High Court of Kenya Dismisses Copyright Infringement Case Against Oxford University Press

In a ruling dated 15th June, 2012 in the case of Njeri Wangari & Another v. Oxford University Press (E.A) Ltd. [2012] eKLR, Judge A. Mabeya dismissed an application for summary judgment in a clear case of copyright infringement filed by an author and her publisher. Read the full ruling here. The facts of this … Continue reading »

The Challenge for Creative Commons in Kenya

For the past 2 days Creative Commons has had their first ever Regional Convening in Africa taking place in Entebbe, Uganda. As we are all aware, Creative Commons (CC) Corporation stewards a set of standardised copyright licenses to provide simple, standardised alternatives to the “all rights reserved” paradigm of traditional copyright. In an earlier post, … Continue reading »

Kenya Welcomes Conclusion of WIPO Beijing Treaty for Audiovisual Performers

  Yesterday, in a historic Diplomatic Conference held in the Chinese capital Beijing, member states of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) adopted a new Treaty in the area of copyright and related rights. As WIPO explains, this Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances (BTAP) will strengthen the economic rights of film actors and other performers … Continue reading »

Ubuntu Trade Mark Infringement: Canonical Ltd vs. Friends of Raila FORA

IPKenya came across this photo by Robert Kilonzi. Mr. Kilonzi has rightly noticed an uncanny resemblance between two logos: the logo above is that of Ubuntu by Canonical Ltd. and the logo below is that of Friends of Raila Odinga (FORA) Kenya. The Ubuntu word and associated logos including the logo in question,’The Circle of … Continue reading »

Constitutional Review and Intellectual Property Rights: Zambia’s Bold Step Forward

IPKenya recently found time to peruse the First Draft Constitution of the Republic of Zambia, published on 30th April 2012 by the Technical Committee on Drafting the Zambian Constitution. Read the full draft Constitution here. News reports indicate that Zambia is in the process of reviewing its Constitution and that Zambians have been given a … Continue reading »

Intellectual Property and Sports in Kenya: Copyright Protection of Image Rights?

IPKenya recently attended a seminar on Intellectual Property and Sports in Kenya co-organised by the Kenya Industrial Office KIPI and the Kenya Copyright Office KECOBO held in Nairobi. During the two-day seminar, several distinguished speakers from academia, legal practice and sports engaged us in a variety of interesting topics including: marketing, merchandising and licensing agreements … Continue reading »

Draft National Music Policy – Your Comments are Welcome

IPKenya has received the draft National Music Policy prepared under the Ministry of Gender, Sports, Culture and Social Services. The full Draft policy is available here. Please read it, spread the word and submit your comments here. Deadline is this Friday, 15 June 2012. Hurry! Quick comments: For the record, IPKenya is not against the … Continue reading »

From PRSK to PRISK: A Tale of Two Societies

It has been a landmark week for performers in Kenya, with the proposed enactment of amendments to Section 30 which deals with performers rights and essentially guarantees the continued existence of the collecting society representing performers. The Performers Rights Society of Kenya abbreviated as “PRSK” has decided to change its abbreviation to “PRISK”. The inclusion … Continue reading »

Parliament Set to Pass Important Amendments to the Kenya Copyright Act

The Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, 2012 published in Kenya Gazette Supplement No. 34 (Bills No. 17) is on the way to becoming law. A full copy is available here. This Act of Parliament purports to make minor amendments to statute law, as and when necessary for the proper functioning of various creatures of statute. … Continue reading »