US State Department Director of IP and Enforcement Office Discusses Cooperation with Egypt

On Tuesday, the Director of the Intellectual Property (IP) and Enforcement Office at the US Department of State, Tarek Fahmy, participated in a roundtable with Egyptian journalists at the US Embassy in Cairo to talk about the role of intellectual property protection and economic development. 

He briefed the efforts of the office and the Egyptian government in the field of intellectual property. He initiated the session: "We're here these last couple of days because intellectual property is an incredibly important policy priority for the US government." 

He asserted that Egypt is taking so many positive steps in the intellectual property stance, especially after the establishment of the National strategy on intellectual property.

Egypt also has passed a law that would begin the implementation of the Egypt IP agency. And it's the perfect time to come and have those conversations with the government.

On the role of the IP in economy and creativity, Fahmy explained: "IP as a whole is a driver in an economy. It's something that creates jobs. When innovation and invention are protected, it allows for those individuals, to be properly compensated for their ideas and their creations. And we've found through many studies that when intellectual property is protected."

He continued: "You have higher paying jobs, you have more jobs, you have more investment from foreign investment that comes into countries as well," adding: "While I was here, we had what's called an ecosystem, the Creative Industry Ecosystem Roundtable, and that was a follow on from the Africa Leader Summit that we had in Washington, DC."

Regarding the meetings with the Egyptian officials, Fahmy described: "The reason that we selected Egypt was because Egypt is known for having such a rich history. Egypt has always been seen as a leader in the region and around the world for creativity,

So we wanted to be able to celebrate that status that Egypt has as such a leader in the creative world, but also to be an example for the rest of the region on how we can protect intellectual property, so that in the future, as new challenges come in the creative industry and protecting IP."

He resumed about the IP office cooperation with Egypt: "We have such a solid partner in the government of Egypt right now, where we're having very frank conversations and, you know, want to address these issues together as well." 

"On Monday, at the Creative Industry Roundtable, we had officials from the Ministry of Culture. We had a judge. We had professors. We had investors. We had industry association representatives. So, when we talk about the creative industry, we're not just looking at it from the government perspective. We're looking at it from the whole ecosystem, from the whole view."

After that, the US official addressed the future of IP law ahead of the rise of AI technologies. 

"As AI is becoming more prevalent all around the world, intellectual property issues are a part of that. I think that there's a much broader conversation about artificial intelligence. The US Copyright Office is working through building regulations to be able to protect intellectual property and copyright when it comes to AI. President Biden put out the longest executive order in history. It was over 110 pages, all on artificial intelligence. And that executive order basically laid out a roadmap for all of the different agencies in the US government to address certain parts of AI. So it's a fast-moving process right now, and there's And as we go, we are building regulations that will help protect intellectual property with respect to AI."

Next, he talked about the challenges Egypt faces in the field of IP. He explained: "Within the creative industries, you want to ensure that you have a workforce that's properly trained to be able to take on the work that comes along with the increased investment in the creative industries. So, for example, you know, when talking about, you know, bringing a film production into Egypt, it's not just the producer or the director. You have, you know, the set designers, the builders, the drivers, the caterers, the, you know, it employs so many people. And so to create that type of atmosphere that wants to bring in those types of investments, that's where you're seeing all of that increased economic benefit from it."

In addition, many roundtables focused on making sure that there's the capacity building, and the required training for people. And then also working on the government side to ensure that there's proper legislation that helps to protect intellectual property and build that environment for that investment to come in.

On IP and academia, Fahmy highlighted: "Intellectual property in academia is important on many levels. Universities are a hub for research. And the research that comes out of our universities can build amazing, amazing things. In academia, the importance of intellectual property stems from because it takes a lot to go from an idea to research to commercial viability."