RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONIP/C/W/278/Add.1
14 November 2001
(01-5765)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  English
REVIEW OF LEGISLATION
Responses from Egypt to questions posed by
the European Communities and their member States
Addendum
By means of a communication from the Permanent Mission of Egypt dated 8 November 2001,
the Secretariat has received the following responses to questions posed by the European Communities
and their member States, as circulated in document IP/C/W/274.
_______________
A. G ENERAL PROVISIONS
1. Please describe if your legislation includes measures necessary to protect public health and
nutrition, and to promote the public interest in se ctors of vital importance to your socio-economic and
technological development as mentioned under Arti cle 8 of the TRIPS Agreement.  If yes, please
explain how such measures are consistent with the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement.
These measures, as necessary to protect public health and nutrition and to promote public
interest in sectors of vital importance to socio-economic and technological development (TRIPS
Article 8), are explicitly or implicitly indicated in several locations in the Agreement.  Their
reflections are to be found in the law provisions (still in draft form) where they are meant and
expected to produce effects that are concordant with the spirit and letter of the Agreement.
The following are some examples of the draft law provisions which show consistency with
the Agreement provisions in these areas:
- criteria of, and exclusions from patentability (1 and 2);
- permissible exceptions to the right holders' rights (11);
- disclosure of the invention (14) and of the layout-designs of integrated circuits (50);
- compulsory licensing (25 and 26).
B. C OPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS
2. Please state how your legislation provides for the protection of the exclusive rights of authors
in relation to their literary and artistic works, as  specified in Article 9 of the TRIPS Agreement which
requires Members to comply with Articles 1-21 of the Berne Convention and the Appendix to the
Berne Convention (1971)).IP/C/W/278/Add.1
Page 2
Our draft law provides a monopoly in favor of the author.  Such monopoly enables the author
to be paid against any act of exploitation of his work(s).  Hence all acts of performing and
reproduction are subject to a prior approach of the author.
3. Please describe the protection accorded to authors of computer programs, databases or
compilations of data.
Our draft law considers computer programs, databases and compilations of data as literary
works.  Here it is protected against any act of exploitation.
4. Please state whether your legislation provides for a rental right and, if so, the works to which
it applies.
Rental rights are granted to authors of all kind of works and Article 11 of TRIPS Agreement
shows the answer as follows:
Article 11 - Rental Rights
In respect of at least computer programs and cinematographic works, a Member shall provide
authors and their successors in title the right to authorize or to prohibit the commercial rental
to the public of originals or copies of their copyright works.  A Member shall be excepted
from this obligation in respect of cinematographic works unless such rental has led towidespread copying of such works which is materially impairing the exclusive right of
reproduction conferred in that Member on authors and their successors in title.  In respect of
computer programs, this obligation does not apply to rentals where the program itself is not
the essential object of the rental.
Article 14 - Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms (Sound Recordings) and
Broadcasting Organizations
1. In respect of a fixation of their performance on a phonogram, performers shall have
the possibility of preventing the following ac ts when undertaken without their authorization:
the fixation of their unfixed performance and the reproduction of such fixation.  Performers
shall also have the possibility of preventing the following acts when undertaken without their
authorization: the broadcasting by wireless means and the communication to the public of
their live performance.
2. Producers of phonograms shall enjoy the right to authorize or prohibit the direct or
indirect reproduction of their phonograms.
3. Broadcasting organizations shall have the right to prohibit the following acts when
undertaken without their authorization: the fixation, the reproduction of fixations, and the
rebroadcasting by wireless means of broadcasts, as well as the communication to the public of
television broadcasts of the same.  Where Members do not grant such rights to broadcastingorganizations, they shall provide owners of copyright in the subject matter of broadcasts with
the possibility of preventing the above acts, subject to the provisions of the Berne Convention
(1971).
4. The provisions of Article 11 in respect of computer programs shall apply mutatis
mutandis to producers of phonograms and any/ other right holders in phonograms as
determined in domestic law.  If, on the date  of the Ministerial Meeting concluding the
Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, a Member has in force a system of
equitable remuneration of right holders in respect of the rental of phonograms, it mayIP/C/W/278/Add.1
Page 3
maintain such system provided that the commerc ial rental of phonograms is not giving rise to
the material impairment of the exclusive rights of reproduction of right holders.
5. The term of the protection available under this Agreement to performers and
producers of. phonograms shall last at least until the end of a period of fifty years computedfrom the end of the calendar year in which the fixation was made or the performance took
place.   The term of protection granted pursuant to paragraph 3 above shall last for at least
twenty years from the end of the calendar year in which the broadcast took place.
6. Any Member may, in relation to the rights conferred under paragraphs 1-3 above,
provide for conditions, limitations, exceptions and reservations to the extent permitted by the
Rome Convention.  However, the provisions of Article  18 of the Berne Convention (1971)
shall also apply, mutatis mutandis, to the rights of performers and producers of phonograms
in phonograms.
5. Please describe the rights granted to performers, producers of phonograms (sound
recordings) and broadcasting organisations under your legislation.
Articles 154-155-156 of the Egyptian law for the protection of intellectual property rights
show the answer as follows:
Article 154
Performers shall enjoy the following exclusive economic rights:
(1) communicate their performance to the public, authorize the making available to the
public, renting or lending the original fixation or copies of their performance;
(2) prevent any exploitation of their performance in any manner with out prior written
authorization, including, in particular fixation of such live performances on a medium, rentwith the purpose of making direct or indirect commercial profit or public broadcasting of such
fixation;
(3) rent or lend the original or copies of their performance with the purpose of achieving
a direct or indirect commercial goal, regardless of the ownership of the original or rented
copies
(4) make fixation of a performance available to the public by broadcasting, through
computers or other means of technology in such a way to enable the individual reception at
any time or place.
