L’Oréal Acquires Nice & Lovely Trademark in Multi-Billion Shilling Deal

Media reports (here, here and here) indicate that the world’s largest multinational cosmetics company L’Oréal has acquired Kenya’s Interconsumer Products Ltd’s flagship Nice & Lovely brands, in a multi-million dollar acquisition reported this past week. L’Oréal opened shop in Nairobi in late 2011 and has for the past 18 months been in talks with Interconsumer … Continue reading »

The Tax Collection Technovation Tussle: A Test Case for Industrial Property in Kenya

“The law recognises the rights of employees who go beyond the call of duty. According to the Industrial Property Act, they have to be issued with a certificate and their rights to the invention must be established (…) Many people are not aware of this right under the Act and assume that all works they … Continue reading »

Coming Soon: WIPO – KIPI Seminar on the Madrid System in December

This week’s Law Society of Kenya newsletter contains a notice that the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in collaboration with Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI) is organizing a series of one-day seminars in Kenya intended for business community, trade mark practitioners and representatives of the industrial sector. The objective of the seminars is to familiarize … Continue reading »

Safaricom’s M-Pesa: An Intellectual Property Success Story for Trademarks in Kenya

@bankelele @iddsalim @mediamk @terryannechebet Original team was Nick Hughes and me. I came up with concept and architecture.— Paul Makin (@paulmobe) October 28, 2012 In a recent article titled: “M-Pesa inventor plans to light low income homes” the Daily Nation reports that “The man behind the M-Pesa mobile money transfer service Nick Hughes has unveiled … Continue reading »

Why Intellectual Property Law in Kenya Should Recognise Colour Trademarks

Recently, IPKenya has been following the spirited campaign by Christian Louboutin to assert and protect its trademark red sole, culminating in the highly anticipated outcome of its on-going court battle with fashion house Yves Saint Laurent (YSL). The story goes something like this: in 1992, Christian Louboutin decided to give his shoes a distinctive feature … Continue reading »

Software Patents, Business Method Patents: State of Play in Kenya

“anything under the sun that is made by man [is patentable]” – US Supreme Court in the case of Diamond v. Chakrabarty 447 US 303 (1980) “From where does a man derive his right to possess something, and to refuse the whole world his right of ownership? This right originates from only one factor; the … Continue reading »

The Case for an Inter-Agency Approach to Intellectual Property Protection and Enforcement

Today marks the opening of an important event by the Anti-Counterfeit Agency (ACA): “Workshop on the Implementation of an Interagency Approach to Intellectual Property Protection and Enforcement: Kenya and the East African Community” Unlike tangible property, IP is not well understood and thus is highly under-utilised in Kenya. That said, it is no secret that … Continue reading »

Upcoming Seminar at Strathmore Law School: Should Kenya Allow Computer Software Patents?

IPKenya is pleased to inform everyone that the newly-created Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law (CIPIT) at Strathmore Law School is holding its inaugural event on 14-15 August, 2012 to discuss computer software patents and protecting IP in the ICT industry. CIPIT has managed to get representatives from the United States Patent and … Continue reading »

A Challenge for Law Schools in Kenya to Take IP Seriously

IPKenya would like to begin by echoing Article 40 (6) of the Constitution of Kenya which states: “The State shall support, promote and protect of the intellectual property rights of the people of Kenya” This post is a call for a different interpretation of this article that puts us, intellectual property scholars and students, at … 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 »