A true passion for patent information, boundless enthusiasm, and a deep-rooted commitment to share his knowledge with others. These are just some of the attributes that have contributed to Dr. Tsutomu Kiriyama’s success in traversing international boundaries for the sake of advancing patent information.
Dr. Kiriyama attributes the door to the global patent information community being opened to him in 2001 by Ms. Irene Schellner of the European Patent Office. She later introduced him to Ms. Minoo Phillip, Chair of the Patent Documentation Group, and Dr. Tsutomu Kiriyama has been a valued participant in global patent information dialogues ever since.
Dr. Kiriyama spent his early career at the R&D division of Teijin and, at the age of 48, seized the opportunity to move to the IP division where he became Manager of the IP Information Group and his career in patent information took off in earnest. He later joined the Patent Information Research Laboratory at Japio (Japan Patent Information Organization) in 2006 as a guest researcher and became an active member of INFOSTA, the Information Science and Technology Association in Japan.
Early on, Dr. Kiriyama dedicated himself to mentoring new patent information search talent, becoming a great teacher to others over many years. He was instrumental in building free training and study meetings in Japan (supported by Raytec Co. ) from 2006, for which he continues to serve as head teacher, having taught patent information analysis techniques to over 400 individuals.
2007 saw the inception of the first ever Patent Information Retrieval Contest (PIRC) in Japan. Dr. Kiriyama strongly assisted Mr. Nakade, the first Chair of PIRC, in this groundbreaking accomplishment for the first five years. This has now grown into the Japan Patent Search Grand Prix, sponsored by the Industrial Property Cooperation Center (IPCC), with more than 500 participants. In 2011 Dr. Kiriyama published the book “50 Arts and Practices of Patent Search”, and in 2014 he joined the advisory board for the World Patent Information journal.
The IPI-Award announcement was made at the Patent Information Users Group (PIUG) Annual Meeting in Alexandria on May 7, 2018 by Ms. Lucy Antunes, Chair of the International Selection Board, stating that: “Dr. Kiriyama’s impressive list of accomplishments and enduring contributions to the patent information community has spanned many years. He has played an important and pioneering role as a bridge between Europe, the US and Japan, meeting with influential leaders of patent associations and corporations and presenting many insightful papers at international conferences, including the first JPINFO held by the EPO in Vienna in 2002.”
In addition, IPI-Award founder and sponsor, Mr. Ford Khorsandian, President of Technology & Patent Research (TPR) International, acknowledged Dr. Kiriyama as a great teacher of our time and thanked him for promoting the value of patent information professionals and for his service on the IPI-Award International Selection Board from 2012 to 2016.
Dr. Kiriyama currently serves as “IP Research Fellow” at Japio. He continues to research and present on a diverse range of patent information topics and is currently working on a report on Artificial Intelligence.
A celebratory awards dinner was held at the USPTO Atrium as part of the PIUG Annual Meeting. Dr. Kiriyama shared his reflections and paid tribute to the great teachers in his own life. Congratulatory messages were shared on behalf of: Mr. Teramoto of Japio/IPCC, Mr. Nakade, former Chair of the Executive Committee for PIRC, and Ms. Irene Schellner of the EPO.
The IPI-Award adds to the other awards that have been bestowed upon Dr. Kiriyama, including the INFOSTA ‘Information Service Achievement Award’ in 2009 and the Japio ‘Patent Information Achievement Award’ in 2012.
The IPI Award was established in 2000 to recognize key individuals whose dedication has had a significant and lasting impact on patent information. Sponsor TPR International is a world-leading search firm with over 20 years of expertise in successfully completing thousands of patent searching projects in all areas of technology.
For further information, visit www.IPI-Award.com, or contact Trudi Jones, Trudi@TPRInternational.com, +1 (858) 592 9084.
