Please provide links to your website where the requested information can be found in English, French, or Spanish. Alternately, you may provide text responses instead of URLs if desired. If the information is not available on your website in an ATR language, then please provide text.
URLs in responses should meet the following requirements:
Information on the following topics is desired:
The Israel Patent Office (ILPO) remains committed to the continuous improvement of its services to better meet the needs and expectations of its stakeholders. As part of this commitment, the ILPO has already taken measures to enhance its patent information resources, both those available to applicants and those used internally by ILPO staff, to foster a more convenient, efficient, and effective work environment. The ILPO has further plans to continue improving its patent information resources and services.
The main plans slated for implementation by the end of 2026 include:
Following the successful launch of the AI integration pilot in 2024, initially focused on the examination of published patent applications, the ILPO has expanded its scope to include the examination of unpublished applications such as PCT filings and first-filed national applications in Israel. To support this expansion, the ILPO has provided secure access to AI tools, ensuring full compliance with Israel's privacy and data protection regulations and with the provisions of PCT Article 30 regarding the confidential nature of the international application.
Preparations have been made to enable the automatic display of AI-generated insights on corresponding applications within the automated system for national applications. This includes essential data such as claim scope and legal status.
New AI-assisted training programs have been developed, including:
As part of the preparations for the new PCT Minimum Documentation requirements, an AI tool based on Amazon Q has been developed to automatically validate XML files against the WIPO Standard ST.96, Version 9 schema, and apply any necessary corrections.
A pilot project has been initiated to implement a graphical user interface (GUI) for automated quality control of International Search Reports (ISRs) and Written Opinions. This process is performed before dispatching these documents to applicants, enhancing accuracy and efficiency.
A pilot program has been launched to enable the automatic transmission of monthly patent data to WIPO, replacing the previous manually initiated data transmission process.
The automated system for processing national applications has been upgraded to support:
The e-filing system for national patent applications has been upgraded to support automatic renewals of patents.
The preparations for compliance with Annex H of the Administrative Instructions under the PCT have been completed. These preparations include:
The preliminary search service has been extended to include new service routes in addition to the existing route in collaboration with the Israel Innovation Authority (entrepreneurs).
To promote greater participation of women in the patenting process, the ILPO has launched a new initiative: patent applications naming at least 50% women inventors are now eligible for expedited examination.
An interactive online training tutorial was created to introduce children aged 9-11 to the concept and importance of intellectual property. The tutorial uses games, figures, and stories to make the information easy to understand and engaging. The tutorial is available on the ILPO’s website (in Hebrew):
https://www.gov.il/he/departments/ilpo/govil-landing-page
Year | National applications filed | Patents granted | Int. applications filed at RO/IL |
2025 | 7599 | 5175 | 1188 |
2024 | 8262 | 5149 | 1245 |
2023 | 9253 | 4928 | 1342 |
2022 | 10075 | 5358 | 1417 |
The vast majority of the national applications filed with the ILPO are international applications entering the national phase in Israel.
A high proportion of divisional patent applications has been observed in recent years, particularly within the field of biotechnology.
https://www.gov.il/en/departments/ilpo/govil-landing-page
https://www.gov.il/he/pages/patents-law
https://www.gov.il/he/Departments/DynamicCollectors/work-procedure-db?skip=0
https://www.gov.il/he/pages/ilpo-statistics?chapterIndex=3
https://israelpatents.justice.gov.il/search/en/home
https://israelpatents.justice.gov.il/search/en/journal
https://israelpatents.justice.gov.il/application/en/login/connect
https://www.gov.il/he/pages/service-declaration
https://www.gov.il/en/pages/patents-floating-page-3
https://govextra.gov.il/justice/ilpo-knowledge-center/ilpo-knowledge-center/newsletters/
https://govextra.gov.il/justice/ilpo-knowledge-center/ilpo-knowledge-center/ip-prism/
Information on the following topics is desired:
Information on filing and processing national patent applications, legal information, and customer service are available on the following websites:
English: https://www.gov.il/en/departments/topics/patent-department/govil-landing-page
Hebrew: https://www.gov.il/he/departments/topics/patent-department/govil-landing-page
Information on filing and processing PCT applications, legal information, and customer service are available on the following websites:
English: https://www.gov.il/en/departments/topics/pct-department/govil-landing-page
Hebrew: https://www.gov.il/he/departments/topics/pct-department/govil-landing-page
Webinars are regularly provided to users of ILPO services, offering detailed information about legal changes, system upgrades, and new services. These webinars also serve to collect user feedback and raise awareness of existing services.
