Trademarks and copyright: the full guide

The short answer

A trade name and a logo are protected mainly by registering a trademark: registration gives exclusive use of the mark for the goods it was registered for (section 46 of the Trade Marks Ordinance [New Version], 5732-1972), for ten years from the date of the application (section 31). Photos, texts and designs are protected by copyright, which arises without registration (section 4 of the Copyright Act, 5768-2007). Even without registration, you can argue passing off (section 1 of the Commercial Torts Law, 5759-1999).

This page is a translation. If it differs from the Hebrew page, the Hebrew version governs. You can call, write or meet with us in English or Hebrew. We reply within one business day.

Which right applies, and the nearest deadline, decide the next step: registration, a letter, or a reply to a letter. For a question about your case: Legal support for a digital business.

What the law provides

The legal framework in this area rests on the following laws. The links lead to the original legislation (in Hebrew); the binding text is the one published in Sefer HaHukim (the official gazette of statutes).

Legislation index: all the sections the site discusses

Index of sections on the site: Copyright Act, 5768-2007 · Commercial Torts Law, 5759-1999 · Prescription Law, 5718-1958.

Map of the topic

This page maps the topic by what you need: to protect a name, a logo or content, to register, or to answer a claim that you infringed. Patents and designs are not part of this page.

Which right protects what: name, logo, photo and text

Which right protects what: name, logo, photo and text
What you want to protect	The main right	How it arises	How long	Source
The name of the business or of the product	Registered trademark	Registration in the Register of Trade Marks, for classes of goods and services	Ten years from the date of the application, and it can be renewed for another ten	Sections 31–32, 46 of the Ordinance
A name or logo that was not registered	Passing off	No registration; the tort is causing another person’s product or service to be mistaken for yours or for one connected with you	The Law sets no period	Section 1 of the Commercial Torts Law
The logo itself, as a design	A trademark, and also copyright in an artistic work	Registration as a mark; copyright arises in an original work without registration	Copyright: the author’s life plus 70 years	Sections 1, 4, 38 of the Copyright Act
Photos, texts, videos, code	Copyright	No registration, in an original work that has been fixed	The author’s life plus 70 years	Sections 4, 38
An idea, a method, a piece of data	No copyright	—	—	Section 5

Other assets: the trade dress of a product or packaging · domain name · trade secret · music and sampling · open source.

Registering a trademark: the stages in brief

Preliminary check: is the mark distinctive, and is an identical mark, or one similar enough to mislead, registered for the same goods (sections 8, 11)? Search the database on the Registrar’s website (regulation 78).
Filing: for one class of goods or several; a corporation files on the online filing website (section 17; regulation 6). The fee in 2026: NIS 1,904 for the first class and NIS 1,432 for each additional class.
Examination: you reply to the Registrar’s notice within three months (regulations 24–25).
Publication and opposition: three months from the date of publication (section 24(a)).
Registration and renewal: valid for ten years from the date of the application; renewal in the three months before the registration expires (section 31; regulation 51).

The full guide, including a checklist before registering a brand name and the table of fees: Registering a trademark in Israel.

Copyright: no registration, and what does prove ownership

In Israel, copyright arises in an original work that has been fixed in some form, without registration (section 4). What helps to prove it: the author’s name on the work, in the usual way, creates a presumption that they are the author, unless proved otherwise (section 64(1)). The details: Registering copyright: is it needed, and how.

The right includes the exclusive right to copy the work and to make it available to the public, and storing it by electronic means is copying (sections 11–12). Fair use is examined, among other things, by four considerations (section 19): fair use · copyright on social media · streaming and downloads.

Who is the owner: employee, freelancer, photographer and artificial intelligence

Who is the owner: employee, freelancer, photographer and artificial intelligence
Who created it	Whose right it is	Source
You	Yours	Section 33
An employee, for the purpose of their work and in the course of it	The employer’s, unless agreed otherwise	Section 34
A freelancer, designer or photographer you commissioned	The author’s, unless agreed otherwise, expressly or by implication	Section 35(a)
A photographer you commissioned for a portrait or for a family or private event	The commissioning party’s, unless agreed otherwise	Section 35(b)

A transfer of copyright, or an exclusive license, requires a written document (section 37(c)). Ownership of content created by artificial intelligence: the guide. Several owners of one work: joint ownership of intellectual property. Commissioning a work of art: you bought a painting, not the rights.

You were copied: what the law gives you, by type of right

You were copied: what the law gives you, by type of right
What was infringed	What you can ask for	Compensation without proof of damage	Source
Registered trademark	An injunction and damages; destruction of infringing goods; detention at customs	The Trade Marks Ordinance has no such provision	Sections 59, 59A, 69A
A name or logo without registration (passing off)	An injunction and compensation	Up to NIS 100,000 for each tort; a single course of conduct is one tort	Sections 1, 13 of the Commercial Torts Law
Copyright or a moral right	An injunction and compensation	Up to NIS 100,000 for each infringement; a single course of conduct is one infringement	Section 56 of the Copyright Act

The practical steps, from a letter to a claim: protecting a brand online · a warning letter before a claim · temporary injunction.

