EGYPT Law and Practice Contributed by: Mohamed Hashish, Heba El Abd, Mariam Rabie, Mohamed Selim and Abdelaziz Mohamed, Soliman, Hashish & Partners
(a) if the performance takes place in a member state of the WTO; (b) if the performance is captured in sound re - cordings, the producer of which belongs to a member state of the WTO, or the sound is first recorded in the territory of a member state of the WTO. (c) if the performance is broadcast by a broad - casting organisation based in a member state of the WTO, and the broadcast is broadcast from a transmitter also located in a member state of the WTO. • for producers of phonograms: if the sound is first recorded in a member state of the WTO; and • for broadcasting organisations: if the headquarters of the broadcasting organisation is located in the territory of a member state of the WTO, and the broadcasting programme has been broadcast from a transmitter also located in the territory of a mem - ber state of the WTO. 7.5 Others It is worth noting that plant varieties developed in Egypt or abroad, whether they are obtained in a bio - logical or non-biological manner, shall enjoy protec - tion in accordance with the provisions of the Intellec - tual Property Law upon their registration in the register of plant varieties that grant the right of protection. In order to enjoy protection, the variety must be charac - terised by novelty, distinction, homogeneity, and sta - bility, and bear its own name. The Intellectual Property Law stipulates that the period of protection of plant varieties shall be 25 years for trees and grapes, and 20 years for other agricultural crops. Further, undisclosed information shall be protected in accordance with the provisions of the Intellectual Property Law, provided that the following conditions are met: • the information is confidential in nature, such that the details of the information or its composite com - ponents are not widely known or circulated among individuals in the specific industrial sector related to the information; • its commercial value is derived from its confidential status; and
• its confidentiality relies on the effective measures undertaken by its lawful owner to maintain it.
8. Data Protection 8.1 Applicable Regulations
The general laws regulating data protection in Egypt are the Constitution, the Penal Code No 58 of 1937, and the Anti-Cybercrime Law No 175 of 2018 (“Cyber - crime Law”). It is worth noting that the main legisla - tion governing personal data is the Data Protection Law No 151 of 2020 (“Data Protection Law”) which applies to any personal data that is subject to any electronic processing whether partially or entirely, with the exception of certain data that is processed by the Central Bank of Egypt. The Data Protection Law prohibits personal data from being collected, processed, or disclosed by any means except with the explicit consent of the data subject. Further, the Data Protection Law places restrictions and conditions on the transfer of any “personal data” abroad, which is subject to a licence from the Data Protection Centre (DPC) and a certain level of protec - tion not less than the one provided for under the Data Protection Law. On 1 November 2025, the Executive Regulations of the Data Protection Law were published in the Official Gazette and made available to the public around 25 December 2025. Persons subject to the Data Protec - tion Law are granted a grace period of one year as of the issuance date thereof to legitimise their position with the Executive Regulations. 8.2 Geographical Scope The Data Protection Law applies to any processor, controller or handler, whether corporate or natural, who breaches the Data Protection Law if they are: • an Egyptian national inside or outside Egypt; • a non-Egyptian residing within Egypt; or • a non-Egyptian outside Egypt if the act is punish - able in any form in the country where it occurred and the data subject who is affected by the breach is an Egyptian national or a non-Egyptian residing in Egypt.
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