Trademark Registration in Israel: A Complete Guide for Foreign Businesses

A US tech company launches its software platform in Israel. A UK consumer goods brand appoints an Israeli distributor. A German manufacturer signs an Israeli licensing agreement. The first question a competent Israeli commercial lawyer will ask is: do you have a registered trademark here?

Israel is not part of the EU trademark system, and a US federal registration gives you no automatic rights in the country. Israel is a member of the Paris Convention and the Madrid Protocol, so international filing routes exist, but a separate Israeli registration is required regardless. Without one, enforcement against local imitators depends on the narrower passing-off action under Israeli common law, which is a harder case to make than a straight infringement claim.

1. What Can Be Registered as a Trademark in Israel?

Under Section 1 of the Trade Marks Ordinance [New Version] 5732-1972, a trademark is any sign capable of being represented in a manner that distinguishes the goods or services of one undertaking from those of another. The Ordinance follows the approach of major international trademark systems and recognizes a wide range of signs.

Israel registers a wide range of mark types:

• Word marks: brand names, slogans, and product names in any script. Hebrew and Arabic transliterations of foreign brands count as separate marks from the original Latin-script version.
• Logos and device marks: stylized letters, graphic elements, and word-plus-image combinations.
• Three-dimensional marks: product shapes and packaging, though purely functional shapes cannot be registered.
• Color marks: a single color or combination can be registered, but only where it has developed strong consumer association with a specific source. Standalone color registrations are rare at the ILPO.
• Sound marks: jingles and signature sounds, added by 2019 amendments, provided the sound can be represented graphically as a musical score or spectrogram.

Israel uses the NICE Classification (currently the 12th edition) to organize goods and services into 45 classes. Each class requires a separate application fee. A foreign business launching in Israel should register in every class that covers the products and services it currently sells or genuinely intends to sell within the next 3 years, because a non-use cancellation attack (Section 41) can remove registrations in classes where there is no genuine Israeli market presence.

2. Grounds for Refusal: Absolute and Relative

The ILPO Examiner reviews each application on two sets of grounds. An absolute ground refusal means the mark itself is not registrable regardless of what else is on the register; a relative ground refusal means the mark conflicts with an earlier right.

Absolute grounds under Section 11 of the Trade Marks Ordinance:

• The mark has no distinctive character — it is generic, descriptive, or consists exclusively of terms that designate the kind, quality, quantity, or geographic origin of the goods.
• The mark consists exclusively of the shape of the goods required to achieve a technical result.
• The mark is contrary to public policy or morality.
• The mark is deceptive — it would mislead the public as to the nature, quality, or geographic origin of the goods.
• The mark includes a state emblem, official sign, or the name or image of a public figure without the required consent (Section 11 sub-paragraphs apply specific rules for Israeli state symbols and the Star of David).

Distinctiveness can be acquired: if a mark that was originally descriptive has been used extensively in Israel such that consumers now associate it with a single source, the applicant can submit evidence of use (sales figures, advertising spend, consumer surveys) to overcome a Section 11 refusal. This is called distinctiveness by use or secondary meaning (*siman mazuha*, סימן מזוהה).

Relative grounds under Section 13:

• The applied-for mark is identical or confusingly similar to an earlier registered Israeli trademark for identical or similar goods or services.
• The applied-for mark is identical or similar to a well-known mark (*siman mashu'a*, סימן מושאע) in the sense of Article 6bis of the Paris Convention — even if the well-known mark is not registered in Israel, the Examiner can refuse the application if the mark is so well known internationally that registration would be deceptive or misleading to Israeli consumers.

The ILPO conducts its own search of the Israeli register. It does not automatically search international databases, but applicants or their Israeli counsel can commission an ILPO preliminary search report (available through the ILPO online portal) before filing to identify conflicts.

3. Filing at the ILPO: The National Route

A direct national filing at the Israel Patent Office (*Rashut HaPatentim*, רשות הפטנטים) in Jerusalem is the most straightforward route for a foreign business that is primarily concerned with the Israeli market.

