Because a “Trademark” represents the true identification and recognition of a business’s products, such a business is always eager to register its trademark in Egypt by getting a specific, unique, distinctive, and non-confusing trademark. As these businesses want legal protection for their brand in order to avoid any confusion with the same or similar brands, they use trademarks that convey their company goals and goods in order to attract customers to their specific products. To that purpose, trademark registration, as the legal means of ensuring fair competition among businesses, is also designed to protect the company’s right to use its brand.
According to Article 63 of Law 82 of 2002, “Trademarks” are defined as follows: “Trademark” refers to a sign capable of differentiating goods or services of one enterprise from those of other enterprises. It can be in the form of names with distinctive forms, signatures, words, characters, numerals, designs, symbols, signposts, stamps, seals, drawings, engravings, a combination of distinctly formed colors, and any other combination of these elements if used, or meant to be used, to distinguish the products of a particular industry, agricultural, forest or mining venture or any goods, or to indicate the origin of products or goods, or their quality, category, guarantee, preparation process, or to indicate the provision of any service. all cases, the trademark shall be visually perceptible.”
Type of trademark in Egypt
- Manufacturing Mark means a mark used by a manufacturer, to distinguish their products from those manufactured or sold by others.
- Trademark means a mark used by a merchant, to distinguish products re-sold by them, regardless of the supplier(s) of such products.
- Service Mark means a mark used by a service owner, to indicate the type and supplier(s) of this service.
Event signs, geographic designation, private trademarks, media trademarks, and electronic trademarks are additional examples of trademarks.
The trademark belongs to the registrant as long as it is used during the first five years of registration unless it can be shown that a third party has a priority right.
During the five years following the registration, anybody who uses the trademark before the registrant has the right to oppose the validity of the registration.
Any natural person or legal entity, whether Egyptian or foreign, that is subject to or has an active, registered office in a nation or entity member in the World Trade Organization (“WTO”) or a nation that applies the Convention with Egypt on a reciprocal basis, shall have the right to apply for the registration of a trademark with the Department of Trade Registry in Egypt.
Trademark features in Egypt:
- Features that Make It Unique: The trademark must be distinctive—including in terms of design and color—innovative, with a stand-out visual appeal that will draw in buyers and suppliers for the goods or services being supplied. To avoid misleading or confusing the audience, it must be distinguishable from other brands offering the same good or service.
- Compliance: The trademark must not violate public morality or public order, and it must not include any offensive religious statements or symbols.