Israel

Israel overview

Overview of Israel's intellectual property system

3. patent system

Inventors and their successors.

English, Hebrew, and Arabic can be selected.

(i) Paris route

(ii) PCT route (transition period: 30 months from the priority date)

• *A request for restoration of priority (PCT Rule 49ter.3.2) must be made if the international filing date is within a two-month period from the expiry of the priority period, and the expiration of the period is within the ``considerable extent required by the circumstances.'' If it is determined that the problem occurred despite careful attention, it will be recognized under the prescribed procedures.

When entering the national phase of a PCT application, an application fee of 69,000 new shekels (approximately 2021 yen (converted at the August 8 exchange rate)) is required.

(i) Formality examination

After filing, a formality examination will be conducted, and if the requirements are met, an application number will be assigned. If a patent is granted, the application number becomes the patent number.

(ii) Application publication

On July 12, 2012, the application publication system came into effect, and a compensation claim system was also introduced.
Applications other than PCT national phase applications are published 18 months after the earliest priority date.
PCT national phase applications are published 45 days after the date of transition to Israel.
As an exception, if the application is abandoned within 7 days from the date of issuance of the notification that the application will be published, the application will not be published.

(iii) Notice Priority to Examination

A Notice Prior to Examination is issued on average one to two years after filing, and the following responses are required.

・Disclosure of prior art information
　There is a system similar to the IDS in the United States, and the following items must be submitted. English translations of non-English documents must be submitted.

Prior art must be submitted until the Israeli application is granted patent rights.
* A third party may submit prior art within two months from the date on which the applicant submits the above prior art, and the examiner may use this. Therefore, it can be said that there is an information provision system.

(iv) Examination request system

There is no review request system.No official fee is required to start the review.

(v) Type of examination

In addition to regular substantive examination, simplified examination and accelerated examination are available, and the Patent Prosecution Highway is also available.
In addition, the Israel Patent Office conducts cross-referencing of dossier information with the Japan Patent Office.
(a) Ordinary Substantive Examination After completing the response to the Notice Prior to Examination, the application will be assigned to an examiner and substantive examination will begin.
(b) Modified Examination
Expedited examination means that if a designated foreign patent office* grants a patent to a foreign application for an invention with the same content as the Israeli application, the Israeli application will be deemed to satisfy the patent requirements such as novelty, and a substantive examination will be conducted. This is a system in which patents are granted without having to do so. It is used for about 10-20% of applications.
*USA, Canada, Japan, EPO, Australia, Denmark, Germany, UK, Russia, Norway, Sweden

　　① Timing requirements for application
　　Requests can be made at any time until the Notice of Allowance is issued.

　　② Subjective requirements for application
　　Limited to the applicant.

　　③Objective requirements for application
　　・Either the Israeli application and the corresponding foreign patent claim priority over the other, or both claim priority to another corresponding foreign patent.
　　・The claims of the Israeli application match the claims of the corresponding patent 1, and the number of claims of the Israeli application is smaller than the number of claims of the corresponding patent, that is, the Israeli application is included in the corresponding patent.
　　・The corresponding foreign patent must have been granted in Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, European Patent Office, Germany, Japan, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, or the United States.
　　・It is also possible to make a request based on the claims of a PCT application for which a positive opinion has been expressed in the International Searching Authority's written opinion and/or international preliminary report.
　　・It is also possible to apply for simplified examination for divisional applications.

　　④Procedural requirements for application
　　・Apply in writing to apply for simplified examination.
　　・Translate and submit the notice of allowance or certificate of patent for the corresponding foreign application, as well as the claims, specification, and drawings of the corresponding patent, into the official language of Israel. No translation required for English.
　　・There is no additional cost for applying for simple examination.

　　⑤ Others
　　・Can request suspension of examination of the Israeli application until the corresponding foreign application is granted a patent. Submission of the reason for requesting suspension of examination and payment of fee are required. However, if the suspension of examination would unduly prolong the pending status of the Israeli application, the examiner will conduct an examination.
　　・When a patent is granted for a corresponding foreign application, simplified examination is not always granted; the examiner is given the power to refuse a request for simplified examination (for example, if the examiner does not meet the patentability requirements) (e.g., if you think that the requirements are not met). If the request for simplified examination is refused, a regular substantive examination will be conducted.

