In 1970, Name Ono joined the Japan Patent Office (JPO) as a chemical examiner and he held several high positions in the JPO. He was appointed deputy commissioner in June 2002 and served until October 2005.
He vigorously advanced trilateral (EPO, USPTO, JPO) cooperation in patent examination and the international harmonisation of IP systems to globally support the acquisition of rights, including proposing a Patent Prosecution Highway by the JPO, and took initiative in establishing examination policies, guidelines and in conducting comparative studies among trilateral offices in fields of cutting-edge technologies, such as gene-related and pharmaceutical inventions.
After joining Yuasa and Hara in October 2005, he has been a patent attorney in the chemical section focusing on contested cases such as invalidation trials and opposition for global clients. Since 2007 he has been acting managing partner and head of the patent division.