Protecting and enforcing trademark rights in Israel — for brand owners, in-house counsel, and international law firms.
A trademark is a company’s most visible commercial asset. It carries the accumulated trust of customers, the investment of years of marketing, and the legal right to exclusive use in the market. When that right is infringed, diluted, or challenged, the consequences are commercial as well as legal.
At Gershoni & Co., trademarks are a core practice — not an ancillary service. Our trademark team, led by Adv. Avishay Bigman, has over 15 years of focused experience managing complex trademark portfolios, conducting prosecution before the Israel Patent Office, handling oppositions and cancellations, and enforcing rights through the Israeli courts and Customs Authority. Adv. Bigman is a contributor of the official INTA Opposition Guide chapter on Israel, and an active member of INTA — the International Trademark Association.
→ Trademark practice led by Adv. Avishai Bigman · 15+ years specialist experience
→ Contributor, INTA Opposition Guide — Israel Chapter
→ Active INTA member · Madrid Protocol filings · Full enforcement capability
Read Our Reviews
A personal story: I ran into a small-but-urgent problem and started checking a few options on Google. Saar was the first I reached out to because of his informative content, and he replied on WhatsApp within 2 minutes. A 5-minute phone call and a two-hour wait later, what seemed like it would take months was resolved quickly and smoothly. Truly amazing. Thank you again!
At first, I was skeptical—just another lawyer making promises I doubted would be kept. Saar Gershoni proved me completely wrong. He explained exactly how to prove the copyright infringement on my video, documented everything professionally, , and the competitor removed the video and issued a written apology. He was patient and attentive despite my initial doubts, and in the end
A personal story: I ran into a small-but-urgent problem and started checking a few options on Google. Saar was the first I reached out to because of his informative content, and he replied on WhatsApp within 2 minutes. A 5-minute phone call and a two-hour wait later, what seemed like it would take months was resolved quickly and smoothly. Truly amazing. Thank you again!
WHAT WE DO
A complete trademark service
We advise brand owners at every stage of a mark’s life — from the decision to file, through preliminary clearance search, prosecution and portfolio management, to enforcement when rights are challenged or infringed. Whether you are building a trademark portfolio from scratch, managing a global brand’s Israeli registrations, or facing an urgent infringement problem, we provide the strategic advice and practical execution your situation requires.
Our clients include Israeli companies expanding internationally, multinational brand owners protecting their marks in Israel, and foreign law firms and IP attorneys who rely on us as their local Israeli correspondent. We understand what international counsel needs from a local firm: clear communication, timely reporting, and sound judgment on local law — not a translation service.
Clearance and filing strategy
Before a mark is filed, the right strategy matters. We conduct comprehensive clearance searches of the Israeli trademark register, assess the relative strength of the proposed mark, identify prior rights that may present a conflict, and advise on class selection and specification scope. For international clients, we coordinate with global trademark search providers to assess clearance across multiple jurisdictions.
We advise on the practical risks of proceeding with a particular sign: how likely is a refusal? What is the real-world risk of opposition? Is acquired distinctiveness a viable argument? These questions shape our recommendations at the outset — saving time and cost later.
Prosecution before the Israel Patent Office
We manage the complete prosecution process — filing, examination, responding to office actions, and attending hearings before the Registrar of Trade Marks. The Israel Patent Office applies rigorous substantive examination, and office actions raising descriptiveness or likelihood of confusion objections are common. Our team has extensive experience in framing substantive responses, marshalling evidence of use and distinctiveness, and — where necessary — presenting oral argument before the Registrar.
We are equally comfortable handling straightforward filings efficiently and managing complex prosecution matters involving composite marks, series applications, or marks requiring evidence of acquired distinctiveness through long use.
International registration via the Madrid Protocol
Israel is a member of the Madrid Protocol. Foreign rights holders can designate Israel through a WIPO international application, obtaining Israeli protection through a single centralised filing. We manage Israeli national phase entries from international registrations, respond to provisional refusals issued by the Israel Patent Office following a Madrid designation, and advise on the strategic relationship between a Madrid portfolio and local Israeli rights.
For Israeli applicants seeking international protection, we advise on the structure – including selection of countries – and timing of Madrid applications, coordinate with the base application or registration, and manage the national phase in each designated territory in collaboration with our network of correspondent firms.
Opposition and cancellation proceedings
Adv. Bigman is a contributor to the INTA Opposition Guide chapter on Israel — the international practitioner’s reference for Israeli opposition practice.
Opposition and cancellation proceedings before the Israel Patent Office are adversarial, evidence-intensive, and consequential. A successful opposition stops a conflicting registration before it issues. A cancellation action removes a mark that should never have been registered, or that has fallen into non-use. These proceedings require procedural mastery, strategic judgment on the strength of available grounds, and experienced advocacy before the Registrar.
We represent both applicants defending their marks against opposition and parties opposing third-party applications that conflict with their rights. We also pursue and defend cancellation actions — including non-use cancellations — where a blocking registration stands between a client and a mark they need. Our opposition work spans all grounds: likelihood of confusion, bad faith, conflict with well-known marks, and descriptiveness.
Watch services and portfolio management
Once marks are registered, active monitoring is essential. We provide trademark watch services that identify new Israeli applications — including Madrid designations entering Israel — that may conflict with a client’s registered rights. Identified conflicts are reported promptly with a clear assessment of the risk and the strategic options available.
For international clients managing Israeli marks within a broader global portfolio, we provide regular status reports, proactive renewal management, and coordinated reporting through whatever format their internal systems require. We work with clients’ portfolio management systems and can interface with the major IP management platforms used by international firms.