　(c) Advance Examination
　In Israel, as a general rule, examinations are conducted in the order in which applications are filed, but it is possible to apply for accelerated examination by submitting valid reasons and paying a fee. If the application is approved, a Notice Prior to Examination will be issued early, the order of examination will be moved up, and it is expected that the examination will begin within one month. The number of applications in 2020 was 233.

　　① Subjective requirements for application
　　Applicants and third parties can apply.

　　②Objective requirements for application
　　Applications can be made for all applications.

　　③Reason for application
　　There are no specific reasons for the application. Typical reasons include the following.

　　・Infringement or preparation for infringement by a third party.
　　・The company is already doing business in Israel or is planning to start doing business soon.
　　・The absence of a patent right may cause significant financial damage to the applicant.

　(d) Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH)
　PPH program is available with 21 countries around the world.
　In relation to Japan, specifically, the following applications are subject to the application.
　　① Applications that are determined to be patentable in the domestic examination in the partner country
　　② PCT application for which the Japan Patent Office or the Israel Patent Office has expressed the opinion that it is patentable as an International Searching Authority or International Preliminary Examining Authority
　　- Applications for PPH can be made at any time before the first OA is issued.
　　・Claims must sufficiently correspond to the claims of the corresponding application that is considered patentable.
　　・The number of PPH applications in Israel in 2020 was 608.

　(e) Green application
　Inventions that are useful for improving the environment, such as preventing global warming, preventing air pollution, preventing water pollution, promoting non-polluting agriculture, alternative energy, etc., can be examined as green applications if they meet certain criteria. .
　If an application is classified as a green application, examination will begin within three months from the date of classification. Even if a regular application has already been filed, it is possible to request classification as a green application before the substantive examination begins. There is no agency fee for making a claim.
　The number of uses in 2020 was 61.

(vi) Patent requirements, etc.

(a) Reasons for non-patentability
　　① Human treatment and diagnostic methods
　　② Anything that is merely a provision of information
　　③What is nothing more than a purely spiritual method
　　④The computer program itself
　　⑤Inventions that may violate public order and morals
　　⑥ New species of animals or plants (Plants can be protected under the Seed and Seedling Law)
　　⑦Business-related inventions

(b) Unity of invention
　　If the examiner determines that a claim includes multiple inventions, he or she may be required to select one invention before starting the substantive examination (restriction request).

(c) Novelty, inventive step, industrial applicability
　　An invention that is known anywhere in the world before the patent filing date (or priority date) is considered not novel. Publicly known, publicly used, and publicly known documents are eligible. There are no targets that are judged to have no industrial applicability.

(d) Exception to loss of novelty
　The following cases are deemed not to lose novelty:
　　① When an invention is made public against the will of the person who has the right to obtain a patent.
　　② If the person entitled to obtain a patent or his/her successor makes the invention publicly known within six months before the filing date. However, the application is limited to exhibitions held within Israel and publicly recognized exhibitions within countries affiliated with the Treaty of Paris.

(vii) Divisional application

　(a) Divisional applications may be filed at any time until the application is approved. Grandchild applications based on divisional applications are also possible.
　(b) If the filing date and applicant of the original application and divisional application are the same, the following ① and ② are accepted (does not constitute a reason for refusal as double patenting). From 2020/2/10.
　　① When one claim is a generic concept of the other claim (e.g., when the original application broadly specifies compounds by a general formula, and the divisional application specifies specific compounds included in the general formula)
　　② When the scope of the claims of both applications overlap (e.g., when the general formula of the claims of the original application and the general formula of the claims of the divisional application partially overlap)

If one application and the other application have the same claims, the reason for refusal of double patenting will be notified as before.

(viii) Change of application

Not possible because there is no system.

(ix) Notice of reasons for refusal

　(a) Number of issues and response period
　　There is no limit to the number of times a notice of reasons for refusal may be issued. The response period is 4 months.
　(b) Extension of response period
　　By paying the extension fee, you can do the following: Extended periods (up to 6 months) for responding to a Notice Prior to Examination are not included in the 15 or 12 months below.
　　- Applications whose examination started before March 27, 2017 can be extended for up to 6 months. Each OA can be extended for up to six months, but the total cannot exceed 15 months.
　　- Applications whose examination started after March 27, 2017 can be extended for up to 4 months. Each OA can be extended by up to four months, but the total cannot exceed 12 months.
　　If you do not respond or pay the extension fee, a Notice Prior to Refusal will be issued five months after the initial response deadline, and if you do not respond within one month, your application will be rejected for the final time.

