The Palestinian territory is the subject of much controversy, however, trademark rights are not as insignificant as they might seem.
There are several reasons why the Palestinian market should be considered in a Middle East brand protection strategy. In fact, despite the separation of the Israeli and Palestinian legal systems, it is almost impossible to separate the two markets into two jurisdictions.
How to protect your trademark rights in Palestine?
There are a number of elements that illustrate the obvious geographical and commercial links that confirm that, in order to ensure full protection of trademark rights in the Middle East, it is essential to register trademarks not only in Israel, but also in Palestine. For Palestine, it is necessary to register trademarks in both the West Bank and Gaza, which have separate trademark jurisdictions. Naturally, Israeli and Palestinian jurisdictions require separate registration in each territory in order to fully protect and enforce trademark rights. However, obtaining protection in Israel is far from providing full protection if the mark has not been registered in Palestine. The opposite is also true.
So, what are the reasons for registering trademarks in both Israel and Palestine?
This is due to the geographical situation between Israel and Palestine. The economic reality is clear: 80% of Palestine’s foreign trade is with Israel.
This necessarily has an impact on the circulation of goods and services in the region. It is therefore advisable to register trademarks in both Israel and Palestine if you want to protect your trademark in the Middl East.
Thus, given the obvious geographical and commercial links between the two states, it seems crucial to have valid registrations in three different jurisdictions, namely Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, in order to obtain trademark rights in the region and ensure full protection.
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♦https://il.usembassy.gov/palestinian-affairs-unit/pau-business/economic-data-and-reports/