Patents filed in Israel are governed by the Israel Patent Act of 1967, and the appropriate regulations and Registrar’s guidelines enacted thereof.
In order for an invention to be accepted as a patent, two main statutory requirements should be applied: Novelty and Inventive Step.
As we are familiar with the uncertainty of filing for patents in a foreign territory, we have provided you with some Frequently Asked Questions relating to filing for a patent in Israel:
Q: Is Israel a member of the Paris Convention?
A: YES. Israel is part of the Paris Convention, therefore, when filing for a patent in Israel for the first time, applicant has a period of one year (12 months) from the application date from which he can file his application in parallel countries also part of the Paris Convention.
Q: When does applicant have to claim priority on a previously filed application?
A: When filing for an Israeli application, applicant may claim priority per the condition detailed above, provided a period of two months has not passed since the filing date of the Israeli application.
Q: What is a “Priority Document”?
A: When claiming priority on a previously filed application, applicant has to file a certified copy of the foreign application, referred to also as a Priority Document, within 3 months of the Israeli application’s filing date.
Q: After I receive my Official Filing Receipt, what happens next? Do I have to file for a Request for Examination?
A: NO you don’t. Once the Official Filing Receipt has been sent to the applicant, the application takes its turn in the existing queue of the pending patent applications, waiting to be Examined. As opposed to other patent laws around the world, the Israeli Patent System DOES NOT require the applicant to request examination. When the application will arrive to its Queue, an Examiner will be appointed to handle the specific case and a First Communication from the Patent Office, will be sent, notifying the applicant that the Examination process is about to begin and on which occasion, applicant has to disclose prior art on parallel applications; to ask for an expedited examination process or to amend the claimed as filed.
However, it should be stressed that the scope of the claims CANNOT be further broadened at this stage.
Q: What happens after I receive a Notice of Allowance from the Examiner?
A: Applicant now has to pay the publication fee, in the amount of NIS 480 (subject to currency fluctuations), which is approximately US $120 to date.
Q: What happens after I pay the publication fee?
A: The public has a period of 3 months to oppose the registration of the patent, followed by which the application will proceed to registration and a Registration Certificate will be issued.
