Webinar on Intellectual Property rights

David Njuguna
Manager, Patents
Kenya Industrial Property Institute

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About …KIPI
Government agency established in 2001
• Industrial property Act 2001
• Patents, Industrial Designs, Utility models

• Trade Marks Act

• Trade marks (goods and services)

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Types of Intellectual Property Rights
KIPI
Patents
utility models
Industrial Designs
Trade Marks

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Other Intellectual Property rights
Copyright and related rights
• Copyright Act, 2001
• Kenya Copy Right Board
Plant Breeders Rights
• The Seeds and Plant Varieties Act
• KEPHIS
Trade Secrets/Confidential
• Yourself/Courts
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Rationale for IP protection
Fairness
• Right of creators/inventors
• Reward for endeavour
Economic
• Incentive for creativity
Public benefit
• New products/technologies
• Disclosure of technological information to the public
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Patents
Grant of exclusive rights
• for a limited time;
• over a specific invention
• constituting an advance in technology;

• in return for disclosure of the technological advance to the

public.

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What can you Patent?
Invention
• a solution to a specific problem in the field of technology.
• invention must be wrt:
• Product (e.g. vaccine, drug, keyboard, mouse) and/or
• Process/method
Inventor
• a “person” who devices an invention
• identified in a patent application
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What can you patent?
Example: Infusion containers/lids
Patentable subject matter
Example: Product (Apparatus/device/container)
A container for serving take-away tea in fast food
establishment.

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Patentable subject matter
Example: Product
A container for serving infused beverages made
from infusion bags having a string (11) and a tag (12)
attached, the container comprising:
• a receptacle (8) for holding liquid (9),
• a lid (1) for the receptacle (8) provided with an
opening (7) having a first portion through which
the string (11) of the infusion bag can move into
and out of the container and a second portion
which is capable of gripping the string (11) of the
infusion bag.

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Patentable subject matter
Method or Process
• Recites a sequence of steps that complete a task or accomplish
a result.
Example:
• A method of making tea, the method comprising:
• Boiling water;
• adding sugar to the boiling water;
• adding tea leaves to the boiling water to form a mixture;
• filtering the mixture; and
• adding milk to the mixture.

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Non patentable subject matter
Schemes, rules and methods of
• doing business
• e.g. Multilevel marketing, “chamas”, merry-go -round,
accounting, insurance, bank schemes (e.g. diva)
• Performing purely mental acts
• playing games
• e.g. method of playing double football

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Non patentable subject matter
Discoveries
• E.g. Why giraffes have long necks but do not faint
scientific theories, mathematical methods
• E=MC2
• But device using such theories are patentable
Methods of treatment of humans/animals by surgery or
therapy
Presentation of information
• e.g. advertising on a road surface/hot air balloon/inside cover
of a book

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Requirements for obtaining a patent
Application in countries of interest
• Details of applicants/inventors
• Description of the invention
• Detailed to enable a person skilled in the art, to make, use and to
evaluate the invention.
• Claims
• define the scope of protection
• Drawings (where applicable)
• abstract

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Claims

Images sourced from google images

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Requirements for grant of patent

Novelty Invention must be new

Involves an
Inventive step not obvious

Industrially
applicable capable of being made in the industry

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Benefit of patent protection
Right to exclude others from exploiting the invention.
• Making, importing, selling, using the invention
• Rights may be assigned (transferred) or licensed
Any other person performing these acts without
owner’s authorization infringes
Period of protection
• 20 years

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Limitation of patent rights
Prior user not affected by patent
Patents granted for a specific country/territory
Claims determine scope
Rights only prohibit commercial exploitation and not
scientific research.
Period of protection in Kenya: 20 years
Subject to payment of annual fees.
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Limitation of patent rights
Exhaustion of rights/parallel importation
• Once patentee puts patented products in the market
• Any other person can buy and sell
Compulsory licence
• By Industrial Property Tribunal upon request by another
person
Patents can be revoked/invalidated
• By Industrial Property tribunal
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Limitation of patent rights
A Patent granted in one country is not enforceable in
another country.
No single “world/international patent”…yet!

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Entitlement/Ownership
 Invention belongs to inventor
• First to file rule
 commissioned/employee invention
• In absence of any agreement
• Invention belongs to the person who commissioned the
work or the employer.
 rights may be assigned or transferred
Image source: google images

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Patent Rights and infringement
Right to exclude others from exploiting the invention.
• Making, importing, selling, using the invention.

Any other person performing these acts without

owner’s authorization infringes.

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Examples of commercialized inventions
Patent No.: KE 55
Filed on: 19/11/1996
Granted on 22/04/1998
Owner: Anna Chepkonga (later founded Cockrid Kenya
Ltd)
Title of invention: Insecticidal bait composition.
Abstract: An insecticidal composition which is effective
against cockroaches and other pests which contains specific
amount of boric acid and other insecticide formulations.
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Examples: KE 55
Trade Mark registered: Cockrakil®
Patent used against threat of infringement
Company has ventured into other products/service
• Pest control
• Cleaning services

http://cockrid.co.ke/index.php
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2: Utility models
Innovations that give some utility, advantage, saving
or technical effect not available in Kenya before.
Improvements that may not qualify for patent

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Example of registered utility models
Utility model No: 129
Registered: 18/01/2017
Title: Portable burner device
 Owner: DEVELATECH LTD

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Utility model requirements
Filing Requirements
Similar to patent
• Request (Form IP3)
• Description of invention
• Claims
• Drawings (where necessary)

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Benefits of Protection
Exclusive rights to the owner
• to make, use or sell invention in Kenya.
legal action against another party who infringes the
rights.
Period of protection
• 10 years
• Annual fees

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3: Industrial designs
Generally concerns protection of appearance of
products (articles)
• Shape/configuration
• Pattern/ornamentation

What makes an article attractive and appealing

 adds to the commercial value of a product

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Industrial designs: Examples

Display stand Perfume bottle ceiling board Blister pack Bed

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Application requirements
Request (form IP27)
Graphic representations of the article
• Drawings or photographs

Filing fee - Ksh. 3000

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Requirements for registration
Design registrable if it is new (novel)
• Universal novelty
• Identical or similar design must not have been disclosed before
the filing date
Examination
Publication in Journal
• Publication fee - Ksh. 3000
• 60 days opposition period
Registration
• Registration fee - Ksh. 1000

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Rights conferred
Right to prevent others from
• Copying the design
• Offering for sale articles embodying the design

Period of protection
• 5 years
• renewable after 5 for up to 15 years

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 End
Thank you

dnjuguna@kipi.go.ke

@kipikenya
www.kipi.go.ke
@dnjuguna
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