Intellectual Property
Egypt's GDP has experienced fluctuations and growth over the years. In 2020, Egypt's GDP was approximately $394 billion USD, making it one of the largest economies in Africa. Economic growth had been relatively steady prior. However, the pandemic had a significant impact on the global economy, including Egypt's, leading to a temporary economic slowdown.
The currency of Egypt is the Egyptian Pound, denoted as EGP. Exchange rates can fluctuate over time, and they are influenced by various factors, including economic conditions, inflation, and government policies. The exchange rate between the Egyptian Pound and the US Dollar (USD) is one of the most commonly referenced rates for international trade and financial transactions.
The political structure is characterized by a President serving as the head of state and a Prime Minister serving as the head of government. The President is elected by popular vote, and the Prime Minister is appointed by the President. The legal system is based on a combination of civil and Islamic law.
Egypt's business and trade landscape involves several key government agencies, including the Ministry of Trade and Industry, responsible for trade policies and industrial regulations; the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), serving as the primary agency for foreign investment promotion; the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA), ensuring fair market practices; the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), overseeing monetary policies; the Customs Authority, managing import/export regulations; and the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA), regulating non-banking financial sectors. Egypt actively promotes foreign investment through various means, such as recent Investment Law reforms, the establishment of free zones to provide incentives, extensive infrastructure development, bilateral investment treaties, one-stop shops for streamlined procedures, and tax incentives, although investors should remain vigilant about evolving policies and climates.
Trademarks are regulated by Egyptian IP Law Number 82 for the Year 2002.This is the primary legislation governing trademarks in Egypt. It provides the legal framework for the registration and protection of trademarks in the country. It outlines the requirements for trademark registration, the rights of trademark owners, and the procedures for enforcement and protection.
Intellectual Property Law No. 82 year 2002
Implementing regulations of law No. 82 issued by decree no. 1366/2003 and decree no. 497/2005
Madrid Protocol. [Is with respect to the international registration of marks]
Paris Convention. [Is with respect to industrial property in the widest sense, including patents, trademarks, industrial designs, utility models, service marks, trade names, geographical indications, and the repression of unfair competition]
Bern Convention. [Is with respect to protection of literary and artistic works]
Egypt is a member of the Madrid Protocol, which facilitates the international registration of trademarks. This allows trademark owners to extend their trademark protection to Egypt through a single international application. Egypt is also a signatory to the Paris Convention, which provides certain international standards and protections for trademarks. This convention allows foreign entities to claim priority for their trademarks in Egypt based on their home country's trademark registration.
No, having an actual business registered in Egypt, or even having a distributor or reseller in the country is not a prerequisite to protecting your trademark rights. To proceed with an application to register a trademark, it is important to determine which entity ought to be the applicant and ensure it is sustainable and capable to issue Powers of Attorney to enable your attorney act on your behalf.
Although Trademark searches are not mandatory, searching the database of for previously registered trademarks is highly advisable. Failure to identify a previously filed conflicting trademark may pose a challenge to your application by way of on objection, or rejection issued by the Trademarks Department, or an opposition filed by a third party. Moreover, when conducting trademark clearances, it is essential to not only account for existing trademark registrations but also to consider trademarks currently in use and those that could potentially clash with established corporate and trade names.
Unfortunately, Egypt does not permit trademark searches using a company name; you can only perform searches based on a word mark or a word description of a device mark.
Choosing a trademark is an important decision that should be properly assessed in consultation with your trademark attorney. Some trademark assets must be separated into several trademark applications to ensure a mark is properly secured against third party claims or threats of infringements. In this instance, one must consider whether to register a trademark in Arabic characters, or Latin Characters or a combination of both, whether to register the logo separate from the wordmark and whether to register the trademark in specific color or to include several color combinations.
Egypt follows the 12th edition of the Nice classification.
Yes, Egypt allows multiclass filings where goods or services must be designated pursuant to international classification of Nice agreement.
The process of trademark examination in Egypt follows a series of steps. Firstly, the examination department is responsible for reviewing trademark applications approximately nine months after the filing date. Following this review, the department issues an office action, which can result in either acceptance, conditional acceptance, or rejection of the trademark application.
If the trademark is accepted, the next step involves paying publication fees. Subsequently, the Egyptian Trademarks Office (TMO) publishes the trademarks in the official Trademarks gazette. During this phase, any trademark becomes susceptible to opposition or objection from any interested party.
