Trademark Registration according to the Egyptian law

Governing Laws :-

Trademark according to Law # 82 of 2002

Law No. 82 of 2002 has been issued for the protection of intellectual property rights and its implementing قegulation has been issued by the Prime Minister's decree No. 1366 of 2003 to include the First, Second and Fourth blogs of the Law. In 2006, decree No. 2202 has been issued to amend some provisions of the implementing regulation on the third blog of the IP law, which nullified each of the law No. 57 of 1939 on trademarks and trade information, the law No. 132 of 1949 on patents and industrial designs, and the law No. 354 of 1954 on copyright protection.

What is the trademark according to the Egyptian law :-

The origin of a trademark goes back a long time when craftsmen signed or marked their artistic or utilitarian products. Over the years, these marks have evolved into a trademark registration and protection system as we know it today. This system helps consumers identify and buy products or services because nature and quality reflected by the trademark satisfy the consumer’s needs.

The trademark as defined by the Egyptian legislator :-

The trademark is all that distinguishes a product or service from another. It particularly includes distinctive names, signatures, words, letters, numbers, drawings, symbols, store addresses, and stamps, seals, portraits, embossments, and a range of colors that take a distinctive shape, as well as any mixture of these elements if it is are used or intended to be used either to distinguish industrial products, agricultural or forest use, soil outputs, or any goods; or to indicate the origin, type, grade, guarantee, or method of preparation of the products or goods; or to else denote the provision of a given service. In all cases, the trademark should be visually recognized. The owner of the internationally known trademark shall have the right to the protection prescribed in this law even if his mark is not registered in Egypt .

Importance of trademark registration :-

1 - The trademark helps the consumer in several ways. It gives the consumer an idea about the characteristics of the product and confirms that the purchase of a product labeled with the same trademark will guarantee the same characteristics at each time the product is purchased by the consumer. It also helps the consumers to readily distinguish the products and chose the one that better satisfies their needs.

2 - Creating a link or a relationship between the goods produced and the target consumers and hence facilitate the process of the purchase thereof on the grounds that the trademark name reflects the accountability and the safety due to its proper characteristics and good specifications.

3 - Thwarting the efforts made by practitioners of unfair competition, imitators, and counterfeiters who seek to market poor products and thus defame the reputation of the company.

4 - The trademarks of good reputation drive targeted consumers to re-buy the products labeled with these marks or repeat the purchase thereof, and also raise the market value of the company owning the trademark.

5 - The trademark aims to distinguish products to attract the clients and public consumers because of the services it provides thereto and because it makes it easy for them to identify the goods and products they prefer.

In which cases a trademark registration application may be rejected under the Egyptian law :-

1 - Trademarks that are devoid of any distinctive feature or consisting of signs or data which do not fall beyond the designation that is traditionally given to the products, drawing, or the ordinary images thereof.

2 - Trademarks that are identical and similar to trademarks previously registered for the same products or services.

3 - Trademarks that violate the public order or morals.

4 - Public emblems, media, and other symbols of the State or the other states, or the regional or international organizations, as well as any imitation thereof.

5 - Trademarks that are identical or similar to symbols of a religious character or particularity.

6 - The symbols of the Red Cross or the Red Crescent or other similar symbols, as well as the signs which represent imitations thereof.

7 - Images of others or their logo unless they authorize the use thereof.

8 - Data on honors degrees unless the applicant has proved to have obtained them.

9 - Marks and geographical indications that may mislead or confuse the public, or contain false data on the origin of products or services or the other characteristics thereof, as well as the marks containing a false, imitated, of a forged trade name.

.International conventions to which Egypt has entered into to protect the intellectual property rights :-

The Paris Convention of 1883 for the Protection of Industrial Property Rights (entered into by Egypt on July 1, 1951).
Madrid Agreement of 1891 Concerning the International Registration of Trademarks (entered into by Egypt on 5 March 1951);
Madrid Agreement of 1891for the Suppression of False or Deceptive Indications of Source on Goods (entered into by Egypt on 1 July 1952);
The Hague Agreement of 1925 Concerning the International Filing of Industrial Designs - London (entered into by Egypt on July 1, 1952).
Convention on the Law of Trademarks, Geneva, 1994 (entered into by Egypt on October 7, 1999).
The Nairobi Treaty of 1981 for the Protection of the Olympic Symbol (entered into by Egypt on October 1, 1982).
Agreement for the Establishment of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), 1967 (entered into by Egypt on April 21, 1975)
The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), 1995, annexed to the Agreement for Establishing the World Trade Organization (Annex 1 / c), which obliges the members thereof to apply the principle of the state of national care and treatment priority. Thus, every foreigner has the right to be treated in Egypt as a citizen regardless of how citizens are treated in their own country. Also, any member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has the right to get any benefits that any country receives from Egypt. In return, the nationals of Egypt will get the same rights vis-à-vis the WTO member states (entered into by Egypt on June 30, 1995).