The provisions of this article shall not apply on fixations of performances included in
audiovisual fixations of performers
Article 155
Producers of sound recordings shall enjoy the following exclusive economic rights:
(3) prevent any exploitation of their recordings in any manner, without prior written
authorization, including, in particular, reproduction, renting, broadcasting or making available
through computers, or other means of technology, of such recording;
(4) making a sound recording available to the public by wire or wireless means or
through computers or any other means of technology.IP/C/W/278/Add.1
Page 4
Article 156
Broadcasting organizations shall enjoy the following exclusive economic rights:
(3) Authorize the exploitation of their recordings;(4) Prevent any communication to the public, without prior written authorization, of
their television recordings, including in particular, fixation, reproduction, renting
or wireless rebroadcasting or communicating such works to the public.
6. Please state whether your legislation provides for any limitation or exception in relation to
each of the rights described above in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Berne and RomeConventions and in light of Articles 13 and 14.6 of the TRIPS Agreement.
Articles 157-168-169-170-171 state the following:
Article 157
Without prejudice to the exclusive rights provided for in this law, performers and
broadcasting organizations shall enjoy the right to a single equitable remuneration for the
direct or indirect use of broadcast works published for commercial purposes for broadcast or
communication to the public.
Article 168
Any person may request from the competent ministry to be granted a private licence for the
reproduction and/or translation of any work protected under this Law, without the
authorization of the author and for the purposes  indicated in the next paragraph, to the extent
that such licence is not in contradiction with the normal exploitation of the work or does not
unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the author or the copyright holders and
provided that a fair remuneration is paid to the author or his successor.
Article 169
Without prejudice to the moral rights of the author under this Law, the author may not prevent
third parties from carrying out any of the following acts after the publication of the work:
First:  Perform the work in family gatherings, pr ivate clubs or educational institutions, to the
extent that no direct or indirect financial remuneration is obtained;
Second:  Make a single copy of the work for mere personal use; such a copy shall be made
within the limits allowed by the normal exploitation of the work or unreasonably prejudices
the legitimate interests of me author or copyright holders.
However, the author may prevent third partie s from carrying out any of the following acts,
after the publication of the work and without his authorization:
- reproducing or copying works of fine or applied arts or works of architecture;- reproducing or copying of all or a substantial part of the notes of a musical work;- reproduction or copying all or a substantial part of a database or elements.IP/C/W/278/Add.1
Page 5
Article 170
Without prejudice to the moral rights of the author under this Law, the author or his successor
may not prevent newspapers, periodicals or broadcasting organizations, as required by its
objectives, from doing the following:
First:  Publishing short extracts from works legally made available to the public, published
articles on political, economic, scientific or religious topical issues, provided that no
indication prohibiting such publication was made by the author when publishing the work; in
such cases, the source and the name of the concerned author shall be mentioned.
Second:  Publishing speeches, lectures or addresses delivered in public sessions of the
parliament, legislative or administrative bodies or scientific, literary, artistic, political, social
or religious meetings, to the extent that such speeches, lectures or addresses are intended for
the public, including speeches delivered during public legal proceedings.
However, the author alone or his successor sha ll have the right to make collections of such
works, for which he shall be entitled to claim authorship.
Third:  Publication of extracts of an audio, visual or audiovisual work, made available to the
public, in the course of covering current events.
Article 171
Restrictions on the author's economic rights, according to this Law. shall apply to holders of
related rights.
7. Please state the terms of protection of each right described above and the work or subject
matter to which it applies.
Articles 158-159-161-162-163-164-165-166 state the following:
Article 158
The author's economic rights provided for in this Law shall be protected throughout the life
time of the author and 70 years from the end of the year during which the author dies.
Article 159
The economic rights relating to works of joint authorship shall be protected throughout the
lives of all co-authors and 70 years from the end of the year during which the last survivor
among the co-authors dies.
Article 160
Where the copyright holder is a legal entity, the economic rights relating to authors of a
collective works, other than authors of works of applied art, shall be protected for 70 years
from the end of the year during which the work was published or made available to the public
for the first time, which ever comes last. Where the copyright holder is a natural person, the
term shall be calculated according to the rule provided for in Article 158 and Article 159.
The economic rights relating to a work publishe d for the first time after the death of the
author shall expire after 70 years from the end of the year during which the work was
published or made available to the public for the first time, whichever comes last.IP/C/W/278/Add.1
Page 6
Article 161
The economic rights relating to a work published anonymously or under pseudonym shall be
protected for a period of one year from the end of the year during which the work was
published or made available to the public for the first time, which ever comes last, unless the
identity of the author is known and established or revealed by the author, in which case theterm of protection shall be calculated according to the rule provided for in Article 158.
Article 162
The economic rights of the author of a work of applied art shall expire after a period of 25
years from the end of the year during which the work was published or made available to the
public for the first time, whichever comes last.
Article 163
In cases where the term of protection is calculated from the date on which the work was
published or made available to the public for the first time, the term shall be calculated takinginto consideration the date that comes last, regardless of any further publication or making
available to the public, unless substantial changes are made by the author in the work so that
it may be considered as a new work.
Where the work consists of more than one part or volume published separately and at
intervals, each part or volume shall be considered as an independent work for the calculation
of the term of protection.
Article 164
Performers shall enjoy an exclusive economic right for the exploitation of their performances,
as stipulated by Article 154, for a period of 70 years calculated from the end of the year
during which the performance or the recording takes place, within the provided limits.
Article 165
Producers of sound recordings shall enjoy an exclusive economic right to exploit their
recordings, as stated in Article 161, for a period of 70 years calculated from the end of the
year during which the recording was made or made public, within the limits provided for in
this Law.