Upon the expiration of the opposition period without any challenges, the trademark becomes eligible for registration. However, if the trademark is rejected during the initial examination, the applicant has the option to file an appeal. The committee of appeals then assesses the claims and schedules a hearing within six months from the date of filing the appeal.
A seamless trademark registration process without any rejections typically spans a duration of 14 to 16 months.
The trademark is initially protected for 10 years from the filing date and can be indefinitely renewed every 10 years.
If a trademark is opposed in Egypt, the process for overcoming the opposition involves several steps:
When a third party opposes the registration of a trademark, the Egyptian Trademarks Office (TMO) will notify the trademark applicant of the opposition. The opponent must provide grounds for their opposition. The trademark applicant has a limited period to respond to the opposition. In the response, the applicant must provide relevant arguments and evidence to counter the opponent's claims.
The committee of oppositions at the TMO will consider the arguments and evidence presented by both parties in a hearing session. And then assess whether the opposition has merit based on the grounds provided by the opponent and the response from the applicant. After thoroughly evaluating the opposition, the committee will render a decision, either accepting the opposition or rejecting it, which determines whether the trademark can proceed with the registration process.
The Egyptian Intellectual Property Law No. 82 year 2002 contains provisions outlining penalties for trademark infringement. Article 113 & 114 of this law specifies that individuals who engage in various forms of trademark infringement and/or false trade indications and deceptive practices may face imprisonment, fines, or a combination of both penalties. These infringements and offenses encompass activities such as counterfeiting a registered trademark, fraudulent use of counterfeit or imitated trademarks, attaching a third party's trademark to one's products without authorization, and knowingly selling or distributing products bearing counterfeit or imitated marks, affixing false trade indications to products or within shops, warehouses, or advertising materials; misleadingly suggesting that a mark is registered; using unregistered marks in specific cases; falsely claiming medals or awards for products; improperly utilizing distinctions obtained from jointly exhibited products; misrepresenting geographical indications, especially in renowned production areas; and incorrectly affixing geographical indications on products produced elsewhere to imply their origin from a well-known area. Furthermore, the court, when issuing a verdict, has the discretion to temporarily close the business involved in the infringement. These measures underscore Egypt's commitment to protecting intellectual property rights and deterring trademark violations.
Given that a lot of brand owners seek preventive measures to be taken against counterfeit shipments, and given that customs trademark recordal is not available under the Egyptian laws and regulations, we mainly approach the said authority through two ways:
Signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Customs Authority to include a list of the registered trademarks owned by the company. This list of trademarks owned by the company is supposed to be circulated for the purposes of watching over incoming shipments; or
Sending formal letters to the attention of the heads of the Egyptian ports all over the country which also includes a request to watch the list of the registered Trademarks.
However, it is worth mentioning that it is not practically guaranteed to receive notifications from the customs authority on these types of shipments.
Strategies for addressing various types of infringement, drawing from experience in the Egyptian market:
In the world of investigative strategies, the initial phase is a crucial step where a comprehensive market survey is embarked upon, meticulously charting the landscape to understand the scope and locations of infringement within the market. Tailoring approaches to the specific product type, pinpointing potential hotspots of infringement, and then launching targeted investigations in those areas. Armed with the insights gleaned from the market survey, the subsequent course of action is determined. This may entail delving deeper into the investigations to unearth key suppliers, manufacturers, importers, and other pertinent players. The investigative toolkit encompasses a variety of methods:
Conducting market surveys, gathering location-specific intelligence.
In-depth investigations on locations or targets, enabling the amassment of detailed data.
Investigations into manufacturers, distribution networks, and warehouses often present the most formidable challenges.
Online investigations involve identifying suppliers and retailers operating on social media platforms or web chat services.
Legal Notices: Legal notices are a relatively simple and less aggressive means of enforcement. They can be delivered either through a courier company or by a Court bailiff.
Criminal Actions (Raids): In Egypt, trademark infringement is considered a criminal offense. To initiate criminal actions, a complaint must be filed with the Investigation's Bureau of the Ministry of Supply. Following the examination of the complaint, the Investigation's Bureau conducts a raid on the premises of the infringing party. During the raid, samples of the counterfeit products are collected. This process results in the official recording of the incident in a seizure report, and the matter is then referred to the Public Prosecution. The Public Prosecutor may decide to dismiss the case or send it to the Economic Court for trial as a trademark imitation misdemeanor.
Civil Action: Civil action begins with the submission of a petition to the Court of Urgent Matters, seeking an ex-parte injunction to impose a preventive seizure on counterfeit products.
