Intellectual Property and Trademarks
Own your name in Kenya before someone else files it.
Trademark rights stop at the border, and in Kenya the earlier filing generally wins. Gate 10 helps you protect your brand, content and technology before you launch: clearance searches, trademark applications to the Kenya Industrial Property Institute through licensed Kenyan agents, copyright registration, recordation with the Anti-Counterfeit Authority for goods you import, and a plan for protection across the region.
- Best for
- Foreign brands entering Kenya, exporters whose goods carry a trademark, and technology, media and consumer companies whose value sits in names, content and code.
- Where it sits
- Before launch, ideally before the name appears in public; it runs alongside Gate 02
- Outcome
- Your marks filed and protected in Kenya, your imports recorded, and every renewal on a calendar.
- We work with
- Kenya Industrial Property Institute, Kenya Copyright Board, Anti-Counterfeit Authority, World Intellectual Property Organization
Everything Gate 10 covers.
Brand and IP protection for companies entering Kenya: trademark clearance and registration with KIPI, copyright registration with KECOBO, Anti-Counterfeit Authority recordation, Madrid filings for regional cover and a calendar that keeps every right alive.
IP audit and strategy
An inventory of the names, logos, content, designs and technology your Kenyan business will trade on, with a plan for what to protect, where and in what order.
Trademark clearance
Searches of the Kenyan register and the market before you commit to a name, so you launch with a mark that is free to use and to register.
Trademark registration
Applications to the Kenya Industrial Property Institute in the right classes, filed through licensed Kenyan agents, with follow-up through examination, publication and the 60-day opposition period.
Copyright and software
Voluntary registration of software, content, artwork and publications with the Kenya Copyright Board, which gives you dated evidence of ownership if a dispute arises.
Anti-counterfeit recordation
Recordation of your trademarks with the Anti-Counterfeit Authority, required before goods bearing them are imported into Kenya for trade, and its renewal every year.
Regional protection and enforcement
Protection beyond Kenya through the Madrid Protocol and national filings, watching services, and support with oppositions, licences and infringement, with advocates where the law requires them.
Five steps, one accountable partner.
Every step is agreed in writing at the start, with a named partner who answers for it.
IP audit
We list what your business will trade on in Kenya, from names and logos to software, content and designs, and agree what to protect first.
Search and clear
We run clearance searches and advise on the classes and the form of each mark before anything is filed.
File
We prepare the applications with you and coordinate filing with KIPI and the Kenya Copyright Board through licensed agents.
Follow through
We track examination, publication and the opposition period, and help you answer any objection.
Protect and renew
We help you record your marks with the Anti-Counterfeit Authority, set up a watch and keep every renewal on your calendar.
Deliverables you can file, audit and act on.
Institutions we help you work with
- IP audit and protection plan
- Clearance search report with filing recommendations
- Trademark applications and filing receipts
- Registration certificates as they issue
- Anti-Counterfeit Authority recordation
- IP register and renewal calendar
About Intellectual Property and Trademarks.
If your question is not here, a partner will answer it on a discovery call.
Our trademark is registered at home. Are we protected in Kenya?
No. Trademark rights are territorial, so a registration in your home country does not protect the mark in Kenya. You can file directly with KIPI, or designate Kenya in an international application under the Madrid Protocol. We help you choose the route that fits your markets.
Can a foreign company file on its own?
An applicant based outside Kenya files through a registered Kenyan agent. We coordinate the work with licensed agents and advocates, prepare the documents with you and follow each application to registration.
How long does trademark registration take?
An application passes through examination, publication in the Industrial Property Journal and a 60-day opposition period before registration. An uncontested mark commonly takes well over a year, so file as early as you can: protection dates from the filing date.
Do we need to register copyright?
No. Copyright arises automatically when a work is created. Voluntary registration with the Kenya Copyright Board gives you a dated certificate that courts treat as evidence of ownership, which helps when you need to enforce.
What is Anti-Counterfeit Authority recordation?
Goods bearing a trademark cannot be imported into Kenya for trade unless the mark is recorded with the Anti-Counterfeit Authority. Unrecorded goods can be seized. A recordation lasts one year and must be renewed, and it relies on your registration, so register first.
Is ARIPO an option for trademarks in Kenya?
Not for trademarks. Kenya is not a party to ARIPO's Banjul Protocol, so Kenyan trademark protection comes from a national filing with KIPI or a Madrid designation. ARIPO's Harare Protocol can cover patents and industrial designs in Kenya.
Read before you decide.
How to register a trademark in Kenya: a guide for foreign companies
Why a registration at home is not enough, the KIPI process step by step, Anti-Counterfeit Authority recordation for imports, and how copyright, Madrid and ARIPO fit in.
How to register a company in Kenya as a foreigner
A subsidiary or a branch, the documents you need, the order of the filings and what comes after the certificate.