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Patent Office
Instructions
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Guide for Applicants for the Registration of Designs in Israel
WHAT IS A DESIGN?
A design may be any industrial object or product which has form, shape or decoration which is noticeable to the eye, and which is either novel or original, and which has not been published in Israel prior to the application date for design protection by way of sale, marketing, exhibition or publication in catalogues, magazines and the like which are in circulation in Israel.
Examples of such objects or products include jewellery, clothing, toys, furniture and all kinds of instruments and tools satisfying the above requirements.
APPLYING FOR A DESIGN REGISTRATION
1. Two application forms should be filed for each application.
Three identical pictures from each direction of view (perspective view, bottom view, etc.) must be included with the application. The applicant should decide on the number of perspectives to be submitted in accordance with the nature of the object/ photographs or drawings should be attached to white folio size paper and the applicant should indicate by each picture the relevant direction of view. Engineering drawings are not suitable. Measurements are not relevant to the registration of a design.
A receipt indicating payment of filing fees in the Postal Bank account of the Patent Office should be filled along with the application.
Deposit slips are available from the Patent Office.
One of the application forms will be returned to the applicant with the filing date of the application and the application number. The applicant may note on the product the number allocated to the application on condition that there is a clear indication that it is merely an application for registration.
SETS:
Only one item may be registered with each application. However, in the case of a "set" it is permissible to submit more than one item in one application. A set is a group of items of a similar nature which are customarily soda together or are intended to be used together. Examples of sets include cutlery, chess pieces, cups & saucers, etc.
EXAMINATION AND CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION:
The Patent Office conducts a search of registered designs. If an identical or very similar design is not found the application is allowed and a certificate of registration is granted. The owner of a registered design has exclusive rights. In the case of infringement of these rights the owner is entitled to institute proceedings against the infringer. A certificate of registration is evidence of the design owner's rights in the design. A certificate of registration provides protection for a period of 5 (five) years from the date of application. It is possible to extend this protection for two additional periods of 5 (five) years each upon the payment of the prescribed fee, at the prescribed time, by the design owner.
PUBLICATION:
After the certificate is presented, the Office publishes in the monthly Patents and Designs Journal the name of the design, the class of the design according to the international classification system, the filing date of the design and the design's filing number. The Office may not publish any picture of likeness of the design for a period of two years following the application date. In special circumstances and upon written application, the Commissioner may permit inspection of a registered design prior to the expiration two Years from the filing date.
APPLICATIONS FOR REVOCATION OF A DESIGN:
Any personae apply to the Commissioner for the revocation of a registered design on the grounds that the design was published in Israel prior to the application date. The Court may hear revocation on other grounds.
PRIORITY DOCUMENT:
If the applicant also wishes to register the design overseas, he should lodge applications with the Patent Offices of the various countries in which he would like to obtain design protection. The applicant may obtain a certificate known as a "Priority Document" from the Israel Patent Office upon submission of the prescribed application including a photograph or drawing identical to those already lodged in the Israel design application and the payment of the prescribed fee. The certificate endorsee that the applicant fielded and identical application in Israel. Based on the certificate the applicant is entitled to file design application overseas within six months of his original application and to receive the application date received in the original application.
APPLICATIONS FROM ABROAD:
Please note that an address for service in Israel must be provides.
The Patent Office will not send letters or notices regarding design applications of registrations to foreign addresses.
REPRESENTATION:
An applicant for a design may prosecute his application alone of may be represented by a patent agent of lawyer registered to practice in Israel.
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