Egypt

(1) TRADEMARKS:-

SUMMARY:

Egypt is a member of the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (Act of Stockholm of 1967). The International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks under the Nice Agreement is followed in Egypt and the revision of class 42 with the creation of classes 43 to 45 has been adopted as of January 1, 2002.

Once a trademark application is filed, the trademark is examined as to its registrability. All classes and services can be protected as the class heading can claim all the goods it covers. Should the mark lack any requirement as provided for in the law and its regulations, the examiner will reject the application. The applicant may appeal such a rejection of its application within 30 days as of the date of receiving the relevant official notification.

Trademark applications approved by the Registrar are published in the Official Gazette. There is a 2-month period from the date of publication during which any interested party may file an opposition notice. An opposition to the registration of a published trademark should be prosecuted by either a patent attorney or an applicant before the Registrar. The opposition case is referred to the competent tribunal, if not settled by the Registrar, or if either party objects to the decision issued by the Registrar. In the absence of opposition, a published trademark is registered, and the relative certificate will be issued.

A trademark registration is valid for 10 years from the date of filing the trademark application and it is renewable for periods of 10 years each upon application and payment of the prescribed renewal fees.

The Trademark Office serves a written notice to the registered owner of a trademark at his address as indicated in the register. The notice, which is served during the month following the expiry of the validity term, indicates the date on which the renewal fees should have been paid and calls for payment during the grace period. If the registrant fails to apply for renewal during the 6 months following the expiry of the stipulated protection period, the Trademark Office will ex officio cancel such registration which will eventually be removed from the register.

The assignment of a trademark should be recorded, and unless it is published in the Official Gazette and entered in the records of the Trademark Office, it shall not be effective vis-à-vis third parties. The assignment of a trademark must not necessarily be submitted with the establishment of the business concern. Changes in the name and/or address of a registrant must be recorded.

Use of trademarks in Egypt is not compulsory for filing applications for registration or for maintaining trademark registrations in force. However, a trademark registration is vulnerable to cancellation on the strength of a court decision obtained to this effect by any interested party.

A cancellation action relies basically on establishing sufficient grounds that the trademark in question has not actually been used seriously for a period of 5 consecutive years. A trademark registration is consequently canceled unless the owner proves that non-use of the trademark was for reasonable cause of which the court approves. The Trademark Office or any party concerned is entitled to demand cancellation of any trademark registered in bad faith.

Any infringement or unauthorized use of a registered trademark is punishable under the provisions of the current trademark law.

 

REQUIREMENTS:
FILING REQUIREMENTS
  • A Power of Attorney legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate. (To be submitted within 6 months from the date of filing the application).
  • Ten prints of the trademark for each class.
  • A list of the goods and services to be covered by the application; class heading can be claimed for all classes in Egypt.
  • A certified copy of the priority document must be submitted within six months, in case it is claimed.
Note

According to the regulations, documents mentioned in items 1 and 4 must be available within 6 months from the filing date. Please be advised that if the documents were not available by the due date, the above-captioned trademark application will lapse. You are kindly requested to provide us with the above documents at least one-month ahead of time, in order to enable us to prepare the necessary translations prior to filing them at the Egyptian Trademark Office.

RENEWAL OF TRADEMARK/SERVICE MARK REGISTRATIONS
  • A Power of Attorney legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate, if we do not previously possess one. The power must be available upon filing the renewal application.
  • The number and date of the registered trademark/service mark.
ASSIGNMENT APPLICATIONS
  • A Power of Attorney signed by the assignee and legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate. (To be submitted at the time of filing the application).
  • An extract of the entry of the assignee company in the commercial register, or a certified copy of the certificate of incorporation legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
  • A legalized deed of assignment duly singed by both parties and legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
  • Name, address, nationality, legal status and profession or nature of business of the assignee.
LICENSE APPLICATIONS
  • A legalized license agreement by the Egyptian Consulate.
  • A Power of Attorney by the licensee and the licensor legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate. (To be submitted at the time of filing the application).
  • An extract of the entry of the licensee company in the commercial register, or a certified copy of the certificate of incorporation legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
  • The name, address, nationality and profession or nature of business of the licensee.
CHANGE OF NAME/ADDRESS APPLICATIONS
  • A Power of Attorney legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate. (To be submitted at the time of filing the application).
  • A certified certificate of the change of name or address which should be legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.

