What is the law organizing the patents rights?

Patents are granted according to the provisions of the law no. 82 of 2002 that organizes the patents procedures and protection.

For whom the patent shall be granted?

Patents are granted according to the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights law no. 82 of 2002 and its modifications, implementing regulation and its modifications for each invention which is industrially applicable, new and represents an innovative step whether relevant to new industrial products, new industrial methods or a new application of known industrial methods.

What are the cases that shall not be granted patents?

• The inventions that may threat the public security, morals, and public decency or cause environmental, human or animal health damage.
• Discoveries, scientific theories, mathematic methods, programs and schemes (projects).
• methods of human’s or animals’ diagnosis, treatment and surgery.
• Plants and animals whatever the degree of its scarcity or peculiar in addition to the biological methods to produce plants and animals except for the micro-organisms and microbiological and non-biological methods to produce plants and animals.
• Organs, tissue, living cells, natural biological substances, DNA and Genome.

In what cases the invention shall not be considered new?

The invention can’t be considered completely or partly new in the following two cases:

• If there was a patent request applied previously or the patent has been issued inside or outside Egypt for the invention completely or partly.
• If the invention has been previously publicly used in or outside Egypt or it has been publicly described in a way that enables the experienced from exploiting it before applying the patent request.

The invention disclosure in the national and international exhibitions during the 6 months before the date of the patent application request shall not be considered disclosure according to the previous article provisions.

Is it allowed to grant a patent jointly between more than one inventor?

The right of patent is proved to the inventor or the one who has his/her rights. If more than one person cooperates in the invention, their rights of patent shall be proved equally otherwise they agreed on something else. If more than one person reaches the same invention independently, only the former rights to apply for a patent request is proved.

How is the patent devolution organized if the inventor is working in a specific institutional framework?

If a person mandates another to make a specific invention; all rights of that invention shall be for the former. likewise, the employer shall have all rights derived from the invention which the worker or the employee introduces during the employment whenever the invention falls within the scope of the contract, or the employment. The name of the inventor shall be mentioned in the patent and shall be remunerated for his invention in all cases. If he hasn’t agreed on the remuneration so he has the right to a fair compensation from the one who mandated him to reveal the invention or from the employer. Other than the aforementioned cases and when the invention is among the activities of the public or private establishment to which the inventor is affiliated, the employer is free to exploit the invention or purchase the patent in exchange for a fair compensation paid to the inventor. The choice shall be made within three months from the date of notification of granting the patent. In all cases, the invention is still attributed to the inventor.it should be noted that the inventor’s application to get a patent within a year from the date of his termination from the public or private establishment is considered applied during the work or employment contract. The inventor and the employer have all the rights stipulated in the preceding article depending on circumstances. The period shall be extended to three years if the worker joined a competing establishment and the invention is a direct result of his activity and experience in the establishment in which he was working in.