Conditions of Registration of the Trademark :-

It is not sufficient for a trademark to take a distinctive form in order to be legible for legal protection, but should rather meet several conditions. The Egyptian legislator required three conditions for registering the trademark; namely, it should be of a distinctive character, be new and not used before, and not violating the public morals or the public order.

The documents required for the registration of trademarks within the Arab Republic of Egypt :-

12 copies of the trademark to be registered as used in the markets.
Full information about the products or services labeled by the trademark to be protected.
Priority document- if needed.
An official CR extract (for the Egyptian companies) or an official extract of the articles of association (for the foreign companies) authenticated by the Egyptian Consulate.
Notarized power of attorney (for the Egyptian companies) or power of attorney authenticated by the Egyptian Consulate (for the foreign companies).

Trademark Registration Procedure :-

Verifying the possibility of registering the trademark and the class of the products labeled by the trademark to be protected
The registration of a trademark with no particular color assigned thereto or to a part thereof shall apply to all colors.
Filing an application for trademark registration on the form prescribed by the Trademark Department, taking into account the international classification of goods and services. The products and services shall be registered according to Nice classification, and more than one class can be registered in one application.
The trademark should be provided in four copies.
After the lapse of eight months from the date of filing the application, an official decision (the result of the examination) shall be issued on acceptance or rejection of registration:

In the case of rejecting the registration of a trademark :-

the Office shall appeal the decision of the Head of the Department within thirty days from the date of notification of the rejection decision.

In case of accepting the registration of a trademark :-

the Office shall pay the fees prescribed for the advertisement thereof in the Official Gazette (a special trademark gazette issued monthly to publicize the trademark), with a copy of the advertisement to be extended to you by the Office. During the advertisement period, any interested party may protest the acceptance of the trademark registration using the form appropriated for this purpose. In this case, the Office shall take all legal measures to protect the trademark.

The registration shall be finalized after the lapse of the legal period of the opposition (60 days from the date of issuance of the Gazette) wherein the Office shall pay the registration fees and issue the final registration certificate.
The Office shall notify you of the official renewal dates (ten years from the date of filing the application) in order to protect the trademark from being written off.
The Office shall notify you in the event of publicity of a trademark imitating your mark to take the actions necessary for the opposing the registration of any counterfeit mark as provided for in the law.
The Office shall complete the procedures for renewing the protection period of the registered trademarks.
The Office shall complete the procedures for transferring the ownership of trademarks, documenting the licenses of the use thereof, and amending the details of the owner of the trademark.

The time required to complete the procedures for registering a trademark within the Arab Republic of Egypt :-

12 - 16 months .

The right of the owner of the trademark to make any amendments thereto following registration :-

Pursuant to the provisions of article (85) of the IP Law No. 82 of 2002, the owner of a registered trademark may request the Department in writing to make any amendment to the trademark that does not substantially affect its identity. The owner may further request making any amendment (by deletion, not by addition) to the trademark-related products.

The decision to accept or reject the amendment shall be issued in accordance with the conditions prescribed for the decisions to accept the original registration applications.

In this regard, the provisions prescribed for objection, complaint, appeal, and publication shall apply to all such decisions.

The legal period of trademark protection : -

The protection of the trademark registration in accordance with Egyptian law shall be ten years and may extend for a similar period(s) at the request of its owner each time during the last year of the protection period against payment of the due fee. The owner of the trademark shall be entitled to renew the protection period on a continuous basis, due to the fact that the trademark is a symbol of the products of the project and gains fame and value that increase over time.

The person who registers the trademark shall be deemed to be the owner thereof if combined with the use of the mark within the five years following registration.

Law # 82 of 2002

Trademark Registration according to the Egyptian law

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Trademark Registration according to the Egyptian law

Trademark according to Law # 82 of 2002

2 - Creating a link or a relationship between the goods produced and the target consumers and hence facilitate the process of the purchase thereof on the grounds that the trademark name reflects the accountability and the safety due to its proper characteristics and good specifications.

