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- Dr Meir Noam
This evening, the Israel chapter of the AIPPI and the Association of Patent Attorneys in Israel (APIA or APAI - not sure ;-)) cohosted a reception and program honouring outgoing Commissioner, Dr Meir Noam.
Unlike the reception they held 7 or 8 years ago when Dr Noam assumed office, which was a meaty event with chopped liver held in a Tel Aviv hotel, this time around, the event was in the Arkadia hotel, Herzliya and the refreshments were dairy.
After a savory reception comprising sandwiches, half bagels with smoked salmon, mozzarella cheese and salads, particularly good coffee, tea and a wine bar, we trooped in to enjoy the following program:
- An opening address by AIPA Chairperson, Michal Hackmey, who briefly summarized Dr Noam’s various achievements during his term of office, and contrasted the dismal state of the Israel Patent Office when he assumed office, with that he left at the end of his tenure.
- Adv. Tal Band, President of the Israel Chapter of the AIPPI, who contrasted the difference between escorting expert witnesses and parties to opposition proceedings to the former Patent Office that was temporarily located in an industrial area characterized by car showrooms and workshops, where the entrance to the Patent Office was between a shop selling bathroom fixtures and one selling musical instruments, to the present, impressive building in the nicely landscaped Malcha high-tech park, that has purpose-built court rooms for such hearings.
- Dr Noam himself then spoke, and modestly mentioned the “et al.” - i.e. the support staff that had helped him bring in the various reforms. We note that this followed an interview with Dr Noam in the Calcalist (Hebrew business paper) which had carried the headlines that Dr Noam had made NIS 50,000,000 for the State of Israel. It seems that those who had criticized Dr. Noam for the arrogance of the headlines, were perhaps blaming him for the mistakes of the journalist.
- Secretary General of the Justice Ministry and Acting Commissioner Dr Guy Rotkopf then spoke briefly about the charisma and emotional involvement that Dr Noam had brought with him, that had enabled him to obtain funding and support for the various reforms he’d championed. I believe that most of us practitioners had never met Dr Rotkopf and so found this part of the proceedings particularly refreshing.
- The highlight of the program was the substantive part - a lecture by Central District Court Judge Binyamini about Exhaustion of Rights. Judge Binyamini eloquently spoke for 30-40 minutes whilst hardly consulting his notes. He noted that the black letter Israel Law does not relate to Exhaustion of Rights with regards to trademarks or patents, whereas the Integrated Circuit Law has universal exhaustion of rights and the plant species law relates to national exhaustion of rights. Binyamini went on to review the various decisions on the subject, and referred to an obiter by Supreme Justice Englehart that proposed universal exhaustion for patent rights, whilst noting that neither the US nor the European Union have such a law. Whilst noting that the Supreme Court can create such rules by judicial Activism through creative case-law, it was clear that Binyamini preferred the Knesset to pass legislation. The presentation was breathtaking in its comprehensiveness and scope.
- In offering the vote of thanks, Adv. Tal Band noted that generally such lectures by judges clarified complex issues, whereas in this case, the presentation has shown the complexity of what was generally considered straightforward. He went on to point out that if everything was clear, none of the profession would have much to do!
A coffee and cake reception followed, where the cheesecake was particularly noteworthy.
It was a good time to meet old friends and to catch up on the gossip.
The two questions that remained unanswered were who will the next Israel Commissioner of Patents be, and what will Dr Meir Noam do next?
I have suspicions on both counts, but prefer not to publish speculations. Time will tell.