Article 166
Broadcasting organizations shall enjoy an exclusive economic right to exploit their programs,
for a period of 20 years calculated from the end of the year during which the program was
broadcast for the first time.
8. Please state how your legislation grants the retroactive protection provided pursuant to
Article 18 of the Berne Convention (the obligation of which derives from Article 9 of the TRIPS
Agreement) and Article 14.6 of the TRIPS Agreement.
According to Article 9 of the TRIPS Agreement:
"1. Members shall comply with Articles 1 through 21 of the Berne Convention (1971)
and the Appendix thereto.  However, Members shall not have rights or obligations under thisIP/C/W/278/Add.1
Page 7
Agreement in respect of the rights conferred under Article 6 bis of that Convention or of the
rights derived therefrom.
2. Copyright protection shall extend to expressions and not to ideas, procedures,
methods of operation or mathematical concepts as such."
Article14.6 of the same Agreement refers to that saying:"6. Any Member may, in relation to the rights conferred under paragraphs 1, 2 and 3,
provide for conditions, limitations, exceptions and reservations to the extent permitted by the
Rome Convention.  However, the provisions of Article 18 of the Berne Convention (1971)
shall also apply mutatis mutandis, to the rights of performers and producers of phonograms in
phonograms."
Article 18 of the Berne Convention (1971) provides:
"[Works Existing on Convention's Entry Into Force:  1. Protectable where protection not yet
expired in country of origin;  2. Non-protectable where protection already expired in countrywhere it is claimed;  3. Application of these principles; 4. Special cases]
(1) This Convention shall apply to all works which, at the moment of its coming into
force, have not yet fallen into the public domain in the country of origin  through the expiry of
the term of protection.
(2) If, however, through the expiry of the term of protection which was previously
granted, a work was fallen into the public domain of the country where protection is claimed,
the work shall not be protected anew.
(3) The application of this principle shall be subject to any provisions contained in
special conventions to the effect existing or to be concluded between countries of the Union.
In the absence of such provisions, the respective countries shall determine, each in so far as it
is concerned, the conditions of application of this principle.
(4) The proceeding provisions shall also apply in the case of new accessions to the Union
and to cases in which protection is extended by the application of Article 7 or by theabandonment of reservations."
9. Please explain how your legislation provides for effective means of enforcement of the level of
protection of Article 14.2 of the TRIPS Agreement with regard to licensing and, in particular, how
Egyptian authorities authenticate that only licensing agreements involving the legitimate licensors areactually recognised as enabling Egyptian compan ies to manufacture and/or distribute music
recordings.  In addition, please explain what legal means are available to the legitimate licensor of
music recordings to prevent recognised and yet unlawful licensees to continue to unlawfully
manufacture/distribute music recording.
Articles 177, 178 and 179 of the draft law provide the following:
Article 177
In case of infringement of any right provided for in this Law. the Chief of the court having
jurisdiction, upon a request made by the right holder shall order the following measures orany other appropriate preventive measures:IP/C/W/278/Add.1
Page 8
(1) Drawing a detailed description of the work, the performance, the audio recording or
the broadcast program;
(2) Suspension of publication, exhibition, reproduction or manufacturing of the work, the
performance, the audio recording or the broadcasting program;
(3) Seizure of the original copy, or copies, of the work, audio recording or broadcasting
program and seizure of the material used for the republication or reproduction of such work,
performance, audio recording or broadcasting program, provided that such material could be
used only for such republication of the work, performance, audio recording or the
broadcasting program;
(4) Establishing infringement of a protected right;
(5) Assessing and, in all cases, seizure of the income made as a result of the exploitation
of the work, the performance, the audio recording or the broadcasting program.
In all cases, the Chief of court may designate one or more experts to assist the bailiff in
charge of the execution of such measures.  The Chief of the court shall require from the
requesting party to make an appropriate financial deposit.
Where the requesting party fails to submit the merits of the case to the court having
jurisdiction, within 15 days following the grant of the order, such order granted upon request
shall cease to have effect.
Article 178
The person against whom an order was granted may appeal to the Chief of the court, within
30 days from the date of the grant of that order, the chief of the court may confirm or repeal
the order totally or partly or designate a custodian for the re-publication, exploitation,
exhibition, manufacturing or reproducing of the work, audio recording or broadcasting
program.  The resulting income shall be kept in the court's treasury until a decision on the
merits of the case is rendered.
Article 179
Without prejudice to any severe sanction under any other law, any person who commits any
of the following acts shall be punishable by imprisonment for a period of not less than one
month and by a fine not less than 5,000 pounds and not more than 10,000 pounds, or any ofthose sanctions:
First:  Selling, renting or putting in circulation, under any form, a work, an audio recording or
a broadcast protected under this law, without a prior written licence from the author of the
owner of the related right;
Second:  Imitating, selling, offering for sale, circulation or rent, a work, an audio recording or
a broadcast, knowing that it is an imitation;
Third:  Imitating in the country, selling, offering for sale or circulation, renting or exporting to
a foreign country a work, an audio recording or a broadcast published in a foreign country,
knowing that it is an imitation;
Fourth:  Publication, making available to the public, making available to the public through
computer networks, Internet, information networks, communication networks and otherIP/C/W/278/Add.1
Page 9
means of technology a work, an audio recording, a broadcast or a performance protected
under this law, without a prior written licence from the author or the owner of the related
right;
Fifth:  Manufacturing or importing for sale or rent any equipment or implements specially
designed or made to circumvent a technical prevention used by the author or the owner of the
related right;
Sixth:  Removing, altering or render defective, in bad faith, any technical protection used by
the author or the owner of the related rights;
Seventh:  Infringing any of the moral or economic copyrights or related rights provided for in
this Law.