Licensing, assignments, and transactions
Trademark rights are commercial assets that can be monetised through licensing, transferred by assignment, or leveraged in M&A transactions. We draft and negotiate trademark licence agreements — including exclusive, non-exclusive, and sub-licence arrangements — as well as co-existence agreements and assignment deeds. We advise on quality control requirements necessary to protect a licence from undermining the validity of the mark, and we register transfers and licences at the Israel Patent Office where required.
In the context of mergers, acquisitions, and due diligence, we assess the scope, validity, and enforceability of Israeli trademark rights, identify potential vulnerabilities, and advise on the IP implications of proposed transaction structures.
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ENFORCEMENT
When rights are challenged or infringed
The value of a trademark registration is determined, in part, by the willingness and ability to enforce it. Our enforcement practice combines speed, strategic judgment, and a thorough understanding of the Israeli enforcement landscape — courts, customs, and where necessary, criminal proceedings.
Civil litigation and injunctions
When infringement is identified, we assess the most effective enforcement route and move quickly. In straightforward cases, a formal cease-and-desist demand resolves the matter. Where infringement is ongoing or the risk of harm is immediate, we proceed to court.
Israeli District Courts have jurisdiction to grant ex parte preliminary injunctions in trademark cases — emergency relief obtained without prior notice to the defendant. This mechanism is available where delay would cause irreparable harm, and we have extensive experience in preparing the affidavit evidence, establishing the required legal threshold, and presenting urgent applications before the court. At the substantive stage, a rights holder who establishes infringement may recover damages, an account of profits, and delivery up or destruction of infringing goods.
Our litigation practice is led by Adv. Raanan Ben-Ishai, who brings over 15 years of civil litigation experience including a formative period as a judicial clerk at the Israeli Supreme Court. Trademark litigation — with its combination of commercial urgency and technical legal argument — draws directly on this background.
Customs enforcement and border seizure
Israel’s Customs Authority has statutory powers to detain goods suspected of infringing registered trademark rights at the border. To activate this mechanism, trademark owners must first record their rights with the Customs Authority. Once a recordal is in place, customs officers are empowered to identify and detain suspect consignments, notifying the rights holder and opening a window for inspection and legal action.
This is one of the most effective tools available to international brand owners against counterfeiting and grey-market imports. We handle the recordal process, liaise directly with customs officers on specific detained shipments, advise on whether detained goods constitute an infringement, and manage the legal proceedings that follow. Adv. Sa’ar Gershoni — whose expertise in parallel importation is formally recognised at Supreme Court level — leads this area of practice.
Criminal enforcement
Wilful trademark infringement is a criminal offence under Israeli law. For large-scale counterfeiting operations, criminal enforcement is often the most effective deterrent. We coordinate with the Israeli police and State Prosecution on criminal enforcement strategies, advise brand owners on the evidentiary requirements for a criminal complaint, and support the process from initial investigation through to criminal proceedings.
ISRAEL AS A TRADEMARK JURISDICTION
What international practitioners need to know
Israel offers internationally aligned trademark protection underpinned by a strong, independent judicial system. The key elements are worth setting out for foreign practitioners unfamiliar with the jurisdiction.
- Paris Convention — Israel has been a member since 1950. Foreign applicants benefit from the standard six-month priority right, allowing them to file in Israel within six months of their home-country application and claim the earlier filing date.
- Madrid Protocol — Israel has acceded to the Madrid Protocol. Foreign rights holders may designate Israel through a WIPO international application; we manage the local prosecution, including responses to provisional refusals.
- Registration period — Israeli trademark registrations are valid for 10 years from the filing date and may be renewed indefinitely for successive 10-year periods.
- Nice Classification — Israel is a multi-class jurisdiction and applies the Nice Classification system (currently the 13th edition). Proper class selection and goods/services specification are critical — overly broad or imprecise specifications can create vulnerability in non-use cancellation proceedings.
- Well-known marks — Israel recognises and protects well-known marks even where those marks are not registered in Israel — relevant for international brand owners seeking to prevent bad-faith registrations before establishing a local presence.
- Non-use cancellation — A registered mark may be cancelled on the ground that it has not been genuinely used in Israel for a continuous period of three years. International registrants should be aware of this risk when managing Israeli designations within a Madrid portfolio.
- Opposition window — Any person may oppose a trademark application within three months of its publication in the Official Gazette. The opposition procedure is adversarial and evidence-based, with the Registrar acting in a quasi-judicial capacity.
- Enforcement landscape — Israeli courts are experienced in IP matters and willing to grant preliminary injunctions, including ex parte relief. Customs enforcement is an active and effective mechanism. Criminal prosecution is available for wilful infringement.
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FOR FOREIGN LAW FIRMS
Acting as your Israeli trademark correspondent
We regularly act as Israeli correspondent counsel for international IP firms and trademark attorneys managing multi-jurisdictional brand portfolios. We understand the practical demands of correspondent work: responsiveness, clear and prompt reporting, adherence to deadlines, and straightforward communication on local law — not unnecessary complexity.
Our services for foreign firms include Israeli national phase entries from Madrid international registrations, responses to provisional refusals from the Israel Patent Office, opposition and cancellation representation, enforcement proceedings on behalf of international rights holders, and advisory opinions on the scope, validity, and enforceability of Israeli trademark rights.
We are INTA members and maintain active working relationships with trademark practitioners across Europe, the United States, and other jurisdictions. We are familiar with the systems and expectations of international practices, and we structure our reporting and communication accordingly.
If you are considering or currently managing Israeli trademark matters for your clients, we welcome a direct conversation about how we can support your practice.
Lead attorney: Avishay Bigman, Adv. · Contributor, INTA Opposition Guide — Israel · 15+ years specialist trademark practice
