Patent Registration for an Idea in Israel and Abroad

How to protect your invention commercially? And how can patent registration lawyers help you? Below we will provide you with some general guidelines on registering a patent for an idea, in Israel and abroad.

What is a patent? A patent is a legal document that grants the patent owner exclusive rights to use his invention, in a certain country, for 20 years. Using an invention protected by a patent without these rights, and without obtaining a permit from the patent owner, may constitute a patent infringement – a serious offense that may result in the payment of compensation.

What idea or invention can be patented?

According to law, a patent can only be registered for an invention that is new, useful, can be used industrially and has inventive progress. With regard to a new invention, it will be emphasized that patents can only be registered for an invention that has not yet been published publicly and otherwise – if the patent is registered, and later it is discovered that the invention was published publicly before the registration of the patent – the validity of the patent will be revoked. Since the term “publication” is ambiguous and includes many options, it is highly recommended to contact a patent registration law firm, and get professional advice on how to proceed in this matter.

What is service invention?

Service inventions are inventions invented by an employee of the company in connection with his work in the company. In recent years, this issue has aroused great interest and raises questions both about who owns the invention – the employee or the employer, and about the employee’s entitlement to additional compensation for his invention.

How do you register an invention or idea as a patent?

Registering a patent for an idea is a complex process that begins with submitting an application for the registration of the patent in which the invention is described in great detail. It is important to consider that a too general and broad definition of the patent will lead to the rejection of the application, while a too narrow definition will limit the scope of the commercial monopoly and the protection of the patent owner.
Due to this complexity, it is recommended to use an experienced patent registration law firm that will accompany the owner of the idea until the patent is registered. The patent attorney must have a very in-depth technical understanding of the field in which the invention deals, along with extensive experience in patent registration procedures, which includes lengthy litigation with the patent authority examiners.

Patent registration lawyers are obligated to client confidentiality, that is, to maintain confidentiality regarding the information provided to them about the invention.

At what stage is it recommended to contact a patent attorney?

It is recommended to consult with patent attorneys and patent attorneys already in the earliest stages of developing the idea. A patent attorney, with experience and professional knowledge in the field of the content of the invention, will be able to point out the directions with legal feasibility and commercial viability, and his recommendations may save you many resources on developments that will not be of economic value.

What does the patent registration process include?

Registering a patent on an idea includes several steps:
1. Preliminary worldwide search – whose purpose is to check that the patent is indeed new and is not a matter of course for practitioners in the relevant field (inventive progress requirement).
2. Submitting an application for patent registration – after finding in the search that the invention is indeed new, you can submit an application for patent registration in the country or countries where you wish to protect your invention. Registering a patent for an idea is done separately for each country, and there are different routes that allow you to first obtain patent protection in certain countries, and at the same time – to keep the right of first refusal, for a fixed period in other countries. In this aspect as well, it is highly recommended to consult with a patent attorney who has experience and knowledge of the registration routes, the international treaties and the schedules of patent registration in the various countries. The patent attorney knew how to recommend to you in which countries it is important that you register a patent, and on the other hand will save you unnecessary costs for registering a patent on an idea, in countries where there is no commercial justification for it.
When applying for a patent for an idea in Israel – the application is submitted to the Patent Authority for examination, and the Patent Authority examiner will check whether the invention is indeed eligible to be registered as a patent. In most cases, the examiner will have reservations and objections to the initial application, and he will demand that such and other changes be made to it in order to meet the criteria.
It is important to know that within 3 months from the date of publication of the acceptance of the application by the Patent Authority, any person may object to the granting of the patent, and even after the registration of the patent – you can always submit a request for its cancellation. Under certain conditions, you can request a faster examination procedure than usual.
3. Registration of the patent – after the examination of the patent, if the patent examiner has no more errors, and if no objections to the registration of the patent were submitted, or if all the objections submitted were rejected – the patent will be registered in the patent register and the patent holder will be given a certificate attesting to this. The validity of the patent will be calculated from the date of submission of the application and will be conditioned on the payment of renewal fees.

Is the patent also valid abroad? How can a patent be registered in several countries?

Registration of a patent on an idea is always territorial, which means that the patent is valid only in the country where it was registered and in order to receive protection in other countries, an application for patent registration must be submitted in them as well. At the same time, according to the Paris Convention, in which most countries of the world are members, from the date of filing the patent application in the first country, the applicant reserves, for one year, the right to be the first to submit the patent for registration in other countries as well. Alternatively, according to the PCT Convention managed by an organization the United Nations and to which 155 countries have signed, the right of international submission in other countries is reserved for a period of up to 30 months from the date of submission in the first country, during which time the feasibility of submission in other countries can be examined, based on the opinion of the International Inspection Authority.

As a first class patent registration law firm and intellectual property lawyers, Dr. Mark Friedman’s firm has expertise and extensive and varied experience of over 30 years in drafting patents in Israel and the world, and in particular in the USA, where the firm’s team has registered over 3,000 patents. The firm’s staff accompanies its clients throughout the patent registration process and includes patent registration lawyers and patent attorneys with training and scientific background in all fields of invention including: biology, chemistry, software and electronics.

*The aforementioned in this article and on the website in general should not be considered as legal advice and the things written in it should not be considered as a substitute for individual legal advice, but a personal opinion and/or a general explanation only. Of course, you should not rely on and/or act in accordance with the above without individual legal advice from an attorney

For any questions on this topic, contact us