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Amendment to Israel R&D Law –
The Establishment of the National Authority for Technological Innovation  
Dear friends and colleagues,
We are pleased to provide you with the latest and important changes of the Israel R&D Law. 
 
For more information regarding the R&D Law as amended, please contact your Pearl Cohen attorney or Yael Baratz, Senior Partner and Chair of our Corporate & Licensing Group: YBaratz@PearlCohen.com.

You can also visit us on pearlcohen.com
On July 29, 2015, the Israeli parliament enacted a major amendment to the Law for Encouragement of Research and Development in Industry - 1984 (the “R&D Law”). By way of this amendment, the National Authority for Technological Innovation (the “Authority”) was established, to replace the Office of the Chief Scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Economy (the “OCS”). The purpose of the OCS, and now the Authority, is to encourage innovation and to create new job opportunities in Israel, through the funding of innovative research and development projects.
 
The Authority shall have greater power and freedom than the OCS in launching creative funding tracks and instituting new guidelines that will govern the transferability and licensing of the resulting technology.
 The Authority was formed as of January 1, 2016; new grant tracks and guidelines will be published online from time to time.
 
It will likely take the Authority several months to launch into full operation. In the interim, the existing OCS regulations shall continue to apply.
 
At present, the R&D Law only recognizes the “transfer” of technology, while much awaited regulations addressing licensing transactions were drafted but have not been enacted to date.
 
We expect that licensing regulations similar to those previously proposed by the OCS will be adopted by the Authority and go into force in the course of 2016.
 We will follow developments with respect to the implementation of the Amendment and the activity of the Authority and their effect on completed, ongoing and future governmental sponsored R&D projects and transactions involving technologies so funded. 
Ilan_Gerzi_0
Yael Baratz
Senior Partner

Chair of Corporate and Licensing Practice Group
+972-3-607-3702
Yael Baratz is a Senior Partner and Chair of the Corporate & Licensing Group in Pearl Cohen's Tel Aviv office. With expertise over the full range of cross border corporate transactions, particularly in the high-tech and biotech industries, Yael advises global leading entities and influential individuals on a broad range of corporate and commercial matters, including cross border mergers and acquisitions, internal and external investment rounds, technology licensing and other collaborations and non-dilutive financing (including grants from the Office of the Chief Scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Economics). Yael is considered as one of the leading lawyers in Israel on the subject of university licensing, and counsels many of Israel’s leading research institutions. Yael also has vast experience in international joint ventures and in representing foreign contractors in teaming with local companies in bidding and carrying out large public infrastructure projects. Yael’s clients include Israeli and foreign publicly traded tech and bio companies, university and hospital technology transfer offices, large infrastructure contractors and start-ups.

Yael is considered a prime resource for legal advice and an expert on cross border transactions. She has been named by global directories, including Who’s Who Legal and LMG Life Sciences as a leading attorney in the Life Sciences sector.