What are Intellectual Property Rights? And why are they important for economic development? “Intellectual Property Rights” is a legal concept that protects individuals’ business ideas as well as creative and industrial designs. It protects their economic and financial rights. Intellectual Property Rights include patents, trademarks, copyrights, and industrial designs. As such, it plays a crucial role in promoting business activity and economic growth as it encourages fair competition between individuals and companies. As part of its many interventions in supporting the economic development of Egypt, the EU has launched a project to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Egyptian Trademark and Industrial Design Office in Cairo including digitalising the whole registration process. The project also raises awareness on the importance of trademarks and their relevance for the Egyptian economy. Besides, the EU has launched another project with the Egyptian Patent Office in cooperation with Spain, Germany and Denmark. The project’s objectives are to develop and digitalise the patents procedures in Egypt and encourage SMEs to use the patents schemes to protect their business ideas and promote their international competitiveness.

Promoting trademarks and industrial designs registrations is one of the core challenges of the private sector in Egypt. Thus, “strengthening the institutional capacity of the trademarks and industrial designs in Egypt” is one of the EU’s leading projects that aspire to protect intellectual Property Rights in Egypt. The project’s overall objective is to raise the institutional capacity of the trademarks and industrial designs office through conducting workshops and training with the examiners, and the employees of TIDO. Strengthening the institutional capacity of TIDO will protect foreign as well as local investors. It will also protect the consumers and encourage more foreign investment in the countries. Overall, it will strengthen the economy’s outlook and will benefit a different range of concerned stakeholders.

Representing 95 per cent of the global economy, SMEs play a pivotal role in the global economy and majorly contribute to the Egyptian economic growth. As such, the EU, the EIB and the EBRD have devoted more efforts to support SMEs development in Egypt. Recently, the EU has launched the “EU Facility for Inclusive Growth and Job Creation” program. The programme aims to invest in SMEs showing potential and creating more job opportunities, and at improving the business environment to ease the process of business creation. In light of this programme, the EU assists the Egyptian Patent Office and the Trademark and Industrial Design Office with upgrading their institutional and technical capacities. Moreover, the programme has cooperated with other financial institutions such as the EIB and the EBRD to support SMEs in getting more access to finance which would help them to overcome the productivity and quality challenges they face.

In light of SMEs development in Egypt, the EU and the French Development Agency has joined forces under the “SASME” project. The project aims to support Egyptian agricultural SMEs by boosting their access to finance and providing them with technical assistance. Back in 2017, the EU launched the “Inclusive Economic Growth Programme”, where SMEs in Upper Egypt were provided with business development services to create more jobs. The programme also aimed at strengthening the capacities of relevant stakeholders such as the private sector and civil society.

EU Project supporting TIDO in Egypt – Alexandria Workshop (February 2021)

At the Workshop in Alexandria (in February 2021), a film crew recorded the event and interviewed the Key Experts, Ms Dina Hamed and lead Judges; footages of the event are intended to be used in promoting the EU Project supporting the Trademarks and Industrial Designs Office in Egypt.