Egypt, Global Patent GO - Introduction to Egyptian Patent Applications

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Egypt, the intersection of the Silk Roads

Egypt is one of the most important ancient civilizations in the world. It is located at the junction of the three continents of Asia, Europe and Africa. It is a strategic hub of the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road". The Suez Canal Corridor is a hub connecting the South China Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. As the intersection of the "Land Silk Road" and the "Maritime Silk Road", Egypt has natural strategic importance geographically, and it is among the first countries to support the "Belt and Road" initiative.

Egypt is the most populous country in the Middle East and the second most populous country in Africa. It has long been a leader in Africa in terms of economy and science and technology, and is also the third largest economy on the African continent. Egypt is an important oil and natural gas producer in Africa. According to BP's "World Energy Statistics 2020", as of the end of 2019, Egypt's proven oil and natural gas reserves ranked sixth and third in African countries respectively. Egypt's tourism, agriculture, industry and service industries have almost equal development proportions. Egypt is also considered a medium power, especially in North Africa, the Middle East and the Islamic faith region.

Since President Sisi came to power in 2014, he has gradually stabilized the domestic political situation, cracked down on terrorist activities, and implemented all-round economic reforms such as floating exchange rates, cutting subsidies, opening markets, and attracting foreign investment. Remarkable results have been achieved in all aspects of politics, economy, and society. On the one hand, Egypt's macroeconomic performance is outstanding, with an economic growth rate of 3.6% in the 2019/20 fiscal year, effectively resisting the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, and becoming the only economy in the Middle East and North Africa to achieve positive growth. Egypt's investment environment continues to improve. According to the World Bank's "Business Environment Report 2020", it ranks 114th among 190 countries and regions in the world. The "2020 African Investment Guide" released by South Africa's Rand Merchant Bank shows that Egypt has been the best investment destination in Africa for three consecutive years. After experiencing the trough during the epidemic period, foreign exchange reserves quickly rebounded to US$40.3 billion, and the Egyptian pound maintained a basically stable exchange rate against the US dollar. The "Global Economic Outlook" released by the IMF in April 2021 predicts that Egypt's economic growth rate will reach 2.5% and 5.7% in 2021 and 2022 respectively.

Egypt is the first Arab and African country to establish diplomatic relations with China. Up to now, China has maintained its status as Egypt's largest trading partner for many consecutive years. In 2020, the scale of bilateral goods trade reached US$14.53 billion, a record high; the two countries have carried out all-round cooperation in the fields of industry, energy, telecommunications, infrastructure construction and other fields. As of the end of 2020, China's cumulative direct investment stock in Egypt was US$1.19 billion, creating more than 30,000 local jobs; the Suez (TEDA) Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone jointly built by both parties has attracted more than 100 companies to settle in, becoming a hub for promoting investment and cooperation between the two countries. An important platform for technical cooperation. Chinese companies have successively won bids to implement major national projects such as the New Administrative Capital Central Business District and the Tenth of Ramadhan City Light Rail.

Egypt joined the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 1975 and is a member of the Paris Convention and the Patent Cooperation Treaty. It has relatively complete laws and regulations in the field of intellectual property protection. In 2002, the Intellectual Property Protection Law was promulgated, and in 2003, the Intellectual Property Protection Regulations were promulgated, providing detailed regulations on the intellectual property protection process for patents, integrated circuit design drawings, undisclosed information, trademarks and industrial designs, and copyrights. In terms of special laws, the Egyptian Patent Office, Trade Registration Bureau, Copyright Protection Bureau, etc., as the specific implementation units of the law, are responsible for the registration and rights protection of various types of intellectual property rights. The Patent Office is affiliated to the Ministry of Higher Education and Research and is responsible for patent application and protection. In 2009, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) approved the Egyptian Patent Office to become an international search authority, making it the first country in Africa and the Middle East and the third developing country to obtain this right.


Today we will take a brief look at Egypt’s patent system.

Introduction to the Egyptian Patent System

1. Types of protection of Egyptian patents

  • Inventions, utility models and designs.

