Our Team (listed in alphabetical order)
Aharon Factor, Advocate
Director of Operations
Aharon Factor has been a dedicated member of our firm since 2023 and heads the firm's Law Department. A graduate of the University of London with a degree in Law (LL.B. Hons), Aharon was called to the Israel Bar in 1996.
With more than 25 years of experience, Aharon has extensive experience in prosecuting trademarks and design patents before the Israel Patent Office and USPTO. In addition, Aharon has successfully litigated against I.P. infringement and undertaken I.P. enforcement for clients in the courts and before the Customs Authority.
Aharon strives to provide appropriate I.P. solutions to meet the growing commercial needs of clients.
Education:
- LL.B. - University of London (Queen Mary College)
Membership:
- Member of Israel Bar. Licensed to practice before the Israel Patent Office
Ze'ev Friedlander, Patent Attorney
Ze'ev has been a member of the Friedman team since 2008. With English as his mother tongue, and excellent Hebrew after moving to Israel in 1992, Ze’ev is comfortable with English and Hebrew speaking clients, foreign associates and patent examiners in Israel and abroad.
Ze'ev is a registered Israeli Patent Attorney and has prepared numerous patent applications, office action responses, as well as freedom to operate (FTO) opinions, patentability opinions and provided IP consulting and business strategy to individual clients, start-up companies as well as medium and large corporations alike.
Ze'ev headed the IP projects of three cybersecurity start-up companies that were acquired in multi-million dollar acquisitions by Microsoft, PayPal, and Palo Alto Networks. Ze'ev has a special affinity for everything that falls in the nexus between medicine and technology as well as innovations in the defense industry.
Areas of Expertise:
- Robotic and mechanical devices and systems
- Biomedical devices
- Defense systems
- Computer programming
- Cyber security
- AI and Machine Language Models
Education:
- BSc in Computer Science and Psychology –University of South Africa (UNISA)
Membership:
- Licensed to practice before the Israel Patent Office
- Member of Israel Patent Attorneys Association
Rivka Friedman, Partner
General manager
prosecuting Israeli, U.S. and international trademark applications. She provides filing advice tailored to the relevant business, considers available options for overcoming objections raised during examination and prepares responses to adverse examination reports including written legal submissions and declaratory evidence.
Rivka has represented clients' intellectual property interests in contentious proceedings in several countries, including the United States, Israel and across Europe. She has managed and coordinated global strategy, and worked closely with local counsel to execute appropriate actions in each jurisdiction.
At all times, my main objective is to give our clients the answers and information they need to make the right decisions about their IP. As IP law can be among the most subtle and intricate areas of law, I strive to provide clear and concise guidance for navigating the complex IP law landscape."
Areas of Expertise:
● Trademarks
● Designs
● Availability Searches
Education:
● LL.B. Law - Hebrew University of Jerusalem
● M.A. Patent Law - Haifa University
● B.Sc., Biotechnology - Bar-Ilan University
Membership:
● Israel Bar Association
● Licensed to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Dr. Mark Friedman
Founding partner
Immediately after receiving his PhD in engineering from Princeton, Mark moved to Houston to become a senior R&D engineer at Shell Oil, where he worked for ten years. After obtaining his law degree, Mark switched to patent law, and, as part of a Houston IP firm, litigated in US Federal District and Appellate courts and in the US Supreme Court and prosecuted patents in the USPTO.
In 1991 Mark moved with his wife and five young children to Israel, where, in 1993 he established the firm. From the beginning, the firm filed and prosecuted all applications for patents, designs and trademarks in the USPTO directly without the assistance and additional expenses of a US-based IP firm.
The firm, which was initially a one-man show (or as Mark likes to say, consisted of only three - "me, myself and I"), has steadily grown over time and now includes some of the very best IP practitioners in Israel along with numerous support staff, all working together flawlessly like a well-oiled machine. The firm has consistently been considered as one of the best IP firms in Israel, if not the best.