(2) PATENTS:-

SUMMARY:

Once an application for the grant of a patent is filed, it is examined with respect to compliance with the formalities and patentability provided for under the patent law in Egypt. The Patent Office may require whatever amendments may be necessary to bring the application into conformity with the law.

The provisions of the patent law stipulate that an application should be filed before the invention has become known prior to the filing date or the priority date through publication or use worldwide. The Patent Office currently receives many published patents worldwide and stipulates absolute novelty when examining the patent.

Patent applications are examined closely as to the contents and novelty of the invention. Once the application is accepted, it is automatically published in the Official Gazette. Any interested party may oppose the grant of a patent within 2 months as of the date of publication. The opposition notice is submitted to the competent committee. Should no opposition against the grant of a patent be filed, or should the committee reject an opposition, the charges of preparing copies for circulation purposes, which is the final step before grant, must be paid to the Patent Office.

It takes an average of 3 years from the filing date of the patent application to mature into a granted patent. Annuities are to be paid every year as of the filing date of the application even before the patent is granted. However, according to the current patent law, there is a one-year grace period from the due date with a late fine to settle payment of the annuity.

An applicant is entitled to appeal the requirements and conditions of the Patent Office by means of submitting a petition to the competent committee within 30 days as of the receipt of the notice, served to him by the Patent Office. Approved applications are published in the Official Gazette and are rendered open for public inspection.

A patent is valid for 20 years starting from the date of filing the application. Annuities should be paid until the expiry of the patent protection period.

The rights to a patent may be assigned or transferred through succession. The assignment of patent applications and granted patents must be made in writing. An assignment shall have no effect against third parties, unless it has been published in the Official Gazette and duly entered in the relevant records of the Patent Office.

Working of patents is compulsory in Egypt. In the event that the owner of a patented invention does not satisfy the stipulated working requirements within 3 years as of the date of the grant, or within 4 years from the filing date, which of the two periods is longer, or if working ceases for one year without an acceptable reason, then the patent will be subject to compulsory licensing under the provisions of the law. If within 2 years as of the grant of the compulsory license, the licensee does not exploit the patented invention, any interested party may apply to the Patent Office demanding the cancellation of the subject patent for non-working.

The rights conferred by a patent on the registered patentee lapse with the end of the protection period as prescribed by the laws, abandoning of patent rights, final court decision to this effect, non-payment of a due annuity within one year after the respective due date or failing to respond to an official action.

Infringement of the rights of a patentee is punishable under the provisions of the current patent law.

 

REQUIREMENTS:
FILING REQUIREMENTS:
  • A Power of Attorney legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
  • A deed of assignment legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
  • The name, address, nationality and profession or nature of business of the applicant(s) and the inventor(s).
  • The specification in English or French for preparing the Arabic translation. The specification must be subdivided as follows:
    • Prior art
    • Drawbacks of the prior art
    • What is new about the invention (improvements)
    • Detailed description
    • Mode of exploitation of the invention,
  • A summary of the invention (abstract) in English and Arabic (about 100 words).
  • One set of the formal engineering drawings
  • An extract of the entry of the applicant company in the commercial register, or a copy of the certificate of incorporation. The document in either form should be duly legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
  • A certified copy of the priority document must be submitted within three months, in case it is claimed.
Note:
  • Items 1, 2, and 7 must be available within 4 months from the filing date; otherwise the application will lapse irrevocably, and the specification in English or French must be filed with the application. The Arabic translation must be submitted within 6 months. On the other hand, the priority document must be filed within 3 months from the filing date to preserve priority rights.
  • Item 8 must be filed within 3 months from the filing date.
  • For PCT applications, items 2, 7 and 8 are not required.
ASSIGNMENT APPLICATIONS
  • A Power of Attorney signed by the assignee and legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
  • An extract of the entry of the assignee company in the commercial register, or a certified copy of the certificate of incorporation legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
  • A legalized deed of assignment from the assignor(s) to the assignee(s).
LICENSE APPLICATIONS
  • A license agreement legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
  • An extract of the entry of the licensee company in the commercial register, or a copy of the certificate of incorporation legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
CHANGE OF NAME/ADDRESS APPLICATIONS
  • A Power of Attorney legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
  • A change of name and/or address certificate legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.

(3) INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS:-

SUMMARY:

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.