2. Ways for Chinese applicants to apply for patents in Egypt

  • Paris Convention, PCT International Application into Egypt, Direct Application

3. Review unit

  • Egyptian Patent Office, EGPO

4. Submit application

  • Deadline requirements:
    • Paris Convention route: within 12 months from earliest priority date
    • PCT international application entering Egypt: within 30 months from the earliest priority date
  • Language requirements: The official language of Egyptian patent applications is Arabic, and the Arabic translation of the application documents must be submitted to the Patent Office within 6 months from the date of application at the latest.
  • Submission method: paper submission or electronic submission is acceptable.

5. Formal review

  • Filing an Egyptian patent application through the Paris Convention route
    • Priority certification documents and their full Arabic translations are required;
    • If the applicant is not the inventor, he or she needs to submit a transfer agreement certified by the Egyptian Consulate;
    • If the applicant is a legal entity, a copy of the company's business license certified by the Egyptian Consulate is required;
    • If you enter the Egyptian national phase through the PCT route, you do not need to submit the above documents.
  • Whether through the Paris Convention route or the PCT route, applicants are required to submit a power of attorney in Arabic authenticated by the Egyptian Consulate.

6. Substantive review

  • Invention patent applications need to pass substantive examination. The applicant does not need to submit a separate request for substantive examination. The applicant needs to pay the substantive examination fee in full within 6 months from the date of application. EGPO will initiate the substantive examination on its own after receiving the full examination fee. (No examination fee is required for appearance patent applications). After substantive examination, the EGPO will directly issue a notice of examination opinion, informing you whether the patent application has prospects for authorization and what problems exist that cause the patent application to fail to meet the conditions for authorization. Applicants need to read the review comments carefully and submit defense comments and modifications within the specified period (usually within 3 months from the date of issuance).

7. Public announcement

  • Once the EGPO considers that the patent application meets the conditions for authorization, it will be published in the Official Gazette within 90 days from the date of decision to grant the patent.

8. Objections

  • Anyone can submit a written objection application to EGPO within 60 days from the date of publication to object to the grant of a patent. The applicant shall respond within 15 days after receiving the objection letter. After the EGPO makes its decision, it shall notify all parties of the result by registered mail within 10 days.

7. Authorization Procedure

  • After the patent passes the formal examination and substantive examination procedures, if the examiner believes that the authorization conditions are met, and no one raises an objection to the patent application, or the objection is rejected, the EGPO will grant the patent right and issue a certificate, and publish the authorization decision in the official gazette. Egyptian inventions and utility models begin to pay maintenance fees from the second year of the protection period. Even if the application has not yet been authorized, the applicant or right holder must pay it year by year.
  • EGPO is required to issue 5 certified copies of the patent authorization at the same time.

Features of Egyptian patents

1. Patent-related services in Egypt are subject to a 14% VAT. However, starting from July 7, 2021, the Egyptian Trademark Office announced that it will no longer levy a 14% VAT on trademark-related services.

2. Starting from January 1, 2022, the Egyptian Patent Office will launch electronic patent application services and begin to receive and process patent applications in electronic form. The period from January 1, 2022 to February 28, 2022 is the transition period from a paper-based system to an electronic system that applies to all processes in applications submitted to the Egyptian Patent Office, including statutory deadlines Date of program.

3. Article 40 of Egypt’s Intellectual Property Protection Law stipulates that unless otherwise specified in the law, the provisions applicable to invention patents also apply to utility models. Therefore, the application process for both is basically the same. Applicants for utility models can convert their applications into patent applications, and patent applicants can also convert their patent applications into utility model applications.

4. In Egypt, the use of patents is compulsory. If the patent is not used within 3 years from the date of grant, or the patent application is not used within 4 years from the date of application (whichever is the longest period), it will be subject to the provisions of the Egyptian Patent Law. Relevant regulations require compulsory licensing. If the licensee does not carry out any implementation of the patent within 2 years from the compulsory license, any interested party may file a request for invalidation with the EGPO.

Friendliness towards Chinese applicants:
★★★★★
The value of patent rights:
★★★
Completeness of rights protection mechanism:
★★★★