The Egyptian Intellectual Property Authority (EGIPA) has issued Decree No. 26, published in the Official Gazette No. 132 of 17 June 2025, announcing an increase in official patent examination fees, which have risen to twice the original amount, from 25,000 EGP to 50,000 EGP (approximately 430 EUR to 860 EUR). The Decree took effect on 18 June 2025.

According to Article 3 of the Decree, additional changes have been introduced regarding examination fee payment deadlines – examination fees and any expert fees are to be settled within three months from the notification date. Under the previous rules, this time frame was six months, counted from the patent application filling date.

Expert fees are to be applied only if the EGIPA decides to revert to an expert report, as is sometimes the case during appeal proceedings before the appeal committee.

If the three-month deadline is missed, the patent application will be suspended until the required fees are paid, including additional missed deadline extension fees. An extension of time for fee payment and the related surcharges are now applied for the first time in Egypt.

Additional administrative instructions will be issued shortly to clarify all new measures and define implementation steps related to new deadlines, deadline extensions and suspension penalties.