Sanctions shall be granted according to the number of infringed works, sound recordings,
broadcasts or performances.
In case of repetition, the sanction shall consist of imprisonment for a period of not less than
one month and a fine not less than 10,000 pounds and not more than 50,000 pounds.
In all cases, the court shall order the confiscation of the infringing copies, those obtained as a
result of infringement, equipment and impl ements used to commit the infringement.
In case of conviction, the court may also order the closure of the establishment used by the
infringing person to commit his infringing, for a period of not more than six months.
In case of repetition, the closure shall be obligatory, in the infringements provided for in item
2 and item 3 of this Article.
The court shall order the publication of a summary of the convicting sentence in one or more
newspapers at the expense of the convicted person.
In all cases, the court shall order the destruction of the imitated copies.
C. T RADEMARKS
10. Please give the definition of a sign under your national legislation and explain under what
conditions it is protectable.
The new IP draft does not define the word "sign" .  Under draft Article 64 the definition of the
expression "trademark" is very broad and does not limit the types of signs that may be considered atrademark.  Instead, the focus is on distinctiveness.  However, Article 64 contained a non-exhaustive
list of signs.  It particularly includes names having a distinguishing nature, signature, words, letters,
numerals, designs, symbols, addresses, stamps, seals, pictures, figurative elements, colour
combinations having a special distinguishing nature or any other combination of these signs used, or
intended to be sued to identify a product or service, of one undertaking from those of another.
11. Please confirm whether or not services are a protectable subject matter in your trademark
law.  Please confirm if signs, such as trade names, are protectable.  Please describe if elements such
as sound, perfumes and containers are protectable.
Under draft Article 64, a trademark is all that distinguishes and identifies a product or service,
of one undertaking from those of another.  Signs as trade names are protectable as far as they have a
distinguishing nature.IP/C/W/278/Add.1
Page 10
In all cases, the trademark must be visually perceptible, therefore, elements such as sounds,
perfumes and the like are not registrable as trademark.
12. Please explain what the requirements of use are, if any, as a condition for a trademark
registration.  Please explain the definition of use and the conditions of maintenance of a registrationin that respect.
To register a trademark, under the new IP draft law, a written application should be submitted
to the Trademark Office indicating the class or classes of the goods or services the mark is to be used
to identify.  The mark shall be registered for one or more classes of the products produced, or
intended to be produced, by the applicant (draft Article 75).  Therefore, under the draft Law there is
no previous use requirement to register a trademark.  However, once the trademark is registered, it
should be used.  The trademark registration may be revoked for failure by the proprietor, or anyperson with his consent to make genuine use of the mark in Egypt in relation to the specified goods or
services in any three years period after its registration (draft Article 91).
Although, the IP draft does not define the term "use", use is generally understood as meaning
the sale or offer for sale of goods bearing the trademark.
13. Please confirm whether or not your legislation permits that the registration of trademarks be
indefinitely renewable.
Under draft Article 91, a registered mark shall be protected for a period of ten years
renewable for another period or periods.  Therefore, it is clear that the draft permits that theregistration be indefinitely renewable.
14. Please describe the special requirements, if any, prescribed by your legislation concerning
the use of a trademark.
Draft Article 91 addresses the question of use requirement by giving the competent court the
power to order revocation of registration of the mark for non-use, upon request by any concerned
party, on evidence that the mark had not been seriously used, without an appreciable justification, for
a period of three uninterrupted years.  Therefore, the proprietor of the mark is given an opportunity to
prove that there may have been obstacles to such use, such as import restrictions.
D. G
EOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS
15. Please explain whether or not your trademark registration authority refuses a trademark
application if it contains a geographical indication.
Under draft Article 110, to register a trademark containing a geographical indication, it is
essential that production of the goods in question must consistently be undertaken by the applicant at
the especially famous geographical area.  It provides that a trademark that contains a geographical
indication shall not be registered if the use of which could mislead the public as to the truegeographical origin of the related good.
16. Please give the definition of a geographical indication in your legislation.
Under draft Article 105, geographical indications are indications which identify the origin of
a good in a region or locality in a WTO Member state or in a state reciprocating equal treatment withEgypt, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristics of the good affecting its promotion
are essentially attributable to its geographical origin.  For extending protection to those indications, it
is essential that they must have acquired protection in the country of origin.IP/C/W/278/Add.1
Page 11
17. Please describe and explain the provisions of your legislation establishing a link, if any,
between the characteristics of an indication and its geographical origin.
Please refer to the answer of the previous question no. 16.
18. Please describe how additional protection is granted by your legislation to wines and spirits.
Please mention other types of products, if any, covered by this additional protection.
Under IP draft Law geographical indications protection covers all products no matter what the
product is. This means that wines and spirits are not excluded.
19. Please explain how exceptions under Article 24 of the TRIPS Agreement are used in your
jurisdiction.  Please provide examples of the use of the exceptions by courts or lists of names
considered as generic in your jurisdiction.
According to draft Article 109, it is permissible to use on certain products such geographical
names that became essentially known in commercial  terminology to denote the type of product not its
geographical origin.
Under draft Article 112, a trademark that incorporates a geographical indication may be
registered if the right to that mark has been acquired through bona fide use before the law comes into
force or before the geographical indication has been granted due protection in the country of origin.
The exceptions above are fully compatible with Article 24 of the TRIPS Agreement.
As the draft Law is awaiting the People Assembly's review, no court decisions, regarding these
exceptions, have been reported yet.
E. I NDUSTRIAL DESIGNS
20. Please explain whether or not your legislation extends to the protection of designs dictated
essentially by technical or functional considerations.  Please explain how textile designs are
protected.
Under draft Article 124, it is not allowed to register designs or drawing which serve
essentially technical or functional considerations of the product.
