Catherine interviews Yasuko Tanaka, a patent attorney, IP business consultant and founder of her own firm S-Cube Corporation. Yasuko shares how her own experiences and learning through lived experience of cross cultural communication in IP have led her to become a leader in this field in Japan. We explore her advice for people considering starting their own firm and discuss the growing popularity of IP law in Japan. 

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In this episode you’ll hear:

• How important the skill of communication across cultures is in international business

• What happened when Yasuko found herself in Washington DC on 9-11

• How Yasuko’s experience gave her resilience for her next brave career pivots

• What it was like for Yasuko starting her own firm and how she got her first customers

• Her favourite TV series and other fun facts 

About Yasuko

After graduating from Chiba University (Biochemistry, Faculty of Science) in 1990, Yasuko began working in the IP department of Teijin, followed by Pfizer Japan and 3M Japan, dealing with global patent prosecution in both English and Japanese, IP clearance and dispute, IP strategy/consulting, transactions, patent search, and IP education. Working for American multinationals, she was in a position to work closely with English speaking local representatives/counterparts on a daily basis and develop a deep understanding of cross-cultural communication.

Yasuko stepped away from her last company, 3M Japan, in March 2013 to launch her own venture “S-Cube Corporation” (IP Business Consultancy) in April of that year. Her mission is to improve the global competitiveness of Japan by leveraging Intellectual Property as a business advantage and the development of human resources. In August 2013, she expanded her business, establishing S-Cube International Patent Firm.

In addition to running her business, she was a part-time lecturer at University of Toyama for a semester in 2016, as well as at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology since 2017.

Ms. Tanaka’s expertise and passion lie in developing IP strategies for manufacturing companies to extract greater value from their technologies, in educating IP professionals, and in supporting communication between foreign lawyers and their Japanese clients.

Connect with Yasuko

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yasuko-tanaka-ab0a8640/ 

Links

Mistrale: https://www.mistrale-tokyo.com/ 

Soba & Co: https://sobaandco-kamiyacho.com/ 

新聞は 考える武器になる: https://amzn.asia/d/iOB985L 

TV show about IP Department: それってパクリッじゃないですか? https://www.ntv.co.jp/sorepaku/ 

Connect with Catherine 

Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/oconnellcatherine/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawyeronair

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@lawyeronair 

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