Region: Israel

The Israeli Trademark Office has refused to register representations of The Procter & Gamble Company's Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner bottles on the grounds that the 2D front views of the bottles lacked inherent distinctiveness. P&G had argued that the applications in fact represented 3D shapes, but the IP adjudicator held that an application for a 2D mark cannot be changed into an application for a 3D mark.

11 September 2012

In <i>Fundacio Gala-Salvador Dali v VS Marketing</i>, the Supreme Court has reversed the district court's refusal to issue a contempt order against an online trader that had infringed a consent judgment reached in an action brought by the Dali Foundation against the unauthorised use of the name Dali and of one of the artist's works.

07 September 2012

In <i>Anderson Medical Ltd v Unipharm Ltd</i>, the Supreme Court has affirmed a district court decision finding that a nutritional supplement manufacturer was liable for trademark infringement and passing off. However, it reversed the award of statutory damages, as the plaintiff had not been shown to have suffered actual damage.

03 August 2012

In <i>Dexxon Ltd v Agis Commercial Agencies Ltd</i>, the Tel Aviv District Court has dismissed an action filed by the manufacturer of prescription contraceptives marketed in purple packs against competitors using the colour purple for their product. The plaintiff had sued defendants Agis Commercial Agencies Ltd and Bayer Schering Pharma AG on the grounds of passing off and unjust enrichment.

01 August 2012

The decision in <i>PaloDEx Group OY</i> shows that the nature of the applicant’s response to a request by the examiner to provide marketing materials in support of the application may be decisive in whether or not the application is accepted for registration. It also underscores the importance of submitting materials that do not undermine the registrability of the application.

20 July 2012

In <i>V&S Vin & Spirt Aktiebolag v Nemiroff Intellectual Property Establishment</i>, the IP adjudicator has refused to register the mark NEMIROFF ABSOLUTNY CHAMPION for vodka on the grounds that it created unfair competition with the registered well-known mark ABSOLUT. The IP adjudicator held that, by choosing the mark NEMIROFF ABSOLUTNY CHAMPION, the applicant intended to benefit from the reputation of the ABSOLUT mark.

19 July 2012

The Trademark Office has issued a request for comments with respect to a proposed new guideline that would change the maximum term of extension that can be given for submitting a response to an office action. As the overwhelming number of applications in Israel is filed by foreign trademark owners, the issue of deadlines and extensions for taking various actions before the Trademark Office is of particular importance.

20 June 2012

In <i>The Israeli Trade Fairs and Convention Centre Ltd v Bashan Bar Ilan Management Services Ltd</i>, the Tel Aviv District Court has held that a company that had placed information booths and distributed advertising booklets on an access path to a career fair organised by the plaintiff had committed the tort of unfair interference to access to a business and was unjustly enriched at the plaintiff's expense. However, the court rejected the plaintiff's passing-off claim.

18 June 2012

In <i>Harman International Industries Inc v Tobishi Trade Ltd</i>, the IP adjudicator has refused to cancel the INFINITY mark for televisions, screens and projectors based on the earlier mark INFINITY. Among other things, the adjudicator determined that the owner of the earlier mark had failed to prove that it was well known in Israel. The decision was based on the principle that, in order to restrict another party's IP rights, a high degree of proof is required.

14 June 2012

In <i>Baltika Breweries v S&G Intertrade Ltd</i>, the Israeli Trademark Office has upheld an opposition by the owner of the registered mark BALTIKA for beer against an application by a former distributor to register a device mark including the Russian word transcribed as 'Baltiyskoe' (meaning 'Baltic') for beer and soft drinks.

23 April 2012