Event report
Webinar with CM Advocates LLP
Intellectual Property and Anti-Counterfeit Laws in Kenya
We hosted an informative webinar on Intellectual Property and Anti-Counterfeit Laws in Kenya in partnership with our Gold member CM Advocates LLP The session was led by Wilfred LUSI, Rosario Kamuti and Sandra Chesanai.
Highlights from the session:
Rosario Kamuti kicked off the session by giving an overview of Intellectual Property Protection. She defined Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) as a set of legal protections granted to inventors and creators for their intangible creations, ensuring exclusive rights to use, reproduce, and benefit from their inventions or works for a specified period.IPRs encompass various types, including trademarks, patents, copyrights, utility models, plant breeders' rights, traditional cultural expressions, and trade secrets.Trade secrets are IPRs on confidential information which may be sold or licensed and are governed by common law.
Sandra Chesanai took us through copyright which is the exclusive and assignable legal right given to the originator for a fixed number of years and protects expression of ideas. The requirements for copyright protection include; the work(s) must be expression of ideas, must be original works, must be reduced to material form and application made to Kenya Copyright Board.
Wilfred LUSI led the session in understanding the Anti-Counterfeit Law which is a sub-set of intellectual property law. One major issue that stood out is; Penalties for counterfeiting for a first convict involves a 5 year jail term or a fine not less than 3 times the retail value of the counterfeit good while for a repeat offender the jail term is set at 15 years or a fine not less than 5 times the retail value of the counterfeit good.
Key Takeaways :
1. Register your Intellectual Property.
2. When importing products apply for recordation of IP.
3. Look out for authentication marks on products e.g. security tags for recordation and trademarks.
4. Educate your consumers on how to identify genuine products.
5. Enforce your rights through the dispute resolution mechanisms.
We extend our sincere thanks to everyone who attended and contributed to this valuable discussion!
A special thanks to CM Advocates LLP for partnering with us.
