[1] Intellectual Property Rights in the Constitution

  • Articles 66, 67 and 69 of Chapter Three, entitled: "Fundamental Rights, Freedoms and Duties", the 2014 Constitution of the Arab Republic of Egypt lays out many of the constitutional principles underpinning the intellectual property (IP) legal system.
  • Article 69 confirms the State's obligation to protect all types of IPRs in all fields, and to establish a body entrusted with the safeguarding and protection of IPRs.
  • IPR protection and enforcement have become a constitutional principle.

[2] The Role of the Judiciary Prior to the Enactment of IP Legislation

  • The first legislation ever protecting IPRs in Egypt was introduced in 1939 upon the issuance of Law No. 57 on the Protection of Trademarks and Commercial Indications.
  • Prior to the issuance of that Law Courts endeavored to safeguard IPRs by providing civil protection based on the principles of natural law and rules of equity.
  • Imitation or copies of inventions, industrial designs or trademarks were considered wrongdoings that engaged the perpetrator's liability and entailed damages by virtue of Tort Law.
  • Mixed Courts instituted an administrative system for the registration of inventions, trademarks, trade names and industrial designs, to facilitate establishing ownership and determining priority rights on the basis of registration.

[3] Legislative Development

  • The Law No. 57 of 1939 was followed by the promulgation of Law No. 132 of 1949 on Patents and Industrial Designs, and the Law No. 354 of 1954 on the Protection of Copyright.
  • Upon Egypt's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Law No. 82 of 2002 on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights was issued and became effective on June 3, 2002.

Download >> IPR protection and enforcement have become a constitutional principle.

First publication as a working document of the WIPO Advisory Committee on Enforcement ( pages 3-7 of document WIPO/ACE/12/6).

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