Gaichuhie: Kenya’s First IP Policy To Fight Piracy, Counterfeiting

By Elijah Cherutich

Kenya is finalizing its first national intellectual property policy in a bid to help innovators and creators earn from their work and strengthen efforts against counterfeiting, piracy and other infringements.

The draft National Intellectual Property Policy and Strategy 2026 is under public consultation in nine regions from July 27 to 31. Written submissions will be accepted until 5pm on Friday, July 31, according to a notice from the State Department for Industry.

Anti-Counterfeit Authority board chairman Nelson Gaichuhie said the policy would give government agencies a common framework for the registration, protection, commercialization and enforcement of intellectual property rights.

Speaking at a public participation forum at the Kenya National Library Service in Nakuru today, Gaichuhie said Kenya has laws and institutions dealing with intellectual property but lacks an overall policy to coordinate their work and keep pace with technological change.

“Kenya has really advanced in sub-Saharan Africa, and that is why we are developing this policy to address many issues that are emerging,” he said.

The Constitution requires the State to support, promote and protect the intellectual property rights of Kenyans. It also requires protection of indigenous knowledge, cultural heritage, seeds and plant varieties.

The 97-page draft points to fragmented laws, overlapping institutional mandates, limited funding, weak enforcement and poor links between research and industry as some of the main barriers facing innovators.

It says current laws do not adequately cover areas such as artificial intelligence-generated inventions and content, software patents, digital rights management, trade secrets and non-traditional trademarks, including motion and scent marks.

The document also points to gaps in the protection of geographical indications and delays in implementing the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Cultural Expressions Act, 2016.

The policy proposes a national intellectual property coordination office, regional IP offices, specialized courts or tribunals and stronger border controls. It also calls for tougher penalties for infringement and wider use of technology to detect counterfeit goods and online piracy.

Implementation would involve the Kenya Industrial Property Institute, Kenya Copyright Board, Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service, Anti-Counterfeit Authority, Kenya National Innovation Agency and National Research Fund.

The chief executives of the six institutions would sit on an inter-agency coordination group and meet quarterly. An inter-ministerial steering committee convened by the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary would provide policy oversight.

Gaichuhie said closer coordination among the agencies would reduce duplication, address enforcement gaps and help more innovations move from research institutions into the market.

The draft says this is Kenya’s third attempt to develop a national intellectual property policy. Similar processes in 2007 and 2012 produced final drafts that were never formally adopted.

Some of their recommendations were implemented, however. The 2007 process contributed to the creation of a stand-alone anti-counterfeit enforcement agency, while proposals from the 2012 draft came before the establishment of the Kenya National Innovation Agency.

ACA Deputy Director for Education and Public Awareness Agnes Karingu said commercialization and technology transfer are at the heart of the proposed reforms.

The policy proposes a national intellectual property and technology transfer fund to help finance patent applications, licensing, research commercialization and the work of technology transfer offices in universities and research institutions.

According to the draft, fewer than 20 per cent of universities, research institutions and technical and vocational colleges have intellectual property policies. Many existing technology transfer offices also lack enough staff, funding and links to investors and industry.

Karingu said public education would be needed to help innovators understand how to register, protect and commercialize their work.

“We are undertaking a lot of public education and awareness across various institutions, but once we have a unified one addressed in the policy, we can empower people in a better way through the education system,” she said.

The proposals include integrating intellectual property and entrepreneurship education into the Competency-Based Curriculum, technical colleges and universities.

Counterfeiting remains a concern. An ACA firm-level survey published in 2025 found that respondents estimated an average of 18 per cent of products in four surveyed sectors were counterfeit. About 53 per cent of the firms said counterfeit incidents had increased over the previous year.

Automotive spare parts had the highest estimated prevalence at 21 per cent, followed by alcoholic beverages at 19 per cent. Online platforms, social media, street vendors and kiosks were identified as major distribution channels.

Participants at the Nakuru forum called for clearer measures to ensure women, young people, persons with disabilities and marginalised communities can register intellectual property and benefit from its commercialization.

The draft proposes targeted grants, training, mentorship and lower registration barriers for those groups, along with support for micro and small enterprises and informal-sector innovators.