Patent

Article 10

A patent shall confer on its owner the right to prevent a third party from exploiting the invention by any means.

The right of a patent owner to prevent a third party from importing, using, selling or distributing a product shall lapse when he commercializes the product in any country or authorizes a third party to do so.

The following shall not be considered as infringements of that right when carried out by third parties:

(1) Activities carried out for scientific research purposes.

(2) Where a third party proceeded, in Egypt, in good faith, with the making of a product or use of a process or made serious preparations for such activities prior to the date of an application for patent by another person for the same product or process. The former shall, notwithstanding the grant of patent, have the right to continue with such activities only within his enterprise and without extending the scope of those activities. Such right shall not be assigned or transferred without the other elements of the enterprise.

(3) Indirect uses of the production process, subject of the invention, in order to obtain other products.

(4) Use of the invention on a land vehicle, vessel or aircraft belonging to a country or entity member of the World Trade Organization, or a country that applies reciprocity to Egypt, when such a land vehicle, vessel or aircraft is temporarily or accidentally present in Egypt.

(5) Where a third party proceeds, during the protection period of a product, with its manufacturing, assembly, use or sale, with a view to obtain a marketing license, provided that the marketing starts after the expiry of such a protection period.

(6) Any other acts by third parties, provided that they shall not unreasonably hamper the normal exploitation of the patent, and shall not be unreasonably prejudicial to the legitimate interests of the patent owner, taking into consideration the legitimate interests of others.

Article 11

A fee shall be paid on filing a patent application. A progressive annual fee shall also be paid as of the second year until the expiration of the patent protection period.

The amount of such fees, to be determined in the Regulations, shall not exceed 2,000 pounds for the initial application or 1,000 pounds for the annual fee.

Cases for the reduction or waiver of these fees shall also be prescribed in the Regulations.

The patent applicant shall pay the fees of experts called upon by the Patent Office as well as examination costs.

Article 12

The patent application shall be filed by the inventor or his successor in title with the Patent Office, in accordance with the terms and conditions prescribed by the Regulations. An application may not contain more than one invention. A group of inventions so linked as to form an integrated inventive concept shall be considered as one invention.

Article 13

The patent application shall be accompanied by a detailed description of the invention, including a full statement of the subject matter and of the best way to enable an person of expertise to execute it, and of each product or method for which protection is sought.

The description shall also include in a clear manner the new elements for which the applicant seeks protection accompanied, where necessary, by an illustrative drawing of the invention.

Where the invention involves biological, plant or animal product, or traditional medicinal, agricultural, industrial or handicraft knowledge, cultural or environmental heritage, the inventor should have acquired the sources in a legitimate manner.

Where the invention involves microorganisms, the applicant shall disclose the identity of such organisms and deposit a live culture thereof with the authority Designsated in the Regulations.

Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 38 of this Law, the applicant shall, in all cases, provide full data and information on any applications relating to the same invention or its subject matter, that he previously filed abroad, as well as the outcome of such applications.

The Regulations shall determine the required annexes to be attached to the patent application, the time limits for their submission and as well as the conditions justifying its refusal.

Article 14

The Patent Office may, as stipulated in the Regulations, require the applicant to make any amendments or complements which it shall deem necessary to comply with the provisions of Article 13. If the applicant fails to comply within three months of notification, he shall be considered as having withdrawn his application.

The applicant may, within 30 days and in accordance with the conditions stipulated in the Regulations, appeal such request by the Patent Office before the Committee provided for in Article 36,.

Article 15

The applicant may, at any time, before the publication of application acceptance, present a request to amend the description or the drawing of the invention, with an indication as to the nature of and reasons for such an amendment, provided that such amendment shall not effect the substance of the invention. In this connection, the same procedure as that for patent application shall apply.

Article 16

The Patent Office shall examine the patent application and its annexes in order to ascertain that the invention is new, involves an inventive step and is industrially applicable, in conformity with the provisions of Articles 1, 2 and 3 of this Law.

Where the invention satisfies the aforementioned conditions, and where the conditions provided for in Articles 12 and 13 are fulfilled in the patent application, the Patent Office shall publish the application acceptance, in the Patent Gazette, in the manner prescribed in the Regulations. Any concerned party may submit to the Patent Office, within 60 days from the publication of the application acceptance in the Patent Gazette, and according to the procedure prescribed by the Regulations, a written notice to oppose the granting the patent, stating the reasons therefore.

Such an opposition shall be subject to the payment of a fee, to be fixed by the Regulations, of not less than 100 pounds and not more than 1,000 pounds, which will be reimbursed in case the opposition is accepted.

Oppositions shall be examined by the Committee established under Article 36, in accordance with the conditions and procedures stipulated in the Regulations.

Article 17

The Patent Office shall send to the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Military Production, the Ministry of Interior or the Ministry of Health, as required, copies of patent applications, with their annexes, that relate to defense, military production, security matters or that have a military, security or health significance, within 10 days from the examination of the application, notifying the applicant thereof within 7 days. The Minister of Defense, the Minister of Military Production, the Minister of Interior or the Minister of Health, as might be the case, may, within 90 days from the date of notification, oppose the publication of the application acceptance.

Where the acceptance of the application is made public, the competent Minister may oppose the procedure to grant a patent within 90 days from the date of the publication, in the Patent Gazette, of the decision to accept the patent application, if it appears that the application relates to defense, military production, security or is of military, security or health significance.

Opposition in the aforementioned cases shall stop the procedure of granting the patent.

Article 18

A Drug Price Stability Fund, having a legal entity and reporting to the Minister of Health and Population, shall be established to maintain stability in the prices of drugs – other than export drugs – with a view to achieve health development and to guarantee that drug prices are not affected by incidental changes. The organization and resources of the fund shall be determined by a decree to be issued by the President of the Republic. Such resources shall include contributions from donor states and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, as agreed by the State.

Article 19

The grant of a patent is published after one year from the date of filing the application and remains confidential during this period.

The patent is granted by a decision of the competent Minister or his delegated official and shall be published in the Patent Gazette in accordance with the provisions prescribed by the Regulations.