LAW ON THE PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS BOOK ONE Patents and Utility Models, Layout-Designs for Integrated Circuits, and Undisclosed Information PART l PATENTS AND UTILITY MODELS Article 1 A patent shall be granted, in accordance with the provisions of this Law, to any industrially applicable invention, which is new, involves an inventive step, whether connected with new industrial products, new industrial processes, or a new application of known industrial processes. The patent is also granted, independently, for any modification, improvement or addition to a previously patented invention, which meets the criteria of being new, inventive and industrially applicable, as stated in the preceding paragraph; in which case the patent shall be granted, under the provisions of this Law, to the owner of the modification, improvement or addition. Article 2 Patents shall not be granted for: (1) Inventions whose exploitation is likely to be contrary to public order or morality, or prejudicial to the environment, human, animal or plant life and health. (2) Discoveries, scientific theories, mathematical methods, programs and schemes. (3) Diagnostic, therapeutic and surgical methods for humans and animals. (4) Plants and animals, regardless of their rarity or peculiarity, and essentially biological processes for the production of plants or animals, other than micro-organisms, non-biological and microbiological processes for the production of plants or animals. (5) Organs, tissues, live cells, natural biological substances, nuclear acid and genome. Article 3 An invention shall not be considered wholly or partly new: n:\orglan\shared\lane\e 19000\e19157(egypt_i_law).doc GA/jaj 30/08/02