IP Collegium"Regional Development and IP
Dusit Thani, Manila, Philippines,
March 6-7 2019

Technology Transfer in The Arab Republic ofEgypt –For Sustainable Economic Development

Noha Afifi
noha_afifi@yahoo.com
Egypt
Kansai University-Graduate School of Law
Technology Transfer Specialist at Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (EJUST)Outline• I- The Egyptian IP System– A. Overview on the Intellectual property system inEgypt– B. Policies on Intellectual Property in Egypt• II- Technology transfer for the development ofEgypt– A. The Relation Between Innovation, Technology
Transfer And Intellectual Property– B. Technology Transfer in Egypt

I- The Egyptian IP System

A-OVERVIEW ON THE INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY SYSTEM IN EGYPTCapital: CAIRO

Intellectual Property Legal Frameworkin Egypt• Egypt has been a member of WTO since 30 June 1995

• The main source of IP laws in Egypt is Law No. 82 for the Year 2002 (Law82/2002). This law replaced a collection of laws dating back to 1939 with acomprehensive intellectual property code and generally attempts to mirror theprovisions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual PropertyRights (TRIPS).
• Egypt’s IP code is divided into 4 chapters, officially called “books,” and each bookdeals with one branch of IP. The new code addresses matters related to patents,integrated circuit designs, undisclosed information, trademarks, geographicalindications, trade statements, industrial designs, copyright and related rights, andplant variety protection.
• In addition, in 2008 Egypt introduced the Economic Courts to settle matters of IP
quicker and with discretion.

Intellectual Property Legal Frameworkin Egypt – Recent Developments• For the first time in the history of the country, the new Constitution of2014 expressly stipulated the protection of intellectual property rights(IPRs) in its Article 69, declaring that “The State shall protect all types ofintellectual property rights in all fields, and establish a specialized agency
to uphold such rights and their legal protection as regulated by Law.”• Parliament discussions on the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access toPublished Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, orOtherwise Print DisabledGeographical Indicators (GI)“Egyptian Cotton”• Madrid Registration: # 756059 from 23.04.2001• Registered in 58 countries, the Egyptian Cotton mark guarantees the product ismade of 100% Egyptian Barbadense cotton.
• A licensing scheme for commercialization and promotion of Egyptian cotton .
• Licensing agreements with two leading textile firms in the United States
Authorizing the latter companies to use the logo on their products made ofEgyptian cotton in the United States of America and Canada 80,000 tons ofEgyptian cotton were exported in the 2008-09 fiscal

I- The Egyptian IP System

B- POLICIES ON INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY

Egypt’s Vision 2030

Vision• A creative and innovative society producing
science, technology and knowledge, within acomprehensive system ensuring thedevelopmental value of knowledge andinnovation using their outputs to face challenges
and meet national objectives

II- TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER FOR
THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGYPTA- THE RELATION BETWEENINNOVATION, TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTYThe Importance of Technology Transfer• Modern strong economies are characterized
as knowledge economies that rely on
innovation and intangible assets such aspatents and know-hows for their development
rather than on physical abilities and tangiblegoods.

IPHONE Case -500$• Modern Strong Countries are characterized as knowledge
economies that rely on intangible assets and innovation for
their development.
• In this context, governments from the developed anddeveloping world see innovation as a strategy to advance,and have given priority to innovation policies, and actions.
• Such policies and actions focus broadly on facilitating andregulating the flow of knowledge and technology among
the multiple actors in the innovation system – notably
among universities, governmental agencies, and industry.

Technology Transfer- Tool for
Innovation• Governments see innovation as a strategy to advance, andhave given priority to innovation policies, and actions.
These policies mainly rely on facilitating and regulating theflow of knowledge and technology among the multiple
actors in the innovation system – notably among
universities, governmental agencies, and industry.
• The World Bank also states that, “Collaboration between
academia and industry is increasingly a critical componentof efficient national innovation systems. In addition, whenlinked to industries, universities “spin-off new technologies,
products, and even new industries.”

IP Relevance in a knowledge-based
economy and for Technology Transfer• IP rights are regarded as rewards for the investment
made in creative endeavors and creation of knowledge.
• IPRs are incentives to engage in innovation that will
facilitate economic growth through sale of innovative
goods, services and transfer of technology and in turnenhance global competitiveness. IPR ownership isregarded as among the most powerful instruments
available when increasing incentives for thecommercialization of inventions.
– IPR Ownership of Publicly funded research

B- TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY IN
EGYPT

B- Transfer of Technology in Egypt•

The real start of Technology Transfer in Egypt was in 2010 through a European
Project called the TEMPUS.

•The project was designed to bridge the gap between research and industry bytrying to bring research and innovations out of academia and into industry andcomprised only four Egyptian universities.

•In 2013, with the objective to advance innovation and the knowledge economy ofEgypt, the Egyptian Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT), whichis under the Ministry of Higher Education, along with the Egyptian Patent Officelaunched a national initiative called TICO to strengthen the link between scientificresearch and industry and to promote the protection of intellectual property.

TICO Offices in Egypt• Starting with 24 offices in 2013/2014, Egypt has currently 43 offices supported
financially by the ASRT with a total amount of 30.100.000 EGP (1.680.766 US$)
L.E. with 700.000 EGP (around 39.087 US$) for each office. Out of these 43
offices, 20 offices have finished the first stage and are now in the second
maturity stage according to the definitions designated by WIPO’s TISC. TheASRT is expected to offer financial support for the second stage as well. TheASTR follows up on all TICO activities and asses the offices on a quarterly basis.
Those who achieve well, are eligible for the second stage. ASRT also offers
support and advice to any local TICO office that desires so.

TICO Achievements•

The ASRT took many steps in raising awareness about technology transfer inuniversities and research institutes, and has positively impacted the innovation
ecosystem in Egypt.

•In addition, ASRT encouraged universities to draft IP policies and universities were
offered training on how to do so. Training in this field was held in cooperation withWIPO and universities who managed to draft their IP policies were given higherevaluation points and were eligible for the second stage of the TICO program.

•Trust between Academia and TICO offices was built•

Training for Personnel•

Small scale R&D with higher success rates at smaller universities•

Commercialization Cases

SWOT Analysis of the Technology
Transfer System
StrengthWeakness• Government efforts• Establishment ofTrust in theAcademia• Network of TICO

• Low Collaboration
Culture from theSMEs• Self Sustainability

OPPORTUNITY• Strong Culture of StartUps• Big MarketTHREARTS• Scarcity of externalfunds• Competition

Other Innovation Programs in Egypt

Innovation Programs in Egypt –Cont.

General Suggestions to Strengthen aｎｙ
Country’s Technology Transfer• A- Legal Suggestions• B- Operations Structuring Suggestions• C- Sustainability

A- Legal Suggestions• Establishment of IP Headquarters, responsiblefor setting national IP policies in accordancewith a countries development plans and foroverseeing their implementation.
• Regulations of Ownership of publicly fundedresearch. (Bayh-Dole Act)• Legal Personality of a University

B- Developing and restructuring theTechnology Transfer Operation• Regional TLOs
• Introducing the Knowledge Transfer Conceptthat includes Social Sciences.

C- For Sustainability• The allocation of a specific budget fortechnology transfer activities from eachresearch project.
(‘Wydler Technology Innovation Act’ of 1980)• Education and Support for the SMEs to involve
extensively in the Technology Transfer Cycle• Patience, Patience and Perseverance.

Conclusion• Technology transfer is a unique concept and is of
special importance since it transforms researchand science from their basic formats intopractical applications that benefit society. In
short, it bridges two worlds together.