Trademark registration in Egypt. Egypt is an intercontinental country with most of its territory in North Africa, along with the Sinai Peninsula in Western Asia. Egypt is a market seen by national companies as a key player in the Middle East and North Africa region. Egypt’s economy depends mainly on agriculture, intermediaries, oil exports, and tourism. Accordingly, many businesses want to enter this market and one of the most important preparations a business needs to take before expanding to this country is to learn the procedure of trademark registration in Egypt.
Forbidden signs for trademark registration in Egypt
- The forbidden signs for trademark registration in Egypt include:
- Marks that lack any distinctive character;
- Marks composes of signs or statements which refer to the products;
- Marks which are the normal picture or image thereof;
- Marks which is contrary to public order or morality;
- Marks that are public armorial bearings, flags, and other emblems that represent the State or any other state, regional or international organizations in the world, as well as any duplicates thereof;
- Marks that are identical with, or similar to, symbols of a religious character;
- Marks that are symbols of the Red Cross or Red Crescent, or any other emblem of the same character, as well as any imitations thereof;
- Marks that are the portrait of an individual or his/her armorial bearings, except with his/her consent;
- Marks which are the designations of honorary degrees which the applicant is unable to prove his/her right on the designated symbols.
- Marks and geographical indications which are likely to mislead or confuse the public;
- Marks that contain false descriptions as to the origin of products which may involve goods or services, or their other qualities, as well as the signs that contain an indication of a fictitious, imitated, or forged trade name.
Necessary documents for trademark registration in Egypt
The necessary documents for trademark registration in Egypt include:
- A notarized, legalized/certified power of attorney (POA) from the competent notary public in the country of the trademark’s owner by the Egyptian consulate;
- Trademark models;
- Articles of incorporation or the commercial registry of the company to be legalized from the Egyptian consulate;
- The classes of the trademark include goods or services.
- Proof of payment of the prescribed fees.
Procedure for trademark registration in Egypt
- After the submission of the application to the IP Office in Egypt, the applicant will then proceed to the formal and substantive examination process.
- If the trademark application has been found no errors in the examination process, it will then be accepted by the Trademark Office and accordingly, it will be published in the Official Gazette.
- Any related third parties who may have felt their rights are violated may oppose the registration of a published trademark within 60 days from the date of publication.
- The whole process from the date of filling to the registration of the trademark takes approximately 18-24 months provided that no objections are raised.
- The validity term of a trademark in Egypt is 10 years from the date of filing. The trademark owners may file a renewal for another 10 year period indefinitely.
- A renewal application must be filed during the last year before the end of the validity period. Furthermore, the trademark owners may also have a 6 months grace period after the deadline to file their renewal along with a late payment fee.
You can find a list of Egypt IP firms here.