Education:
J.D., Law, Honors - University of Houston Law Center
M.B.A. - Houston Baptist University
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering - Princeton University
M.A., Chemical Engineering - Princeton University
B.S., Chemical Engineering, Summa Cum Laude - Case Western Reserve University
Membership:
Texas Bar Association
Israel Bar Association
Licensed to practice before the Israel Patent Office (IPO) and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Certified mediator (Israel Bar Association)
Authorized arbitrator (Israel Bar Association)
Dr. Uri Gronemann, Technical Advisor
One of the founders of Scitex Corporation, a pioneer of the Israel hi-tech industry, and the company's chief scientist.
Gained much experience – in Israel and in the U.S.A. – in industrial R&D dealing with medical and military imaging systems, as well as digital color printing.
Uri's patent work has dealt with a wide variety of technologies and applications, including, for example, medical devices (such as intestinal suturing), optical devices (such as VR glasses), thermodynamic devices (e.g. low-cost, high-efficiency cooling, a wide-range temperature-forcing device for electronic testing), personal care devices and various digital control and communication devices and systems.
Education:
B.S. (High Honors) in Electrical Engineering - University of Illinois
M.S. in electrical engineering - Stanford University
Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Areas of expertise:
Electronic devices and systems
Optical and electro-optical devices and systems
Thermodynamic and hydrodynamic devices and systems
Imaging systems
Communication Systems
Medical equipment
Mechanical devices
Dr. Tali Lavy
Director of Operations
Dr. Tali Lavy joined the Friedman Team in June 2023, bringing with her a wealth of experience in chemistry and biochemistry. She holds a PhD in Chemistry from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, where she conducted pioneering research in photochemical reactions of inclusion compounds. In addition to her scientific expertise, Tali is currently pursuing a law degree at Tel Aviv University, further enhancing her ability to navigate the complex landscape of patent law.
Before transitioning to patent law, Tali spent over a decade in various research roles, including positions at prestigious institutions such as the Technion, Weizmann Institute, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Her research has spanned a wide range of fields, including proteomics, metabolomics, and structural biology. Tali’s work has been widely published, with numerous articles in leading scientific journals.
In her role as a patent law intern, Tali leverages her deep scientific knowledge to provide clients with insightful and precise patent advice. Her background equips her with a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities faced by inventors. Tali is dedicated to understanding each invention in detail and is committed to guiding clients through the patent process with professionalism and integrity.
Areas of Expertise:
- X-ray crystallography
- Photochemistry
- Proteomics
- Metabolomics
- Structural Biology
- Intellectual Property
- Tissue culture
Education:
- PhD in Chemistry from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
- Sc in Chemistry (Cum Laude) from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
- Sc in Chemistry from Tel-Aviv University
- Sc.E in Education in Science and Technology from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
- Currently pursuing a law degree at Tel Aviv University
Daniel Michaels, Patent Attorney
Daniel Michaels has been a dedicated member of our firm since 1994. A graduate of the University of Cambridge with a degree in Natural Sciences (Physics), Daniel has honed his expertise in various fields, including medical devices, optics, aggrotech, and renewable energy. His extensive experience also encompasses a wide range of physics-related and complex mechanical technologies.
With three decades of experience, Daniel excels at guiding startups through the entire lifecycle of their intellectual property portfolios. In addition to crafting patent applications and creative prosecution strategies, he specializes in freedom-to-operate (FTO) assessments and assists clients navigating due diligence studies. Daniel strives to become an integral part of each client's team, working collaboratively to help them achieve success.
Areas of Expertise:
- Complex mechanical devices
- Biomedical devices
- Optics
- Image processing
- Defense technologies
- Physics-related technologies
Education:
M.A., B.A. in Natural Sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science) - University of Cambridge
Membership:
Licensed to practice before the Israel Patent Office
Dr. Steve Rogers, Technical Advisor
Steve has been working at the firm as a Technical Advisor since 2016. Prior to joining the firm, Steve worked as a senior physicist in many private companies in Israel and abroad, mainly in the fields of: radar, microwaves, optics, semiconductors, thermodynamics, 3D vision, nanomaterials and biophysics. As an inventor, he is a named on over 30 different patents.
Education:
M.I.T. Department of Physics, BA (S.B.) in 1972, PhD (Sc.D.)
Postdoc at Weizmann Institute of Science, Applied Mathematics (1977-78).
