Designs and industrial models are protected in Egypt through registration with the competent office. The International Classification for Industrial Designs under the Locarno Agreement is applied in Egypt. A registration is effective with novelty examination.
A design or an industrial model registration is valid for 10 years starting from the date of filing the application. A registration can be renewed once for further 5 years. A registration of a design or an industrial model is subject to cancellation in the event any interested party requests such a cancellation before the competent tribunal, on the grounds that the subject design or industrial model was not novel at the time of filing the relevant application. The registration, assignment and cancellation of design and industrial model registrations are published in the Official Gazette and entered in the register.
Opposition of the registration of an industrial design is permitted by Intellectual Property Law No. 82 of 2002, and can be submitted within 2 months from the publication date of the industrial design.
The Trade Registry Department may, when public interest so requires and subject to the approval of a ministerial committee established by a decision of the Prime Minister upon submission of the competent minister, issue an exclusive license for the exploitation of the protected industrial design against fair competition.
Any infringement or unauthorized use of a registered design or industrial model is punishable under the current law.