In a notice sent to Israeli practitioners earlier today, the Commissioner of Patents at the Israel Patent Office, Dr. Meir Noam, has announced that the new trademark portal will become operational from 29 December 2008. To allow this to happen, it will be impossible to file applications from 19th December 2008 to 29 December 2008. We note that this gives little time for applicants to file prior to imminent fee adjustments on 1 January 2009. That said, as the launch is months overdue, we applaud the news and hope that the the interface will work properly.
We assume that this development heralds a forthcoming announcement regarding implementation of the Madrid Protocol.