Access to the dossier of published patent applications is available on the following website:
https://israelpatents.justice.gov.il/search/en/home
Classification:
All the national and international applications are classified according to the CPC, with automatic concordance to IPC.
Preclassification:
International applications entering the national phase undergo preclassification based on the CPC of corresponding applications. Other applications are preclassified with the aid of AI tools. The applications are then automatically allocated to the pertinent examination team based on the preclassification assigned.
Reclassification:
During the substantive examination of patent applications, examiners reclassify all applications based on the latest version of the claims. Once examination concludes, patent documents are not reclassified further.
Over 98% of national patent applications and all PCT applications are filed in English. Furthermore, approximately 82% of national examination reports are issued in English at the applicant's request.
Abstracts for national patent applications are not required under the Israel Patents Law.
Information on the following topics is desired:
The following types of publications are made available on the Patents Journal, in which the relevant documents for each type of publication can be downloaded:
The Patents Journal can be accessed at the following link:
https://israelpatents.justice.gov.il/search/en/journal
In addition, the ILPO's search engine allows searching all these publication types as well as providing RSS services for all major events. The search engine can be accessed by the following link:
https://israelpatents.justice.gov.il/search/en/home
The Patents Journal is published monthly on the ILPO's website and contains the types of publications mentioned above.
The Patents Journal can be accessed on the following website:
https://israelpatents.justice.gov.il/search/en/journal
Search tools available at the ILPO
Five advanced commercial search tools are available for all examiners:
Each of the first four search tools supports patent (with full-text machine translations) and non-patent literature (NPL) search.
NPL full-text documents can be ordered upon need.
In addition to the five commercial search tools, the national collection can be searched via the internal automated system for national applications and on the ILPO's internet website:
https://israelpatents.justice.gov.il/search/en/home
Intranet
The ILPO’s intranet provides a wide range of documents, tools and information including: national and PCT legal texts, relevant court and Commissioner decisions, Commissioner Notices, internal instructions, links to search and legal databases, Quality Manual, notifications about events, training materials, best practices shared by examiners, and editing tools.
The ILPO's website offers general information and guidance for filing both national and PCT patent applications, available in Hebrew and English. Users can also subscribe to the ILPO mailing list to receive notifications about Commissioner's circulars and notices, amendments of examination guidelines, as well as other news updates.
ILPO's website (English) can be accessed at the following link:
https://www.gov.il/en/departments/ilpo/govil-landing-page
A Service Level Agreement (SLA) exists for services offered by ILPO departments, including Patents, Patents Administration, PCT, Industrial Designs, Trademarks, and Legal Departments. The SLA specifies processing time frames for applications during both formalities and substantive examination stages.
The SLA (Hebrew) can be accessed at the following link:
https://www.gov.il/he/pages/service-declaration
The ILPO's patent search engine offers free access to published patent data. This data encompasses the bibliographic details of filed applications, along with the complete dossier for published patent applications and granted patents. The dossier itself contains all versions of the application documents in searchable PDF format, all communications with the applicants, and documents relating to opposition proceedings.
The published patent data accessed via the search engine is linked to Extracts from the Register of Patents as well as to external databases pertaining to the same patent family. These external databases include PATENTSCOPE, Espacenet, and Global Dossier.
The search engine can be accessed at the following link:
https://israelpatents.justice.gov.il/search/en/home
The Patents Journal provides free access to the types of publications mentioned above (Main types of publications of the ILPO) and allows download of the relevant documents for each type of publication. Each document published in the Journal is linked to the same databases mentioned above for the search engine.
