The Digital Economy Division of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce will hold a workshop on 5 October for small- and medium-sized companies and other companies operating in the software sector after the success of the first workshop that was held recently in the Chamber of Commerce of Assiut. This workshop will be held in cooperation with the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), the General Division for the Digital Economy of the General Federation of Chambers of Commerce, and the Intellectual Property Rights Protection Office at the authority. The workshop is scheduled to discuss the role of the ITIDA and the technical and development support it provides to software companies, in addition to the role of the ITIDA Intellectual Property Rights Protection Office in providing technical expertise and legal advice in relation to software, along with the importance of depositing computer works, databases, and websites. The workshop also reviews the most prominent problems facing software companies with regard to contracts concluded between the company and programmers, the company and customers who use the software, and the form of the relationship between them and offering solutions to avoid these problems. This comes in line with the national strategy for intellectual property launched by the Egyptian state with the aim of spreading societal awareness of the protection of intellectual property rights. Additionally, the most important points of the companies' guide prepared by the authority's Intellectual Property Rights Protection Office will also be reviewed, along with the nature and importance of intellectual property rights for companies and their role in increasing and preserving the investments of these companies. Ahmed Al-Wakeel — President of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce — stressed the leading role played by the software industry, not only at the level of the Egyptian market but also globally in light of the availability of trained human cadres that compete globally and are considered one of the sources of national income. The workshop comes within the framework of the celebrations of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce. He also highlighted the importance of intellectual property rights in Egypt after the launch of the Egyptian strategy for intellectual property, which guarantees all rights — whether for companies or individuals. Walid Hakam — Head of the Digital Economy Division at the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce — explained the importance of the workshop through the participation of all parties of the Egyptian software system and the discussion of marketing and export opportunities, especially in light of what is given by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in general and the ITIDA in particular in the software industry. He stressed that this workshop will provide some facilities for software companies with regard to licenses for their practice by handing over renewals of licenses to software companies within Alexandria, Beheira, and Matrouh that have been contacted through the office's call centre. For his part, Khalil Hassan Khalil — Head of the General Division for Digital Economy and Technology at the General Federation of Chambers of Commerce — said that during Wednesday's activities, the General Division for Digital Economy and Technology in the General Federation of Chambers of Commerce will present the developments of the Tawteen initiative, which aims to automate 400,000 merchants, as it aims to accelerate the digitisation of commercial transactions for medium, small, and micro enterprises (MSMEs). This will be done by facilitating their ownership of effective technological tools and solutions to automate them, such as providing computers of various types and accessories, applications, software, and other information and communication technology tools, in addition to financing working capital in easy instalments that are paid through electronic payment methods through partner banks for the benefit of MSMEs operating across the country. Software companies wishing to register their company to obtain a license to operate for the first time legally can apply during the workshop to get started on the process.
