Trademarks over time

The Reconstructed Registry enables us to review the trademark applications over time, during the British Mandate of Palestine. The Trademark Ordinance of 1921 took effect on January 1, 1922, and was replaced by the 1938 Ordinance, which took effect in 1940. The time between submission of the application and the Trademark Office review was rather short. Thus, the overall trademark data offer a fresh mirror of (some) economic activities. For example, those familiar with Mandate Palestine’s economy will immediately recognize the fifth wave of Jewish immigration in the mid-1930s, with thousands of Jews escaping Germany, many of whom were owned small businesses. You can further see the results of the three-year Arab Revolt in 1936-39, and the outbreak of World War II, and then, changes during the War, as Palestine had to turn to local production, and became a central supplier for the British army.

Note that trademark activity does not reflect all commercial activities: many products and services were offered without resorting to registered trademarks; some industries still operated in a traditional mode, with a direct contact between producer and buyer, where trademark is not needed. Moreover, in concentrated and monopolized markets there was no need for a trademark.

For more on the overall picture, see here, and in the Background section.

Trademark Applications in Mandatory Palestine 1922-1948