Focus on Faculty: Takenaka Receives Commendation

Professor Toshiko Takenaka recently received the Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendation for her contributions to the promotion of the Rule of Law in the international legal community. Nominated by the Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle, the award acknowledges how her work at UW Law has fostered educational excellence and international collaboration between Japanese legal professionals and students both in the U.S. and in Japan.

Takenaka’s commendation arrived shortly before the publication and forthcoming distribution of her new book, The Law and Theory of Patents, published by Edward Elgar Publishing to critical acclaim from UC Berkeley, the European Patent Office and the University of Nottingham. The book examines foundational questions in patent law and theory, contributing to ongoing scholarly discussions about patent systems and innovation.

Takenaka is the Washington Research Foundation/W. Hunter Simpson Professor of Technology Law and a member of the Asian Law Center at UW Law.