Legal Updates

A trademark of a non-Israeli company with an international reputation may be protected in Israel even if not registered in Israel

May 5, 2019
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An Israeli company sought to use the trademark of a non-Israeli company with international reputation that with whom it has no connection or agreement, and registered a trade mark on the international company's brand name. The international company, which is not active in Israel, demanded the cancellation of the registered trademark even though many years passed since it was registered in Israel.
The Supreme Court ordered the cancellation of the registered trademark. The use of the reputation of another business, which has a border-crossing reputation in order to promote the business of another is unfair competition. Trademarks that have acquired international recognition and reputation that are so powerful that they exceed the specific products in which the trademark owner is concerned, are entitled to protection in Israel even if they are not registered as trademarks at the Israeli Registrar of Trademarks. A trademark that was registered in bad faith in order to take over another trademark or to prevent the use of the mark by its original owner will be cancelled, even if the owner of the mark has not yet begun to operate in the State of Israel. Thus, the trademark was revoked and Israeli company will no longer be able to use the trademark even though it was registered by it many years ago.