In a press conference organised by the SCMR on the National Strategy for Intellectual Property on Saturday, Gabr asserted Egypt will cooperate with the WIPO in training and qualifications to help the country reach an advanced rank globally.

WIPO Director-General Daren Tang will attend Wednesday’s launch ceremony, in his first visit to an Arab country since he took over his position in the organisation in 2020.

Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, WIPO was created in 1970 to promote and protect intellectual property across the world by cooperating with countries as well as international organisations.

During the press conference, Minister of Higher Education Mohamed Ayman Ashour said that Egypt has been a member of WIPO since 1975, and has signed fourteen agreements administered by the organisation.

These agreements included the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Property, the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the Madrid Agreement on the International Registration of Marks and the Hague Agreement on the International Deposit of Industrial Designs.

Ashour asserted the importance of intellectual property protection in creating an environment conducive to innovation, pointing to the 884 requests filed with the Egyptian Patent Office so far in 2022, compared to 1,271 requests in 2021.

The ministry has adopted the From Patent to Product (P2P) project, which aims to convert patents into a marketable industrial product, as well as benefit from information related to inventions.

He explained that the ministry aims to spread awareness of intellectual property law at the university and postgraduate levels to consolidate the foundations of intellectual property.

For his side, Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Samir stated that intellectual property helps the economy grow, adding that the ministry has set goals to make patents available for effective use and help contribute to sustainable development.

He explained that the ministry worked in coordination with the rest of the authorities to define the intellectual property goals of the trade ministry, to achieve integration between research and academic institutions and the industry sector.

In this regard, Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat, said that there is a passion among investors for intellectual property because it paves the way for increasing investments in emerging companies.

She added that the national strategy for intellectual property helps the Egyptian economy to open many areas and then create additional job opportunities, as the global economy currently depends on the usage of technology and innovation.

Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Ali Moselhi, explained that the strategy is also directed to establish the Egyptian Intellectual Property Authority because the presence of one body supervising intellectual property will work to create a supportive environment, adding that the most important point is to spread societal awareness.