T
he Hebrew University of
Jerusalem has awarded an
Honorary Fellowship to Martin
J. Adelman, an internationally known
intellectual property and technology
professor from Detroit. University
President Professor Asher Cohen
presented the fellowship at the 87th
Hebrew University Board of Governors
meeting on June 3 in Jerusalem.
This honor was awarded to Adelman
“in recognition of his esteemed career
and expertise as a patent lawyer, in both
the private sector and in academia;
honoring his and wife Susan’s boundless
generosity to the Jewish community and
Israel; and in tribute to his passion and
dedication to education,” Cohen said.
Martin J. Adelman began teaching
intellectual property law in Israel at the
University of Haifa about 20 years ago.
A relative who was a development staff
member for Hebrew University (HU)
connected him there, and he taught his
first law course at HU during the 2010-
2011 school year. Currently, he teaches
Intellectual Property Professor Martin Adelman
becomes an honorary fellow.
Hebrew University
Honors Local
Professor
SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
OUR COMMUNITY
20 | JULY 18 • 2024
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an annual patent law seminar at HU and also
serves on the faculty of Bar-Ilan University in
Israel.
“It is a great honor to be awarded an
Honorary Fellowship by Hebrew University,
an institution that my wife (Dr. Susan
Adelman) and I first visited in 1968 on our
first trip to Israel,” Adelman said. “I have
loved my interaction with its students, and
I am pleased to see that enrollments have
increased from 11 at the beginning to more
than 60 in the current class. This growth
shows a recognition by Hebrew University
law students of how much Israel has become
an innovation powerhouse.”
In 2003, he co-founded the Munich
Intellectual Property Law Center, an educa-
tional and research institution in Germany.
Adelman taught there for many years and
continues to serve on its Scientific Advisory
Board. He has co-authored numerous law
books and articles, lectured on patent law
in more than 40 countries, and testified as
a patent law expert in more than 190 patent
infringement cases.
Adelman describes intellectual property law
as encompassing copyrights, trademarks and
patent law. The term “intellectual property”
differentiates it from physical property. He
explains that Israel’s patent law was derived
from British laws dating from the time of the
British Mandate; Israel’s current patent regula-
tions are based on a law passed in 1967.
Such laws are important for Israeli startup
companies, many of which are technolo-
gy-based. “Patent law is territorial,” he says,
so Israeli businesses that conduct business
outside the country need to register their
intellectual property (such as software and
brand logos) in Israel as well as other loca-
tions where they operate. In Israel, Adelman
says “Jews are litigious but cases don’t fre-
quently get to the Israeli Supreme Court.”
Adelman is a native Detroiter who received
a B.A., M.S. in physics and his J.D. from the
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Prior
to his academic career, Adelman practiced
patent law in the Detroit area. He served as
a law professor at Wayne State University
Law School from 1973 until 1999, when he
became professor emeritus. Adelman later
taught intellectual property law at the George
Washington University Law School, where he
is an emeritus professor.
HU President Professor Asher
Cohen (right) presented
an Honorary Fellowship
to renowned intellectual
property and technology
Professor Martin J. Adelman
(left) on June 3 during the
87th board of governors
meeting in Jerusalem.
MAXIM DINSHTEIN