As a follow-up to the previous post, earlier today the Knesset’s Constitution, Statute and Law Committee – at least the lone member of the committee who was present for the entire deliberation (one other committee member wandered in during the middle and then left shortly afterward, another entered toward the end of the meeting, his gaze fixed on his smartphone) – approved the text of bill amending the patent statute to facilitate the Israel PTO’s becoming a PCT International Search Authority (ISA). The bill was not amended to include provisions to refund PCT search fees if the ILPTO does not conduct a PCT search on time, although the committee chairman did raise the issue.
Having already passed a first reading in the Knesset, the bill will now go back for approval in second and third readings; no speculation here on when that might happen, but as this is not the sort of bill to attract attention, approval should come soon. Actual implementation will take a bit longer, as relevant regulations will also have to be adopted. According to Commissioner Asa Kling, who testified before the committee, initially the option for an ILPTO PCT search will be limited to Israeli applicants; if that goes well, the ILPTO will seek to broaden the scope of eligible IL-ISA users.