Draft Article 120 states that any composition of lines or any three-dimensional form whether
or not associated with colours is considered to be an industrial design provided that such form gives ita special appearance that is new and could be used for industry. Thus, textile designs are protected by
industrial designs and models provisions.
21. Please explain how your legislation protects right holders of a design against importing of
articles bearing embodied or copied design.
Draft Article 127 provides that upon registration of the drawing or industrial design, the
owner of the design will have the sole right to use, sell, manufacture or import the product, which
embody this design.  This means that a right holder of a design has the right to prevent others from
importing articles bearing embodied or copied design.
22. Please state whether or not your legislation provides for the right to issue a compulsory
licence for industrial designs.IP/C/W/278/Add.1
Page 12
Under draft Article 129, the Commercial Registry Authority is allowed to grant others a non-
exclusive compulsory licence for the use of the design in return for a fair compensation.  The
executive regulation will set the conditions and the procedures of granting this licence.
23. Please indicate for what period of time your  legislation grants protection for industrial
designs.
Under draft Article 126, the protection period of industrial designs is ten years effective from
the date of filing the application for registration.  The Commercial Registry Authority may renew the
protection period for five more years, if the owner of the designs submits a renewal application during
the last year of the protection period according to the rules stated in the executive regulation.
F. P ATENTS
24. Please describe how your legislation defines the notions of: novelty, inventiveness and
industrial application.
In setting the criteria of patentability, the draft law itself does not give (in Article 1)
definitions for novelty, inventiveness and industrial applicability.  This matter is left for the executive
regulations and the general knowledge on the subject as disseminated by the WIPO.  Such knowledge
is part of the education and professional competen ce of the examiners employed by the Patent Office
of Egypt.
25. Please explain whether or not in your legislation, patent or otherwise, patent rights are
enjoyed without any exclusions.  If exclusions are provided for, please describe in detail how theseexclusions are applied in legal as well as practical terms.
The draft patent law provides for exclusions from patentability that are identical to those
allowed in Articles 27.2 and 27.3(a) and (b) of the TRIPS Agreement.  It provides, moreover, for the
exclusion of live organs, tissues and cells, and natural biological materials, DNA and genome.  The
Patent Office, responsible for administration of the law, ensures that these exclusions are applied.
26. Please explain whether your legislation provides for the exclusion of inventions from
patentability based on ordre public or morality.  If so, please explain the relevant section of your
legislation and explain its formulation.  Please also explain if it has been applied in practice.
The new legislation provides for the exclusi on of inventions from patentability based on ordre
public  or morality. This is to be found in the draft Article 2 where the language is almost identical to
that in Article 27.2 of the TRIPS Agreement.  This exclusion is also stipulated in Egypt's current
Law 132 and has always been applied in prac tice since 1949 when the Law was promulgated.
27. Please explain whether or not diagnostic, th erapeutic and surgical methods are excluded
from patentability in your legislation. If so, please explain the relevant section of your legislation and
explain its formulation.
Diagnostic, therapeutic and surgical methods are excluded from patentability as provided in
Article 2 of the new draft law.  The wording is identical to that in Article 27.3(a) of the TRIPS
Agreement.
28. Please explain whether or not plants, animals and essentially biological processes are
excluded from patentability in your legislation. If so, please explain the relevant section of yourlegislation and explain its formulation.IP/C/W/278/Add.1
Page 13
Plants, animals and essentially biological proc esses for the production of plants and animals
are excluded from patentability in the new draft legislation (Article 2). The wording is identical to that
in Article 27.3 (b) of the TRIPS Agreement.
29. Please describe how micro-organisms, non-essentially biological processes, microbiological
processes and plant varieties are protected in your legislation. Please explain, in this respect, the
relevant sections of your legislation.
Micro-organisms, non-biol ogical and micro-biological processes for the production of plants
and animals are protectable by patents in the new draft law Article 2.  Plant varieties, however, are
protected by a sui generis  system (Articles 188-205) which derives essentially from the provisions of
the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention, and utilizes some of the provisions of the Convention on
Biological Diversity.
30. Please explain how your legislation protects patent right holders against the importing and
against the offering for sale of a patented invention.
The new draft legislation protects right-holders against the importing and against selling,
offering for sale of a patented invention (Article 32 ).  The infringer is subject to substantial monetary
fine and, in case of a recurrence of the offence, to both imprisonment and a heavy monetary fine. The
draft law, however, recognizes the principle of exhaustion of IPRs, in which situation parallel
importation will not be considered an act of infringement (Articles 6 and footnote to Article 28.1 of
the TRIPS Agreement).
31. Please state if your legislation provides for patent product protection of pharmaceutical and
agricultural chemical products.  In the affirmative, please indicate the legal reference.
As a fundamental principle, the new draft legislation does not discriminate between
technologies and nature of products.  Thus pha rmaceutical and agricultural chemical products are
protectable by patents like any other products (Article 1).  However, since Egypt benefits form thetransitional period that ends at the end of 2004 (Article 65.2 and 65.4 of the TRIPS Agreement), the
new draft legislation provides for the transitional arrangements stipulated in Article 70.8 of the TRIPS
Agreement (mailbox facility, draft law Article 44) and in Article 70.9 of the TRIPS Agreement
(exclusive marketing rights, draft law Article 45).
32. Please clarify if the patent protection of a process, as provided for in your legislation, covers
the product obtained directly by that process.
Indeed, the new draft legislation provides for patent protection of a process, thereby covering
the product obtained directly by the application of that process (Articles 1 and 32).  An exception
allowed by the draft law is the indirect use of the patented process for the purpose of obtaining a
different product.
