Egypt introduces virtual Appeal Committees for trade marks and industrial designs

The Egyptian Intellectual Property Authority (EGIPA) has introduced virtual Appeal Committees for trade mark and industrial design matters.

The new system replaces traditional in-person appeal hearings with fully remote proceedings, enabling Appeal Committees to convene virtually. To facilitate these hearings, parties are required to lodge supporting evidence in both physical and electronic formats. Further, all hearings are recorded and stored on EGIPA’s servers. These recordings are, however, not accessible to external parties.

The introduction of virtual Appeal Committees reflects Egypt’s continued efforts to modernise its intellectual property (IP) administration and streamline procedures for rights holders while embracing digital technologies to improve the efficiency of appeal proceedings. This development marks a significant step in the digital transformation of Egypt’s IP system and supports the objectives of the country’s National Intellectual Property Strategy.