Toshi Futamata is a leading figure in Japan’s Standard Essential Patent (SEP) community, shaping policy, industry practice, and academic debate. After overseas assignments in Germany and Singapore with Panasonic Corporation, he led international licensing negotiations and built extensive experience in patent strategy. He later served for five years as President of the Japan office of Sisvel, overseeing the formation, operation, and negotiation of international patent pools. Since 2013, he has chaired the SEP Expert Group Japan, a bimonthly forum bringing together stakeholders from industry, government, and the legal profession, and he co-hosts the annual Global SEP Workshop. He lectures on intellectual property strategy at The University of Tokyo and Osaka Institute of Technology and serves as an instructor for the Japan Patent Office’s APIC overseas IP expert training program. He was named to the IAM Strategy 300 (2023–2025).