33. Please explain the additional conditions, if any, in your legislation other than the sufficient
disclosure of the invention in Article 29 of the TR IPS Agreement (e.g. submission of justification for
access to genetic material or prior inform consent to its use).  If such additional conditions exist,
please point out the relevant legislations and describe the additional conditions in detail.
It is the draft law Article 14 which requires, where the invention concerns biological materials
(vegetable or animal) or traditional knowledge, that the applicant should have obtained the materials
or knowledge in a legal manner in accordance with the laws enforced in Egypt.  Where the invention
concerns micro-organisms, the applicant should deposit a culture with the responsible agency as
designated in the executive regulations.  The applicant is also required to provide informationIP/C/W/278/Add.1
Page 14
concerning the applicant's corresponding foreign applications and grants and the relevant decisions
taken.
34. Please describe if your legislation provides for limited exceptions to the exclusive rights
conferred by a patent.  If affirmative, please make a reference to relevant legislation.
The exceptions to the rights conferred by a patent under the new IPR law are addressed and
enumerated in Article 11.  They all are derived from or inspired, inter alia, by (a) the provisions of the
TRIPS Agreement; (b) the WIPO Model law for Developing Countries on Inventions, vol.1, Patents,WIPO (1979); (c) the New IPR Law on Patents and Utility Models proposed for Egypt by the WIPO
International Bureau; (d) case law in other countries and the outcome of WTO cases of dispute
settlement.
More specifically, the exceptions comprise:
(One)  Exhaustion of IPR (provided in TRIPS Article 6) which means the cessation of the
right of the patent owner to exercise his rights in respect of the use, sale, offering for sale,
importing or other distribution of goods, once he has marketed such goods (TRIPSArticle 28); it being understood that such marketing (by the patent owner or with his
consent) has occurred anywhere in the world.
(Two)  Activities of scientific research, meaning of course experimentation without
extending to commercial-scale activities.
(Three)  Where a person in Egypt has in good faith made a product, used a process for
making a specific product, or has made serious preparations towards such acts before the
date of filing a patent application by another person concerning the same product or process
for making a product.  The first person, despite the issuance of a patent, shall have the rightto continue the said acts but only for the benefit of his business and without expanding it.  He
shall, moreover, not have the right to assign the rights associated with these acts except with
the transfer of the other components of the business.
(Four)  After appreciation of the scientific principle involved in a patented process, making
use of such principle in an indirect application of the process to obtain a product different
form that which would result from the direct application of the protected process.
Article 28.1(b) of the TRIPS Agreement, concerne d with the situation where a process is the
subject matter of a patent, prohibits the acts of making such process per se  and of obtaining
the product directly by that process.  It may be added here that the basic ethic behind patent
protection does not extend to fundamentals of science or to scientific discovery; the chief
concern is to guard against infringement involving commercial-scale exploitation byunauthorized persons. Another basic ethic, that needs to be remembered, is portrayed by
Article 29 of the TRIPS Agreement, where the disclosure of the invention is a reward (in the
form of knowledge) that the society receives in exchange for the protection it gives to the
invention.
(Five)  Use of the patented invention on vessels, aircraft, or land vehicles belonging to a
Member of the WTO, or to a country which treats Egypt reciprocally, while the vessel,
aircraft or vehicle is accidentally or temporarily present in Egypt.
(Six) The notion of "springboarding" in connect ion with those products which require
marketing authorization by a government body before circulation of the products in the
normal channels of commerce. In such circumstances it would not be an infringement if a
third party makes, constructs, uses, sells the product during the term of protection for the
purpose of obtaining a marketing authorization, with the proviso that such marketing doesIP/C/W/278/Add.1
Page 15
not occur except after the termination of the term of protection (WTO document
WT/DS114/R, dated 17 March, 2000).
(Seven) Without being specific, any other acts that constitute limited exceptions to the
exclusive rights conferred by a patent, provided that such acts do not unreasonably conflictwith a normal exploitation of the patent and do not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate
interests of the patent owner, taking account of the legitimate interests of third parties.
35. Please explain whether or not your legislation provides for compulsory licensing. If so, please
explain in detail the conditions under which a compulsory licence may be granted.  In particular,
please explain how your national le gislation considers individual merits in the authorization of such
use.
The Article 31 of the TRIPS Agreement, setting the grounds and conditions for the granting
of compulsory licences, has a parallel expression in the new law on IPR protection.  The grounds for
granting a compulsory licence are indicated in Article 25 which corresponds to those indicated in
Article 31 (b), (c), (k) and (1) of the TRIPS Agreem ent.  The conditions associated with the award
that are to be observed in order to protect the righ ts of all parties involved, are outlined in Article 26
corresponding to those indicated in TRIPS Article 31 (a), (c) …. to (j) inclusive.
The draft law (in Article 25) conditions the issuance of a compulsory licence on an approval
by a ministerial committee to be set up by a Prime Ministerial decree.  A first condition that must be
observed (draft Article 26) is that the compulsory licence authorization should be considered on itsindividual merits and on a case-by-case basis.
36. Please explain how your legislation explicitly ensures that a proposed user has made efforts
to obtain authorization from the right holder on reasonable commercial terms and conditions and that
such efforts have not been successful within a reasonable period of time. In this context, how do youdefine "reasonable period of time".  Please also explain how your legislation ensures that the use of a
compulsory licence shall be authorised predominantly for the supply to the domestic market of the
Member authorizing such use.
This matter is covered in the draft legislation as one of the conditions that must be observed
(draft Article 26) in connection with the compulsory licence authorization.  The applicant should
prove that he has made serious efforts to obtain authorization from the patent right holder on
reasonable terms (i.e. equitable compensation) and that such efforts have not been successful within areasonable period of time.  It is expected that the executive regulations will elaborate on this issue and
give more details.  The right-holder has the right to contest the legal validity of the decision by
requesting a judicial review.
