Benrishi (弁理士) is a Japanese legal profession specifically licensed to practice intellectual property law.
Benrishi also have greater authority than patent specialists in other countries, as they are allowed to represent clients in administrative proceedings and out-of-court bargaining related to IP rights.
The benrishi profession was adopted from German patent law, which Japan duplicated during the Meiji era.
The Benrishi Law (弁理士法 benrishi-hō) was passed in 1921[2] and remained almost unchanged through the end of the 20th century.
The law was revised again in 2002 to allow benrishi to represent clients in courtroom litigation, either independently of or in cooperation with attorneys.
Benrishi has been qualified to be a legal representative for appealing to the Intellectual Property High Court (the exclusive jurisdiction) representing the client against the adverse decision of Trial Board (consisting of three administrative trial judges) of Japan Patent Office, and even up to the Supreme Court (The Benrishi Law Article 6).