Egypt has a legal framework protecting intellectual property rights under a law passed in 2002.
Law No. 82/2002 grants patents, the design and integration of circuits, undisclosed information, trademarks, industrial designs, copyright and varieties of plants.
Patents are issued to industrial inventions including modifications, improvements and additions to previously patented industrial processes for 20 years.
Electrical integrated circuit development is protected for 10 years from the time the development was commercially exploited.
Confidential information is protected for 10 years against disclosure and unfair commercial use from the date of its submission to the competent authorities until it is no longer confidential, or for a period not exceeding five years, which ever comes first.
Trademarks covering products or services and geographical indications where a geographical origin has become descriptive of the quality, reputation or other characteristics of a certain product so as to be largely instrumental in its marketing are protected for 10 years.
Industrial designs, including 3-D forms, are protected for 10 years and may be extended for a further five years.
Copyright protection is extended to authors of literary and artistic works, particularly:
-
Books, articles, bulletins and any other written works
-
Computer programs
-
Lectures, speeches and any other oral works when recorded
-
Musical works with or without words
-
Audiovisual works
-
Photographic and similar works
-
Illustrations, maps, sketches and three-dimensional works relating to geography, topography or architectural designs
-
Photographic and similar works
-
Illustrations, maps, sketches and three-dimensional works relating to geography, topography or architectural designs
Protection shall not cover mere ideas, procedures, systems, systems, operational methods, concepts, principals, discoveries and data even when expressed, described, illustrated or included in a work.
Law 82/2002 grants protection to plant varieties, derived inside or outside Egypt, whether developed through biological or non-biological means, when registered in the special register of protected plant varieties.
The period of protection is 25 years for trees and vines and 20 years for other crops. The term of protection shall run form the date of the grant.