Are you looking for trademark registration, renewal or trademark watch services in Kenya? In Kenya, trademark registration is guided mainly by the Trademarks Act Cap 506. Basically, a registrable trademark is any sign that can be represented graphically and serves to distinguish one person’s goods or services from those of others. In the context of trademark registration, a mark may be a distinguishing guise, slogan, device, brand, heading, label, ticket, name, signature, word, letter or numeral or any combination thereof.

Trademark registration is an important step in protecting your brand identity. It will stop competitors from poaching your customers by imitating your brand. Trademark registration may also extend some protection to your brand image against reputation-damage in the event that your look-alike or sound alike products get tainted. Most importantly, while trademarking earns you rights to stop others from using the same or confusingly similar marks in the same classes of goods in the same territory, failing to register your trademarks may also mean that your trademarks could be infringing other registered marks.

In Kenya, registration of a trademark produces a direct evidence of exclusive ownership and helps keep off potential infringers who would be attempted to ride on the goodwill of your mark. Trademark registration enables you to protect your rights more easily in case someone challenged in court or before a tribunal. Successful trademark registration lowers your burden of proof before a competent court or tribunal.

In Kenya, the trademark application process entails searching the Kenya Intellectual Property Office’s trademark database for the same or similar marks, filing a trademark application, having the application examined by the trademark office, and paying the required fees. Foreign applications must be done through an agent of Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI).