Ignorance to blame for trademark violations

Kenya is reported to have one of the highest rates of intellectual property rights breaches across Africa.

This is probably due to the fact that Kenyans are enterprising and hard-working people.

What I find most shocking about people who abuse the intellectual property rights of right holders is that the abusers are not aware they are committing an offence.

They believe that they are earning an honest living and they see nothing wrong in infringing a registered mark.

The high rate of infringement may also be because of competition that exists among businesses in Kenya.

The rivalry is fairly high and it is quite easy for businesses to duplicate innovative ideas created by others.

But once there is an intellectual property right in place, it becomes illegal for competitors to duplicate the right holder’s ideas without seeking his consent.

Unfortunately, many people are unaware of this fact.

Majority of Kenya’s young adult population are well educated and have a high awareness level compared to most African countries.

I believe that this has contributed to the high level of infringement in the Kenyan market.

Most people in the urban areas are computer literate and can easily use their skills to infringe on well established trademarks and copyrights.

I believe that the high level of education, competition and enterprise amongst Kenyans coupled with a general ignorance and unawareness of intellectual property laws all play a factor in making Kenya one of the countries with the highest level of infringement in Africa.

My experience with infringement in Kenya has been interesting if not hilarious.

A few days ago I came across a restaurant that had infringed on a well known brand in Kenya known as Kenchic.

Kenchic is the premier local fast food chain and is arguably the best success story locally when it comes to restaurants.