These legal actions provide a range of options for trademark owners to protect their rights and combat infringement, with the choice of action depending on the specific circumstances and severity of the infringement.
Law No. 82 of 2002 on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights. This comprehensive law outlines the legal framework for the protection of intellectual property rights in Egypt, including copyright. It aligns Egypt's regulations with international conventions and treaties. Also Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, Egypt is a signatory to the Berne Convention, which sets out minimum standards for copyright protection. This international treaty provides the foundation for copyright protection in Egypt.
These laws and international agreements collectively form the legal framework for copyright protection in Egypt, ensuring the rights of authors, creators, and copyright owners are upheld and enforced.
Protection under this Law is conferred to authors of literary and artistic works, and particularly the following works:
Books, booklets, articles, bulletins and any other written works;
Computer programs;
Databases, whether readable by computer or otherwise;
Lectures, speeches, sermons and any other oral works when recorded;
Dramatic and dramatico-musical works, and pantomimes;
Musical works with or without words;
Audio-visual works;
Works of architecture;
Works of drawings with lines or colors, sculpture, lithography, printing on textile and any other similar works of fine arts;
Photographic and similar works;
Works of applied and plastic arts;
Illustrations, maps, sketches and three-dimensional works relating to geography, topography or architectural designs;
Derivative works, without prejudice to the protection prescribed for the works from which they have been derived. Protection shall cover also the title of the work if it is inventive.
Copyright by nature is protected from the day it is conceived, which is what Local Laws and International Conventions that Egypt is signatory to have confirmed. Nevertheless, registration of the copyright at the relevant agency is of utmost importance to avoid the burden of proving ownership in case of litigation.
Copyright enforcement involves protecting intellectual property rights from infringements and unauthorized usage. Copyright protection starts from the moment a work is created, but registration with the relevant agency is advisable to simplify ownership proof in legal disputes. Several legal options are available for authors and creators to enforce their copyright:
Cease & Desist Letter: This approach involves sending a legal notice to the infringing party, notifying them of the copyright violation and demanding an immediate halt to the infringements and compensation. Despite its non-confrontational nature, cease and desist letters have proven effective, especially in cases involving unauthorized software use.
Complaint to the Relevant Authority: Authors, especially those who have registered their copyrights, can file a complaint detailing the infringement and how it violates their exclusive rights. The relevant authority takes action based on the infringement type and circumstances. Actions can include revoking a license (if applicable) or conducting a raid to seize devices and tools used for infringement. The raid results in an official seizure record, analysis by technical experts, and referral to the Public Prosecution for trial as a copyright infringement misdemeanour.
Direct Copyright Infringement Action: Alternatively, authors can directly file a copyright infringement misdemeanour against the infringer in court. To succeed, the author must prove three main elements: the criminalized action, damages incurred, and a causal link between the two. This entails demonstrating exclusive rights over the work, proving the defendant's infringement, and showing that damages resulted from the infringement.
Copyright infringement misdemeanours are serious offenses under Egyptian law, subject to imprisonment, fines, device confiscation, and, in some cases, business closure.
In today's business landscape, identifying and protecting intellectual property rights is crucial. These rights set businesses apart from competitors, offering a unique selling point. Safeguarding intellectual property is essential for business sustainability and asset preservation.
As a part of the execution of the Egyptian National Strategy for Intellectual Property launched September of last year, the Egyptian Cabinet approved the draft law establishing the Egyptian Intellectual Property Authority (“EIPA”), and it was issued under Law no. (163) of 2023 (the “Law”) which was published in the Official Gazette on 6 August 2023, which regulates the establishment, authorities and operation of EIPA.EIPA’s authorities and role includes:
Preparation of National Strategy for Intellectual Property and Certifying which from Council of Ministers.
Setting up Databases for Intellectual Property Rights and deploying which for development of an Intellectual property system.
Encouragement of R&D through supporting researchers, inventors, start-ups and SMEs and working on registrations of their inventions.
Setting up strategies for valuation of intellectual property rights owned by the State.
Launch awareness campaigns and hold conferences on importance of intellectual property protection and enforcement.
Examining complaints related to intellectual property violations that are referred to it from the different courts or enforcement authorities.
According to Law No. (163) of 2023, EIPA will be established within (1) year from the date of issuance of this Law, extendable for additional (6) months subject to Prime Minister’s approval. Thus, we expect that EIPA shall be actively operating either by August of this year or February of next year.
