Intellectual Property Governance Specialist

About this role

This role leads intellectual property governance for the Money Forward group, with trademarks and brands as the main focus alongside trade secrets and copyrights. The IP Strategy Office treats intellectual property broadly, including technology, data, know-how, brands, and services, and works with business strategy and research strategy. The position supports a fintech business with more than 60 products and overseas development bases.

Responsibilities include designing and operating the trademark portfolio, leading domestic and international trademark filings, rights acquisition and renewals, and responding to imitation services, unauthorized use, bad-faith applications, domains, and impersonation accounts. The role also leads the development and operation of a group-wide compliance framework for confidential information and trade secrets, coordinating with relevant departments on information handling under the company’s confidentiality rules.

As overseas development bases expand, the position designs group-wide IP governance and promotes the protection and effective use of intellectual assets across borders through communication in English. It also develops and delivers IP training for each base with overseas development members, leads internal education to improve IP literacy, and responds to internal copyright consultations. Future involvement in the core of organizational operations is expected depending on experience and interests.

Required qualifications include approximately seven or more years of practical experience in trademarks and brands, including leadership of brand strategy in an operating company beyond applications and rights acquisition. Business communication ability in English and experience using AI to improve work efficiency are also required. Preferred experience includes trade-secret or copyright work, planning and delivering internal training or study sessions, external IP relations or contracts, collaboration with brand or marketing teams, work in multinational or multicultural teams, leadership or management, and a patent attorney qualification.

The position is a full-time employee role in Minato, Tokyo. Annual compensation is approximately 7.308 million to 12 million JPY, paid monthly, including fixed allowances for 45 hours of prescribed or statutory overtime and holiday work and 40 hours of late-night work. The position uses a flextime system with eight standard working hours, a 60-minute break, flexible hours from 7:00 to 22:00, and core-time options of 10:00 to 15:00 or 9:30 to 14:30. Work beyond scheduled hours may occur. The probationary period is three months from the start date.

The work style is hybrid: two office days per week are generally required, three or more are recommended, and the days vary by team and business circumstances. Holidays include Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays, annual paid leave, three summer days, two winter days, and year-end and New Year holidays from December 31 through January 3. Benefits include social insurance, a nearby housing allowance, a nearby moving bonus, a rent deduction program, health examinations, gynecological examinations, influenza vaccination, a book-purchase subsidy, a corporate defined-contribution pension, an employee stock ownership plan, and discounts from contracted providers for rental brokerage, housekeeping, babysitting, and online English lessons. A high-performance bonus may be paid to highly rated employees after semiannual evaluations, depending on company performance. Selection consists of document screening, a first selection, a final selection, and an offer meeting; a reference check may be conducted around the interviews.