On July 1, 2006, the Israel Patent Office fees underwent their biannual adjustment in accordance with the cost of living.
All fees have gone up around 1%. The basic fee for filing an Israel Patent Application went up from 1082 NIS to 1092 NIS, which is still under $250.
Indeed, Israel Patent Applications represent extraordinary good value for money since there are also no maintenance fees prior to the patent issuing, and under Section 17(c) of the Law, patents can be obtained without local examination, by conforming the claims to those of an issued sister patent from a large number of examining jurisdictions.
Israel accepts applications filed in the English Language, in Hebrew or in Arabic.
Unlike most other industrialized countries, applications filed in Israel do not publish automatically 18 months after filing. Israel still maintains a submarine patent system, with the application publishing only after acceptance, for a three month opposition period prior to issuing. In consequence, Israel is a marvelous choice for first filing, enabling the applicant to claim patent pending status with little risk at low cost.
