Legislative Implementation of Flexibilities - Egypt

Title:	Articles 43 and 44 of the Law on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights No 82 of 03/06/2002
Field of IP:	Patents
Type of flexibility:	Transition periods
Summary table:

Provisions of Law

Article 43

The Patent Office shall receive patent applications with regard to food-related agrochemical products and to pharmaceuticals, and shall maintain such applications, along with applications relating to the same products and filed as of 1st January 1995, pending their examination as of 1st January 2005.

In the case of a patent granted for the inventions relating to the products mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the protection shall begin from the date of granting the patent until the end of the period provided for in Article 9, calculated from the date of application.

Article 44

Without prejudice to the date set for the examination of patent applications relating to the products mentioned in Article 43, the applicant shall be entitled to request from the competent public authority to be granted exclusive marketing rights for his product in Egypt, provided that:

(1) the applicant has submitted an application for this product to the Patent Office in Egypt as of 1st of January 1995;

(2) the same product was patented in a country member of the World Trade Organization on the basis of an application submitted in that country as of 1st January 1995;

(3) the applicant has obtained the approval for the circulation of that product in the same country where he was granted the patent as of 1st January 1995;

(4) the applicant has obtained the approval of the competent ministry for the circulation of that product within Egypt;

The Patent Office in Egypt shall grant an exclusive marketing right certificate upon the approval of a ministerial committee established for this purpose by a decision of the Prime Minister.

The exclusive marketing right shall not be granted when it is clear, prima facie, from the papers submitted to the Patent Office to obtain the exclusive marketing right, that the patent application has been filed with the Office was already published one year prior to the date of filing the request.

Where an exclusive marketing rights have been granted by the competent public authority, the applicant shall enjoy such rights for his product until a decision is rendered by the Egyptian Patent Office on the patent application, or for a period of five years as from the date of approval to grant him such rights, whichever comes first.

A previously granted exclusive marketing right shall be revoked by a decision of the competent ministry which has approved the circulation or where the owner of such right abuses its exercise.