Region: Israel

The Jerusalem District Court has dismissed claims of copyright infringement, misappropriation, passing off, unjust enrichment and defamation brought by Ketuvim Almog Ltd, the publisher of an indexed edition of Maimonides's <i>Mishneh Torah</i> (a classic code of Jewish religious law), against a Jewish institute of learning.

26 November 2008

In cross-opposition proceedings, the deputy registrar of trademarks has dismissed oppositions to the registration of the marks GALILEE WINERY and GALILEE MOUNTAINS WINERY for goods in the same class, holding that both marks could coexist on the register. Among other things, the registrar held that the market for wine and that for other alcoholic beverages are clearly distinguishable.

01 October 2008

The registrar of trademarks has upheld a decision to make the registration of three device marks containing the words "lady speed stick" conditional on the applicant including a notice of disclaimer for "lady" and "stick". Among other things, the registrar held that the applicant could not rely on the descriptive use exception under Section 47 of the Trademarks Ordinance.

27 August 2008

The registrar of trademarks has cancelled five Israeli trademarks containing the word ‘Versace’ on the grounds of bad-faith registration. The registrar held that an action for cancellation on such grounds may be filed at any time under the Trademarks Ordinance, even where the relevant provision came into force after the mark was registered.

20 August 2008

A recent case demonstrates how patent ownership issues can come to bear on tax evasion, thus going far beyond the typical context of patent infringement actions and ownership disputes. The judgment shows that misrepresentations as to inventing and owning an invention may result in criminal tax proceedings.

13 August 2008

The Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of a decision of the registrar of trademarks to refuse the registration of three-dimensional packaging and a product shape as trademarks. Both the registrar and the court found that the packaging and shapes were not inherently distinctive or proven to have acquired distinctiveness, and therefore could not be registered.

09 July 2008

Until recently, applications to divide a patent application could be filed at any time up to the acceptance of the parent application. However, the Israeli Patent Office has now changed its practice in regard to lack of uniformity objections to provide that divisional applications must be filed within four months of the objection.

02 July 2008

The Israel Supreme Court has dismissed the Tea Board of India's petition for an additional hearing in opposition proceedings involving the trademark DARJEELING. In doing so, it relied on the principle that the importance of a legal issue does not necessarily warrant the re-opening of an appellate decision.

18 June 2008

In <i>Klein v Klalit Medical Fund Ltd</i>, the Tel Aviv District Court has dismissed the defendants' motion to strike the plaintiff's complaint before the start of the trial on the grounds of lack of privity and lack of cause of action. Among other things, the court held that the defendants could not rely on an earlier decision involving two of the parties as <i>res judicata</i>.

14 May 2008

The new Copyright Law, a comprehensive and long overdue reform of the Israeli copyright regime, is due to come into force later this month. Among other things, the law redefines the rights that fall within the scope of copyright, establishes a US-style fair-use defence and provides a different scale of compensation awardable without proof of actual damage.

07 May 2008