The State of Palestine, also known simply as Palestine, is a state in the Middle East. Its independence was declared on 15 November 1988 by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Algiers as a government-in-exile. The State of Palestine claims the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as the designated capital.

Patent

In Palestine, once a patent application is filed, it is examined as to compliance with the formalities and patentability provided for under the patent law. A separate application has to be filed in each jurisdiction. The Patent Office may require whatever amendments necessary to bring the application into conformity with the law. In the event the applicant does not comply with the requests of the Patent Office within a given grace period or as authorized by the Registrar of Patents, the Registrar will refuse the application.

An applicant is entitled to appeal against the Registrar's request by means of submitting a petition to the High Court of Justice within one month as of the date of the Registrar's decision. Approved applications are published in the Official Gazette and are open to public inspection. Any interested party may oppose the grant of a patent within 2 months from the date of publication. The opposition notice is submitted to the Registrar of Patents. Should no opposition against the grant of a patent be filed, a decision granting the patent will be issued. The letters patent is granted after payment of the prescribed fees.

A patent is valid for 16 years from the date of filing the application. Such validity is subject to the payment of the prescribed renewal fees, which should be paid before the expiration of the fourth, eighth and twelfth years from the filing date or the convention filing date in case of priority applications.

Novelty is not limited to the country only. A novelty examination takes into consideration any specification previously lodged with the Patent Office or any patent previously registered.

Trademark

Palestine is not a member of any international convention, but abides by the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks under the Nice Agreement. A separate application is to be filed for each class of goods and/or services in each jurisdiction.

Once a trademark application is filed, it is examined as to its registrability. Trademark applications accepted by the Registrar are published in the Official Gazette. There is a 3-month period open for filing opposition by any interested party. An opposition to the registration of a trademark should be prosecuted before the Registrar within 3 months as of the date of publication. The opposition case is referred to the High Court of Justice, if not settled before the Registrar, or if either party appeals the Registrar's decision. In the absence of opposition, or in case the opposition application is refused, a certificate of registration will be issued.

A trademark registration is valid for 7 years from the date of filing the application and renewable for periods of 14 years each. The trademark law provides for a one-month period for late renewal of a trademark subject to the payment of a lateness fine. A trademark registration can be renewed at any time after the expiry of the relevant registration, as long as the Registrar has not ordered that such trademark registration should be cancelled from the register of trademarks.

Use of trademarks is not compulsory for filing applications or for maintaining trademark registrations in force. However, a trademark registration is vulnerable to cancellation by any interested party, who can establish that the trademark was not actually used during the 2 years immediately preceding the application for cancellation, or that there was no bona fide of using the trademark on the goods in respect of which the trademark was registered.

Design

Designs are protectable through registration with the competent office in Palestine. A separate application has to be filed in each jurisdiction. Design applications accepted by the Registrar are published in the Official Gazette. There is a 2-month period open for filing opposition by any interested party. Such a registration is effected without any novelty examination at the applicant's responsibility. A design registration is valid for 5 years from the filing date renewable for 2 similar periods of 5 years each.

The registration of a design is subject to cancellation in the event any interested party requests such a cancellation before the competent tribunal. Cancellation can be based on the grounds that the subject design was not novel at the time of filing the relevant application or that the design is applied through manufacturing processes to any article in a foreign country and is not so applied through any manufacturing processes in the territories to such extent as is reasonable in the circumstances of the case.

There is no provision in the current design law for compulsory working or licensing with respect to designs.