How to register a trademark in Kenya: a guide for foreign companies

Why register your trademark in Kenya

Trademark rights are territorial. A registration in the United Kingdom, China or the United States protects nothing in Kenya, and a Kenyan registration is what gives you the exclusive right to use a mark here, the standing to act against infringers and the record that customs and the Anti-Counterfeit Authority rely on.

Kenya generally rewards the earlier filing. A distributor, a former partner or a competitor that files your name first can leave you negotiating to use your own brand. The safest moment to file is before you announce your entry, sign distributors or ship the first goods.

What you can protect, and for how long

Before you file: search and classify

Start with a search of the KIPI register for identical and similar marks, and look at the market as well. A search costs little next to a rebrand after launch.

Kenya uses the Nice classification, which sorts goods into classes 1 to 34 and services into classes 35 to 45. Fees are charged per class, so file in the classes that match what you will sell from day one and those you plan to enter soon. Protecting a word mark and a logo separately is common, because each covers different ground.

Step by step: registering a trademark with KIPI

1. Appoint a Kenyan agent. An applicant based outside Kenya files through a registered Kenyan agent, appointed on KIPI's prescribed form.
2. File the application with the owner's details, a representation of the mark, the classes and the goods or services. If you filed the same mark in another Paris Convention country within the previous six months, you can claim that earlier date as your priority date.
3. Examination. KIPI checks the mark against the law and the register. If it raises objections, you can answer them or amend the application.
4. Publication and opposition. An accepted mark is published in the Industrial Property Journal. Anyone who objects has 60 days to file an opposition.
5. Registration. If no opposition succeeds, the mark is registered and a certificate issues. Protection runs for ten years from the filing date.

An uncontested application commonly takes well over a year from filing to certificate, and an opposition adds months. Because protection dates from filing, the filing date matters more than the certificate date.

Importing branded goods: Anti-Counterfeit Authority recordation

Under the Anti-Counterfeit Act, it is an offence to import goods bearing a trademark, trade name or copyright into Kenya for trade unless the right is recorded with the Anti-Counterfeit Authority. Unrecorded goods can be seized and forfeited, and the penalties for a first offence include a fine of three times the retail price of the goods and up to five years in prison.

A recordation lasts one year. The Anti-Counterfeit (Recordation) Regulations, 2021 require the renewal application no later than thirty days before the current recordation expires.

Copyright, software and content

Copyright arises automatically when a work is created and fixed. It covers software, written content, artwork, photographs, music and audiovisual works. Registration with the Kenya Copyright Board is voluntary, but the certificate is dated evidence of ownership, which courts have treated as proof of ownership until the contrary is shown.

Ownership is where foreign companies most often slip. Make sure contracts with developers, agencies and freelancers in Kenya assign the rights in their work to your company, in writing.

Beyond Kenya: Madrid and ARIPO

Kenya is a member of the Madrid Protocol, so an international application filed through the World Intellectual Property Organization can designate Kenya alongside other countries. KIPI then examines the designation as it would a national application.

ARIPO is a different story for trademarks. Kenya is not a party to ARIPO's Banjul Protocol, so an ARIPO trademark application cannot cover Kenya. ARIPO's Harare Protocol does cover patents and industrial designs in Kenya. There is no single East African Community trademark: each partner state keeps its own register.

A reform to watch

A bill now before the National Assembly would merge KIPI, the Kenya Copyright Board and the Anti-Counterfeit Authority into a single Kenya Intellectual Property Authority. Parliament opened it for public comment in August 2026. Until it passes and takes effect, the current agencies and laws apply.

Mistakes that cost brands in Kenya

• Launching before filing. Publicity invites copycat filings. File first, then announce.
• Filing in too few classes. A mark registered for clothing does not stop someone using it on cosmetics.
• Assuming an international registration covers Kenya. A Madrid registration protects Kenya only if Kenya is designated.
• Shipping before recordation. Goods that arrive before the ACA recordation is in place can be held at the border.
• Missing renewals. Trademarks renew every ten years and ACA recordations every year. Put both on a calendar.

Checked against the sources below on 15 October 2026. This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change with each Finance Act and gazette notice, so confirm the current position before you act, or ask us.