Operation Epic Fury ‘Roars’ upon Intellectual Property Rights

Since its founding in 1948, Israel has experienced multiple conflicts with its neighbours. Recent developments have highlighted Israel’s position not only as a dominant regional power but as a global force in defence technology and innovation. The Startup Nation has evidently proved itself as an undisputed military and technological preponderant on the globe, not just in the Middle East. A strategic, well-led military establishment drives Israel’s successes, while opposing forces remain equally steadfast in their commitment to the causes they stand for.

From its earliest years, Israel recognised that technological advancement would be key to its survival. This was strongly supported by the United States. Over the years, Israel’s tech hub that runs on a connected system of policy, talent, capital, and startups has given the country a competitive edge that regional co-rivals struggled to match.

Today, the latest flashpoints in the Middle East are not restricted to traditional battlegrounds. Instead, they increasingly extend into the realm of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). As such, the implications for global intangible property regimes are intense.

Dual-Use IP: The New Normal

In Israel, the present conflict has acted as a catalyst for a new "Scale-Up" phase of the tech economy. [1]

• Local Filing Mandates: Israeli patent law requires that inventions with national security implications be filed first in Israel. This has led to a 6.5% increase in local Israeli filings (2025–2026) even as international filings from foreign entities declined.
  

• Military-to-Civilian IP Pipeline: There is an unprecedented acceleration in "dual-use" technologies. IP originally developed for battlefield analytics, autonomous systems, and AI-driven defence is being rapidly adapted and patented for commercial markets.
  

• Government Restrictions: The Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) provides heavy funding for R&D, but these grants come with strict IP "lock-in" clauses, making it difficult for companies to transfer IP or manufacture products outside of Israel without government approval.
  

2. Sanctions and "IP Isolation" for Iran

The US and EU have weaponised trade and technology through "Maximum Pressure" 2.0.[2]

• IP Enforcement Vacuum: In Iran, the collapse of the nuclear deal and the reimposition of severe sanctions have essentially isolated its IP market. Western firms have largely stopped filing or maintaining patents in Iran, leaving a landscape where enforcement for Western brands is nonexistent.
  

• Secondary Sanctions on IP Transactions: As of early 2026, latest US executive orders authorise 25% tariffs on any country conducting business dealings with Iran. This creates a "chilling effect" on global technology transfers, with firms apprehensive of the possibility of licensing IP to third parties who might be potential traders with Iran, as this would most likely trigger recrimination by the US.
  

• Technological Autarky: Iran is increasingly forced to develop "indigenous" IP to bypass sanctions, particularly in drone and missile tech. This often involves "reverse-engineering" foreign IP, which the Iranian state justifies as a matter of national survival.
  

3. Cyber-Espionage: IP Theft as a Weapon of War [3]

While kinetic strikes grab headlines, the "shadow war" is fought over data and trade secrets.

• Strategic IP Harvesting: Iranian APT groups have shifted from simple disruption to sophisticated "information operations." Western and Israeli aerospace is targeted, as are telecommunications, and energy firms to steal proprietary data that can be used to bridge Iran's own technological gaps.

• The ‘Wiper’ factor: There is a distinct trend where Iranian actors use the wiper malware to destroy data in Israel and the US, while simultaneously exfiltrating IP. The goal is to maximise economic damage to the target while gaining a "tech boost" for themselves.

• Targeting Supply Chains: Hackers are increasingly targeting IT service providers and software supply chains to gain access to the IP of downstream clients, making every link in the tech ecosystem a potential point of failure.[4]

Feature written by Khushraj Singh, Senior Reporter, The Global IP Magazine. Email Khushraj: newsdesk@northonsprmarketing.com