Legal Protection
Our sister company, Hussam Attereh Group for Legal Services, for many years, has been at the forefront of protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights. As a leading practice at the firm, our IP team has successfully secured various important judicial precedents relating to IP rights in Palestine. HAG has successfully represented and protected their clients' IP rights against infringements.
HAG lawyers, across our offices in the West Bank and Gaza Strip acquire a wealth of experience on the different legal regimes applicable in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, namely:
• Trademark laws;
• Trade names laws (business names laws);
• Industrial designs and patents laws;
• Copyright laws.
Services include (offered in the West Bank and Gaza Strip):
• Maintenance: filing, registration, renewal and assignment recordal of trademarks and industrial designs’ applications;
• Contentious matters: representing clients in opposition and cancellation proceedings of trademarks before Registrar of Trademarks and the High Court. Representing clients in cancellation of industrial designs’ proceedings before the Registrar of Industrial Designs and the High Court.
• Enforcement of IP rights (trademarks, trade names, industrial designs and copyrights):
- Drafting cease and desist letters on behalf of clients for any infringement of intellectual property rights (90% of trademark CD letters result in early settlement by infringers);
- Negotiating and signing letters of undertaking/settlement agreements with infringers on behalf of clients (local and international); and
- The enforcement and protection of IP rights through criminal prosecution and civil litigation.
- Representing clients in complaints to the Anti-Cybercrime Prosecution Unit and the Anti-Economic Crimes Prosecution Unit in IP rights’ infringements constituting crimes and pursuing such complaints before competent courts.
• Investigations: conducting field market and desktop investigations on behalf of clients and preparing reports for infringements of their IP rights in Palestine.
• Advising and drafting legal opinions:
- Advising foreign IP owners on their rights in Palestine (e.g. enforceability of non-registered trademarks, legal effects of use and non-use of registered/non-registered trademarks);
- Advising clients on whether and how other marks may infringe their trademarks (e.g. whether the shape, drawing, design, colours and/or name is identical, similar or confusingly similar to their trademark);
- Advising international clients whether their proposed projects (or certain aspects of it) and/or operations in Palestine may raise IP concerns and on the available legal safeguards to avoid any IP infringement in carrying out their business operations;
- Advising clients on whether certain works are capable of giving rise to IP rights and if such works are capable of registration;
- Advising clients on the available courses of action for the infringement of their IP rights, including the quantification of damages arising from infringements.
• Pro bono work: As part of our corporate social responsibility, our IP experts offer local artists with limited means free legal advice and consultations on copyright matters.