The Patents Journal can be accessed at the following link:
https://israelpatents.justice.gov.il/search/en/journal
The legal status information, which is updated daily, can be accessed on the ILPO's patent search engine:
https://israelpatents.justice.gov.il/search/en/home
Information regarding pendency for first examination (per examination team) and continued examination (per examiner) is available via the search engine after entering the application number:
https://israelpatents.justice.gov.il/search/en/home
Information on the following topics is desired:
The ILPO maintains advanced automated systems supporting a paperless work environment for the formalities and substantive examination of national and international applications.
The automated system for processing national applications offers a guided workflow platform. This platform includes all necessary checkboxes and text fields, along with integrated standardized clauses in both Hebrew and English, streamlining the entire examination process. Once an examination is complete, the system automatically generates and sends a PDF examination report to the applicant.
PCT applications are processed during the RO, ISA, and IPEA stages by an automated system named PCT-SAPIA, which also offers a guided workflow platform. After selecting the appropriate checkboxes and completing the necessary text fields within the system, PCT forms are automatically generated in PDF format and XML format per WIPO Standard ST.96.
The two systems manage all communications with applicants and comprehensively document all versions of application documents (description, claims, drawings, sequences), all incoming and outgoing communications with the applicant, and all structured data entered into the system (e.g., CPC classifications, citations, objections raised). Both automated systems include a color-coded task list for formalities and substantive examiners, quality control reviewers, and payment coordinators.
An automated allocation mechanism is employed to improve the process of assigning applications to examiners, while considering their workload and seniority.
The ILPO utilizes an advanced Business Intelligence (BI) system for comprehensive analysis of national and international applications. This system allows the ILPO to monitor the workload and processing timeliness of each examiner and team, as well as track fluctuations in demand and backlog. The BI system further provides customizable parameters and comprehensive work analytics and statistics.
The examiners have access to different commercial search databases as well as AI-based search tool as detailed in section III above (Information products and patent document collections).
A teleworking system is in place, enabling all examiners to work from home (50% of work hours) with full access to their regular work environment and comprehensive support for online meetings.
The ILPO staff have access to Microsoft Office applications as well as virtual meeting platforms (Microsoft Teams, Zoom).
E-filing systems are available for the public to file national and PCT applications; consequently, all PCT applications and over 99% of national applications are filed online. An analytics tool (Glassbox) is employed, with user consent, to visualize customer behavior in real-time. This provides insights that help the ILPO improve the system's quality and efficiency.
The ILPO's Service Management implements the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Standard. The ILPO adopted a disaster recovery policy and has implemented GeoCluster which protects the organization from equipment failures, power outages and natural disasters.
ILPO staff members utilize workstations equipped with access to internal automated systems and high-speed internet. Each workstation features two computer monitors.
All examiners are provided teleworking facilities to work from home and connect to the same work environment as at the Office.
The internal automated system for processing national applications comprehensively supports all patent data. This includes all electronic documents of the patent applications (bibliographic data, description, claims, drawings, sequences) since 1970. In addition, all versions of application documents (description, claims, drawings, sequences), together with all communications with applicants during examination at least since 2012 are available for public inspection.
Each application within this automated system is linked to external databases for corresponding applications (e.g., PATENTSCOPE, Espacenet, Global Dossier, CCD), as well as to other search databases and relevant instructions.
This system also provides daily updates to the online published patent data, accessible via the search engine. Furthermore, the system generates patent data for transmission to other offices.
The published patent data is sent monthly to external free sources such as PATENTSCOPE and Espacenet, and to other commercial databases, making it accessible through these platforms.
PATENTSCOPE: https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/search.jsf
Espacenet: https://worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/
Both automated systems for national and international applications maintain the cited documents, the search reports and the search strategies, all of which are accessible to the public via the search engine once published. For national applications, the applicants' responses to duty of disclosure (providing a list of prior-art documents known to the applicant) are documented in the automated system and made available at the ILPO's website once the application is published.
