General Information
Capital: Cairo
Location: Africa [North: Mediterranean Sea | East: Palestine (Gaza Strip)/ Israel & Saudi Arabia & Red Sea | West: Libya | South: Sudan]
Area: 1,001,450 Sq Km
GMT: + 2
Currency: 1 U.S. $= 5.88 Egyptian Pound (January 2011)
Population: 80,471,869 (July 2010)
Climate: Moderate Warm Winters | Very Hot Dry Summers
Languages: Arabic (Official) | English (Widely Understood) | French (Widely Understood)
GDP: Purchasing Power Parity: $500.9 billion (2010)
Exports: Crude Oil, Petroleum Products, Cotton, Textiles, Metal Products, and Chemicals
Imports: Machinery, Equipment, Foodstuffs, Chemicals, Wood Products, and Fuel
Filing Requirements
EGYPT
• Filing Requirements:
1- A power of attorney legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.(can be submitted within 6 months)
2- The full name, address, nationality and profession of the applicant.
3- A list of the goods and services to be covered by the application. All goods and services under every class are covered.
4- Five prints of the trademark for each class.
5- A certified copy of the priority document must be submitted within six months in case it is claimed.
Search results need 7 to 10 working days.
Official trademark office search covers word marks and Logos.
• Time Frame:
The approximate time frame for completing the registration process of a trademark in Egypt is from 12 to 18 months.
• Validity:
A trademark registration is valid for ten years from the date of filing the trademark application.
• Notes:
Translation is only required in case priority is claimed and we need to translate the priority document to Arabic. However, if the client already provided us with Arabic translation, then we do not charge for the same.
Services marks may be registered according to the 9th edition of the Nice Classification.
A separate application is to be filed for each class of goods/services.
Once a trademark (word mark in English Language) is registered its transliteration is automatically protected.
• Renewal Requirements:
1- A power of attorney legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.(can be submitted within 6 months)
• Notes:
In Egypt, a trademark registration can be renewed during the last year of the protection period for further consecutive periods of ten years each. However, there is a six-month grace period with fine which is (extendable) to another (non-extendable) Thirty - month within which late renewal application can be filed.
The registration shall lapse in the event of failure to apply for the renewal within the non-extendable thirty-month grace period.
• Requirements for Recordal of Change of name:
A Power of Attorney Duly Notarized & Legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
Certificate of change of name Duly Notarized & Legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
• Requirements for Recordal of Change of address:
Power of attorney duly legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
Certificate of change of address Duly Notaized & Legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
• Requirements for Recordal of assignment, merger, or license:
A Power of Attorney signed and sealed by the assignee Duly Notarized & Legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
Deed of assignment/Merger Duly Notrized and legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
Certified copy of the extract from the commercial register or certificate of incorporation Duly Notrized and Legalized up to the Egyptian Consulate.
• Notes:
The assignment of a trademark should be recorded, and unless it is published in the Official Gazette and entered in the records of the Trademark Office, it shall not be effective vis-à-vis third parties. The assignment of a trademark must not necessarily be submitted with the establishment of the business concern. Changes in the name and/or address of a registrant must be recorded.