Any natural or legal person, regardless of nationality or domicile, can file an Israeli trademark application. There is no requirement to be an Israeli entity or to maintain a local office. Foreign applicants must designate an Israeli address for service of formal correspondence.

Applications can be filed electronically through the ILPO online portal, which qualifies for a reduced filing fee, or in paper form at the ILPO offices in Jerusalem. If you already have a trademark application filed in a Paris Convention country within the past 6 months, you can claim that priority date at the ILPO — useful when a competitor may have filed in Israel during the window.

The examination process:

1. Formality check (1 to 3 months): The ILPO verifies that the application form is complete, the class designations are correct, and the required fee has been paid.
2. Substantive examination (6 to 18 months): An ILPO Examiner reviews the mark on absolute and relative grounds and searches the Israeli register. If objections arise, the Examiner issues an office action in Hebrew; the applicant has an opportunity to argue or amend.
3. Acceptance: If the Examiner is satisfied, the mark is accepted and published in the Reshumot (Official Gazette) for a 3-month opposition period.
4. Registration: If no opposition is filed (or an opposition is dismissed), the ILPO issues a registration certificate.

4. The Madrid Protocol Route for International Applicants

Israel acceded to the Madrid Protocol in September 2010. The Madrid system allows a trademark owner who already has a home-country application or registration (the "basic mark") to file a single international application designating multiple countries, including Israel, through their national office.

The process for an applicant designating Israel:

1. File an international application (MM2 form) through your home country's trademark office. The application must be based on a home-country application or registration already filed.
2. Your home office transmits the application to WIPO in Geneva, which issues an international registration number and notifies all designated offices, including the ILPO.
3. The ILPO has 18 months from the date of WIPO's notification to raise a provisional refusal on absolute or relative grounds. If no provisional refusal is issued within 18 months, the international registration takes effect in Israel automatically.
4. If the ILPO issues a provisional refusal, the applicant (usually through an Israeli patent attorney appointed as local representative) has the opportunity to respond and overcome the refusal.

The main advantages: one application, one WIPO filing fee, and one renewal date covering all designated countries. Adding Israel later through subsequent designation is also simpler than starting a fresh national application. For companies managing marks in dozens of jurisdictions, the administrative savings are real.

The drawbacks for Israel specifically:

• The 18-month ILPO examination window can mean a provisional refusal arrives well into the second year after filing, pushing the total timeline beyond what the national route takes for a clean application.
• If ILPO does issue a provisional refusal, you need an Israeli patent attorney to respond anyway, partially eroding the cost saving from not using local counsel upfront.
• The international registration depends on the basic mark for its first 5 years. If the home-country application is abandoned or refused during that period, the Israeli designation falls with it.

5. Duration, Renewal, and the Non-Use Cancellation Threat

An Israeli trademark registration is valid for 10 years from the filing date and can be renewed indefinitely for successive 10-year periods under Section 56 of the Trade Marks Ordinance. The renewal fee is payable to the ILPO before the registration lapses. A grace period of up to 6 months is available after the renewal date, subject to a late renewal surcharge.

The bigger ongoing threat is non-use cancellation. Under Section 41 of the Trade Marks Ordinance, any interested person can petition the Registrar of Trademarks (*Rasham Hasimanim*, רשם הסימנים) to cancel a registration that has not been used in Israel for three consecutive years without a legitimate reason — for example, regulatory barriers to market entry.

What counts as "use" in Israel:

• Selling goods bearing the mark to Israeli customers, whether through a distributor, direct ecommerce sales, or a local store.
• Providing services under the mark to Israeli clients.
• Licensing the mark to an Israeli licensee who actually uses it in Israel — the licensee's use benefits the registered owner under Israeli trademark law.

What does not count:

• Exporting goods from Israel to other countries: the relevant market is Israel, not export destinations.
• Owning an Israeli warehouse where goods are stored but not sold locally.
• Maintaining an Israeli office that exclusively serves as a regional headquarters with no local sales.