Each application within the automated system for national applications is linked to external databases for corresponding applications (e.g., PATENTSCOPE, Espacenet, Global Dossier, CCD), as well as to other search databases.
The ILPO utilizes automated systems for both national and international applications, which support the formalities and substantive examination processes. The legal status of national applications and details from the Extract from the Register of Patents are updated daily in the online patent data, published directly from the national automated system. Building on these systems, a Business Intelligence (BI) system operates as an advanced administrative tool, providing comprehensive analytics and statistics. For further details, refer to the "Specific software tools supporting business procedures within the Office" section above.
Information on the following topics is desired:
The ILPO's website offers general information and guidance for filing national and PCT patent applications in both Hebrew and English.
ILPO's website (English) can be accessed at the following link:
https://www.gov.il/en/departments/ilpo/govil-landing-page
The IP-Date Newsletter website provides current intellectual property news, updates, and relevant developments to the professional community and the public. This newsletter can be accessed at the following link:
https://govextra.gov.il/justice/ilpo-knowledge-center/ilpo-knowledge-center/newsletters/
Research projects for candidates to senior examiners require substantive patent examiners to conduct research projects on selected topics related to patent application prosecution as a prerequisite for promotion. Selected research projects are published on the ILPO's blog:
https://govextra.gov.il/justice/ilpo-knowledge-center/ilpo-knowledge-center/ip-prism/
The ILPO aims to help applicants better understand how examiners interpret non-English cited documents. To achieve this, the ILPO intends to attach English machine translations to examination reports. In cases where the original document lacks paragraph numbering, references in the report will directly point to the translated version.
A new preliminary search service has been launched in collaboration with the Israel Innovation Authority, specifically for entrepreneurs applying to the Israel Innovation Authority. This service includes a meeting with the entrepreneurs, during which a prior-art search is conducted based on the inventive concept described. Additionally, relevant information concerning intellectual property aspects and patent application examination routes is explained.
Advanced professional courses are held at the ILPO, provided by leading Israeli universities and private firms. The courses focus on emerging technologies and the latest developments in different technical fields.
IP-related courses and seminars are periodically provided to patent examiners by leading IP experts. Additionally, the ILPO actively participates in IP courses for patent attorney candidates in collaboration with leading IP representatives and WIPO.
The ILPO organizes visits for examiners to industrial firms and academic institutions in Israel. These visits include tours, lectures, and discussions on scientific, technological, and IP-related aspects in various advanced technical fields.
Some research projects, for candidates to senior examiners (also refer to "Publications related to different business procedures and patent information sources available to users" above), are conducted in collaboration with other universities and research centers.
The ILPO has a comprehensive training system for all staff, primarily consisting of the following programs:
Information on the following topics is desired:
The patent data is shared with other offices (WIPO, EPO) on a monthly basis in the form of a data package including the bibliographic data in XML format and the application documents, including the description, claims, and drawings in PDF format, and sequences according to WIPO Standard ST.26.
Following compliance with Annex H of the Administrative Instructions under the PCT regarding the PCT Minimum Documentation requirements, an SFTP-based repository has been established to share patent data published since January 1, 1991 in bulk format with other International Authorities.
A pilot program has been launched to enable the automatic transmission of monthly patent data to WIPO, replacing the previous process in which the data transmission was manually initiated by staff.
The ILPO participates in the WIPO Centralized Access to Search and Examination (WIPO CASE) system as an Accessing and Providing Office.
The ILPO participates in WIPO Digital Access Service (WIPO DAS) as an Accessing and Depositing Office.
The ILPO utilizes the PCT Electronic Data Interchange (PCT-EDI) system for communications with WIPO concerning both national and international applications. The ILPO provides WIPO monthly updates on national phase entry in XML format.
