TRADE MARKS
We trademark names and symbols in the U.S., Israel and worldwide. The trademark is generally a recognizable sign, design or expression used to identify products or services. Most countries including Israel require formal registration of a trademark before pursuing legal action against infringement, such as when another entity uses an identical or nearly identical design for related or identical goods or services.
We have implemented a web-based trademark input system that allows for automatic testing of goods and services against Israel's pre-approved list (which is a somewhat idiosyncratic version of the NICE classification system). This system greatly streamlines the trademark application process and allows us to file faster and with lower overhead than any other Israel trademark filing office.
The ™ symbol denotes an unregistered trademark; ℠ is used for 'service marks', where a service is being marked instead of a good; and ® is for a registered trademark or service mark.
Marks are generally registered with a list of 'goods and services' in a certain class - Israel is party to the NICE and Madrid conventions, which define the classes and lists of associated goods and services.
The Madrid convention allows for one international filing to be made. WIPO examines classification at the international stage, and then each designated national office — for example Israel, the USPTO, EUIPO, China, etc. — may still examine whether the wording is acceptable under its own clarity/scope rules. WIPO specifically warns that not all Nice terms are accepted by all Madrid member offices because some terms may be considered insufficiently clear or precise.
As mentioned Israel largely uses Nice classification for goods/services, and Israel can be designated through Madrid, but there are some idiosyncracies to the Israel goods/services lists and thus local representation is required.