6. Opposition Proceedings: Challenging a Competitor's Mark

After the ILPO accepts a trademark application and publishes it in the Reshumot, any person may oppose the registration within 3 months of the publication date under Section 23 of the Trade Marks Ordinance. There is no minimum ownership stake or connection to the mark required; any person with a legitimate interest (an earlier trademark owner, a competitor, a consumer group) can file an opposition.

The opposition procedure:

1. Notice of opposition (Form TM-6): Filed with the ILPO within the 3-month window, stating the grounds for opposition. Filing fee: currently approximately NIS 850. The grounds must be statutory — the notice must invoke specific grounds from the Trade Marks Ordinance (absolute grounds, likelihood of confusion with an earlier mark, bad faith).
2. Counterstatement: The applicant has 2 months to file a counterstatement responding to the opposition grounds. Failure to file a counterstatement is treated as abandonment of the application.
3. Evidence rounds: The opponent then files evidence (typically statutory declarations with exhibits), the applicant files its evidence in reply, and the opponent may file further evidence in answer.
4. Hearing (optional): Either party can request an oral hearing before the Registrar or a Deputy Registrar. Hearings are conducted in Hebrew.
5. Decision: The Registrar issues a reasoned written decision. The losing party can appeal to the District Court within 30 days (Section 32).

Timeline: Uncontested opposition proceedings (where the applicant does not file a counterstatement) resolve in 3 to 6 months. Contested proceedings with a full evidence round and oral hearing take 12 to 36 months.

Coexistence agreements: Many Israeli trademark oppositions settle through a coexistence agreement — a written agreement specifying how both parties will use their respective marks without confusion (e.g., different goods, geographic limitations, or design differentiation). The ILPO accepts coexistence agreements as a basis for allowing the applied-for mark despite an apparent conflict with the opponent's mark.

7. Enforcing Your Israeli Trademark Against Infringers

A registered Israeli trademark gives its owner a statutory right to prevent third parties from using an identical or confusingly similar sign in the course of trade for identical or similar goods or services. Section 58 of the Trade Marks Ordinance establishes that infringement gives rise to civil remedies; criminal penalties also apply under Section 60 for deliberate large-scale commercial counterfeiting.

The District Court has jurisdiction over infringement claims. Available remedies include:

• An injunction, including an ex parte interim injunction in urgent cases where the infringement is flagrant and delay would cause irreparable harm.
• Actual damages based on the trademark owner's lost profits or the defendant's gains. Where proving actual loss is impractical, the owner can elect statutory damages instead.
• Statutory damages under Section 13A of the Commercial Wrongs Law 5759-1999: up to NIS 100,000 per infringement without proof of actual loss. Courts have awarded multiple statutory amounts for repeated or deliberate infringement.
• Account of profits, requiring the infringer to disgorge gains from the infringing activity.
• Destruction or delivery up of infringing goods, packaging, and labels.
• Attorneys' fees: Israeli courts regularly award these to prevailing trademark plaintiffs in clear-cut cases.

For companies whose shares are traded on a regulated market, the Tel Aviv Economic Department of the District Court has exclusive jurisdiction.

On customs border measures: under the Customs Ordinance (New Version) 5753-1993, a registered trademark owner can record their mark with the Israel Customs Authority (*Rashut HaMekess*, רשות המכס). Officers can then detain suspect shipments at the port or airport of entry. The trademark owner must be notified and given the opportunity to inspect and confirm infringement within 10 business days. Confirmed infringing goods are seized and the importer faces civil and criminal liability.

On parallel imports: Israel follows international exhaustion. Genuine goods placed on the market anywhere in the world by the trademark owner or with its consent can be imported into Israel by a parallel importer without infringement. This differs from EU law (which applies regional exhaustion), and means authorized foreign distributors who sell at lower prices to Israeli importers generally cannot be stopped by trademark law. A parallel importer who removes or alters the mark is a different story.