61 / 120
/61/
Trademarks, Appellations of Origin and Trade Secrets
The British Trademarks Ordinance, introduced in 1938, governs the protection of
trademarks in Israel.The ordinance has undergone several amendments primarily aimed
at implementing Israel's international obligations under treaties and conventions
such as the TRIPS Agreement while recent amendments were designed to ensure
conformity with the Madrid Protocol. The British Merchandise Marks Ordinance
provides for criminal liability for designating goods by a false commercial description
or counterfeit trademark, providing additional protection to registered trademarks.
Appellations of origin and geographical indications are governed by the Protection of
Appellations of Origin (Geographical Indications) Law, 1965.
The Commercial Torts Law, 1999 regulates the protection of trade secrets and also
provides protection against passing off, false commercial description and other business-
related torts having a bearing on IP litigation.
Copyright
Israeli copyright law (including protection of software) is governed by the Copyright
Law, 2007. The provisions of the British Copyright Ordinance of 1924 regulate
private copying of copyrighted works on blank tapes (recordable media other than
for computer use). The protection of mask work rights derive from the Protection of
Integrated Circuits Law, 5759 – 1999.
The neighboring rights of performers and broadcasters are addressed in the
Performers and Broadcasters Rights Law, 5744 – 1984.
Israel’s IPprotection is further shapedbyother statutes and regulations relevant tovarious
specific aspects of IP protection as well as by a constantly evolving body of case law.
Online Issues
The liability of online service providers, including the obligation to remove infringing
materials, is an evolving issue. There are cases in which the courts have ordered local
internet service providers to block access to websites located outside of Israel and
to disclose the identification of infringing users. We also encounter cases in which
the court refused to provide such an order in the absence of specific legislation. The
matter is yet to be decided by the Supreme Court.
The Israeli Ministry of Justice recently published a new draft bill which will allow the
courts to issue orders for the removal of illegal content from the web even when the
author is unknown. The bill includes the authority to penalize social media networks
that do not delete immediately posts supporting terror attacks. The bill, commonly
referred to as the “Facebook Law” passed a preliminary reading in the Knesset and it
is yet to be seen whether, and how, it would evolve to be a binding law.
Administrative Changes
Since 2009 the Israeli Patents and Trademarks Office (IPO) has improved its
computerized systems in line with the requirements of the Madrid system.
Under a newly signed agreement between the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
It is the IP-friendly legal environment and thriving entrepreneurial community
that have facilitated this huge national transformation.