You received a letter of demand over a photo or content

The amount in the Law is a cap. The court weighs, among other things, the extent of the infringement, its duration and good faith (section 56(b)). Three qualifications worth checking before you reply:

infringements in a single course of conduct are one infringement (section 56(c));
for non-commercial use online of a photo that had already been published, which stopped within a reasonable time after the notice and was not copied from a catalog for sale or licensing, there is no compensation without proof of damage (section 56A);
innocent infringer: a person who, at the time of the infringement, did not know and should not have known that the work was protected by copyright will not be ordered to pay compensation (section 58). The test is not only what you knew, but also what you should have known.

The full guide: A letter of demand over copyright infringement: what to do.

Deadlines worth marking in your calendar

Deadlines worth marking in your calendar
What	Deadline	Source
Reply to the Registrar’s notice in examination	Three months	Regulations 24(b), 25(a)
Opposition to another person’s application	Three months from the date of publication	Section 24(a); regulation 35
Appeal against the Registrar’s decision in an opposition	30 days	Section 25(b)
Renewal application	The three months before the end of the ten years	Regulation 51(1)
Late renewal	Up to six months after the registration expires, with a late fee	Section 33(b)
Canceling another person’s mark for non-use	No use in good faith in the three years before the application	Section 41
Removal because the mark was not eligible for registration	Five years from the registration certificate; if the application was not filed in good faith, at any time	Section 39
Civil claim for infringement	Generally seven years from the infringement	Sections 5(1), 6 of the Prescription Law

The laws and the practice area pages

Copyright Act: the sections discussed on the site · Commercial Torts Law: the sections discussed on the site · Prescription Law: the sections discussed on the site. Practice area page: Digital commerce, artificial intelligence and privacy · Service page: E-commerce and AI lawyer. Related topics: photographing people and privacy · valuing intellectual property.

The guides in this area (12)

All the indexed guides on the site in this area. Each guide states the legislation it relies on.

FAQ

What is the difference between a trademark and copyright?
A trademark protects a name, a logo or another mark that identifies your products or services, after registration, and for the goods it was registered for (sections 1, 46 of the Trade Marks Ordinance). Copyright protects an original work, such as a photo, a text or a design, without registration (section 4 of the Copyright Act). A logo can have both.

Do you need to register a trademark to be protected?
To sue for infringement of a trademark, yes, except for a well-known mark (section 57(a)). Without registration, you can argue passing off, if the public may mistakenly think that another person’s product is yours (section 1 of the Commercial Torts Law).

Who owns the copyright in photos taken by a photographer I hired?
As a rule, the photographer, unless agreed otherwise, expressly or by implication (section 35(a)). In a portrait or a photo of a family or private event that you commissioned, the right is yours, unless agreed otherwise (section 35(b)). Transferring the right requires a written document (section 37(c)). For a photo taken before 25 May 2008, the previous law applies: in a photo commissioned for payment, the commissioning party is the first owner, unless agreed otherwise (section 78(e) of the Act; section 5(1)(a) of the 1911 Act).

A designer designed a logo for me. Is the logo mine?
The copyright in a commissioned logo belongs to the designer, unless agreed otherwise (section 35(a)), and transferring it requires a written document (section 37(c)). It is worth settling this before you file the logo for registration as a trademark.

How much does it cost to register a trademark?
The filing fee in 2026 is NIS 1,904 for the first class of goods and NIS 1,432 for each additional class in the same application. The other fees, including opposition and renewal: the table of fees.

How long is a photo protected?
The author’s whole life plus 70 years (section 38). For a photo from before 25 May 2008, the rules of the 1911 Act apply: 50 years from the making of the negative (section 78(i) of the Act; section 21 of the 1911 Act).

For collected answers in all practice areas, see the FAQ page, and for the map of services — all practice areas.

All the questions on the site about digital commerce and artificial intelligence, grouped by page, and each question links to its answer.

Do you need legal support with trademarks and copyright?

Yaron Meiri, Adv. & CPA — lawyer and CPA, an independent office in Kiryat Ono. Member of the Israel Bar Association and of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Israel.

Digital commerce and artificial intelligence · Frequently asked questions

The content of this page is general information, is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Translated: 12 November 2026 · Hebrew version updated: 28 October 2026.

A question about a trademark or copyright? Leave your details for a first call

Your name and phone number are enough. Your message goes to the office’s email inbox and is read by Yaron Meiri, Adv. & CPA himself, not by a call center. I will get back to you within one business day. You can also write to me directly on WhatsApp.

After sending, you will return to this page. I will get back to you within one business day; you can also call: +972-50-431-3155.

Prefer to talk? +972-50-431-3155 · WhatsApp