Trade Marks Ordinance [New Version], 5732-1972

In this Ordinance —

"mark" — letters, numerals, words, figures or other signs, or any combination thereof, in two dimensions or in three;

"trade mark" — a mark used, or intended to be used, by a person in relation to goods that he manufactures or trades in;

"international trade mark" — a trade mark registered in the International Register of Marks in accordance with the provisions of the Protocol and the Madrid Regulations; for this purpose, "International Register of Marks", "the Protocol" and "the Madrid Regulations" — as defined in section 56a;

"international trade mark registered in Israel" — an international trade mark that is also a registered trade mark registered in accordance with a notification received by the Registrar under section 56e;

"national trade mark" — a registered trade mark registered in accordance with an application under section 17;

"well-known trade mark" — a mark well known in Israel as a mark owned by a person who is a citizen of a member State, a permanent resident thereof, or who has an active industrial or commercial establishment therein, even if the mark is not a registered trade mark in Israel or is not used in Israel; for the purpose of determining a trade mark as a well-known mark in Israel, account shall be taken, inter alia, of the extent to which the mark is known among the relevant sector of the public, and the extent to which it is known as a result of marketing efforts;

"registered trade mark" — a trade mark registered in the Trade Marks Register pursuant to the provisions of this Ordinance, being either a national trade mark or an international trade mark registered in Israel;

"service mark" — a mark used, or intended to be used, by a person in relation to a service that he provides;

"certification mark" — a mark intended to be used by a person, who does not carry on a business, to certify the origin of certain goods in which he has an interest, their ingredients, methods of manufacture, quality or other characteristic, or to certify the nature, quality or kind of a certain service in which he has an interest;

"collective mark" — a trade mark or service mark belonging to an association of persons having an interest in the goods or service which the mark is intended to denote, and the members of the association use, or intend to use, that mark in relation to the goods or service;

"infringement" — use by a person not entitled thereto —

"Union State" — a State that is a member of the Union for the Protection of Industrial Property by virtue of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, including territories to which the Convention has been applied by virtue of Article 16(2) of the Convention;

"World Trade Organisation" — the World Trade Organisation established by the agreement signed at Marrakesh on 15 April 1994;

"member State" — a Union State or a State that is a member of the World Trade Organisation;

"geographical indication" — an indication identifying goods in Israel as goods originating in a particular geographical area that is a member State, a region or locality therein, where a given quality, characteristic or reputation of the goods is essentially attributable to their geographical origin;

"the Minister" — the Minister of Justice.

The provisions of this Ordinance applying to trade marks shall apply to service marks, with such modifications as the matter requires, and wherever in this Ordinance the expression "trade mark" is used — a service mark is also implied, and "goods" — a service is also implied, unless there is a different provision in that regard.

A certification mark and a collective mark shall be treated as a trade mark and a service mark, and wherever in this Ordinance the expression "trade mark" or "service mark" is used, a certification mark and a collective mark are also implied; all subject to what is stated in sections 14 and 15.

For the purposes of this Ordinance, a register for the registration of trade marks shall be maintained (hereinafter — the Register); registration shall be made according to the following particulars:

The Minister shall appoint a Registrar of Trade Marks (hereinafter — the Registrar), and the Register shall be maintained under his supervision.

A person who seeks an exclusive right to use a particular mark as a trade mark may apply for registration of the mark pursuant to the provisions of this Ordinance.

A trade mark may be limited, in whole or in part, to a defined colour or colours; the Registrar or the court, in deciding upon its distinctive character, shall have regard to such limitation; insofar as a trade mark is registered without limitation of colour, it shall be deemed to be registered for all colours.

The following marks are not eligible for registration:

The Registrar may refuse an application for registration of a trade mark that is identical with the name of another person or of his business, or resembles that name, including the name of his business, or that contains a name identical with or resembling such a name, if the mark is likely to deceive the public or to cause unfair competition.

The Registrar may refuse to register, in respect of other goods, a mark that also contains the name or description of goods; however, he may register it as such if in actual use the mark varies according to the goods for which it is used, and the applicant has added a note to that effect in his application.