　(c) Period until 1st OA issuance (2020)

[Table 3]

• (d) Israel participates in WIPO-CASE (Centralized Access to Search and Examination) and provides dossier information to examiners from participating countries and to general users.

(x) About correction

　Amendments to the claims, description, etc. may be made at any time until the Notice of Allowance is issued. Even after the Notice of Allowance is issued, amendments that do not broaden the scope of the claims may be made. Amendments after a Notice of Allowance is issued are often made during the opposition period in order to make the patent stronger.

(xi) Decision of refusal

　A request for appeal against the decision of refusal may be filed with the Registrar within one month of the decision of refusal.

(xii) Objection

　Once a Notice of Allowance is issued, the application is published and any person may file an opposition within three months from the date of publication. Once a notice of opposition is filed, a copy of the notice of opposition will be served on the applicant, and the applicant must respond within three months.

(xiii) Invalidation trial

　Requests can be made at any time after the patent is granted.

(xiv) Recovery of abandoned application

　Recovery may be attempted by seeking Reconsideration of the Rejection within 12 months from the date the waiver is finalized. In this case, an affidavit must be filed specifying the circumstances that led to the abandonment of the application, that the applicant had no intention of abandoning the application, and that the applicant had taken reasonable measures to maintain the application. must be shown.

20 years from the filing date. For pharmaceutical products, it can be extended for up to five years.

design system

It is a member of the Paris Convention, the TRIPS Agreement, the Berne Convention, and the Hague Agreement.

(i) Unity

　　One design, one application. It is possible to file a single application for a design that applies to a series of articles with common characteristics that are sold and used as a unit (a design for a set). *It is now possible to include multiple designs in one application. However, as in the case of one application for one design, each design is assigned a different application number, and filing fees are incurred for each design.

(ii) Application publication

　An application publication system has been adopted, and patents are published by the Israel Patent Office on the agency's website immediately after filing.
　Applicants may request an extension of the publication date within a period not exceeding six months from the filing date of the application.

(iii) Substantive examination

　　① There is no examination request system, and all applications are subject to substantive examination.
　　②It must be novel and not contrary to law or public order and morals. The criterion for novelty is cosmopolitanism. *See (5) for changes to novelty criteria.

(iv) System specific to designs

　　It has a partial design system. There is no secret design system.

(v) Responding to/appealing to the notice of reasons for refusal

　　The period for responding to a notice of reasons for refusal is 12 months. In the case of a final refusal by the Registrar, a request for oral proceedings may be filed within one month from the date of notification; if the refusal by the Registrar after oral proceedings is refused, an appeal may be filed with the District Court within one month. It can be carried out.

(vi) Registration

　　The duration of a design right is five years from the filing date, and it can be extended four times in five-year increments by filing a renewal application (up to a maximum of 25 years). The effect of design rights extends to registered designs and designs similar to them.
*See (5) for changes to the duration.

(i) Scope of effect

　　A design right holder has exclusive rights to the registered design and similar designs.
　　→ Judgment of similarity is determined by the visual impression of the purchaser (customer).

(ii) License

　　Registration is compulsory.

On July 2017, 7, Israel's Knesset unanimously approved the new Design Law (the "New Law"). The new law replaced the old Patent and Design Law enacted in 26 and went into effect on August 1924, 2018.

The main purpose of the new law is to extend the protection of design rights in various industrial fields that were not considered under the old law (graphic symbols, screen displays, and other general creations of modern design). The new law will enable Israel to join the Hague Convention on the International Registration of Industrial Designs. In addition to adding graphic symbols (excluding fonts) and screen displays as protection targets, the main amendments are as follows.

(i) Term

After the new law is enacted, registered designs will last for 25 years. In addition, the maximum duration of registered designs under the old law was 15 years, but has been extended to 18 years through renewal procedures.

(ii) Protection of unregistered designs

Even unregistered designs are granted a protection period of up to three years from the earliest public notice to prevent them from being imitated for commercial purposes.

