News

6 Feb 2012

Leading US and Japan patent lawyer joins DLA Piper

Press Release

DLA Piper announced today that Stuart Lubitz, an internationally renowned lawyer with over 40 years of experience representing major Japanese and US technology companies on patent matters, has joined DLA Piper as Special Counsel in Los Angeles. 

Lubitz, who was chairman and name partner of a well-known IP boutique and later directed the IP practices at two national law firms, was a pioneer in representing US high-technology startup companies and then representing Japanese multinational companies. He developed one of the US’s leading IP practices serving Japanese clients.

Lubitz’s clients have included such companies as Kyocera, Sharp, Seiko Epson, Toshiba, Olympus, Ricoh, Hitachi, Panasonic, Sanyo, Glory, Minolta, Casio, Murata Machinery, Murata Manufacturing, Ishida Scales, Dainippon Screen, and Citizen Watch, as well as GE, Honeywell, Fairchild Semiconductor, Sperry Rand, Western Digital, Emulex, Ampex, Measurex, Dataproducts, Western Offshore, Hydranautics, Cyberdyne, MicroMask, Intersil, AVX, Intel, DEP, and Sebastian International. Lubitz was the first Westerner to be selected as a director of a large Japanese public company, and one of the few patent attorneys to serve on the board of a New York Stock Exchange company. 

At DLA Piper, Lubitz will assist in expanding and developing the firm’s already extensive practice serving Japanese clients in connection with patent litigation, licensing, counseling, prosecution, negotiation, and opinions, as well as with competition issues. He will be reunited with his former partners Rich de Bodo, DLA Piper’s Co-Chair of Patent Litigation and a leader of its Japanese IP practice, Henry Koda, the Manager of DLA Piper’s IP Practice in Tokyo, and many other former colleagues.

“Stuart is an IP superstar,” said de Bodo. “His experience, knowledge, business insights, and mastery of the Japan and US IP fields are unparalleled. We are extremely fortunate to have him join DLA Piper.  With Stuart Lubitz and Henry Koda, we have two of the most respected IP lawyers in Japan, working with our strong team of patent litigators and prosecutors throughout the US and Japan.” Koda has practiced US patent law for 40 years, and is a law professor in Japan and the author of 15 books on US patent litigation in Japanese. 

“I am very excited to be working again with Rich de Bodo, Henry Koda and many other former colleagues, and to join the outstanding team at DLA Piper,” said Lubitz. “DLA Piper already has an excellent IP practice, and has unlimited potential in the Japanese IP market.” 

“We are thrilled to have Stuart join us,” said John Allcock, DLA Piper’s Global Co-Chair of IP and Technology. “DLA Piper is already recognized as an outstanding IP firm in Japan. Stuart will help us take our practice to an even higher level.”