Egyptian Trademarks and
Industrial Designs Office
Project

The overall objective of this European Union funded project is to strengthen the protection of trademarks and industrial designs in Egypt.  The specific objectives of the assignment are:

Operational Capacity

To strengthen the operational capacity of the Trademarks and Industrial Designs Office by supporting its staff to improve their organisational and technical skills.

Automation

To upgrade and enhance the procedures of the Trademarks and Industrial Designs Office through further automation and, in particular, e-filing.

Public Awareness

To raise public awareness concerning the importance of trademarks and industrial designs.

A trademark is a sign capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one enterprise from those of another e.g. Coca cola v Pepsi. Without a robust trademark system, how can a consumer or business have confidence in what they are buying?

An industrial design constitutes the ornamental aspects of an article. It may consist of three dimensional features, such as the shape of an article, or two dimensional features, such as patterns lines or colour e.g. the shape of a car or the pattern on a dress can be industrial designs.

Trademarks and industrial designs are intellectual property rights.

Industries which make intensive use of intellectual property rights, including trademarks and industrial designs, generate 39% of all jobs in the European Union (83.3 million jobs) and are responsible for 45% of the European Union’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is equivalent to €6.6 trillion Euros.

As a result, it can be concluded that intellectual property rights are the foundation of a modern economy.

According to Interpol, the unauthorised use of intellectual property rights, including trademarks and industrial designs, is one of the main sources of funding for organised crime. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has valued the unauthorised trade in intellectual property rights at up to $509-Billion USD a year.

For additional information, please visit the websites of the World Intellectual Property Organisation and of the European Union Intellectual Property Office

Project Components

1. Component 1: Strengthening the capacity of the Trademarks and Industrial Designs Office
2. Component 2: Upgrading and enhancing IT procedures.
3. Component 3: Raising public awareness of trademarks and industrial designs.

Project Partners

• Trademarks and Industrial Designs Office;
• Internal Trade Development Agency;
• Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade; and
• Private sector businesses.