to Establish Special Court for Software Crimes

 
 The International Union for the Protection of Industrial Property (the Paris Union) has called for establishing an IP-specialized court as a vital part of the enforcing IP Laws in Egypt. This should be strengthened through introducing some amendments that include the full implementation of WIPO Agreements related to Internet uses. In addition, the Paris Union called upon the Egyptian Authorities to adopt deterring measures against unlawful distributors and to strengthen the supervisory and monitoring actions against end users.
 
 The Union’s 2003 report commended the Egyptian government’s policy vis-à-vis IP rights and the procedures adopted to enlarge the use of computer applications. This will be done through providing more than 200,000 PCs divided in half on bodies of the government sector and the other half on academic institutions, such as schools and universities at reasonable costs.
 
 In addition to that, the Ministry of Interior needs to establish a special unit to deal with software crimes. This will strengthen the role of the Ministry of Communications and Information and grants it more authority in this field. All this will peak with the issuance of the IP Law, which provides solid ground for confronting unlawful activities against IP.
 
 The report recommended that the Ministry of Culture in Egypt activate the IP awareness campaign. This campaign aims at raising awareness among consumers in Egypt to the importance of protecting IP rights, especially purchasing original software.
 
 The report also describes the current customs tariff system that needs to be modified. This will encourage lawful vendors to conduct their transactions in the market and deplete the parallel unlawful software market.
 
 AGIP/Egypt