ISRAEL Law and Practice Contributed by: David Gilat and Matan Kovacs, Gilat, Bareket & Co, Reinhold Cohn Group
6.2 Copyright The issue of copyright in Israeli law is governed by the Copyright Law of 2007. The Copyright Law provides, among other things, protection for textual works. Copying of any text which is original and fixed – such as use instructions of a given preparation – could amount to copyright infringement. A plaintiff in a copyright infringement may pass the burden of proof on to the defendant if it is able to show that the defendant had access to and produced a work similar to the original. 6.3 Trade Secrets The issue of trade secrets in Israeli law is gov - erned by the Commercial Torts Law of 1999, which forbids the misappropriation of trade secrets, defined therein as “Commercial infor - mation of any kind, which is not public knowl - edge, or which cannot readily and legally be discovered by the public, the secrecy of which grants its owner an advantage over his competi - tors, provided that its owner takes reasonable steps to protect its secrecy”. While trade secrets disputes in the life sciences and pharma sector are not common in Israel, there are many types of trade secrets associated therewith – such as lists of clients, lists of provid - ers, and marketing strategy documents – and so such disputes can theoretically arise. 7. Appeal 7.1 Timeframe to Appeal Decision District court decisions may be appealed to the Supreme Court by right. Leave to appeal interlocutory decisions, including decisions in motions for a preliminary injunction, must be obtained. The term for filing an appeal is 60 days
from the date the judgment was issued to the appealing party. The same applies to motions for leave to appeal. 7.2 Appeal Court(s) Arbiter There is no specific arrangement in place regard - ing patent litigation appeals. Assuming the first instance was the district court, an appeal there - on will be heard before three Supreme Court judges, whereas an appeal over an interlocutory decision (for which leave must first be secured) will be heard by one Supreme Court judge. 7.3 Special Provisions Once an intellectual property case is filed with a regular civil court – be it a court of first instance or that of appeal – it is governed by the CPR. Where nullity proceedings are concerned, they are governed by a separate set of regulations; namely, the Patent Regulations, which closely resemble the CPR and rely thereon. While the Israeli Customs Authorities are not authorised to seize patent-infringing goods, they are able – and will – seize counterfeit pharma - ceuticals, as well as products that infringe the trade marks and/or copyrights of another. The seizure procedure under Israeli law closely resembles the arrangement provided in Part III, Section 4 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). In addition, the Israeli Customs Authorities may seize and destroy shipments containing trade mark/copyright infringing goods and have set up a simplified procedure whereby they confiscate 8. Other Relevant Forums/ Procedures 8.1 The UPC or Other Forums
140 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook