Region: Israel

The deputy commissioner has accepted PUMA's opposition to a combination word-image obtained by clothing manufacturer Tigris. However, there appears to be little logic in this decision: it is difficult to see the two marks as confusingly similar, and other companies have marks featuring feline silhouettes so PUMA clearly has no monopoly on such marks.

29 June 2011

In a case involving a patented drug and its generic versions, the Supreme Court has held that where there is adequate support for a dependent claim and it is fairly based on the specification, the dependent claim can survive even if the independent claim on which it was based was invalidated. It is hoped that this judgment will lay this controversial issue to rest.

22 June 2011

The Supreme Court has upheld a refusal of the Tel Aviv District Court to grant an injunction to Merck, the applicant for a pharmaceutical patent for Focalin, in order to prevent generic competitors from exploiting a patent during the post-examination opposition period. Merck had cited unjust enrichment as grounds for the injunction.

15 June 2011

Deputy Commissioner Noah Shalev Shmulovich recently considered the validity of a design registration for a window seal for the regulation window of a sealed room. After considering all the issues, he ruled that the customer was the building contractor and not the home purchaser, and considered the design to be sufficiently novel and original to be registrable.

27 April 2011

Jewellery manufacturer H Stern recently sued Aryeh Poziloff for marketing and selling a similar but substantially cheaper version of H Stern's Juliana ring, which is decorated with a seal of Solomon and has five pointed stars engraved inside the band. The case was brought on a variety of grounds, including trademark and copyright infringement, and unjust enrichment.

13 April 2011

Asa Kling has been selected to be the next commissioner of patents and trademarks. He succeeds Meir Noam, who held the position for seven years. The position is equivalent to that of a district court judge.

23 March 2011

AGS Green LTD filed a trademark application for a tahini container in Class 29 of the <i>Trademark Register</i>. The mark consisted of the three-dimensional container that the firm uses for selling its raw tahini paste. The deputy commissioner of patents and trademarks has used the case in question to rule on the trademark registrability of containers for liquids.

02 March 2011

Judge Michal Agmon-Gonen has dismissed claims by Adidas against Galel Yassin, who imported cheap training shoes from China. The shoes have four parallel diagonal stripes on each side and Adidas claimed that this infringed its famous three-stripe logo. The ruling indicates that the judge was not enamoured with recent trends that see brands and trademarks as property in themselves.

23 February 2011

The <i>Knesset</i> has passed an amendment to the Patent Law 1967, which takes effect from 1st January 2007 and provides that the first publication of biographical details, name of applicant, title of application, priority and filing date for new patent filings can be carried out online and not just in the (printed) official Patent Office gazette, the <i>Reshumot</i>.

16 February 2011

A Tel Aviv judge recently ruled that Israel Customs was wrong to attempt to charge Levi Strauss & Co for the cost of storing and eventually destroying confiscated counterfeit jeans. The decision highlights one issue that can arise when Customs proactively seizes and holds goods that are suspected of infringing copyrights and trademarks.

09 February 2011