The Luzzatto Group concentrates its efforts on intellectual property, and in doing so, has been instrumental in driving Israeli innovation for the better part of the last century.
The Jerusalem Post sat down with Kfir Luzzatto, President of The Luzzatto Group, as part of a special dialogue, to discuss the Luzzatto Group’s mission as it continues to support Israeli technology on a grand scale — helping entrepreneurs navigate the complexities of patent law and turn intellectual property into technological reality.
The Luzzatto Group, originally founded 152 years ago by Luzzatto’s great-grandfather, began as a general law practice focused on issues surrounding the booming industrial revolution.
In its more contemporary work, the Luzzatto Group now concentrates its efforts on intellectual property (IP), and has been responsible for shaping Israeli innovation for much of the last century.
“It was a time when the Industrial Revolution was underway,” Luzzatto said. “My grandfather was also an inventor; he designed all kinds of aircraft, engines, wings, and more.”
In 1971, the family made Aliyah and came to Israel, bringing the firm with them.
Luzzatto himself is responsible for managing a web of moving parts that hold his family’s law firm together — whether that means focusing his attention on helping clients, developing strategies for the company, or handling specific patents.
“Our job is to help [business owners] create the IP,” Luzzatto said, as well as to “understand what they can get from the IP.”
Luzzatto noted that while many entrepreneurs have great ideas, even the technically savvy ones are often unaware that their good ideas may not be protected by patents, and other times people don’t appreciate the value of what they have.
The Luzzatto Group currently works with a number of Fortune 500 companies, along with many Israeli startups looking to get their businesses off the ground. The Group’s legal division, which includes Luzzatto & Luzzatto Patent Attorneys and The Luzzatto Law Firm, helps individuals, startups, companies, and international firms protect their intellectual property.
The Group’s business division includes Luzzatto Consulting, Luzzatto Software, and Luzzatto BizDev. Luzzatto Consulting provides expert technical and scientific consulting. Luzzatto Software develops software applications for the Group’s needs.
Luzzatto BizDev develops business opportunities for the Group and, in some cases, for the Group’s clients — creating opportunities for growth.
One of The Luzzatto Group’s better-known clients manufactured and released the first approved coronavirus vaccine.
“We [help] several large pharmaceutical companies, and they were all busy trying to save us from COVID,” Luzzatto said. “That said, life goes on, and there are several other interesting projects those businesses are working on.
“The great thing for us is that we see them much earlier than anyone else — and that’s a real advantage.”
One of the bigger challenges The Luzzatto Group faces is the widespread misconceptions around patent and IP law. Many businesses end up losing their rights because they believe they’re doing everything correctly, when the reality is far more nuanced.
Additionally, while Israel is known as the “startup nation,” many businesses struggle to secure the funding needed to turn their innovations into reality within the country’s crowded tech sector.
“We have a lot of clever, bright innovators in Israel … but not nearly enough funding; some parts of the country are underdeveloped, like Kiryat Shmona,” Luzzatto said. “We recently opened an office there, since we see many excellent companies and ideas that need the right support and opportunity.”
Luzzatto ends the conversation with a parting note: the Israeli industry is far more mature than it was when it first started seriously handling IP. Luzzatto finds that encouraging.
That said, in order to keep turning that growth into lasting success, Israel needs to focus on spreading the wealth and supporting even the smallest companies — who, he noted, more often than not come up with the biggest and brightest ideas.
