Patents

The Israeli Patents Law 5727–1967 states that an invention is deemed new if it was not published, in Israel or abroad, before the application date. Such publication may be by written, visual, audible or any other description, or by exploitation or exhibition. A prior publication is considered as such if it is in a manner that enables a person skilled in the art to make it based on the publication description.

Accordingly, not every hint relating to the invention is considered as prior publication. However, it is highly recommended to consider carefully before exposing the invention in order to avoid such disclosure from being considered as publication.

The numbers appearing as part of the titles of Israeli Legislation (such as 5727 in the Patents Law, 5727-1967), reflect the Jewish calendar year in which the law was enacted.  The Gregorian calendar is also noted in the title of the law.

In Israel, a patent attorney is not necessarily a lawyer.  

Generally, a patent attorney is a person who graduated from an institution of higher education in one of the following fields:  engineering, chemistry, physics, biology, pharmaceutical science, or computer science.  However, a patent attorney’s education in the field of law is limited mainly to the Patents Law and other Intellectual Property related laws, which he studies practically during his qualifying service period in work and for which he is examined before being granted a license.  For further details on eligibility for registration in the Register of Patent Attorneys, please see previous question in this site.

A patent attorney is permitted to work in Israel for pay in respect of patents, designs and trademark applications and prepare any document which is to be filed to the Registrar, to the Patent Office, or to an authority for the protection of industrial property in another country, and to represent clients and handle proceedings before the Registrar or the Patent Office.  In addition, a patent attorney may have, subject to permission of the Court, the right to argue before the Court on behalf of a party in proceedings under the Patents Law 5727-1967, in all matters relating to an invention or a patent which is not a point of law, and provided that the advocate of the same party is present at that time.

An advocate, on the other hand, is a member of the Israel bar association, and as such has an exclusive right to deal with legal proceedings, give opinions regarding matters of law and represent before a court of law and before official authorities, such as the Patent, Trademarks, and Design office.  Therefore, an advocate may perform all the same services as a patent attorney.  In addition, an advocate may handle any legal proceeding, including litigation relating to Intellectual Property and Intellectual Property related agreements.  Nonetheless, in legal proceedings relating to patents, an advocate would normally cooperate with a patent attorney who is knowledgeable in the technological field of the invention and its details.

RCG offers its clients the best of both worlds.  The group includes both patent attorneys and advocates who work in tandem. 

A patent attorney in Israel is a person registered in the Register of Patent Attorneys who holds a patent attorney’s license.
In order to receive an Israeli patent attorney’s license, a person needs to be an Israeli resident, be registered as an engineer in the Register of Engineers and Architects under the Engineers and Architects Law 5718-1958, or have graduated from an institution of higher education in one of the following professions: engineering, chemistry, physics, biology, pharmaceutical science, or computer science.  In addition, he needs to have performed qualifying service in Israel during not less than two years in the office of an experienced patent attorney (or in the patent department of an industrial enterprise), and he is required to pass the Bar exams (or be exempted therefrom) in order to receive the license.  Thereafter, the patent attorney needs to pay an annual fee in order to maintain the validity of his license.

In Israel, a patent is an asset which can be assigned both by agreement and by act of law (for example as part of an inheritance).

Assignment of patent rights (or in an invention) has to be done in writing, and will have no effect on any third party, unless it is registered in the Patents Register accordingly, as prescribed by law.
A patentee or an owner of a patent application may also grant a license to exercise the invention, and such a license will have no effect on any third party unless registered in the Patents Registrar, as prescribed by Israeli law.

Yes, a patent may be placed under a charge. A patentee may use the patent or any revenue therefrom or both as a guarantee and the charge must be drafted in a written document.

According to Section 19 of the Patents Law, 5727-1967, a charge on a patent shall have no effect with regard to any other creditor or the patent holder or to a liquidator or trustee in bankruptcy of the patent holder, unless it was registered in the Register within twenty-one days after the day on which it is created, and it is subject to any other right in the patent granted before the charge was created and duly registered under this law. However, if the patent is part of assets charged with a floating charge by a corporation, the floating charge need not be registered according to said section.