The ILPO regularly uses the eSearchCopy system for international applications filed by US applicants with the RO/US and by Israeli applicants with the RO/IB, for which the ILPO is a competent ISA. Once received via secure FTP protocol, the international applications are automatically uploaded to the automated system for PCT applications for further processing.
The ILPO actively participates in the maintenance of the IPC. Additionally, the ILPO participates in the CPC annual meeting hosted by the EPO and USPTO.
The ILPO classifies PCT applications and national applications first filed in Israel according to CPC. The USPTO provides CPC classifications for international applications entering the national phase in Israel based on an agreement.
To enhance international collaboration and examination efficiency, the ILPO has PPH arrangements with several Offices, as well as PCT-PPH and Global PPH arrangements.
As an international authority for searching and preliminary examination of PCT applications (ISA/IPEA), the ILPO participates in the annual Meeting of International Authorities and the Quality Subgroup.
The ILPO participates in the meetings of the Committee on WIPO Standards (CWS) and is a member of several CWS task forces and PCT Minimum Documentation task force.
Note: For each Standard listed below, please enter one of the following values:
"Fully implemented"
The WIPO Standard has been implemented in a manner compliant or compatible with the Standard.
"Partially implemented"
The WIPO Standard has been implemented in part. The Office practice aligns with some, but not all, requirements of the Standard.
"On implementation phase"
The decision to implement the WIPO Standard has been made and it is currently being deployed, configured, or integrated into systems and workflows.
"Planning to implement"
The decision to implement the WIPO Standard has been made; planning activities (resource allocation, timeline development, technical design) are underway before actual implementation begins.
"On assessment phase"
The WIPO Standard is under active evaluation to determine its feasibility, technical requirements, costs, benefits, and alignment with organizational needs before making an implementation decision.
"No plan to implement"
The WIPO Standard has been reviewed and there is currently no intention or plan to implement it.
WIPO Standard ST.1: Recommendation concerning the minimum data elements required to uniquely identify a patent document
Fully implemented
WIPO Standard ST.2: Standard manner for designating calendar dates by using the Gregorian calendar
Fully implemented
WIPO Standard ST.3: Recommended standard on two-letter codes for the representation of states, other entities and intergovernmental organizations
Fully implemented
WIPO Standard ST.6: Recommendation for the numbering of published patent documents
Fully implemented
WIPO Standard ST.8: Standard recording of international patent classification (IPC) symbols on machine-readable records
Fully implemented
WIPO Standard ST.9: Recommendation concerning bibliographic data on and relating to patents and SPCs
Partially implemented
WIPO Standard ST.10: Published patent documents
Partially implemented
WIPO Standard ST.10/A: Format (margins, size) of patent documents
Fully implemented
WIPO Standard ST.10/B: Layout of bibliographic data components
Partially implemented
WIPO Standard ST.10/C: Presentation of bibliographic data components
Fully implemented
WIPO Standard ST.10/D: Guidelines on physical characteristics of patent documents particularly relevant to reproducibility and legibility of such documents
Fully implemented
WIPO Standard ST.11: Recommendation on the minimum of indexes to be inserted in patent gazettes or published in association with patent gazettes
Fully implemented
WIPO Standard ST.12: Guidelines for the preparation of abstracts of patent documents
No plan to implement
The abstract is not mandatory under the Israel Patents Law.
WIPO Standard ST.12/A: General guidelines for the preparation of abstracts of patent documents
No plan to implement
WIPO Standard ST.12/B: Guidelines for the preparation of categorized patent abstract
No plan to implement
WIPO Standard ST.12/C: Guidelines for the physical characteristics of separately published abstracts in selective dissemination of information (SDI) presented in the form of card files
No plan to implement
WIPO Standard ST.13: Recommendation for the numbering of applications for industrial property rights (IPRs)
No plan to implement
WIPO Standard ST.14: Recommendation for the inclusion of references cited in patent documents
Partially implemented
WIPO Standard ST.15: Guidelines for the wording of titles of inventions in patent documents
Partially implemented
WIPO Standard ST.16: Recommended standard code for the identification of different kinds of patent documents
Partially implemented
WIPO Standard ST.17: Recommendation for the coding of headings of announcements made in official gazettes
No plan to implement
WIPO Standard ST.18: Recommendation concerning patent gazettes and other patent announcement journals
Partially implemented
The Patents Journal is available only in electronic version. Therefore, some of the hard-copy-related requirements are not met.