Danny Unger, Patent Attorney
Education:
Electrical officer in the Israeli merchant navy – Marine Training Institute, Akko
B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering - Ben Gurion University of the Negev
Practical Electrician – Ministry of Labor
Supervisor of Safety at Work – the Institute for Safety and Hygiene
Patent Attorney – Ministry of Justice
Construction Supervisor – the Israeli Building Center, Natanya
Qualified Welder – the Welding College, Tel-Aviv
Areas of expertise:
- Cutting Tools
- Weapon systems, military equipment
- Complex mechanical systems
- Production technologies and processes
- Transportation vehicles in the air, sea and land, propulsion systems
- Structures, buildings, constructions
- Medical devices
Dany has been working as a Patent Attorney since 2000 and since 2022 he is a team member in the office of Dr. Mark Friedman. He started his career at Iscar factory in Tefen, and later, as an independent Patent Attorney. He has extensive experience in preparing applications for patents, designs and trademarks, responding to examination reports of patent examiners in Israel and abroad, and consulting on all patent issues. In addition to his work as a Patent Attorney, Dany brings to the office a great added value of practical experience in the field in a large variety of technologies and processes. As an Electrical Officer in the Merchant Navy, he was responsible for all the electrical systems on the ship, including power and control systems, cranes, elevators, compressors, pumps, refrigerators, stoves, and lighting. He designed and manufactured a large number of systems as required by shipping companies and the Israeli Ministry of Transportation.
As a Technical Manager at the Plastic Industries plant, he was responsible for the intactness of extrusion systems, and also designed and implemented new systems and devices. He was a partner in erecting the Phoenicia America-Israel glass manufacturing plant, and served as Operations Manager, Technical Engineer and Safety Supervisor. He designed and manufactured electrical panels and fuel tanks, designed and implemented a large number of safety devices, transportation and handling devices and improved production, and developed a device that changed the way glass is transported in the world. He received first place in Israel in reducing work accidents and entitlement for the Yoseftal industry award.
Managed a large number of projects in the petrochemical industry, supervised the erection of the isomerization facility in the Haifa Refineries and the metathesis facility in Carmel Olefins, renovation of distillation towers and the regenerator. Served as Quality and Delivery manager in Intel's IDC9 project at Matam; performing source inspections and site inspections, detecting defects, following-up on their correction and initiating preventive actions.
Project Manager in the construction of five new production lines at the Nilit plant in Migdal Ha'Emek. Responsibility for construction works, ordering and receiving equipment, assembling machines, installing water, electricity, control, air and fire- fighting systems, and designing devices to improve safety and production.
Ori Tal, Partner
Areas of Expertise: Insolvency; Litigation; Inheritance; Administrative Law - Tenders
Uri joined our firm in 2026, after working as an attorney at the Ministry of Justice, in the Official Receiver's Office and the Administrator of Insolvency Proceedings, and the General Guardian and Registrar of Inheritance Matters.
Uri has extensive experience as an attorney in various civil law areas. Uri practices in insolvency of individuals and corporations, corporate rehabilitation, advising companies nearing insolvency and officers' liabilities, litigation, inheritance law, and tender law.
As part of his role at the Ministry of Justice, Uri handled hundreds of insolvency proceedings, appeared frequently before the Supreme Court, and was entrusted by the Official Receiver with the liquidation proceedings of Bikur Cholim Hospital and the liquidation of the KCA company (Kehilat Zion Amerikanit - American Zion Community), which has extensive assets in the State of Israel.
Additionally, Uri served as legal advisor to public committees for formulating lists of trustees for insolvency proceedings, and supervised numerous tenders conducted by the Office of the General Guardian and Official Receiver.
Furthermore, Uri served for several years as a teaching assistant in the Insolvency Law course - Bankruptcy, Liquidation, Rehabilitation and Creditor Arrangements, held at the Hebrew University. He was also responsible for establishing practical clinics in insolvency at the Administrator of Insolvency Proceedings, in collaboration with Reichman University and the College of Management in Rishon LeZion.
Education: 2017 LL.M, Hebrew University
Israel Bar Association Admission: 2018