ISRAEL Law and Practice Contributed by: Eran Bareket, Reinhold Cohn Group
1.9 Consequences of Failure to Pay Annual Fees There is a six-month grace period for the pay- ment of renewal fees. The fee is approximately USD62 for each month the patent renewal fee has not been paid (plus the regular renewal fee as detailed above). If all fees are paid during the grace period, the patent is deemed never to have lapsed. After this grace period, it is still possible to restore the patent, but it would require filing an appropriate application, supported by an affida- vit (and payment of additional fees of approxi- mately USD220), and it is at the Patent Regis- trar’s discretion whether to allow the restoration of the patent. In order to succeed with restoration, the Reg- istrar must be convinced that the renewal fee was not paid due to a reasonable cause and that the patentee did not wish for the patent to lapse and asked for the restoration as soon as pos- sible after the patentee (or the one responsible on their behalf) learned that the renewal fees had not been paid in a timely manner. If the Registrar of Patents accepts the appli- cation for restoration, it will be published for a three-month pre-grant opposition period. Any- one may oppose the application for restoration within three months of the application being published, on the grounds that the Registrar had no basis for allowing the restoration of the application. If no opposition is filed (or if any oppositions filed are dismissed), the Registrar will order restora- tion, but it may make the restoration subject to conditions.
under Section 18 (demand to send any cited publications and other pertinent prior art pub- lications known to the applicant). Third-Party Request to Initiate Examination In addition, third parties are allowed to file an application, supported by an affidavit, for imme- diate examination, for one of the following rea- sons: • there is reason to believe that examination based on the order in which the applications were filed will cause the applicant (of the request for immediate examination) to post- pone the development/manufacture of the process/product that is claimed in the patent application; • the amount of time that has passed from the date on which the application was filed is unreasonably long and is significantly longer than any other application of the same kind; or • public interest or any other special circum- stances. Lastly, it is always possible to challenge the validity of the patent as a defence during an infringement trial. 1.8 Remedies Against Refusal to Grant an Intellectual Property Right Patent examiner decisions, including decisions not to grant a patent, are subject to an admin- istrative appeal before the Registrar of Patents. The applicant may appeal the Registrar’s final decision to the district court. The judgment of the district court, sitting as a court of appeal, may only be appealed to the Supreme Court with leave.
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