Closing of the twinning project (Twinning) with the Egyptian Patent Office

The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, O.A. (SPTO) is highly committed to cooperation with other countries and specifically with other national industrial property offices.

A good example of this is the twinning project between the European Union (EU) and the Egyptian Patent Office (EGPO), which, for more than two years, has managed to strengthen ties between the two institutions, while strengthening and empowered the EGPO itself.

The SPTO has played a crucial role in the project, as it has been the leading institution in a consortium with two other European countries (Denmark and Germany). Also noteworthy is the participation of the Spanish organization International Foundation for Ibero-America for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP), which has acted as financial and logistical director of the Project.

The Project has been divided into 5 components that have covered all the necessary aspects to meet the objective of improving EGPO's capabilities, with 3 of these 5 components being the responsibility of the SPTO. The five components have been developed through an impressive volume of activities over two years. There have been about 60 missions, usually 2 experts each and lasting a week. Many of these missions were face-to-face, although others had to be carried out online due to the pandemic.

Thanks to a continuous effort of all the institutions involved, as well as periodic, technical and financial supervision and through the meetings of the Steering Committee, the fulfillment of objectives and deadlines for the complete achievement of the project has been ensured.

Very remarkable has been the performance of the Twinning Resident Advisor (RTA), an official of the SPTO who, with a permanent presence for two years in the EGPO facilities, has favored direct communication between the parties and facilitated the resolution of problems.

In addition to the activities contemplated in the components, special events have also been held, such as the Industrial Property Day, to better disseminate the benefits of the patent system to SMEs, and two study visits by EGPO officials to the SPTO, of one week each, for a better understanding and reinforcement of the twinning project.

One of the latest achievements has been the recent ISO9001 quality certification, obtained by the EGPO through joint work and the support of the quality experts of Component 3 of the Offices of Spain and Egypt. This is a clear example of how to ensure the long-term sustainability of twinning results.

The entire project has been supported by a set of communication and visibility activities, developed by the RTA and its team, among which the Twinning website in Arabic and English should be highlighted, which has been showing the progress of the project in a very friendly. It is also remarkable the continuous information on the social networks Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook.

Now that the project has been completed, it is clear how solid progress has been made towards achieving the established objectives, which are nothing more than successfully contributing to the improvement of the Egyptian economy and promoting scientific research through better use of of the patent system.

The closing ceremony was held on September 22, 2022, culminating a successful work of more than two years, with a budget of 1.5 million euros, in a complex environment due to having to overcome the difficulties caused by the pandemic.

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