The House Tourism Committee yesterday approved in principle legislation to simplify licensing procedures for businesses in the tourism and hospitality industries. The government-drafted bill, which was approved by the Cabinet in September 2021, would set up ministerial committees charged with eliminating red tape for tourism companies and making it easier for them to obtain licenses. The aim: to attract more private investment into the sector.

The government wants to get tough on piracy: The House Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee began yesterday discussing new government-drafted amendments to the 2002 Intellectual Property Rights Law aimed at cracking down on rising book and audio-visual piracy. Rep Doha Assi, member of the House Culture Committee, said that Article 181 of the law will be amended to toughen penalties, without specifying how. The bill currently allows violators to be fined EGP 5k-10k and receive minimum one-month jail terms.

REMEMBER- The government announced in September that it will establish a National Intellectual Property Authority in the coming two years as part of a five-year IP strategy (pdf). The strategy provides a roadmap for putting into place an institutional framework for governing intellectual property rights and streamlining policymaking.