(PHOTO CREDITS: Courtesy BUSINESS DAILY)
American firms have asked Kenya to fix its weak intellectual property laws as one of the conditions for backing the “model trade agreement” being negotiated by the two states.
In a letter to President Donald Trump’s administration, the US firms, among them distributors of movies, software and books want Kenya to guarantee protection of their patents and trademarks ahead of the proposed free trade agreement (FTA).
“Kenya’s Attorney-General Kihara Kariuki recently highlighted the creative industries’ contribution to Kenya’s economy, citing a study estimating the contribution to be 5.3 percent of GDP and stating, “The protection of the copyrights will essentially put money into the pockets of authors, producers and all creators”,” the letter reads in part.
“Yet Kenya’s copyright legal and enforcement frameworks remain deficient, and piracy, particularly online, remains a significant barrier for the creative industries in Kenya.”
In 2019, Kenya enacted an amendment to its Copyright Act intended to address some of the challenges of the digital age.