It is another condition (draft Article 26) that needs to be observed in the award of a
compulsory licence that it aims predominantly at supplying the domestic market.
37. Please state if your legislation grants additional protection for innovations after the 20 years
of patent protection has lapsed.
The draft legislation does not grant additional protection for innovations after the 20 year
term of patent protection has lapsed.
38. Please explain how your legislation provides for the enhanced patent protection of patents or
patent applications pending on 1 January 1995.IP/C/W/278/Add.1
Page 16
In compliance with the Articles 70.2 and 70.7 of the TRIPS Agreement, the new draft law
provides (in Article 42) for the enhanced patent protection of patents or patent applications pending at
the time the new law is promulgated.
39. Please explain how your legislation provides for the reversal of the burden of proof in
relation to process patents.
Egypt's new patent legislation provides for the principle of the reversal of burden of proof in a
process patent litigation.  The relevant law section (Article 35) corresponds to and complies with the
stipulation of Article 34.1 of the TRIPS Agreement, providing that the burden of proof shall be on the
alleged infringer only if the condition referred to in subparagraph (b) of the said Article is fulfilled.
The law also provides – in accordance with paragraph 3 of the same TRIPS Article – that in
the adduction of proof to the contrary, the legitimate interests of the defendant in protecting hisindustrial and commercial secrets must be protected.
G. L
AYOUT -DESIGNS (TOPOGRAPHIES ) OF INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
40. Please describe how your legislation protects Topographies.
The relevant Articles in TRIPS Agreement ar e Articles 35, 36, 37 and 38.  Egypt's new draft
law grants protection for the layout-designs of integrated circuits for 10 years.  The level of protectionis in full compliance with the TRIPS Agreement; terms of protections are stated in Articles 46-55 of
the new IPR law.  The Patent Office will be the national authority that will be responsible for
implementing Egypt's obligations of protecting the layout-designs of integrated circuits.
41. Please explain what protection your national legislation grants to right holders against the
unlawful importation, sale or distribution for commercial purposes of topographies includingintegrated circuits or other articles in which a topography is incorporated in accordance with
Article 36 of the TRIPS Agreement.
This issue has been covered by Articles (51) a nd (54) of the new IPR law.  Article 51 states
that, no physical or moral person shall perform any of the following acts without a prior written
licence by the owner of a protected layout design:
1. Reproducing, whether by incorporation in an integrated circuit or otherwise, the
protected layout design in its entirety or any part thereof;
2. Circulation, in Egypt or anywhere in the world, of an integrated circuit in which a
protected layout design is incorporated.
Article 54 states that:Any person who performs any act in violation with Article 51 shall be of an punishable by
imprisonment for a period not less than three months and by a fine not less than 10,000
pounds and not more than 50,000 pounds, or by either punishment.
In case of recurrence the offence shall be punishable by imprisonment for a period not less
than six months and by a fine not less than 50,000 pounds and not more than 100,000 pounds.
42. Please explain how your legislation provides for the derogation from Article 36 as specified
in Article 37 of the TRIPS Agreement where a person has no knowledge or reasonable grounds to
know when acquiring an integrated circuit or an article incorporating such an integrated circuit thatit contains an unlawful topography.IP/C/W/278/Add.1
Page 17
The issue stated in this question has been dealt with in Articles (51) and (52) of the new IPR
law.
Article 51
It is not authorized, without a written consent from the rightful owner of the protected
schematic design, for any natural or legal person to do the following acts:
1. Partial or entire reproduction of the schematic design, whether through integrating it
in an integrated electronic circuit or by any other means.
2. Importing, selling or distributing the schematic design for commercial propose,
whether individually or, through integrating it with another integrated electronic circuit, or
one of the element that constitute a product.
Article 52
Without prejudice to the provision of this law, any natural or legal person has the right to
exercise one or more of the following acts, without a licence from the rightful owner:
1. Production or commercial exploitation including importing, selling, distributing of an
integrated circuit including a protected schematic design or a product incorporating such an
integrated electronic circuit, if the person exploiting them was not aware or could not be
aware that such an integrated circuit or product incorporates a protected schematic design.  Inthis case, the person who possesses the industrial design is permitted to dispose the products
he possesses in return for payment of fair  compensation to the owner of the right or
purchased, after obtaining from the rightful owner a written consent by registered mail that
the integrated circuit or the product he possesses incorporates a protected schematic design.
2. Personal use for the purposes of examination, inspection, analysis, education, training
or scientific research of a protected schematic design.  If this resulted in the creation of a new
schematic design, the creator shall have the right to protect it.
3. Innovation of a schematic design identical to another protected schematic design, due
to independent efforts.
4. Importing a protected schematic design or the integrated electronic circuit
incorporating that design, whether it was separate or integrated with a product, or the product
which include an integrated electronic circuit incorporating a protected schematic design,
once one of them is circulated in the market in Egypt or abroad.
43. Please state the term of protection granted by your legislation to topographies.
The terms of duration of protection are treated in Articles 46 – 49; these articles states as
follows:
Article 46
For the purpose of this law, "integrated circuit" means a product, in its final form or an
intermediate form, in which the elements, at least one of which is an active element, and some
or all of the interconnections are integrally formed on a piece of material and which is
intended to perform an electronic function.IP/C/W/278/Add.1
Page 18
Layout-designs means also the three dimensional disposition prepared for an integrated circuit
intended for manufacture.
Article 47
Protection under this law may be obtained for original layout-designs of integrated circuits.A layout design shall be considered to be original if it is the result of its creator's own
intellectual effort and is not commonplace among creators of layout designs at the time of its
creation.
