Geographical Indication (GI) options for Ethiopian Coffee and Ghanaian Cocoa

Reflections on the Lack of Biofuel Innovation in Egypt
of the EIPRL, submit to the Patent Office the documents indicating that he/she
legally obtained such genetic resources or information according to the provisions
of “the applicable legislations in Egypt”, which require disclosure of the origin of
genetic resources and prior informed consent of the use of traditional knowledge
(TK) in patent applications. There are a number of developing countries that
have adopted this kind of disclosure requirement as a formal condition for the
granting and validation of patent rights. Failure to comply results in a rejection
of the patent application (or invalidity of the patent if it was granted prior to the
invalidation). 2
According to the interpretation of Phillips et al. (2011), the reference in Article
3(3) of the Executive Regulation of the EIPRL to “the applicable legislations in
Egypt” refers not only to national laws but also to the international conventions to
which Egypt is a party, including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
(1992). Phillips et al. explain that the EIPRL and its Regulation are drafted in
light of the CBD, which recognises the sovereign rights of states over their natural
resources and that the authority to determine access to genetic resources rests with
the national governments (Art.15(1) and 15(4)–(5)). The EIPRL requirement for
disclosure of origin aims to improve the transparency of use of genetic resources
and TK so as to facilitate access to these resources and sharing of the benefits
derived from their commercialisation. Meanwhile, the disclosure of the technical
details of inventions aims to expand the public stock of technical knowledge and
create competition among innovators and researchers.
3. Biofuels patenting in Egypt
In December 2011 we distributed a formal survey to academics, economists,
scientists and technologists in industry to obtain concrete data for mapping the
status of biofuels in Egypt. The results of the surveys were analysed to map the
current clean energy landscape in the country. This first phase was followed by an
examination of the Egyptian Patent Office database to find registered patents of
clean energy technology in Egypt.
2 See, for example, Brazil’s Provisional Measure No. 2.186-16, of 2001, Article 31; the Member
States of the Andean Community (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela), Decision
391 of 1996, Articles 16, 26, 35 and second complementary provision and Decision 486 of
2000, Articles 3 and 75; Costa Rica’s Law No. 7.788 of 1998, Article 81; and India’s The
Patents Act of 1970 (as amended by The Patents [Amendment] Act of 2002, Sect. 10, 25
and 64).
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