The Copyright Protection of Architectural Works: A Commentary on the Egyptian Court of Cassation’s Ruling in Appeal No. 4666 of Judicial Year 82 (Session of 22 May 2016)

Architectural arts are considered among the oldest forms of art known to mankind. While architecture is closely tied to the world of art, it is also deeply intertwined with intellectual property rights, being—first and foremost—a form of intellectual creation, whether artistic or industrial in nature. Architectural designs have been expressly recognized as intellectual works protected under intellectual property rights legislation, whether through international conventions or domestic laws.

This research was prompted by a recent judgment issued by the Egyptian Court of Cassation in an appeal against a ruling by the Cairo Economic Court concerning a legal dispute initiated by an architect against a sports club. The case revolved around an architectural design competition announced by the club for the preparation of a new headquarters in the Fifth Settlement (New Cairo). The architect submitted his design to the designated committee, subsequently incorporating the amendments requested by the club and resubmitting the final architectural plans.

However, the club refrained from announcing the competition results. Nearly seven years later, the architect was surprised to find a public notice in Al-Ahram newspaper issued by the club, featuring an architectural design that—according to his claim—was nearly identical to the one he had previously submitted.

Through this paper, we sought to shed light on architectural works as intellectual creations that benefit from legal protection under the provisions of Law No. 82 of 2002 on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights. These works fall under the category of artistic works eligible for protection. Our objective was to clarify the moral and economic rights of the architect as the author of the design, and to emphasize the legal principle that the intellectual property rights of the author are independent from the physical ownership of the medium upon which the work is embodied.