EVENT: Unveiling of Proposed Law on Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions in Kenya

On Wednesday 8th May 2013, the Honourable Attorney General Prof. Githu Muigai will officiate the National Stakeholders’ Validation Seminar on the proposed legal framework on Protection of Traditional Knowledge (TK) and Traditional Culture Expressions (TCEs) at the Red Court Hotel, South C, Nairobi from 9:00am to 12:00noon. The legal framework aims to protect holders of … Continue reading »

World Intellectual Property Day – April 26 2013: Some Planned Activities in Kenya

Twelve years ago, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) created the “World Intellectual Property (IP) Day” as an event intended to “raise awareness of the role of intellectual property in our daily lives, and to celebrate the contribution made by innovators and creators to the development of societies across the globe”. Last year, this blog … Continue reading »

To Photocopy or Not to Photocopy: The Role of the Reproduction Rights Society in Kenya

One of the local newspapers recently published an article titled: “Can’t someone stop this photocopying madness?”, which raises the alarm over high levels of illegal photocopying especially in tertiary institutions of learning, namely our universities. The writer explains: We were taught in classes that photocopying a book without the requisite permission of the copyright holder … 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 »

A Look at Kenya’s Draft Bill on Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Expressions of Folklore

This week, IPKenya came across the working draft legislation on traditional knowledge (TK) in Kenya. A copy of this draft is available here. With this background in mind, this blogpost will identify some of the key issues for Kenyan policymakers with the help of certain key texts namely, the ARIPO Swakopmund Protocol, Kenya’s National Policy … Continue reading »

Conference: Enhancing the Culture of Reading and Books in the Digital Age – Copyright as a Means to Foster Creativity and Access in Africa

What has happened to reading in the age of the Internet? Will the digital age put an end to the culture of reading and books that has been nurtured over centuries? In association with the Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO), the Kenya National Library Service (KNLS), Kopiken, the Kenyan Publishers Association (KPA) and the Kenyan Writers … Continue reading »

Will Next Director General of ARIPO Be From Kenya?

The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), through its official website, is inviting applications from suitable qualified candidates to be considered for appointment to the post of Director General of the Organization. The closing date for applications is 31 May 2012. The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization – ARIPO, formerly African Regional Industrial Property Organization, … Continue reading »

The ‘Africa IP Forum’: Doomed to Fail?

It’s now official: the proposed Africa IP Forum planned to take place in Cape Town, South Africa 3-5 April 2012 has been postponed. The US Commerce Department, on it’s website, made the announcement as follows: “The African Intellectual Property Forum, originally slated for April 3-5, 2012 in Cape Town, will be rescheduled. Organizers are committed … Continue reading »

An Intellectual Property Law Guide for All the Countries in Africa

At the end of last month, the entire African IP fraternity was abuzz after the news that Bowman Gilfillan had agreed to merge its intellectual property law practice with Adams & Adams making the latter firm the largest IP specialist firm in Africa. Recently Adams & Adams have redesigned and launched their website which will … Continue reading »

World IP Day 2011: “Designing the Future.”

Exactly ten years ago, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) created the “World Intellectual Property Day” as an event intended to “raise awareness of the role of intellectual property in our daily lives, and to celebrate the contribution made by innovators and artists to the development of societies across the globe”. Coincidentally, 2001 is also … Continue reading »