Not Just Another May Day
Jeremy Ben-David
Both Mark Twain and Will Rogers are credited with having said “if you don’t like the weather in New England, just wait a few minutes”. A lesser known quote attributed to Mark Twain is “In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.” Either of those quotes would be quite applicable to the roller coaster that has been this month of May. I’ll explain.
Things started quite predictably, with preparations for the annual INTA meeting in San Diego – which, I would add, had delightful weather for the 4 days that I was there. I was preparing for the quality time with several thousand of my best friends, although wondering whether any of the turmoil that seems to be affecting civil society around the world might find its way into the charming, professional, even happy bubble that characterizes the conference.
It did not. Find its way in that is.
Many conversations with both old and new friends did indeed touch on the strife affecting not just the Middle East, but also the streets of Europe and North America, as well as upon some of the wider conflicts, whether military or economic. But said conversations were always pleasant, and reflected a shared concern for the wellbeing of humanity at large. I am a proud Israeli living in Israel and, as such, I experience this amazing country at ground level, so to speak, rather than through the media, be this so-called ‘mainstream’ or so-called ‘social’. I was able to provide, when asked, a description of everyday life as being almost ‘as usual’, and to describe how we handle the day to day; together our concern for, inter alia, the hostages and their families.
My six day round trip from Tel Aviv to San Diego was book-ended between Houthi missile attacks, the first holding up my departure for a short time and the second greeting my return home. A measure of the crazy reality in which we, in Israel, find ourselves, is that such missile attacks are rendered virtually toothless due to our ability to deal with the missiles mid-flight, ignoring the very real threat potentially posed by a single one of them. But that’s just life.
And as of the time of writing these words, today is 58 years to the day that, after 2,000 years (approx.) of being locked out of the heart of ancient Jerusalem, we recovered control of our holiest place, some 3,029 years after King David proclaimed this ancient city to be the capital of Israel. So today, despite all of the challenges which surround us, we have many reasons to be grateful, while all the time praying that the hostages will be released, and that real peace will prevail.
The above-mentioned 3,029 years ago (1004 BCE) was also the approximate time that the Iron Age commenced, representing significant innovation in many areas of human endeavor. This was some 2,794 years before Washington D.C. was officially declared capital of the United States (in 1790), when the first patent statute was passed by Congress, and the first US patent was granted to Mr. Samuel Hopkins, signed by George Washington.
Fast forward to the present day, and much has changed in the US patent system, said changes forming the subject matter of an article by Miriam Samis, in which she delves into the nooks and crannies of the PPH for those who are in a hurry; and an article by Eviatar Aron, identifying some of the peculiarities of the US patent system and how to prepare to handle them.
Finally, and almost by way of accelerating off into the future, our partner Avraham Hermon hosted Fabian Trumper in our Modiin office, as this month’s guest on our podcast ISRAEL TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEURS SPEAK. Mr. Trumper is a seasoned entrepreneur, Co-Founder and CEO of Arrakis Bio, an Israeli Startup company. Arrakis Bio makes human collagen, the most important human regenerative protein, from engineered cells; to give greater access to high quality collagen for use in the medical and esthetic industries.
PS As a postscript, some may wish to connect the words ‘May’ and ‘Day’ of the title into the well-known ‘mayday’ distress call, whereas others are content to simply enjoy another day, in ‘The Merry Month of May’ (as in the Elizabethan poem of that name). Either way, I hope you enjoy this month’s offerings; feel free to comment by email or in person, when we next meet.
