Israel Patent Number 92848 lapsed in 1996. Ten years later the owners, Chem Air Agricultural Cooperative, attempted to reinstate the patent which relates to crop spraying, claiming that the management of the company, being pilots and farmers, were not familiar with patent law, and that the abandonment was unintentional.
The patent office ruling rejected the argument that ignorance justified reinstatement, pointing out that companies are expected to protect their assets and that professional counseling is available commercially. the ruling went on to point out that 10 years is long enough for most civil and criminal files to be closed.
the Israel Patent Law does allow reinstatement where a patent has lapsed unintentionally, but allows users of the technology that relied on the patent not being maintained to continue to do so. In this instance we concur with the Deputy Commisioner that 10 years is a long time.