REQUIREMENTS:
FILING REQUIREMENTS
  • A Power of Attorney legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
  • Four representations (photographs or drawings) of the design or model on good quality paper of size 33×21 cm.
  • A legalized extract of the entry of the applicant company in the Commercial Register, or a legalized copy of the certificate of incorporation; which includes the name, address, nationality, legal status and profession or nature of business of the applicant.
  • A certified copy of the priority document for a convention application. All documents must be available within three months from the filing date.
ASSIGNMENT APPLICATIONS
  • A Power of Attorney signed by the assignee and legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
  • An extract of the entry of the assignee company in the commercial register, or a certified copy of the certificate of incorporation legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
  • A legalized deed of assignment including the transfer of the ownership of the establishment which produces the goods for which the trademark is registered.
  • Name, address, nationality, legal status and profession or nature of business of the assignee.
Note

In addition to the above, for design applications, the applicant company must submit an extract from the Commercial Register or the certificate of incorporation, legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.

LICENSE APPLICATIONS
  • A legalized license agreement by the Egyptian Consulate.
  • A Power of Attorney by the licensee and the licensor legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
  • An extract of the entry of the licensee company in the commercial register, or a certified copy of the certificate of incorporation legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
  • The name, address, nationality and profession or nature of business of the licensee. For design applications, the applicant company must submit an extract from the Commercial Register or the certificate of incorporation, legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
CHANGE OF NAME/ADDRESS APPLICATIONS:
  • A Power of Attorney legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
  • A certified certificate of the change of name or address. For design applications, the applicant company must submit the certificate of the change of name or address legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.

 

(4) COPYRIGHT:-

SUMMARY:

Original works of literature, art and science, regardless of type, importance or purpose are protected in Egypt as per Law No. 82 of 2002. This includes works of art expressed in writing, sound, drawings, photography and motion pictures, such as books, writings, speeches, oral works, plays, dramatic works, musical compositions, films, phonographic works, applied art, 3-D works, computer programs and national folklore. Such works are protected for the lifetime of the author plus 50 years following his/her death.

The law also provides protection for related rights, including rights of performers, producers of phonograms and broadcasting organizations.

In order for protection to be effective, the work of art is to be original and includes personal efforts, innovation and new arrangement.

The Cultural Affairs’ Supreme Council at the Ministry of Culture reserves the right to allow publication of the work of art for documentary, transitional, educational, cultural or scientific uses under certain conditions.

Egypt is a member of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.

REQUIREMENTS:
FILING REQUIREMENTS

1. A Power of Attorney legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
2. A copy from the passport/ID of the applicant and the agent.
3. Filing the respective form for registration purposes.
4. A certificate indicating the registration of the work of art in any other country and the registration data, if any.
5. An original and two copies of the work of art.

 

(5) DOMAIN NAMES:-

SUMMARY:

The Egyptian Universities Network (EUN) is the local registry for the Top-Level Domain Name (.eg) in Egypt.

Notes:

  1. Domain names may be registered for an active or inactive usage (reservation for future use).
  2. All domain name registration applications are served on a “first-come, first-serve” basis. All requests will be processed on an equal basis.
REQUIREMENTS:
FILING REQUIREMENTS
Requirements for 3rd Level Domain Name (.com.eg):

The required documents that a client needs to submit to Egyptian Domain Names Office in order to register .com .eg are the following and should be the Original documents:

  1. Legalized Power of Attorney from the Egyptian Consulate

2.A signed and stamped Domain Name Request Letter from the client directed to the Egyptian Domain Names office stating that the client is authorizing TMP to register his domain name.

  1. Domain Name Application, containing all the data of the client and desired Domain Name.
  2. Copy of the Commercial Register or any Commercial reference of the client.
  3. In case there is a domain name doesn’t match your company name, you need to provide any official document proving or indicating the relation between the client and the desired domain name, such as Certificate of Registration of a Trademark, Copyright, Patent, or another Domain Name.

 

The required documents for the registration of .eg domain names:
  1. Legalized Power of Attorney
  2. A copy of the Commercial Register or any Commercial reference of the client.
  3. Domain Name Application, containing all the data of the client and desired Domain Name.
  4. A signed and stamped Domain Name Request Letter from the client directed to the Egyptian Domain Names office stating that the client is authorizing TMP to register his domain name.
  5. A copy of the Certificate of Registration of a Trademark filed through the Egyptian trademark Office or through WIPO designating Egypt.
Required documentation will be necessary to submit a Sunrise application:
  • A Power of Attorney Legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate (copy attached)
  • Signed and stamped Request letter (copy attached)
  • Domain Name Application, containing all the data of the client and desired Domain Name.