3 - Thwarting the efforts made by practitioners of unfair competition, imitators, and counterfeiters who seek to market poor products and thus defame the reputation of the company.

4 - The trademarks of good reputation drive targeted consumers to re-buy the products labeled with these marks or repeat the purchase thereof, and also raise the market value of the company owning the trademark.

5 - The trademark aims to distinguish products to attract the clients and public consumers because of the services it provides thereto and because it makes it easy for them to identify the goods and products they prefer.

1 - Trademarks that are devoid of any distinctive feature or consisting of signs or data which do not fall beyond the designation that is traditionally given to the products, drawing, or the ordinary images thereof.

2 - Trademarks that are identical and similar to trademarks previously registered for the same products or services.

3 - Trademarks that violate the public order or morals.

4 - Public emblems, media, and other symbols of the State or the other states, or the regional or international organizations, as well as any imitation thereof.

5 - Trademarks that are identical or similar to symbols of a religious character or particularity.

6 - The symbols of the Red Cross or the Red Crescent or other similar symbols, as well as the signs which represent imitations thereof.

7 - Images of others or their logo unless they authorize the use thereof.

8 - Data on honors degrees unless the applicant has proved to have obtained them.

9 - Marks and geographical indications that may mislead or confuse the public, or contain false data on the origin of products or services or the other characteristics thereof, as well as the marks containing a false, imitated, of a forged trade name.

The Paris Convention of 1883 for the Protection of Industrial Property Rights (entered into by Egypt on July 1, 1951).

Madrid Agreement of 1891 Concerning the International Registration of Trademarks (entered into by Egypt on 5 March 1951);

Madrid Agreement of 1891for the Suppression of False or Deceptive Indications of Source on Goods (entered into by Egypt on 1 July 1952);

The Hague Agreement of 1925 Concerning the International Filing of Industrial Designs - London (entered into by Egypt on July 1, 1952).

Convention on the Law of Trademarks, Geneva, 1994 (entered into by Egypt on October 7, 1999).

The Nairobi Treaty of 1981 for the Protection of the Olympic Symbol (entered into by Egypt on October 1, 1982).

Agreement for the Establishment of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), 1967 (entered into by Egypt on April 21, 1975)

12 copies of the trademark to be registered as used in the markets.

Full information about the products or services labeled by the trademark to be protected.

Priority document- if needed.

An official CR extract (for the Egyptian companies) or an official extract of the articles of association (for the foreign companies) authenticated by the Egyptian Consulate.

Notarized power of attorney (for the Egyptian companies) or power of attorney authenticated by the Egyptian Consulate (for the foreign companies).

Verifying the possibility of registering the trademark and the class of the products labeled by the trademark to be protected

The registration of a trademark with no particular color assigned thereto or to a part thereof shall apply to all colors.

The trademark should be provided in four copies.

After the lapse of eight months from the date of filing the application, an official decision (the result of the examination) shall be issued on acceptance or rejection of registration:

the Office shall appeal the decision of the Head of the Department within thirty days from the date of notification of the rejection decision.

The registration shall be finalized after the lapse of the legal period of the opposition (60 days from the date of issuance of the Gazette) wherein the Office shall pay the registration fees and issue the final registration certificate.

The Office shall notify you of the official renewal dates (ten years from the date of filing the application) in order to protect the trademark from being written off.

The Office shall notify you in the event of publicity of a trademark imitating your mark to take the actions necessary for the opposing the registration of any counterfeit mark as provided for in the law.

The Office shall complete the procedures for renewing the protection period of the registered trademarks.

The Office shall complete the procedures for transferring the ownership of trademarks, documenting the licenses of the use thereof, and amending the details of the owner of the trademark.

12 - 16 months .

The decision to accept or reject the amendment shall be issued in accordance with the conditions prescribed for the decisions to accept the original registration applications.

In this regard, the provisions prescribed for objection, complaint, appeal, and publication shall apply to all such decisions.

The person who registers the trademark shall be deemed to be the owner thereof if combined with the use of the mark within the five years following registration.

Associated Trademarks

Individuals who are legally entitled to register a trademark

The owner’s right to amend or cancel the mark after Trademark registration

Re-Trademark registration of the previously canceled mark

Priority Right to Apply for a Trademark Registration

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