A layout design consisting of elements that are commonplace among creators of layout
designs, shall also be considered original, if the combination and interconnections, taken as a
whole is original.
Article 48
Protection shall not apply to any concept, process, technology or any coded information
stored in the layout design of an integrated circuit.
Article 49
The protection period of a layout design shall terminate at the end of the tenth year from the
date where the application for the registration was filed in Egypt or ten years after it was first
commercially exploited in Egypt or anywhere in the world, whichever comes first.
In all cases, the protection of a layout design shall cease 15 years from the date of its creation.
H. P ROTECTION OF UNDISCLOSED INFORMATION
44. Please explain whether or not your legislation grants a defined period of time for the
protection of undisclosed information. If so, please give the time span.
In line with the provisions of Article 39 of the TRIPS Agreement, the new draft legislation
does not grant a defined period of time for the protection of undisclosed information. However, where
the matter concerns pharmaceutical or agricultural chemical products and the undisclosed informationis submitted as a condition of approving the marketing of such products, under the conditions
stipulated in Article 39.3 of the TRIPS Agreement, the protection provided by the concerned authority
extends as from the date of submission of the information until the information is no longer secret, or
until the elapse of no more than five (5) years whichever period is shorter.
45. Please explain how your legislation defines undisclosed information.
The definition given in the new draft law (Article 56) for undisclosed information follows
closely from the three qualifications given in Article 39.2 of the TRIPS Agreement.
46. Please explain how your legislation defines da ta submitted to governments or governmental
agencies.
It appears that the data implied in this question is the data submitted to government agencies
as a condition of approving the marketing of pharmaceutical or agricultural chemical products
(Article 39.3 of the TRIPS Agreement).  Please refer to the response given above to question no. 44.IP/C/W/278/Add.1
Page 19
I. E NFORCEMENT
47. Please describe how your legislation provides for effective action against infringement of
intellectual property rights.
Please refer to and consider answers given to questions nos. 33, 35 and 40 posed by the
United States (document IP/C/W/278).
48. Please explain whether or not your legislation provides for a mechanism to appeal to judicial
bodies of final administrative decisions.
The draft of the Egyptian unified law regulates the ways of complaint against the final
administrative decisions issued by the administrative authority competent to deal with one or more of
the Intellectual Property fields.
In this domain, the draft makes a mechanism represented in a committee constituted of
experienced judicial and non-judicial members to process the complain against the decision of the
administrative authority whether when granting the patent or registering the trademark or when
refusing same, as a measure that has to be followed before filing the lawsuit.
The draft of law, as well, allows to file before the administrative court challenging against the
decision of such committee.
(Articles 37 and 38 in the field of patents and Articles 79 and 80 in the field of trademarks).
49. Please describe how your legislation authorizes judges to order production of evidence by the
opposing party.  Please give precise information on what measures are taken to ensure the protection
of confidential information.
To fulfil the obligation imposed by TRIPS, Article 35 of the Egyptian unified law regulates
the rules of proof in the lawsuits related to the indu strial process patents to relieve the burden of proof
over the plaintiff (the patent holder).
The court allows, if the plaintiff cannot prove that the conformable product has been obtained
through the direct use of the process enjoying the protection, though he has done a reasonable effort to
reveal such process.
To transfer the burden of proof to the defendant ordering him to prove that the process he
used in producing the conformable product is different from that enjoying the protection.
All of that is in the scope of the defendant's  right to protect his industrial and commercial
secrets.
50. Please quote provisions of your legislati on that authorize judges to order a defendant to
desist from an infringement.
Please refer to and consider the answer given to question no. 35 posed by the United States
(document IP/C/W/278).
51. Please quote what provisions of your legislation authorize judges to order the payment to the
right holder of adequate damages to compensate the injury he suffered.
Please refer to and consider the answer given to question no. 33 posed by the United States
(document IP/C/W/278).IP/C/W/278/Add.1
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52. Please quote what provisions of your legislation authorize judges to order the payment of the
right holder's expenses by the infringer.
Please consider the answer to question 51 mentioned above.
53. Please explain if and how judges have the authority to order that infringing goods are placed
outside channels of commerce or destroyed.
Please refer to and consider the answers given to questions nos. 33, 35 and 40 posed by the
United States (document IP/C/W/278).
54. Please quote what provisions of your legislation authorize judges to indemnify a defendant in
the event of abuse by the plaintiff.
Please refer to and consider the answer given to question no. 35 posed by the United States
(document IP/C/W/278).
55. Please explain how your legislation impl ements Article 50 of the TRIPS Agreement.
Please refer to and consider the answer given to question no. 35 posed by the United States
(document IP/C/W/278).
56. Please identify the competent authorities in your jurisdiction who receive requests from right
holders for an application to suspend the release of counterfeit goods by the customs authorities.
Please refer to and consider the answer given to question no. 37 posed by the United States
(document IP/C/W/278).
57. Please indicate whether or not procedures are available to suspend the exporting of
counterfeit goods.
Please refer to and consider the answer given to question no. 33 posed by the United States
(document IP/C/W/278).
58. Please quote what provisions of your legislation authorize the competent authorities to order
the destruction or disposal of infringing goods.
Please refer to and consider the answers given to questions nos. 33 and 40 posed by the
United States (document IP/C/W/278).
59. Please indicate whether or not your legislation provides for a de minimis imports exception.
This exception is mentioned in Article 60 of th e TRIPS Agreement.  According to this article,
Member states are allowed to use or not this exception.
Our draft law did not provide for a de minimis  import exception, however, this exception
might be taken into consideration while discussing the draft article by article in the Parliament.
60. Please explain how your legislation impl ements Article 61 of the TRIPS Agreement.
Please refer to and consider the answers given to questions nos. 40 and 41 posed by the
United States (document IP/C/W/278).
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