Plant Variety Protection

Karim El Helaly, In-House Counsel, PWC, Egypt

Egypt has had ongoing Intellectual Property (.IP.) reforms since January 1st 2000 resulting from its accession to the World Trade Organization (.WTO.) in 1994 and the obligation to implement the provisions of the Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (.TRIPs.) Agreement. The IP reforms in order to comply with TRIPs included the agriculture and horticulture industry by availing protection for Plant Varieties under IP law No. 82/2002-Plant Variety Rights (.PVR.) section which is sui-generis system pursuant to Article 27(3)b of the TRIPS Agreement which provides that ....Members of the WTO must provide for the protection of plant varieties either by patents or by an effective sui generis system or by any combination thereof.. PVR is one of the most novel IPR protection introduced by the IP law and it aims at encouraging foreign direct investment in the agriculture and horticulture industry and promote research and development thereof.

Mr. El Helaly is an Egyptian national and senior legal consultant at PwC. His main fields of specialization are corporate commercial, intellectual property, and technology transfer with a particular focus on technology-based industries. His scope of work involves counselling, licensing, enforcement and management of IP assets. Mr. El Helaly completed his general certificate of education in Science from the University of London in 1990. In 1995 he received his L.L.B. from the University of Cairo, faculty of Law, and admitted to the Egyptian Bar in since 1995. In 1998, Mr. El Helaly obtained his L.L.M with specialization in IP and technology at Franklin Pierce Law Center, Concord, NH, USA. His work involves the strengthening of the legal and regulatory framework for intellectual property and to promote IP-public awareness. Mr. El Helaly is a certified mediator for commercial and intellectual property disputes and is an active member of the Licensing Executive Society USA-Canada (“LES”), the International Association for the protection of Intellectual Property (“AIPPI”), and is an associate member of the American Bar Association for the division of Intellectual Property, Franchise and Law practice management.

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