(iii) novelty;

Under the old law, the geographic criterion for novelty was within Israel. With the establishment of the new law, the criteria for determining novelty has been expanded to include the entire world, and even if the product is publicly known outside of Israel, it will be determined that it is not novel.

(iv) Exception to loss of novelty

If the applicant has made the design publicly known, or if it has been made publicly known by a third party based on information obtained from the applicant, an exception to the lack of novelty can be applied if the design application is filed within 12 months from the date of public knowledge. I was forced to do so.

trademark system

Japan has acceded to the Paris Convention, the TRIPS Agreement, the Madrid Protocol, and the Nice Agreement.

It is possible to register new trademarks such as trademarks, service marks, collective trademarks, certification trademarks, three-dimensional trademarks, and only sounds, smells, and colors.

(i) Application publication

The application publication system is not adopted.

(ii) Substantive examination

　　① There is no examination request system, and all applications are subject to substantive examination.
　　② The trademark will be examined for distinctiveness and similarity to existing registered trademarks.
　　③The main reasons for non-registration are as follows.
　　　・Marks that lack distinctiveness
　　　*It is permitted to amend the trademark to make it distinctive (follow the registrar's instructions for amendment)
　　　・Marks that violate public order and morals
　　　・Marks that are the same as or similar to another person's prior trademark
　　　・Marks that mislead the country of origin
　　　・Marks that may suggest a relationship with the president
　　④It is not required to be registered in the home country.
　*The review period was approximately 2017 months in 16, but has been shortened to approximately 2018 months in 12. This is thought to be due to progress in the training of examiners and changes to the processing system, and it is expected that the examination period will continue to be shortened in the future.

(iii) Response to/appeal to notice of reasons for refusal

　　① The period for responding to a notice of reasons for refusal is three months.
　　②Disclaimer is allowed.
　　③ If the decision of refusal is made, an appeal can be filed to the Supreme Court.

(iv) Objection

The opposition period is three months from the date of publication of the application.

(v) Registration

The term of trademark right is 10 years from the filing date and can be renewed in 10-year increments. Proof of use is not required for renewal.

(vi) Cancellation system

① Non-use cancellation system
　If a registered trademark is not used for three years after registration, the trademark registration may be canceled upon request from any interested party.
② Registration cancellation system
　Within five years of registration, interested parties may request cancellation of trademark registration on the grounds that it falls under the grounds for non-registration.

(i) Scope of effect

　　Trademarks similar to registered trademarksBut,Goods and services similar to the goods and services designated by the registered trademarkIt is said that trademark rights do not apply if the trademark is used in

(ii) License

　　Registration is compulsory.

copyright system

It is a member of the Berne Convention, the Performers Convention, the Record Protection Convention, and the Universal Copyright Convention (1952 Convention).

A new copyright law was enacted in 2007 and has been in force since 2008. The main point of this amendment was the introduction of the US version of fair use provisions regarding copyright restrictions (until then, the UK version of fair dealing was said to have been adopted).

Copyright Act Article 19 [Fair Use]
(a) Fair use of copyrighted material is permitted for purposes such as private study, research, criticism, commentary, reporting, citation, or teaching or testing by educational institutions.
(b) Factors to be considered in determining whether use of a work is fair within the meaning of this section include, inter alia:
　　① Purpose and nature of use
　　② Nature of the copyrighted work used
　　③Quantitative and qualitative scope of use in relation to the work as a whole
　　④ Impact of use on the value and potential market of the copyrighted work

In addition to the above, the following rights restriction provisions are in place.
　　・Article 20: Use of copyrighted works in judicial or administrative proceedings
　　・Article 21: Copying of works kept for public viewing
　　・Article 22: Incidental use of copyrighted works
　　・Article 23: Broadcasting or reproduction of copyrighted works in public places
　　・Article 24: Computer programs
　　・Article 25: Recording and recording for the purpose of broadcasting
　　・Article 26: Temporary reproduction
　　・Article 27: Additional artistic works created by the author
　　・Article 28: Renovation or renovation of buildings
　　・Article 29: Performances at educational institutions
　　・Article 30: Permissible use in libraries and archives
　　・Article 31: Regulations regarding educational institutions, libraries, and archives
　　・Article 32: Payment of copyright royalties related to record production

References