Following the Executive Regulations for Trademarks issued by The Ministry of Economy & Commerce no. 26 of 2024, Article 11; The Libyan Trademark Office has issued an official decision No.
On April, 2018, the Egyptian Parliament approved the draft of the new Consumer Protection Law (“the Law”). Said Law shall enter into force within three months from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette, and the Executive Regulation thereof shall be issued within three months from the day the Law enters into force.
One of the highlights of the Law is introducing a new concept, known as Online Contracting. Acknowledging this concept is seen as a milestone to reach a satisfying level of transparency and security for consumers. As we currently live in an era that relies on Online Contracting when carrying out daily activities, consumers need definite and concrete laws and regulations to govern such contracting methods.
The Law shall apply on all Online Contracting activities between Suppliers and Consumers, such as, but not limited to, online shopping and any agreements which are negotiated or confirmed online.
Furthermore, the Law took Intellectual Property rights (“IPR”) to a new level by affirming and applying serious penalties on anyone who takes an action that breaches an IP right of another.
Due to the lack of IPR awareness in Egypt, introducing this concept in the Consumer Protection Law, which is considered a well-known law in Egypt, is a beneficial step for spreading awareness about IPR in general.
Currently, the Egyptian Intellectual Property Law no. 82 of 2002 is the applicable law for any IP infringement matter. Said law determines all rights and penalties regarding IPR. However, the new Consumer Protection Law also applies serious penalties on any supplier who undertakes an action that shall result in creating a wrong impression or misleading the end-user of a commodity. In such cases, the breaching party shall be penalized with a fine not less than EGP 20,000 and no more than EGP 1,000,000 or the value of the infringed product, whichever is more; the aforementioned fine shall be doubled in case of repetition.
To finalize, the new law is set to be for the benefit of the consumer in every way by applying accurate and explicit liabilities on the suppliers, and in order to ease and secure the business-consumer activities.
Our experienced team would be pleased to assist you in any Intellectual Property or Consumer Protection matter.
Should you need any further assistance, please contact Mohamed Eldib, Partner at Eldib & Co, Egypt Office. Email: mohamed.eldib@eldib.com