WIPO Standard ST.19: Recommendation for the publication of indexes issued yearly/half-yearly/quarterly by industrial property offices
Partially implemented
WIPO Standard ST.20: Recommendations for the preparation of name indexes to patent documents
No plan to implement
Old standard
WIPO Standard ST.21: Recommendation concerning the reduction of volume of priority documents as filed with industrial property offices
No plan to implement
The ILPO participates in WIPO DAS as an Accessing and Depositing Office.
WIPO Standard ST.22: Recommendation for the authoring of patent applications for the purpose of facilitating optical character recognition (OCR)
Partially implemented
For example, according to the Israel Patents Regulations, it is allowable to file drawings in colors.
WIPO Standard ST.25: Standard for the presentation of nucleotide and amino acid sequence listings in patent applications
Fully implemented till June 30, 2022
Replaced by Standard ST.26
WIPO Standard ST.26: Recommended standard for the presentation of nucleotide and amino acid sequence listings using XML (extensible markup language)
Fully implemented
WIPO Standard ST.27: Recommendation for the exchange of patent legal status data
Fully implemented
WIPO Standard ST.31: Recommended standard coded character sets for the exchange of machine-readable records of patent documents
No plan to implement
Old standard
WIPO Standard ST.32: Recommendation for the markup of patent documents using SGML (standard generalized markup language)
No plan to implement
Old standard
WIPO Standard ST.33: Recommended standard format for data exchange of facsimile information of patent documents
No plan to implement
Old standard
WIPO Standard ST.34: Recommendation concerning the recording of application numbers in electronic form for the exchange of bibliographic data
No plan to implement
WIPO Standard ST.35: Recommended standard format for data exchange of mixed-mode published patent document information on reel-to-reel and IBM 3480/90 cartridge tapes
No plan to implement
Old standard
WIPO Standard ST.36: Recommendation for the processing of patent information using XML (extensible markup language)
Fully implemented previously
Replaced by Standard ST.96
WIPO Standard ST.37: Recommendation for an authority file of published patent documents
Fully implemented
WIPO Standard ST.40: Recommendation concerning making facsimile images of patent documents available on CD-ROM
No plan to implement
Old standard
WIPO Standard ST.50: Guidelines for issuing corrections, alterations and supplements relating to patent information
Partially implemented
WIPO Standard ST.90: Recommendation for processing and communicating intellectual property data using web APIs (Application Programming Interfaces)
No plan to implement
WIPO Standard ST.91: Recommendations on digital three-dimensional (3D) models and 3D images
Planning to implement
WIPO Standard ST.92: Recommendations on the data package format for the electronic exchange of priority documents
Partially implemented
WIPO Standard ST.96: Recommendation for the processing of intellectual property information using XML (extensible markup language)
Fully implemented
For bibliographical details
WIPO Standard ST.97: Recommendation for processing of intellectual property data using JSON
No plan to implement
Please include any other relevant information here.
Please insert links to specific pages on your website where the above information is available in English, French, or Spanish. See other requirements above. You may also provide text instead of links.
1.Classification is allotting one or more classification symbols (e.g., IPC symbols) to a patent application, either before or during search and examination, which symbols are then published with the patent application.
2. Preclassification is allotting an initial broad classification symbol (e.g., IPC class or subclass, or administrative unit) to a patent application, using human or automated means for internal administrative purposes (e.g., routing an application to the appropriate examiner). Usually preclassification is applied by the administration of an office.
3. Reclassification is the reconsideration and usually the replacement of one or more previously allotted classification symbols to a patent document, following a revision and the entry into force of a new version of the Classification system (e.g., the IPC). The new symbols are available on patent databases.
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