A registered patent in Israel may be cancelled in case a petition for cancellation has been filed.
Who Can File a Petition for Cancellation?
A petition for cancellation may be filed by any person who is not the patent holder.
Time Limit for Filing a Petition for Cancellation
There is no time limit for filing a petition for cancellation.
Grounds for Cancellation
According to Section 73B of the Patent Act, the Registrar may cancel a registered patent if there is a ground to oppose the granting of a patent. Section 31 of the Patent Act lists three main grounds to oppose the granting of a patent:
(1) There is due cause thereof the Registrar is empowered to refuse the acceptance of the patent application;
(2) The invention is not patentable within the terms of section 4 (2);
(3) The opponent claims to be the owner of the invention.
The Burden of Proof
Once a patent has been registered, it automatically enjoys the presumption of validity and registrability. Therefore, once a cancellation petition has been filed, the burden of proof is on the party requesting the patents’ cancellation.
The Process of Cancellation
Both the District Courts of Israel and the Patent Registrar hold the authority to cancel the registration of a patent due to lacks prerequisites for protection as described in the Patent Act (Section 74-75 of the Patent Act).
The process of cancellation is quite similar to a “mini-trial”:
In order to file a cancellation, one must first file a “Notice of cancellation” The patent owner will respond to this notice (“Counter-Statement”). Failure to do so will result in the patent’s dismissal.
Each party will then need to present its supporting evidence (affidavits, consumer testimonies, surveys, expert opinions, advertisements, and so forth). Both parties and witnesses will then testify and will probably be cross-examined. Each party will present their written summations and finally, the Registrar or the Court will decide whether or not to accept the cancellation.
The Validity of the Cancellation Order
The cancellation order will come into effect thirty days after the end of the period for filing an appeal; But if an appeal has been filed, the court may delay its entry into effect or condition its entry into effect.
If you have any questions about patent cancellation in Israel, please contact us at office@dwo.co.il.
