Snapshot: procedure for design registration in Israel

Procedures

What is the application process?

In order to register a design, applicant must submit an application to the Israel Patents Office (ILPO) that includes:

• the name of the design owner and the address in Israel for service of documents;
• an explanation of how the applicant came to be the owner of the design (eg, by virtue of law or assignment);
• indication of the class and sub-class of the product;
• ample visual description of the design; and
• confirmation of fee payment.

Priority may be claimed in accordance with the Paris Convention, provided that the Israeli application was filed within six months from the filing date of the prior application.

Alternatively, an international design registration application designating Israel will be considered as filed in Israel on the date of its registration in the international register in accordance with the Hague Agreement.

The application, including the visual description, will be published on the ILPO website shortly after its filing. Deferment of publication is applicable for a period not exceeding six months from the application filing date in Israel.

A design application must include a set of representations. The representations can be photographs, line drawings or computer-generated images, and must clearly and accurately show the design for which protection is claimed. The representations can be in black and white, greyscale or colour. There is no requirement for a specific number of views, though the representations must leave no room for any assumptions or conjectures regarding the overall appearance of the claimed design. Broken lines, blurring, blackening or lightening may be used to illustrate unclaimed portions of the design. The application may include descriptive text of the visual features of the designs, provided that these features are visible in the representations. Multiple design applications may be filed but will be divided by the ILPO into separate single design applications, either at the time of filing (subject to payment of filing fees for each design) or at the commencement of the examination process (if filing fees for each design have not been paid before). An application for a set of articles (ie, articles of the same class, where their visual characteristics differ only in non-essential details and are ordinarily offered for sale together or intended for use together) may be examined and registered as a single application. Protection of such a design is afforded to the set of articles in its entirety, as well as to its constituents.

How are the examination and appeals procedures conducted?

The ILPO examiner will examine whether the design included in the application is eligible for registration and complies with both the procedural and substantive requirements (where application is based on an international Hague registration, deficiencies may relate only to substantive grounds). In the examination, the examiner may rely on documents submitted by a third party, among other things. Based on the current rate of examination, the first examination report on the application’s merits is issued within four to five months. An expedited examination may be requested under certain conditions. The applicant must respond to the examination report within three months from the issue date of the examination report. Extensions are available, subject to payment of the prescribed fees.

If the design has been deemed eligible for registration, the registrar will register it with the Registry, publish its details on the ILPO website – including its visual description – and issue a certificate of registration.

Any person adversely affected by an examiner’s decision or action may appeal before the Designs Registrar. The Registrar’s decision may be appealed before the District Court within 45 days from the decision’s issuance date.

What are the opposition rules?

There are no opposition procedures, only cancellation and removal post-registration procedures are available.

What are the registration time frames?

The examination process must be concluded within 12 months from the date of the first substantive examination report.

In what instances does removal from the register occur?

The owner of a registered design may request the Designs Registrar to cancel or remove its own registration. Any person who is not the registered design owner may request the registrar to cancel the registration in the following cases:

• the design was not eligible for registration;
• the application for registration was not filed by the design owner; and
• an earlier application for registration of the same design, or of a design distinguished therefrom only in non-essential details, was pending at the time that the registered design was granted.

The Designs Registrar’s decision may be appealed before the District Court.

Law stated date

Give the date on which the information above is accurate.

November 2020.