Associations; President, Osaka Civil Conciliation Association