The Egyptian Government in an aim to complete its TRIPs obligations is currently reviewing the laws relating to intellectual property. This review has resulted in working on a new draft law that will combine all in a semi-unified law for all aspects of intellectual property.
This draft law currently under review by government and parliamentarians will provide for new aspects of protection and conform to TRIPs review of the text of the draft law outline report here below some of the amendments. The AGIP BULLETIN will report any further progress on this matter as it occurs.
Amendments in draft law:
Patents of Invention
1. Broadening the scope of patentable inventions in order to conform to the TRIPs agreement.
2. Broadening the definition of novelty to include absolute novelty which is restricted in the present law to local novelty.
3. Extending the protection period for all inventions to 20 years, instead of 10 years for some inventions and 15 years for others in the current law.
4. Introducing protection of utility models for 7 years.
5. Stiffening the fines and penalties for violating the patents and utility models provisions.
6. Determining the date for starting the examination of applications for patents, which are unprotected under the current law and are protected by the draft law, to be as of January 1, 2005.
7. Protecting integrated circuits for 10 years as of the date of either submitting the application or the first exploitation thereof, whichever takes place first.
In all cases, the protection shall terminate after 15 years as of the date of effecting the design.
8. Protecting undisclosed information for 10 years.
9. Increasing the number of members of the Arbitration Board to 5 members headed by a counselor of the judiciary, at least at the level of a counselor at the Cassation Court. The assistant counselor of the state council and three others with strong experience in the field should also be memebers.
Moreover, the law empowered the board with examining all the decisions issued by the Patent Office.
Trademarks
1. Introduced and enhanced the protection of trademarks well-known in Egypt and abroad, even if they are not registered or are famous with respect to other classes.
2. Introducing collective and certification marks.
3. Making the protection periods of marks 7 years liable for renewal for endless successive periods.
4. Making the marks liable for cancellation if they are not seriously used for three consecutive years without a justifiable cause.
5. Stiffening the penalties for violating the provisions of trademarks and geographical indications law.
Industrial Designs
1. Stipulating novelty as a condition for registering industrial models and designs.
2. Forming an arbitration board constituted of three members, one of them from the state council, for the purpose of examining petitions filed against decisions of the Administration.
3. Determining a period of 30 days for submitting the petition.
4. Determining a protection period of 10 years liable for renewal for an additional period of 5 years.
Plant Varieties
1. Protecting plant varieties provided that they are characterized by novelty, distinctiveness, uniformity, stability and have new appellations.
Moreover, the law provided a protection period of 20 years for agricultural and horticultural crops and 25 years for trees and grapes.
2. Protection begins as of the date of granting thereof, with a temporary protection granted as of the date of filing the application up to the date of publishing the notice of acceptance and granting of protection to the plant variety.
Copyright Law
1. Introducing protection of some works that were not protected under the current law. These include:
-Pantomime.
-Lithography and textile printing.
-Photography.
-Derivative works.
2. I ntroducing the protection of folklore, which is defined by the draft law.
Chairman's Message
Dear Clients, Colleagues, Associates and Friends,
It brings me great pleasure to provide you with the latest edition of the Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property Handbook. This year, the Handbook will be made available to you electronically on our interactive website.
We will continuously monitor and research the globe to provide you the most complete, comprehensive and up-to-date information on the intellectual property regulations.
Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property has been meeting the IP needs of distinguished international clients regionally and globally for nearly three decades. Over this period, we have grown into a truly international firm. AGIP now has 20 offices throughout the Arab world to provide complete coverage of the region, as well as an extensive network of international correspondents to ensure that we are able to serve our clients on a global level. Throughout this growth, AGIP has maintained its unwavering commitment to its Mission of providing clients with the best quality service available in the field of intellectual property protection in the Arab World.
AGIP firmly believes that it is only through strong protection of intellectual property rights that a region can truly develop and create the dynamic, innovative business environment that will contribute to sustainable economic progress and development, real GNP growth and increased social welfare.
This commitment to intellectual property protection comes to life in our continued involvement with international organizations including the WIPO and the WTO, with NGOs such as the INTA, AIPPI, and FICPI and with our funding of Arab NGOs such as the Arab Society for Intellectual Property (ASIP) and the Licensing Executives Society-Arab Countries (LES-AC).
AGIP has organized and sponsored, in coordination with WIPO, ASPIP and WTO, relevant training for members of the judiciary and for district attorneys in various Arab countries. AGIP has also provided ASPIP with experts to help draft new, better IP laws for a number of Arab states. We are also proud to have assisted in the publication of numerous ground-breaking reference works on intellectual property in the Arab world, including the compilation of an English translation of all the Arab intellectual property and the publishing of a major intellectual property dictionary in Arabic.
Our goal is twofold: to help provide our clients the protection their efforts deserve, and to help further the advancement of the Arab people. To this end, we greatly appreciate your continued business and the relationships we have developed over the last quarter of a century. I assure you that we shall continue to do our utmost in providing you with the highest level of service.
Please visit our continually updated website (www.agip.com) for a wealth of information on the field of Intellectual Property. I'm sure you will find it to be a most valuable tool as you seek the best protection for your work.
Talal Abu-Ghazaleh