The Egyptian Information Technology Sector and the Role of Intellectual Property: Economic Assessment and Recommendations

This paper discusses the state of innovation in the Egyptian information technology sector (IT) and the corresponding role of intellectual property (IP). The Egyptian ICT sector is an important contributor to economic growth and employment. Having established itself as a leading supplier of ICT back office operation and services for multinational enterprises, moving up the value ladder towards the production and exports of higher value-added software and ICT services is now the priority. In this context, this working paper seeks to identify the current and potential role of IP for the Egyptian ICT sector, and the links between IP and innovation and FDI. First, the study describes the key characteristics of the Egyptian ICT sector, including its innovative activities. Second, after a discussion of the role of IP in the ICT industry, it describes what the current use of IP is in Egypt’s ICT sector. Finally, it proposes IP-related policies which could contribute to promoting domestic innovation. It also formulates areas for future research which touch upon the interface of ICT services and business process outsourcing and the role of IP, and the hurdles that low- and middle-income economies face in successfully penetrating the global IT innovation networks.